About Freedom School Sapelo Square’s Freedom School was birthed in the summer of 2020 during the age of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. The curriculum offers participants the rare opportunity to learn from Black Muslim professors and receive firsthand scholarship that would otherwise be inaccessible. This opportunity empowers individuals with the knowledge and thought leadership that propels students to build power for long term social change and resistance. At the end of each session, students complete a project that bridges the gap between classroom and the real world.

Days & Times: Monday – Thursday 6-8pm EST

Dates: June 6th – June 30th

Registration Dates: Wednesday, May 25th – Monday, May 30th @ 11:59PM

Registration Link: http://bit.ly/SSFS2022

Class Descriptions:

Black Muslim Psychology

The unique vulnerabilities of being Black and Muslim in the United States are significant. However, in the face of anti-Black racism and anti-Muslim bigotry, Black Muslims often draw upon faith and deeply rooted spirituality, ancestral knowledge and cultural identities to strive towards restoring meaning, health and balance in their lives.  This class will center the voices and experiences of Black Muslims with respect to race, religion, trauma and healing.

Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Rashad is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Muslim Studies, beginning July 1 at the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS).  She is also the Founder and President of the Muslim Wellness Foundation (MWF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healing and emotional well-being in the American Muslim community through dialogue, education and training. Through MWF, Dr. Mu’Min Rashad established the annual Black Muslim Psychology Conference and the Deeply Rooted Emerging Leaders (DREL) Fellowship for Black Muslim young adults. Dr. Mu’Min Rashad is also the founding co-Director of the National Black Muslim COVID Coalition, an initiative launched in collaboration with Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative to address the need for effective planning, preparedness and organizing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enslaved Muslims in the New World

The exact number of enslaved African Muslims brought to the New World is unknown.  What is known is the historical documentation of their lives in the Americas, the Caribbean and South America, specifically Brazil.  This class will discuss the Enslaved Muslims in the New World by looking at clues in legal doctrines, writings by the enslaved, slaveholders’ documents, events and how they expressed cultural and religious traditions.

Dr. Tseleq Yusef is an Assistant Professor of History at Bethune Cookman University.  His research looks at the criminalization of race and how race is criminalized.  He has also researched the origins of Muslim communities in East-Central Illinois with specific attention given to intra-faith relationships and diversity as experienced by African-American Muslim males.

The Evolution of Black Muslim Communities

African Americans are around 20% of the total Muslim population in the United States. The term “Black Muslims,” originated by Dr. C. Eric Lincoln in 1956 referred specifically to the Nation of Islam.  Today Black Muslim is a term encompasses many expressions of what it means to be Black and Muslim.  This class will look at various Black Muslim communities and how they have evolved over time.

Dr. Aminah Al-Deen is professor emerita of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul University. In 2006 she founded the United States’ first undergraduate baccalaureate program in Islamic World Studies. She is the former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Islamic Law & Culture. Her book publications include: African American Islam, Questions of Faith, Transnational Muslims in America, Introduction to Islam in the 21st Century, Global Muslims in the 21st century, History of Arab Americans: Exploring Diverse Roots and Muslim Ethics in the 21st Century.  Dr. Al-Deen is a Senior Fulbright Scholar, an advisory board member of the Institute for Social and Policy Understanding (ISPU), board member of The American Islamic College, executive board member of IMAN (Inner City Muslim Action Network) and the American editor for the Muslim Minorities in the West Series for Brill Publishers. She is also an editor of Anthropology and Ethnology Open Access Journal.

Islamic Finance:Managing Your Money

This is an introductory class in Islamic finance, from its religious and legal origins and principles to its most advanced forms. The course looks at the underlying principles of Islamic finance through a study of its scriptural and jurisprudential origins and reviews most of its products such as Mud’raba, Mush’raka, Mur’baha, Project finance, Suk’k, Tak’ful, Ij’ra and equity mutual funds etc. The course will briefly examine today’s Islamic finance industry.

Dr. Babacar Mbengue teaches Islamic studies and history at DePaul University. He also teaches Islam and politics and international relations at Loyola University in Chicago. Having grown up Muslim in his native Senegal, Mbengue is a product of Muslim-Catholic dialogue in Africa. His early education and training was in Catholic institutions. Mbengue received a doctorate in Arabic and Islamic studies, graduating with distinction from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and has earned degrees from various institutions including Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and Cambridge University. He was a Fulbright scholar with residence at Loyola University in Chicago. Mbengue’s research include Islam in Africa, Islamic banking and finance, Islamic law of contract, Islam and politics, world history, and international relations.

Inaugural Freedom School Session

July 13, 2020 – August 8, 2020

2nd Session

June 14, 2021 – July 10, 2021.