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Temple 25 Project
This new book explores Temple 25 and the Nation of Islam (NOI) in Newark, New Jersey between 1955 and 1975. It was a time when the 1960s Civil Rights and Black Power movements were in full force, the Vietnam War was raging, and the country soon embarked upon a “Me Decade,” shifting public interest away from political marches and moving many Americans toward self-help remedies. During this period, the...
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Black Mecca
In 1999, a media blitz covering the police killing of Amadou Diallo—an innocent victim mistaken for a Black serial rapist—revealed that he was a member of an emerging West African Islamic community. It was the first time New Yorkers were exposed to their West African neighbors. While early African migration to the US was primarily Christian and English-speaking, many of today’s immigrants...
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Selected Articles
The selected writings here range from my scholarly work to popular pieces to my published news articles. This section will also include some Op Ed pieces, short stories, essays, memoir writing and other choice tidbits. For many of these writings, you will be able to click on the title and access them as PDF documents. For others, the citation information will be available and can typically be found by...
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About Zain
“A scholar of religion and world cultures tells gripping stories about our changing world, our challenges, our triumphs and what it means when people are flung together from far-away places.” Dr. Zain Abdullah is an internationally recognized scholar, writer, public speaker, and consultant on Islam, religion and society, global diversity, and intergroup relations. His latest book, Black Mecca: The...
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Photography
As a resource in writing, well-placed photographs combine thought and emotion in ways that make the reading of a text surreal. I was commissioned to conduct a photo-shoot for the book, Design Criteria for Mosques and Islamic Centers: Art, Architecture, and Worship by Akel Kahera, Latif Abdulmalik, and Craig Anz. Five of my photographs of masjids and religious life in New York were published in this...
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Film
While I primarily see myself as a writer, filmmaking remains a major way for me to disseminate new ideas to audiences around the world. I have completed work on two documentary films. The first is Dollars and Dreams: West Africans in New York (2007), directed by Jeremy Rocklin and co-produced by Abdel Kader Ouedraogo. I was featured in the film and later joined as editorial adviser. My role as editor...
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Speaking & Events
As a teacher, scholar, and community activist, I maintain an ongoing and varied speaking schedule. In addition to giving talks at colleges and universities, I am invited to speak at many other venues including churches, masjids (mosques), seminaries and theological colleges, conferences, public schools, centers for the performing arts, and even cafes. So, I’m clearly interested in engaging people across...
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Purchase The Book
Black Mecca: The African Muslims of Harlem
"…Black Mecca is electrifying.”
Aminah McCloud, DePaul University
"…a revelatory book.”
Paul Stoller, award-winning author
“Highly Recommended.”
CHOICE
"Brilliantly subtle..."
Sociology of Religion
"Compelling and readable..."
American Anthropologist
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