Dixie Forum: A Window to the World

Dixie State University's "Dixie Forum: A Window on the World" series is partnering with Muslim Journeys, a festival of films, discussions and art displays, to present a special forum that recognizes the beginning of Al Hijra, also known as the Islamic New Year.

The journey begins Tuesday, Oct. 28, with a special lecture by Dr. Kathleen Herndon, chairwoman of the English Department at Weber State University. Herndon, who has lived in Isfahan, Iran, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will present "Middle Eastern Women Writers: An Overview." 

Muslim Journeys, Jointly sponsored by the Utah Humanities Council and Dixie State University, will also include free film screenings at 7 p.m. each day of Al Hijra in the DSU Eccles Fine Arts Center Concert Hall.

On the first evening of the festival, Tuesday, Oct. 28, "Prince Among Slaves," a documentary about an enslaved man who made the remarkable claim that he was an African prince, will be shown. The film follows the life of Abdul Rahman, who was taken by slave ship to Natchez, Miss., in 1788 when he was 26 years old. During his enslavement, he toiled on the Foster plantation, married and fathered nine children before his claim was validated and he was set free. The film will be followed by a discussion featuring Herndon and Rev. Dr. Joel A. Lewis, chairman of DSU's Department of History and Political Science.

The next evening, Wednesday, Oct. 29, the festival will screen "Koran by Heart," in which a 10-year-old scholar earns a place in the Islamic world's oldest Koran memorization contest. Scheduled during Ramadan, the two-week contest is both grueling and exhilarating. The competitors adhere to the practice of daytime fasting prescribed for the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, and the rounds sometimes go well past midnight. This film will be followed by a discussion led by DSU Visiting Professor Shadman Bashir.

Closing Muslim Journeys, "Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World" will play Thursday, Oct. 30. This film explores Islamic art, from ornamental palaces and monumental mosques to exquisite ceramics, carved boxes paintings and metal work. The film also examines the unique ways in which Islamic art turns calligraphy and the written word into masterpieces and develops water into an expressive art form. Following the film, Andrew Kosorok will lead a discussion about the documentary and its subject matter.

Also as part of the festival, special art exhibits will be on display at the Eccles Fine Arts Center. Andrew Kosorok's glass sculpture exhibit interpreting the 99 names of God in Islam will be featured in the center's Sears Art Museum Gallery. Sculptures and paintings by Pakistani artist and DSU Adjunct Professor of Art Shazad Sheikh as well as photography of Islamic art, architecture and culture from photographer Tonezee's world travels will be on display in the Grand Foyer. Additionally, the DSU library is participating in the festival by featuring books from the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf Series.

For more information on Dixie State University's Dixie Forum series, please contact DSU Forum coordinator John Burns at 435-879-4712 or burns@dixie.edu or visit www.dixie.edu/humanities/dixie_forum.php. For more information about Muslim Journeys, contact Christina Schultz, vice president of institution advancement, at 435-652-7542 or schultz@dixie.edu.