Muslim Voices of Philadelphia Project

Muslim Voices of Philadelphia is a new community media project of Scribe Video Center that provides an opportunity for interested Muslim community groups to document the histories, practices and contributions of the many Muslims who have come to call the region home.

Come and join us for our Muslim Voices of Philadelphia Pilot Premiere and Roundtable Discussion


Friday, November 11 @ 7:00 PM
Ibrahim Theater @ International House
3701 Chestnut Street

Free and Open to the Public

Join us in celebrating the premiere of pilot videos produced by Lajna Ima'illah, Women’s Auxilliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the New Africa Center! Our premiere will be followed by a roundtable discussion featuring Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, President of Journal of Islam in America Press and Dr Khalid Blankinship, Professor of Religion at Temple Universitry.

Join us for a conversation about Muslim American histories and how Muslims can use digital media to define and represent their own experiences. This event is the culmination of the Planning Phase of Muslim Voices of Philadelphia, which was funded by the Pew Foundation's Heritage Philadelphia Program. It showcases the kind of multi-media project that Scribe Video Center hopes to explore with more Muslim community groups in the future.

The Sun Rises in Philadelphia
10 minutes

Lajna Imaillah, Women’s Auxilliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community documents and highlights the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s historical beginnings in Philadelphia in the early 1920s along with the community’s lively activities, unique educational efforts, and contributions to this city spanning nearly a century. Interviews with early converts and pioneering community members, archival documents and personal photographs, along with contemporary footage of community activities and Philadelphia sites that played a pivotal role in the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s development, provide the viewer with a deeper appreciation of Philadelphia and the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s roots and impact on the people of this diverse city.

Seeds of Awakening: The Early Nation of Islam in Philadelphia
14 minutes

The New Africa Center has produced a video documenting the development and growth of the Nation of Islam in Philadelphia circa late 50’s-early 60’s. Told through first hand accounts by pioneers of the community, this video paints a portrait of a black nationalist, social reform movement that inspired self determination and economic development within the African American community. Discover how through the Nation of Islam a community developed and experience how Islam affected their lives and the community around them.

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Muslim Voices
2011 Planning Phase Organizational Participants

Bawa Muhaiyadeen Fellowship,
Council on American Islamic Relations- PA, Philadelphia Chapter
Islamic Cultural Preservation and Information / New Africa Center
Lajna Ima’illah, Women's Auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
Masjid Freehaven,
QAAMS Hajj Foundation
Quba Incorporated

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The project is supported by a planning grant from the The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia Program.

Programs at Scribe Video Center are made possible by support from the
William Penn Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the Philadelphia Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Samuel S. Fels Fund, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

Project Co-Directors – Maris Gillette and Louis Massiah, Media Project Coordinator - Jullanar Abdul-Zahir, Research Coordinator- Ayesha Butt.