Cultural Events - Watch Muslim Women in America on BNN's Channel 9 in Boston

Boston Neighborhood Network
8 Park Plaza, Suite 2240
Boston, MA 02116
Phone (617) 720-2113
Fax (617) 720-3781

March13, 2003
Contact Leslie Ahern
Lahern@bnntv.org
617-720-2113 x20

Being a Muslim in America these days can be uncomfortable. Most Americans have little contact with Muslims as neighbors or co-workers, leading to distrust and misinformation. In today's war oriented environment, Muslim Americans are sometimes unfairly associated with Islamic Fundamentalist terrorists, and Muslim women, many of whom wear a head covering that identifies them as Muslim, experience anxiety when they receive hostile reactions in public.

Our mission at Boston Neighborhood Network is to promote understanding among Bostonians and to give all Boston residents and nonprofits an opportunity to let their voices be heard by producing television programs for cablecast on BNN’s Channels 9 and 23. We have many Muslim producers who are devoted to American ideals and produce their BNN programs in keeping with their First Amendment Rights. In honor of International Women’s Day, BNN has produced Muslim Women in America, a conversation among diverse Muslim women about their thoughts and experiences in America at this time in history.

The program was shot in the elegant Beacon Hill residence that houses the Ilex Foundation, an organization that promotes the study of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures. Dr. Olga Davidson, Chair of the Ilex Foundation Board of Trustees, an Islamic scholar and Associate Professor of Women’s Studies at Brandeis University, served as host and moderator. Her panel consisted of four Muslim women who discuss differences and similarities in their practice of a faith that claims one billion followers throughout the world. The panelists represent various ethnic groups.

Salwa Abd-Allah is an African American Muslim educator from Brockton who converted to Islam as an act of solidarity against American racism in the 1970s.
Dr. Wasmaa Chorbachi from Cambridge is an Iraqi immigrant with a PhD in Art History from Harvard University.
Ginan Rauf, with Egyptian and Bosnian parents, is a PhD student at Harvard in Comparative Literature.
Nazanin Mahallati grew up in Iran and has an MA in Nutrition.

The panel discusses various women's issues such as the financial rights of women, Muslim marriages, divorce, birth control practices, education, and hijab, or head covering. They also weigh in with their thoughts on a possible war with Iraq.

Nazanin, an Iranian American who has voluntarily worn the hijab since the age of eight, tells how she stayed at home for three days after 9-11 because of fear. When she ventured out she found well-meaning, protective non-Muslim neighbors concerned for her welfare. This experience was duplicated for Salwa who also found new offers of friendship and protection both at the Catholic hospital where she works, and in the Brockton community where she lives.

We invite you to watch Muslim Women in America on BNN Channel 9, our News and Information Channel, at 9:00pm on March 29 and 30, and April 5 and 6 to hear Muslim women dispel some myths about Islam and educate us about their experience. We hope that by producing this program for Boston’s cable television viewers, we are helping to create a deeper understanding of our neighbors. That after all, is BNN's primary mission.

This story with accompanying photographs (with photo releases) can be found in the Press Room at www.bnntv.org

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