From Allah We Come and to Allah We Are All Returning

Dear everyone,
Alberta Akbar returned to Allah just hours ago. Her janaza (Islamic funeral prayer) will be held on Saturday, December 29th at 9am at Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah. Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifa is located at 120 Madison Street Brooklyn, NY 11216.
I am saddened by Alberta's death, but death is the one certain event in all of our lives. When a Muslim dies we are saddened because we will miss their physical form, but happy that their spirit has been released from its physical restriction forever, and they will be meeting their Beloved. We are also prayerful that their Creator is pleased with them. This is why it is important that many people attend their janaza and pray for their safe passage into the next life.

Wire Tap reviews As the Veil Turns artist talk

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Friday, Dec. 7th 6-8pm: As the Veil Turns artist talk and video presentation

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The Gallery at Harriet's Alter Ego proudly presents...

As the Veil Turns: An Artists Talk and Video Presentation with Nsenga Knight

Moderated by Eisa Nefertari Ulen

DATE: Friday, December 7th, 2007

TIME: 6-8pm

RSVP: http://astheveilturns-artisttalk.eventbrite.com/

The Gallery at Harriet's Alter Ego

293 Flatbush Avenue

(between Prospect Place and St. Marks Place)

Brooklyn, New York 11217
astheveilturns.blogspot.com

(718) 783-2074 - www.harrietsalteregoonline.com

Contact: Laylah@harrietsalteregoonline.com

Please join us for an evening with featured artist, Nsenga Knight, as she discusses her latest exhibition, As the Veil Turns: Female Pioneers of the American Muslim Community, with long-time journalist and novelist, Eisa Nefertari Ulen. There will also be a video presentation of As the Veil Turns, followed by a question and answer session.

About As the Veil Turns

Through photography, video, and oral history Nsenga Knight explores the spiritual and community lives of Black women who converted to Islam prior to 1975 and pioneered Brooklyn's oldest Muslim communities. As an interactive exhibition, As the Veil Turns grants its viewers access to the layered and historical, first hand accounts of these pioneering women.

About the Artist

Nsenga A. Knight earned a BA in Film from Howard University. As a lens-based artist, Nsenga's work oftentimes explores the ways people of African descent define and express themselves through the lens of Islam. Her work is introspective, and deals with personal realization, giving importance to ideas and images that are not usually given representation through any artistic medium. She has received grants from the Puffin Foundation LTD, Brooklyn Arts Council, New York State Council on the Arts Re-grant, and BAC NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Re-grant in support of her current work, As the Veil Turns ( http://www.astheveilturns.blogspot.com). She is a founding member of the She Shootin' Photography Collective. Last year She Shootin' Photography Collective was awarded with the Brooklyn Historical Society Public Perspectives Award and Lily Auchincloss Foundation grant. She has exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival, Yale University Critical Islamic Reflections, Art Gotham in Chelsea, and the Brooklyn Public Library . She has held artist residencies at Film/ Video Arts and Working Playground, and is currently a BCAT/ Rotunda Gallery Multimedia Artist in Residence.

About the Moderator

Eisa Nefertari Ulen teaches English at Hunter College in New York City, and her essays have been widely anthologized. Nominated by Essence magazine for a National Association of Black Journalists Award, she has contributed to numerous other publications, including The Washington Post, Ms., Health, and CreativeNonfiction.org. She is the recipient of a Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center Fellowship for Young African American Fiction Writers and a Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship. Eisa graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and earned a master's degree from Columbia University. She lives with her husband in Brooklyn. Her latest novel, Crystelle Mourning, is available at major bookstores.

As the Veil Turns: Female Pioneers of the American Muslim Community will be on view until December 31st, 2007.

Directions to The Gallery at Harriet's Alter Ego: Subway: 2 and 3 trains to Bergen and B or Q trains to 7th avenue.

Admission to the gallery is free open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 12-8pm and Sundays 12-6pm.

Thinking about Alberta

It's 1:26am. I'm here, at my home/ studio where I did much of the shooting for As the Veil Turns. I'm in a very contemplative, somber mood. I was in a class today about Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the man whom all the women in As the Veil Turns attest to as the the last messenger of God. During the class I got two phone calls, one from sister Maryam (who was interviewed and photographed for As the Veil Turns) and from another older sister in the community. I waited until after the class to listen to the two messages. Listening to the messages, I was filled with a sense of fear and sadness at the same time, "sister Alberta is in the hospital and gravely ill," said one message. Even as I am writing this, I'm shivering, just hoping that I can see her again. I called the sisters back to see what the message was all about, where sister Alberta is, and how I can see her. The news; Alberta is in a coma. It was almost 7pm and the hospital would stop visiting hours at 8pm. After my tears and information gathering, I left Manhattan to head back to Brooklyn to visit Alberta in the hospital. On my way in I see a family on there way out. Something told me they had been to see Alberta. The man walking through the hallway opens up a newspaper and looks at me, showing me the Daily news article about As the Veil Turns. You may not know this, but in my photo, it is Alberta's photo in the background. The man showing me the article is John, Alberta's son, whom she spoke so fondly of to me.
We meet and he offers to take me up to see Alberta. She is in a coma, paralyzed, not looking good in health. She had a 2nd major stroke. I talk to Alberta and pray for her. John keeps telling me how excited she was to be going to see As the Veil Turns, how she wouldn't allow him to take her because she knew I would. I had her on my mind so much and I was planning to call her to make arrangements to go to the show as soon as I got home.
The last time I was in a hospital was last year when Aliyah was on her deathbed. Standing there, next to sister Alberta in a coma, she looks just like Aliyah did last year when I visited her in the hospital.
John told me, 'I'm so glad you had the foresight, because we can't just let people go like that.' I can't. I'm still here just thinking... what a jewel. I stood there also thinking about how blessed I am to have met Alberta and how happy I am to know her and to share with her. She became like a friend to me. There is something I just like about sister Alberta so much. I just pray that whenever she goes, that she has completed her job here and that her Lord is pleased with her. I told Alberta that she will know all about the exhibition, even if I won't have the opportunity to take her there. I hope that when you see Alberta's photo, hear her interview, or watch her video, you pray for her and think well of her, knowing that you also have benefited from who she was. When I say that As the Veil Turns is really important for me to do and really urgent, well,yesterday was just another reminder to me. I'm so appreciative of the two sisters who called me to give me the opportunity to greet my sister Alberta with peace. It's 2:05 now. I ought to go to bed. Alberta was the first older sister I interviewed for As the Veil Turns. I never know the full significance of the situations I'm in or the people I meet. I followed my inspiration and it led me to Alberta. She is still with us right now. I hope to visit her again today.

Aliyah: An Evolutionary Process...

Aliyah Abdul Karim was an artist, activist, educator, mother, pioneer, and friend to many. When she passed last year, I felt the urgency to begin As the Veil Turns. In this video, her daughters Majida Abdul Karim (right) and Aisha Abdul Karim discuss her evolutionary process.

From "Return to Innocence: The Transitioning of the Nation of Islam"

On November 20th I posted a historic, and in my opinion, eerie photograph of Elijah Muhammed and his son, then young Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (refer to the post entitled "Transition" ). In the photo there is also large photo of Fard Muhammad in the background. The above speech made by Warith Deen Mohammed is the first in a series of postings on this blog related to WD Mohammed and his accounts on the transitioning of the Nation of Islam to Sunni Islam. This excerpt is from a speech given by Imam WD Muhammed entitled "Return to Innocence".

Daily News article on As the Veil Turns today/ 90.3 FM interview tonight

Peace everyone,
Check out this article in the Daily News today about As the Veil Turns and I. It's still on news stands so get your copy today. Also, I was on WHCR/ 90.3 FM at 7:15pm today (God-willing) discussing the exhibition. Everyone can listen to the interview on www.whcr.org
Here's the link for the Daily News article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2007/11/23/2007-11-23_spotlight_on_city_people_oral_histories_.html

Tomorrow, I'll be on news 12 inshaAllah. That's for the BK folks, but, I'll post the video on here as soon as I get it.

-Nsenga

As the Veil Turns and I are featured in the Daily News this Friday 11/23/07

Yesterday I interviewed for the Daily News concerning As the Veil Turns. The article will be a feature article in the Daily News tomorrow (God Wiling) and in the Brooklyn Section of the paper. Check it out! I intend to scan a copy of the article and post it here as soon as I get it.

Thank You!!!

Thank you to everyone who came out and partook in As the Veil Turns this past Sunday. It was great seeing so many of you and sharing the afternoon with you all. I am still collecting photos from those who took them that afternoon and I'll post them on the blog soon.

Bean Pies for everyone!!!

As salaam alaikum/ Peace to everyone,

I look forward to sharing As the Veil Turns with everyone today inshaAllah.
We will be serving bean pie as a special thankyou
... its sunnah.

-Nsenga

WBAI Interview

Today I discussed As the Veil Turns on WBAI from 7:30- 8pm. If you missed it, or would just like to hear the interview again, here's the link (go to the middle of the audio to go directly to the As the Veil Turns interview):

feed://archive.wbai.org/files/xml/tahrir.xml

As the Veil Turns on WBAI 99.5 FM Tuesday, Nov 13th at 7:30pm

I hope you all are well. InshaAllah, I'll be discussing As the Veil Turns with radio host Sarah Malaika on WBAI (that's 99.5 FM) this Tuesday, Novemeber 13th at 7:30 pm so please tune in. This will also be an opportunity to listen to some of the oral history that will be presented as part of the exhibition starting Sunday, November 18th (I'm really looking forward to seeing you then).

Visit this blog regularly. The blog is updated daily with information related to the project including photographs, video, articles, and other As the Veil Turns related documents (historical and contemporary). Once the exhibition is up I'll be presenting images from the actual show online as well. astheveilturns.blogspot.com is especially designed to reach out to those of us who will not be able to be in the New York area during the exhibition....I didn't forget about y'all.

Also, on Friday, November 16th, I will be discussing As the Veil Turns at the United Nations as part of the Science, Art, and Metaphysics conference. The topic: "How can we use art to inspire people to understand themselves more profoundly and consequentially contribute to global harmony and balance." To learn more about the conference, or to attend, please visit www.sciartmet.com If you would like to attend, mention my name and your registration cost will be half of the regular price.

-Nsenga

What do Muslims believe?

Glossary of arabic terms in this document (in order of appearance):

Allah: this word has no corresponding word in English but is closely translated to mean "The God" and is the proper name for the only Supreme Being who exists by Himself.
Rabb: Lord
Rasool: A Prophet who is given the Book of revealations and Islamic law, and is selected by Allah to pass on his message and be a model for a particular nation.
Sunnah: Tradition (particularly as it relates to the actions of Prophet Muhammed which are in accordance to the commandements of Allah).

Transition

Alberta Beginnings

First As the Veil Turns session at Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah

June 3rd, 2007 session with Sister Alberta.... MashaAllah!... a beautiful, wise woman. She was the first sister I interviewed and photographed for As the Veil Turns. The interview took place at Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah located at 120 Madison Street in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, NY. This mosque was established by the then Minister Malcolm X in the 1950's and was Temple 7C as part of the nation of Islam under Elijah Muhammed's leadership. Elijah Muhammed died in 1975 and under the leadership of his son Imam Warith Deen Muhammed, Temple 7C became Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah and was ushered into the practice of traditional Islam. Sister Alberta has been attending this mosque since the 50s and experienced its entire transition. The community is constantly progressing and I love this mosque and that's why I decided to start As the Veil Turns here. I feel like I am living in the richness of this mosques history and truly feel at home in this space (you see what the Imam let me do... ;)).

More about Sister Alberta in the next post.....

Invitation to As the Veil Turns Harriet's Alter Ego Exhibition

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Ngozi Odita, (718) 783-2074, Vodita@aol.com
or Laylah Barrayn at (646) 573-2422, LaylahBarrayn@gmail.com

As The Veil Turns: Female Pioneers of the American Muslim Community
On View: November 18 – December 31, 2007
Opening Reception Sunday, November 18, 2007, 3-6pm
Artist Talk (with video presentation) Friday, December 7, 2007, 6-8pm



Brooklyn, New York, November 2007 - The Gallery at Harriet's Alter Ego is proud to present As The Veil Turns: Female Pioneers of the American Muslim Community. Through Photography, video and oral history, Brooklyn-based artist Nsenga Knight explores the spiritual and community lives of Black women who converted to Islam prior to 1975 and pioneered Brooklyn’s oldest Muslim communities.

On February 25, 1975 Nation of Islam founding leader Elijah Mohammed died. The day after his death, his favorite son, Warith Deen Mohammed rose to power as the new leader and led his flock on a dramatic new journey toward orthodox Sunni Islam. Under his leadership, the world witnessed the largest mass conversion in the United States. “The women in As the Veil Turns experienced this great transition and unification of ideologies,” notes Nsenga.

The popular perception of the African American religious experience is that of Christianity. Outside of the Christian religious tradition, many associate the Islam of African Americans with the Black Nationalism philosophies of the Nation of Islam, an alternative religious/political identity of African Americans. “I believe the Nation of Islam was more popular (than Sunni Islam) at the time because it very much aligned with what was going on in the Black community, Black people fighting for Civil and Human Rights.” The women documented in As The Veil Turns were both members of the Nation of Islam and practitioners of Sunni Islam. “The reason why it's so important to know about the experiences of women who were never in the Nation of Islam is because by learning about them, you learn about the complexities of the Black community at that time and more specifically the complexities of the Muslim community at that time.”

Reared in the indigenous Muslim communities of Brooklyn, Nsenga has experienced the transition, expansion and diversity of the Muslim community here in New York City. In 2006, Nsenga attended funeral of activist, educator and community pioneer, Aliyah Abdul-Karim. On her way to Aliyah’s burial she rode in a car of Muslim women 50 and older; Nsenga found herself in the middle of conversations and invaluable recollections of the emerging Brooklyn Muslim community from nearly 60 years ago. “When I was a film student at Howard University, my goal was to tell stories about the indigenous American Muslim experience and this project is just a part of that.” Realizing that these elders had an amazing grasp of the history of the Muslim community in New York city, and that these women in her company may soon pass on, Nsenga became motivated to have them tell their stories through As the Veil Turns. “These women are such phenomenal and daring and giving women. They had a lot of courage and faith,” describes Nsenga.

As the Veil Turns will be on display at Harriet's Alter Ego from November 18th through December 31st 2007. View the project online at http://www.astheveilturns.blogspot.com

As the Veil Turns is sponsored in part by the greater New York Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural affairs administered by Brooklyn Arts Council incorporated (BAC). This project is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts. In Kings County the Decentralization program is administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council incorporated (BAC). Funding and support is also provided by Puffin Foundation Ltd. and the BCAT/ Rotunda Gallery Joint Multimedia Residency.

The Gallery at Harriet’s Alter Ego is located at 293 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11213. Subway: 2 and 3 trains to Bergen and B or Q trains to 7th avenue. Admission to the gallery is free open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-8pm and Sundays 12-6pm.