American Creations

Connections, an audio documentary, focuses on contemporary Muslim culture in America from fashion to food to hip hop and opera as we look at the myriad ways contemporary Muslim culture has mixed and melded with American culture. Our dynamic host is Mariam Sobh, a Muslim journalist and stand-up comedian. The program, while often funny and…

Why We Wrote This Teachers often take their responsibilities beyond the subjects they’re expected to teach. In Ohio, Mona Al-Hayani developed a curriculum for human trafficking that raises awareness among adults and vulnerable young people. TOLEDO, Ohio When teacher Mona Al-Hayani looks at high school students, she sees possibilities. But after years of social justice…

Emtithal “Emi” Mahmoud is a world champion slam poet known for her vivid language and dedication to uplifting others. Memories of my childhood live/between the rings of sand around my ankles/ and the desert heat in my lungs. I still believe that nothing washes/worry from tired skin better than the Nile/and my grandma’s hands. Every…

The growing number of Latino Muslims in the U.S. say they share historic and cultural ties to Islam, the Arab world and the Spanish language. MIAMI – The smell of freshly made croquetas lingers in the air. The staff rush to complete orders while keeping cases stocked with hot pastries and desserts like the café’s…

BERKELEY — Given her family history, Salma Arastu may be one of the last people you’d expect to be helping to modernize Islamic calligraphy. Her Hindu parents fled their home in Pakistan, resettling in India during the nightmare of mob violence between Muslims and Hindus when the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947. Arastu…

When she faced harassment, Fauzia Lala couldn’t find training that would allow her to protect herself with both actions and words, so she founded her own self-defense school. Now, she helps dozens of other women. Fauzia Lala was sparring with a teenage member of her tae kwan do class a few years ago when she…

Some critics voice concerns they never act on. When Hoda Katebi couldn’t find the kind of fashion company she wanted to do business with, she created it herself. How is her vision of a humane workplace playing out? This is not the way Hoda Katebi set out to change the world. The daughter of Iranian…

The war in Aleppo, Syria, destroyed Safiya’s life. Her husband, son, mother, brothers and sisters were all killed in the war. Safiya managed to escape with her remaining four children to Jordan, where they lived for three years. Then, in 2016, the family made Chicago its new home. Despite the trauma of war and grief,…

A grassroots effort to learn more about Arab culture has developed into a larger community in three continents. NEW YORK – The topic might be the economics of making baklava or the history of pistachio farming; a Syrian poet, or what it would take to create an Arab luxury brand. On a chilly Sunday evening…

MEE speaks to Somali multimedia artist, Ifrah Mansour, about her play, ‘How to Have Fun in a Civil War’ and her work on intergenerational trauma Ifrah Mansour was five years old when civil war broke out in Somalia, in 1991. Her family had just returned to Mogadishu from Saudi Arabia, where she was born. An estimated 350,000 people died by…