Oral historian Zaheer Ali recently launched Muslims in Brooklyn which features 50 interviews with local Muslims. “Brooklyn is a gathering place for Muslims from all over the world,” remarks Mr. Ali, founder of The Brooklyn Historical Society. “This project reinforced the multidimensionality of these communities, that we should not collapse or flatten the experiences of Muslims.”
The participants come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds (including African-American, Yemeni, Palestinian, Moroccan, Kashmiri, Bangladeshi, Tatar, Haitian and Puerto Rican), and range from 24 to 74 years of age. They cross the spectrum from unobservant to conservative Muslim (and those in between), and work in various occupations including entrepreneurs, community organizers, clerics, medical professionals, homemakers, business owners, laborers, educators, musicians, and artists.
