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SUMMARY:Book Talkback - Muslims in Milwaukee: Placemaking\, Belonging\, and Activism 
DESCRIPTION:Overview\n\n\n\n\nWednesday\, May 20\, 7:00-8:30 PM\n\n\n\nIslamic Resource Center\, 5235 S 27th St\, Greenfield\, WI 53221\n\n\n\n\nJoin the Center for 21st Century Studies and the Muslim Milwaukee Project for the launch of a new book on the Muslim communities in Milwaukee by UWM professors Anna Mansson McGinty\, Caroline Seymour-Jorn\, and Kristin Sziarto. There will be a panel talkback featuring prominent members of Milwaukee’s Muslim community—Waheed Ahmed\, Othman Atta\, Amal Azzam\, Janan Najeeb\, and Brother Will Perry—moderated by Fahed Masalkhi\, PhD.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout Muslims in Milwaukee: Placemaking\, Belonging\, and Activism\n\n\n\nMuslims in Milwaukee explores the everyday lives\, identities\, and activism of Muslims in a midsized Midwestern city. Milwaukee is one of America’s most segregated cities\, yet within its boundaries\, a vibrant Muslim community is reshaping narratives and embodied practices of belonging\, civic engagement\, and urban placemaking. While considerable scholarship on Muslim Americans has concentrated on larger metropolitan centers like New York\, Los Angeles\, and Chicago\, or on Detroit’s historic Arab neighborhoods\, this book turns our attention to an understudied city where Muslim communities are small but rapidly growing\, and where their experiences unfold within distinct local landscapes of race\, segregation\, and opportunity.  \n\n\n\nDrawing on over a decade of ethnographic fieldwork\, surveys\, and extensive interviews with community members\, students\, artists\, activists\, and leaders\, the authors examine how local political\, economic\, and historical structures shape Muslim American experiences and civic participation\, situating their analysis within the dual dynamics of belonging on one hand and exclusion and discrimination on the other.  \n\n\n\n\nPurchase your copy from Syracuse University Press\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Panelists\n\n\n\nExpand All\nWaheeduddin Ahmed \n\n\n\n\n\nM. Sc.\, PhD.\, University of London. Scientist (retired). \n\n\n\nFounder president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee\, 1983. \n\n\n\nFounder of Islamic Information Service Inc.\, 1985. \n\n\n\nFounder Milwaukee Islamic Dawah Center\, 1993. \n\n\n\nEdited various journals including: Islamicus\, The Commentator and Shahadah. \n\n\n\nInitiated the demographic survey of Muslims in Milwaukee with mutual agreement between the Dawah Center and the Chancellor of UWM\, 2010/11. The project was developed by the team that authored the book: “Muslims in Milwaukee”.\n\n\n\n\n\nOthman M. Atta \n\nServed as President of the Executive Board of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and currently serves as its Executive Director and primary spokesman. The ISM is the largest Muslim organization in Wisconsin and operates three Mosques in the greater Milwaukee area as well as the largest Islamic school in the nation.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWorked as an attorney in private practice for over 20 years. \n\n\n\nFormer Advisory Board Member\, Marquette University Law School \n\n\n\nFormer Representative of the Islamic Society on the Board of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee \n\n\n\nFormer Adjunct Faculty Member at Cardinal Stritch University (taught courses on Religious Culture of Islam). Also taught courses on Islam and Middle-East Politics for UW-Extension. \n\n\n\nRecipient of the Wisconsin Chapter – ACLU “Civil Libertarian of the Year Award” \n\n\n\nRecipient of Wisconsin Law Journal’s “Leader in the Law Award” \n\n\n\nFormer Member\, FBI Civil Rights Advisory Group. Graduate of FBI Citizen Academy and Milwaukee Police Department’s Citizen’s Academy \n\n\n\nFormer Commissioner\, Milwaukee Commission on Police-Community Relations \n\n\n\nFormer Board Member\, Wisconsin Chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee \n\n\n\nDelivered hundreds of speeches to business\, interfaith and other groups and participated in numerous lectures\, panel discussions and debates at local universities.  \n\n\n\nMarried with four children. \n\n\n\n\n\nAmal Azzam\nAmal Azzam is a Muslim American interdisciplinary artist based in Milwaukee\, WI. Her practice explores the layered complexities of identity\, trauma\, and freedom through mediums including screen printing\, found objects\, fiber\, and photography. She aims to reflect society back onto itself\, showing its contradictions and the struggles of belonging.   \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn 2025\, Azzam was awarded the Mildred L. Harpole Artist of the Year by the Milwaukee Arts Board. Her work has been nationally exhibited at the Hunter Museum of American Art (Chattanooga\, TN)\, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan\, WI)\, Woman Made Gallery (Chicago\, IL)\, and the James Watrous Gallery (Madison\, WI). She has also co-curated exhibitions such as Wherever Home Is at the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences\, Arts & Letters and Al-Nisa at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts.   \n\n\n\nAmal is also the co-founder of Fanana Banana (“Fanana” meaning female artist in Arabic)\, a Milwaukee-based arts movement that creates space for Muslim\, MENA\, and underserved artists to share their work. Fanana Banana has grown into a community hub for exhibitions\, panels\, and collaborations.   \n\n\n\nHer work and story have been featured in WUWM – Milwaukee’s NPR\, PBS Wisconsin\, Artdose Magazine\, Milwaukee Magazine\, and Cream City Review\, where her art appeared on the cover in 2024.  \n\n\n\n\nJanan Najeeb\nJanan Najeeb is a pioneering Muslim community leader\, advocate\, and educator\, widely recognized for her work at the intersections of faith\, justice\, gender and civic engagement. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Women’s Coalition (MWC)\, and the Islamic Resource Center\, Wisconsin’s first Muslim library and cultural hub.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNajeeb has founded several groundbreaking initiatives\, including the Wisconsin Muslim Journal\, Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance\, Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival\, and the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine. She also serves on the Governor’s Council on Domestic Abuse and holds board positions with the Rotary Club of Milwaukee\, Wisconsin Public Radio\, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. She chairs both the Religious Leaders Caucus of MICAH and the City of Milwaukee Commission on Community Wellness and Safety. For more than two decades\, she has co-chaired and emceed Milwaukee’s citywide Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.  \n\n\n\nA frequent media voice and public speaker\, Najeeb has delivered more than 2\,000 presentations across the country on Muslim identity\, civil rights\, women’s rights\, refugees\, and interfaith dialogue. Her published works include contributions to The Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies\, The Journal of Disability & Religion\, Interfaith Engagement in Milwaukee\, as well as training manuals for statewide agencies. She has been featured in major outlets including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel\, The New York Times\, Islamic Horizons\, Aljazeera\, Wisconsin Public Radio\, among many others.   \n\n\n\nHer trailblazing leadership has earned her numerous awards\, including the 2025 City of Milwaukee Lifetime Achievement Award\, 2024 Milwaukee Magazine Woman of Distinction Award\, the 2023 Lucille Berrien Humanitarian Award\, the 2022 Milwaukee Rotary Person of the Year Award\, and the 2019 Frank Zeidler Award for Social Justice and Activism.  \n\n\n\nNajeeb is married to Dr. Waleed Najeeb and is the proud mother of five and grandmother of six.  \n\n\n\n\nBrother Will Perry \nWill Perry is a lifelong Milwaukee resident whose career reflects a deep commitment to faith‑based civic engagement and community building. He holds a master’s degree in management and is widely known for his long tenure as Executive Director of the Milwaukee Islamic Dawah Center (MIDC)\, where he played a key role in strengthening community institutions\, expanding social services\, and fostering collaboration across Milwaukee’s diverse neighborhoods.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nUnder his leadership\, MIDC became a vital hub for outreach\, re-entry service\, and support for individuals and families facing social and economic challenges.  \n\n\n\nIn addition to his work at MIDC\, Will currently serves on the Board of the Muslim Community Health Center\, supporting efforts to improve access to culturally responsive healthcare. His broader leadership experience includes previously serving as Director of the Milwaukee Muslim Funeral Home\, as well as serving as Past President of the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance.  \n\n\n\nWill is a retired member of the Milwaukee Fire Department and an honorably discharged Sergeant of the United States Marine Corps. He is widely respected for his integrity\, steady leadership\, and commitment to dialogue\, belonging\, and compassionate community care.  \n\n\n\nWill Perry is a devoted family man\, serving as a husband\, father\, and grandfather.  \n\n\n\n\nFahed Masalkhi\, Ph.D. (Moderator)\nDr. Fahed is a Senior Teaching Faculty member in the Department of Global Studies at UW-Milwaukee and serves as the coordinator of the Arabic Program. His academic and professional path has been anything but conventional.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInitially trained in the STEM disciplines\, he holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Engineering and spent a significant portion of his early career in the corporate sector. While that chapter provided valuable experience\, it ultimately left him searching for deeper intellectual fulfillment and a greater sense of purpose.  \n\n\n\nThis pursuit led him back to academia\, where he transitioned into the humanities. He earned an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and went on to complete a PhD in Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2021. His interdisciplinary training—spanning technical\, literary\, and theological fields—continues to shape both his teaching and his scholarship in meaningful ways.  \n\n\n\nHis work is anchored in two main areas of inquiry; both rooted in Qur’anic Studies. The first centers on Arabic language instruction\, with a particular emphasis on pedagogical approaches that make the language accessible and meaningful across diverse learning environments. The second engages the field of Islamic Studies more broadly\, with a focus on how it can respond thoughtfully to the intellectual and cultural needs of students in Western educational contexts.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAbout the Islamic Resource Center & Muslim Women’s Coalition\n\n\n\nThe Islamic Resource Center\, a project of Muslim Women’s Coalition\, is Wisconsin’s only Islamic cultural center and lending library. \n\n\n\nThe Muslim Women’s Coalition (MWC) is dedicated to building an equitable and inclusive Wisconsin\, where diversity is celebrated and all individuals are valued. Their mission is to empower Muslim women and girls through education\, leadership\, outreach\, and wellness programs\, helping them reach their fullest potential while creating a positive impact on the broader community. \n\n\n\nFounded in 1994\, MWC began as a local resource organization with the goal of promoting a more accurate understanding of Islam and Muslim women. Over the years\, MWC has remained committed to leading positive community change through advocacy\, dialogue\, education\, and outreach\, using faith-based values to ensure dignity and equity for all.
URL:https://uwm.edu/c21/event/book-talkback-muslims-in-mke/
LOCATION:Islamic Resource Center\, 5235 S 27th St\, Greenfield\, Wisconsin\, 53221\, United States
CATEGORIES:Alumni & Community,Collaboratory,Faculty and Staff,Off-campus,Panel,Public,SLOW,Slow Care
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