#CallingAllMuslims effort makes local push to “Get Out the Vote” for midterm election
With the importance of the 2018 midterm elections as a referendum on the current state of politics and the direction of the country, the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition participated in the national phone banking effort on November 1 to remind voters...
Gap back-to-school ads include girl wearing hijab in an effort to show inclusiveness
Clothing retailer Gap’s advertising campaign for its 2018 back to school fashion line has drawn widespread criticism for including a girl wearing hijab. The advertisement promotes its children’s line of clothing and has been spread through posters as well...
Anwar Sallumi: Using language between cultures and family generations
Anwar Sallumi immigrated to America in 2008 as a refugee fleeing to safety from the war in Iraq. With no extended family in the United States, Sallumi uprooted his immediate family from Baghdad to live with an American friend in Mauston, Wisconsin. Now,...
Wisconsin feels the impact from a national decline in refugee resettlement
Over the first sixth months of 2018, 221 refugees were resettled in Wisconsin. During the same period in 2017, that number was 443. In 2016, it was 778. Wisconsin isn't the biggest destination for refugee resettlement by far, but the multi-year decline in the state...
Michigan elects Rashida Tlaib as first Muslim woman to Congress
Former Michigan state lawmaker Rashida Tlaib has won the Democratic nomination to run unopposed for a House seat, setting her up to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress. No Republicans or third-party candidates ran in Tuesday’s district 13 primary race,...
Reach Out and Read Program features culture relevant books for diverse Milwaukee children
Founded in 1989 with its first program at Boston City Hospital, now Boston Medical Center, Reach Out and Read has seen dramatic growth since 2001, with programs in all 50 states. Reach Out and Read partners with more than 5,800 sites and distributes 6.9...
IRC Book Review: A Cup of Mint Tea Series
Elise Bellin, MLIS is the IRC Librarian and this book review is part of an ongoing series that focuses on a range of books within the IRC collection as a service to the community. A Cup of Mint Tea: Short Stories to Warm the Heart series by Iman Abdallah...
A shifting definition of ‘halal’ for many Muslim grocery shoppers
For Muslims, halal food follows certain rules proscribed by Islamic law. It usually pertains to ritual slaughter and abstention from certain items like pork, blood and alcohol. But the interpretation of Islamic food traditions has often varied by time and...
Haneen Amro: The experience of being a Muslim woman living in Korea
Since being awarded a Fulbright to teach English in South Korea last year, Milwaukee resident Haneen Amro has immersed herself in the culture and found many common connections with her own Arab heritage. In a fairly homogeneous Korean culture, Amro works...
Building bridges with Arabic from Korea to Cape Town
After discovering the beauty of Arabic script, eL Seed has taken his art to the world’s most recognizable places. "I am an artist with a humanist intention," said eL Seed, as he opened his TED talk in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Choking back tears, he...
