The following is a link to a lecture [video] that Dr. Jackson gave at USC on January 21^st, 2010, entitled, “Muslims, Race and Racial Agnosia in America”. I highly recommend giving it a look, listen, and even a repeat listening. In particular, Sarah Gualtieri’s introduction was both quite moving as well as spot on as to why Dr. Jackson remains so critically important to the role of discussing and planning Islam in America.

“I first encountered Professor Jackson while I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago in the 1990’s. It was not unusual for excellent scholars to pass through the University of Chicago, and indeed, I attended many lectures by world renowned scholars and nobel laureates, and other geniuses. But Professor Jackson’s presentation is the only one I can remember having a profound impact on me intellectually.”

Lamppost Productions is featuring a special lecture on Dr. Jackson’s Islam & The Problem of Black Suffering [amazon link], taught by Dr. Sherman Jackson himself. The date is Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 9:00 am - 10:30 am PST/12:00 pm EST (USA). The cost of the lecture if $20. Registration opens December 23, 2009. For more information, see here.

American-Muslim Political Identity, Participation, and Alliances

The most recent national presidential election elicited – for obvious reasons – the highest level of political participation, interest, and media coverage in recent history, not only amongst the general public but also the American-Muslim community in particular. The election of President Obama to the White House comes with cautious optimism to many. What doors of opportunity does this election open for the Muslim community? Does the election facilitate local participation at a political and social level? Does it alleviate the challenges of allegiance to the global Muslim community while still maintaining a genuine national identity? Does the election of a democratic candidate solve the challenge of a presumed Muslim platform of moral conservatism and social liberalism?

The topics discussed at this year’s ALIM program will include: American Muslim political identity: Possibilities and Problems, Muslim allegiance between the global muslim community and local political priorities, social consciousness: universal moral concerns and regional action, American Muslim political schizophrenia: social conservatism versus human liberties amongst others.

The scholars on tap will be Dr. Ali Sulaiman Ali, Dr. Muneer Fareed, Dr. Abd al-Hakim Jackson, and Imam Mohamad Magid. The starting date is Sunday, July 19th, 2009, from 9am to 6pm [do try to be on time!]. The session will be held at the Science Lecture Hall, located on Madonna University’s campus in Livonia, Michigan. Registration fee is $25 per person (lunch included). For more information please contact the ALIM program at community@alimprogram.com, or brother Hammad Suhaib (313) 595-6851, or visit the ALIM Program’s web site.

May Allah make this year’s ALIM program a successful and beneficial one for this life and the next.

Amin.

Dr. Jackson will be one of many guest speakers at this year’s 3rd-annual CAMP Summit in Princeton, NJ, on May 2nd, 2009. Click here for registration and info.

Dr. Jackson’s seerah talk [A Perfect Message For Imperfect Times] at the ADAMS Center, in Herdon, Virginia, was quite a success. The attendence was decent and after speaking with a number of people who attended, they felt it was a highly productive and infomative two-day event. If you attended the talk and wanted notes, please contact the ADAMS Center for them.

The following was a khutbah via Halal Tube that Dr. Jackson gave at the Islamic Center of Long Island, New York, on Friday, April 3, 2009. Hat tip to MR.

Dr. Jackson will be delivering a talk at Ursinus College, Monday, March 23, 2009 at 7pm. The talk will be held in Musser Auditorium - Pfahler Hall. For more information, please email the contact person here.

Beyond Obsession
How Should We Respond to the Assault on Islam?

Before the 2008 Presidential election, 28 million copies of the DVD Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West were distributed in major newspapers to voters in swing states. As certain groups fan the flames of prejudice against Islam in America, Muslims must be able to collectively articulate a response that is balanced and effective. Please join us for a special presentation by Sherman Jackson and Zaid Shakir, two American Muslim scholars whose advice is well worth considering.

During the program, you will also learn how you can participate in the efforts of Zaytuna Institute to promote a better understanding of Islam in the West.

Sherman Jackson is a professor of Islamic Studies, Law, and Afro-American Studies at
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is the author of the acclaimed Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking toward the Third Resurrection (2005, Oxford University Press), and his Islam and the Problem of Black Suffering, is forthcoming in 2009.

Zaid Shakir is a resident scholar at Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California. He is a leading public voice on Islam in America and most recently published Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance (2008, NID Publishers), a translation and commentary of a classic early work on Islamic spirituality composed by Imam Harith al-Muhasibi (d. ah 243, Baghdad).

Where: Muslim Community of Western Suburbs, 40440 Palmer Rd., Canton, MI 48188
When: 7:30 pm (after Isha) | Thursday, December 4th

Sponsors: Zaytuna Institute www.zatuna.org and Muslim Community of Western Suburbs www.mcws.org

The 2008 ALIM Summer Program this year will be held at Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan. Dr. Jackson will be joined by scholars Dr. Ali Sulaiman Ali, Dr. Muneer Fareed, Dr. Sulayman Nyang and many others. This summer’s program is titled, “Think”. The program will be held from July 13th, 2008 through August 9th, 2008. For more information, visit ALIM’s web site.

In a talk delivered at Standford Univesity, Dr. Jackson discusses the realities of Shari’ah as they are contexualized here in America, especially in “Western” points of view in lieu of how Islam and Muslims are portrayed in the media and other various worldly happenings. The talk, entitled Laying Down the Shariah Law: Democracy or Theocracy?, is available on HalalTube. See a small write up here. Hat tip to MJ.