Preacher Moss is considered the “Godfather of Muslim Comedy.” He’s the founder of the groundbreaking comedy project, “Allah Made Me Funny,’ The Official Muslim Comedy Tour. Many of the present day Muslim comedians like Mo Amer, Hassan Minhaj, Ramy Youssef , and the like enjoy mainstream success, because in many opinions, “Preacher Moss blazed a path for them.” Says Preacher Moss, “ I’m only great because others wanted to see me be great. I simply did the same when I could. Allah is God Keep It Simple”
However in 2019, Preacher Moss faced the hard facts - the great American narrative of Muslim Americans consistently leaves out stories of Black Muslims and the art the compels their very existence. “They either embrace Malcolm after Hajj (read: after leaving the Nation of Islam) or pick it up rejecting Louis Farrakhan in today's terms,” he says. The pathways for a “Preacher Moss” in today’s marketplace are few and far between. These are simply the facts.
Understanding these facts, Preacher Moss has to embrace the hard realism that authenticity for most intensive purposes lays between the parameters of current anti-Muslim racism or anti-immigrant racism. This is where dominant culture seeks to see Black Muslim identity and authenticity express itself. What is the solution?
The answer is that you go back to your roots, your history, and your voice, and teach. Preacher Moss embraces the idea of the “unconventional” and takes it to dimensions never thought before. Inspired by tradition of jazz great, John Coltrane, and his epic musical work, “Love Supreme,” Preacher Moss reclaims, and carves out a new space for not just Black Muslim identity, and narrative. He carves it out for everyone. In a one-in-a-lifetime presentation, Preacher Moss takes you the intersection of indigenous narratives of jazz, comedy, and spirituality in his comedy opus, “Love Supreme: An Anatomy of Gratitude.”
In this student-produced mini-documentary, Richard Wright students provide historical reference and insight into the process of acquisition, digitization, and conservation of the Library of Congress' most recent acquisition, "The Life of Omar Ibn Said," the only known autobiography still in exist...
Zahra must go to work with her father, Hafeez the Oil Man, during the week because the family can’t afford camp.
Zahra is a very brainy, quick witted and driven 10 year old filled with curiosity. Full of ideas, she wants to help her father’s struggling business, selling Muslim oils, soaps, and i...
Over 500 years ago, driven out by the Spanish Inquisition, Ismael Diadié's ancestors left Al-Andalus for Timbuktu. In 2012, Ansar al Din salafist fighters and their al Qaeda allies threatened to destroy the 500-year-old ancient Islamic library belonging to Diadié and his ancestors, which they had...