Celebrating African and African American Muslim History
Many of us are aware that there is too little emphasis and exploration spent on the rich history of Muslims, including the contributions of African Muslims and African American Muslims throughout history.
In order to address this gap in resources, ISLA launched a contest that invited Muslim middle schoolers to choose one African or African American Muslim who inspires them and create a powerpoint presentation with key facts and information about them. A rubric was created from which winning presentations were selected. Finally, we hosted an awards ceremony with special guest appearances from inspirational Muslims of African and African American descent.
We are so excited to share the winning presentations with you and encourage you to tap into these resources as you teach, learn, and deepen your understanding of the diverse and rich contributions of African Muslims and African American Muslims throughout history!
We hope you’ll make a small dua for the winners as you learn and grow from their invaluable work!
Muhammad Ali
Ahmad Nisar, 6th grade, Ilm Academy, GA
1st place
Ibtihaj Muhammad: An Impressive African American Muslim Woman
Aliza Zafar, 6th grade, Quba Islamic School, CA
2nd place
Sumayyah Bint Khayyat
Sakeena Maniar, 6th grade, Al-Rahmah School, MD
3rd place
Ilhan Omar
Juhi Naeema, 6th grade, Good Tree Academy, TX
4th place
Muhammad Ali ‘An American Boxer’
Ayaan Riaz, 6th grade, Engineering and Science University Magnet School
5th place
