The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

July was a busy month. Moving and getting settled in. Making new connections and traveling. But busy is good. I hope that August will prove to be just as busy if not more so, in sha’ Allah.

I attended the Annual Educational Banquet, presented by the United Muslim Movement, this past Saturday, the 30th of July. Soon-to-be Dr. Amir Al-Islam was the guest speaker. He is presently the Distinguished Lecturer of African-Americn History and World Civilization at Medgar Evers College (CUNY) in Brooklyn, New York. It was a real pleasure to make his aquaintance. He’s a very kind, soft spoken man who carries with him a dignity and compassion for people in general, Muslim or non-Muslim. Amongst his other activities includes being the Director of the Joint African/African-American Muslim Commission on HIV/AIDS and Orphaned Children. He is the former Secretary General of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, USA, an international interfaith organization affiliated with the United Nations.

Besides that I have a few things cooking on the burner. I also have some updates to post regarding Professor Jackson’s book, Islam and the Blackamerican. Hang tight. I’ll post more soon.

Thanks for the pictures, Käri. I’m glad that you, Pete and myself had a chance to hang out before I left. I can’t believe that I left, in a way. I also can’t believe that I went back, either. But, anyway, thanks for the pics. I’ll talk to you guys soon. (Damn, I’m tall!…)

I made it down to the masjid on 15th Street and Catharine this evening. I remember when I came here in June of 2002, I was really impressed as to how Islam had penetrated the Black community here. I mean, these folks are really Muslim. And even for those who aren’t Muslim you can see how familiar they are with it. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. So tonight, I sat with a man who works for Kenny Gamble’s Universal Companies. We sat and talked about how Islam has come through the community. He’s originally from New York, Harlem. As a child he saw Malcolm X speaking on a soap box in Harlem. He was there when Father Divine and that whole lot were there. The Nation of Islam. The Dar al-Islam movement. We talked of the many movements that have come and gone through the Black community. It tied together wonderfully with many of the things I’ve been reading in Professor Jackson’s book, Islam and the Blackamerican. I like the down-home feeling that that place has. I look forward to many more evening chats down there.

Ya Rabb!! What a long day! Two and a half hours down to O’Hare. Two and a half ours back to Madison. Two hours to load up. Two and a half hours back down to Chicago. Two and a half hours to get through Chicago. Four hours from Chicago to my parent’s place. Is that not enough punishment for one day? Crazy…

I just got in from spending my last night in Madison - again. It’s weird since this’ll be the second time I’ve left Madison. I won’t take a lot of time right now to reflect on what Madison’s meant to me, if anything. Rather, it’s the people here that I leave behind that mean something. Julia, Pete, Nick, Käri, Ladwig, Michael. Adem, Aaron, Leah, Sarah, JW. And in a way, Charles, although you’re still in Europe. I would also like to say thank you to Michael Moore. Though I am still wounded by what happened between us I do thank you for supporting me, helping and giving me shelter when I needed it. Perhaps we can patch that bumpy road some day. Read more this entry »

I have been packing and getting stuff ready to load in the rental car. I thought maybe I’d snap a few of myself. I haven’t been in this place for long but I thought I should at least document my time here.

I spent most of Saturday boxing stuff up and throwing crap out. The nice thing about living in a student-populated area is that if you set anything out on the curb, someone’ll take it within an hour or so. I hope to have everything cleaned up shortly.

JW and Terry treated me to pizza this Sunday. Oh, for that matter, so did Coleman. We chilled and watched a short film on Illinois Jaquette. It’s things like this that remind me that coming to Wisconsin was not a waste of time in my life. I met some great people here in Madison. People I will still keep as good friends long after I’m gone.