A Film On The Muslim Experience: "Journey Into America"

July 20, 2009 by craigconsidine

What has the Muslim experience been like in the US since 9-11?  Ambassador Akbar Ahmed and his team of young researchers, of which I’m one, sought to unfold this question on their recent journey throughout America.  We traveled to over 75 cities, over 100 mosques, and met with thousands of Americans from all walks of life in just less than nine months.  At the beginning of our travels, we realized that to understand Muslims in America, we first had to understand American identity.  So we spoke with Americans of all faiths and backgrounds.  We met with Noam Chomsky at MIT, with Jesse Jackson in Chicago and with Sheikh Hamza Yusuf in San Francisco.

For me personally, it was not just a physical journey.  It was also a spiritual journey and a test to take on a new task: film director.  Resulting from this journey is our film documentary Journey into America.  It was launched at the annual ISNA convention at the Washington DC Convention Center on the 4th of July.  Following the premiere was a panel discussion that included Ambassador Ahmed, TV show host Riz Khan of Al-Jazeera English, Dr. Ingrid Matteson of ISNA, Imam Magid of the ADAMS Center in Virginia, and Senior Rabbi Bruce Lustig of the Washington Hebrew Congregation.

This unprecedented study may prove to be a landmark representation of the Muslim lifestyle and experience in post 9-11 America.  We met with Somalian-Americans that were fired for seeking prayer time during Ramadan in Grand Island, Nebraska, we spoke with an African American Imam in ‘the city of Sin’ Las Vegas that focuses his work on sustaining a health clinic for the needy, and we visited a community that practically disappeared after 9-11 in ‘Little Pakistan’ New York City.    The film is filled with emotions, suspense, and drama.  It tells the story of Ambassador Ahmed as an ‘outsider’ and an anthropologist looking at America and highlights the personal journeys of his five other team members. 

In light of the premiere, the film has already received much acclaim and notoriety around the country.  Prominent media figure John Milewski gave "Journey into America" a rave film review in The Huffington Post. He noted ‘The film is one of the byproducts of a remarkable nine-month, 75-city exploration of America conducted by the brilliant anthropologist and Islamic scholar, Akbar Ahmed, and his outstanding team of former students. The film portrays the experiences of Muslim-Americans. It does that, but also ends up doing much more since it has a lot to say about the American experience beyond that of any one hyphenated group. The Muslim-America revealed in the film, provides much food for thought about how we think about any designated group of Americans and in this case, Muslim-Americans…The so-called, Muslim world the film uncovers is not some exotic locale a world away but is instead a place you can find right outside your door’.

What better day to have launched a film documentary on American identity than the 4th of July?  The headline of the convention was “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  These famous words are those of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father who once held a Qu’ran at his library at Monticello.  His vision of America highlighted the fundamental values of pluralism, openness and cultural integration.  Muslims in America today, in the wake of 9-11, have experienced challenges in America, but they have also contributed significantly to the diverse social fabric that is America.  Journey into America gives a unique glimpse into the life of the American Muslim and revisits the question “what does it mean to be American?”  It shows that our identity as Americans lies not in our differences, but our similarities outlined in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Follow our blog  and our youtube channel.