Muslim Writers Collective
{{Short description|American non-profit organization}}{{Orphan|date=October 2023}}
Muslim Writers Collective (MWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting storytelling in the Muslim American community.{{cite web | url = http://www.muslimwriterscollective.org/ | title = Muslim Writers Collective | publisher = Muslim Writers Collective | access-date = October 21, 2023}} The organization holds monthly open mics across the country featuring spoken word, poetry, comedy, music, and other art forms.{{cite web |author=Chiaet, Julianne |date=October 12, 2014 |title=Defying Stereotypes, Young Muslim Writers Find Community |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/defying-stereotypes-young-muslim-writers-find-community-onstage |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Daily Beast}}{{cite web |author=Akbar, Ahmed Ali |date=December 16, 2014 |title=21 Kick-Ass Muslims Who Changed The Narrative In 2014 |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/ahmedaliakbar/kick-ass-muslims-of-2014 |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Buzzfeed}}{{cite web |author=Stahl, Aviva |date=February 22, 2016 |title=Reclaiming What It Means to Be Muslim, One Open Mic at a Time |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/reclaiming-what-it-means-to-be-muslim-one-open-mic-at-a-time/ |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Vice}}
History
The Collective was founded in 2014 by Hamdan Azhar and Ayisha Irfan in New York City.
MWC emerged from a heightened post-9/11 context and is composed predominantly of millennials who are either university age or young professionals and are the children of Brown and Black immigrant parents.{{cite thesis |last=Ali |first=Nadiya |date=April 2022 |title=Refusing Internment, Reclaiming Vitality, And Moving Past The Bargain Of Recognition: The Case Of A Muslim Creative Counterpublic |url=https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/93a5a4bc-20c7-4539-b9fc-ba24264ebd9d/content |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=York University |access-date=October 21, 2023}} According to a Vice magazine article published in 2016, "At a time when Islamophobia has reached new virulent and violent heights, MWC provides a space for young Muslims to honor their humanity."
MWC has held events in over a dozen cities in addition to New York, including Boston,{{cite web |author=Shenoy, Rupa |date=March 3, 2016 |title=Creating a Secular Space for Muslim American Storytelling |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2016-03-03/creating-a-secular-space-for-muslim-american-storytelling |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=WGBH}} Chicago,{{cite web |author=Reid, Kerry |date=August 29, 2019 |title=The Muslim Writers Collective pushes boundaries while building 'Empathy' |url=https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/the-muslim-writers-collective-pushes-boundaries-while-building-empathy |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Chicago Reader}} Dallas,{{cite web |author=Myong, Elizabeth |date=November 14, 2022 |title=New Dallas group lets Muslim writers hone their craft and make connections |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/books/2022/11/14/new-dallas-group-lets-muslim-writers-hone-their-craft-and-make-connections |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Dallas Morning News}} Oakland,{{cite web |title=Bay Area Muslim Writers Collective |url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/mwc.bay/ |access-date=October 21, 2023 |publisher=Bay Area Muslim Writers Collective}} Seattle,{{cite web |title=Muslim Writers Collective Seattle |url=https://www.facebook.com/muslimwritersseattle |access-date=October 21, 2023 |publisher=Muslim Writers Collective Seattle}} Washington, D.C.,{{cite web |author=Pukas, Anna |date=May 30, 2018 |title=Iftar at the White House: Trump's recipe for reconciliation in Ramadan |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1312116/world |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Arab News}} Toronto,{{cite web |author=Hakim, Shireen |date=November 12, 2018 |title=Do We Really Need More Creative Spaces For Muslim Women Writers? |url=https://muslimgirl.com/do-we-really-need-more-creative-spaces-for-muslim-women-writers |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=Muslim Girl}} and Lahore,{{cite web |author=Ahmed, R Umaima |date=May 1, 2016 |title='Pakistan is a lot more than these negative stories we read' |url=https://www.nation.com.pk/01-May-2016/pakistanis-are-a-lot-more-than-these-negative-stories-we-read |access-date=October 21, 2023 |work=The Nation (Pakistan)}} routinely drawing hundreds of attendees.
Themes
Notables
- Shahana Hanif, who became the first Muslim woman elected to New York City Council in 2022, started performing at MWC in 2014 and later served as an organizer and MC with the organization.{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/29/young-muslim-leaders-who-were-shaped-by-911 | title = 'You can't make us be foreign': young Muslim leaders who were shaped by 9/11 | work = The Guardian | author = Hackman, Rose | date = September 29, 2015 | access-date = October 21, 2023}}
- Amani al-Khatahtbeh{{cite web | url = https://www.facebook.com/muslimwriterscollective/videos/1818776498365181 | title = Amani | publisher = Muslim Writers Collective | date = September 26, 2016 | access-date = October 21, 2023}}
- James Yee.{{cite web | url = https://www.facebook.com/muslimwriterscollective/videos/536100780280718 | title = James Yusuf Yee at Muslim Writers Collective | publisher = Muslim Writers Collective | date = November 25, 2019 | access-date = October 21, 2023}}