Even though Morgan Hill Access TV (MHAT) is an electronic medium that uses video and audio to present information and ideas to the public on cable channel 19 in Morgan Hill, the volunteers at the station also wish to promote the joy of reading books. Through a partnership with the Morgan Hill Public Library, in 2012 we will participate in the Silicon Valley Reads program.
On the evening of March 10, MHAT-19 volunteer Marty Cheek will interview Sumbul Ali-Karamali, the author of “The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and That Veil Thing” in front of an audience in the Morgan Hill Library’s program room. We plan to record this discussion and broadcast it on TV as well as on the Internet at a later date. The Morgan Hill Times will be the media sponsor of this program.
The Silicon Valley Reads program started in 10 years ago to encourage residents of Santa Clara County to join together and read the same book at the same time and then have a public discussion about the book. The program is organized by the Santa Clara County office of education, the Santa Clara County Library system, and the San Jose Public Library Foundation. This year, Silicon Valley Reads chose two books. Besides “The Muslim Next Door,” the program will also include “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson.
The Silicon Valley Reads program is a powerful way to get people in the South Bay region to join together in lively open dialogue on the often heated issue of the Islamic religion and how the faith impacts all our lives. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have developed an interest in the religion of Islam and the people who are believers in the faith. Islam impacts us in our own South Valley region, with the concerns expressed recently by some residents about the proposed construction of a mosque in San Martin. The two books picked for the Silicon Valley Reads 2012 program will most certainly lead to much dynamic dialogue that will better inform the South Valley public about Muslim Americans and their values and religious practices.
Ali-Karamali holds a graduate degree in Islamic law and grew up as a practicing Muslim in Southern California. She said in the Silicon Valley Reads website that she wrote her book to address questions she has been asked all her life about Islam and being a Muslim in America.
“My goal was to write a readable, engaging introduction to Islam that was also academically reliable,” she said. “Our world is getting increasingly smaller, and we can no longer afford a lack of intercultural understanding.”
Wilson wrote “The Butterfly Mosque” to promote a dynamic dialogue about Islam.
“The topic of Islam is loaded with emotional and political baggage, and only through open and honest communication can Muslims and non-Muslims come to a better understanding of one another,” she said on the Silicon Valley Reads website.
Cheek, who writes The Big Picture column published in this newspaper, said he looks forward to his discussion at the library with Ali-Karamali about “The Muslim Next Door.” He said he felt honored when Jeff Grubb, the supervising librarian in adult and teen services at the Morgan Hill Library, asked him to lead the discussion.
“Islam is a fascinating faith that abounds with a rich diversity of cultures all over the world,” he said. “Many Americans have very little idea of the great benefits that Muslims have brought to America and the rest of the world. Our lives today are shaped by the Muslims many centuries ago who developed the sciences of optics, medicine and astronomy, and developed mathematical concepts such as algebra and advanced geometry. We can see the impact here in our Silicon Valley region where many computer and Internet entrepreneurs and engineers and successful business people are followers of Islam.”
The 2012 Silicon Valley Reads program will launch Jan. 25 at the Heritage Theatre in Campbell. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. and the program will start at 7:30 p.m.
For more information about this year’s Silicon Valley Reads program, please visit www.siliconvalleyreads.org.
