Exclusive!* Imam Zaid Shakir has been confirmed as the keynote speaker at the Cordoba Center Ramadan fundraising event: Feeding The Soul. This event is an annual fundraiser that the South Valley Islamic Center/Cordoba Center conducts during the month of Ramadan. Imam Zaid has blessed the small (but growing) community with his participation at the inaugural and second Feeding The Soul event. We** are ecstatic to have Imam Zaid and his wife, Umm Hassan, with us again this year for the 4th annual event.

Following last year’s tradition, the community plans to finish reciting the Quran during the nightly Tarawih prayers after the fundraiser.

Imam Zaid has just published an article titled Ramadan Lessons: Lesson One. Imam Zaid has also initiated a new endeavor: The Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California. Check out the Facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5069346607

Check Imam Zaid’s upcoming events and programs here: http://www.newislamicdirections.com/nid/programs/

* As of this posting, no announcements have been made on Imam Zaid’s site, Zaytuna or Cordoba Center.

** Most of the IslamCrunch team reside and contribute to the community.

White Thread Press will launch their new book, ‘Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar Explained’ , in San Jose on August 17, 2007. The book launch will be held at the South Bay Islamic Association and a special free event has been organized. Titled ‘An Evening of Knowledge’, the event will include short lectures from Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf, Imam Tahir Anwar and Shaykh Tameem Ahmedi. In addition to the lectures, an autograph session is scheduled. The book will be available for purchase on site, as well as other White Thread Press titles.

For more information about the event, click on the image to download the flyer.

Our beloved Imam Zaid Shakir has provided his testimonial of Shaykh Abdur-Rahman’s work:

“Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf has rendered a valuable service to English speaking Muslims. The depth of his scholarship and the accessibility of his language combine to present the reader with a text that elucidates critical aspects of the orthodox Muslim creed, and sheds light on contentious historical and theological issues.”

‘Imam Abu Hanifa’s Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar Explained’

“Al-Fiqh al-Akbar is one of the earliest texts written on central Islamic theology, and one of the surviving works of Abu Hanifa, the Great Imam of jurisprudence and theology. Studied for centuries in the Muslim world, Al-Fiqh al-Akbar offers a layered understanding of divine oneness (tawhid), the underpinning of Islamic belief. It helps to refine one’s understanding of the Creator, messengers, and divine communication, and enables one, moreover, to gain insight into the realities of this life and the events of the life hereafter.”

Click on the book cover for more details and to purchase the book at a pre-launch special price. Click here to read an excerpt.

Dave Chappelle + Unity Productions + Allah Made Me Funny Comedy = lots of laughs, plenty of entertainment and abundant reminders. After he caused a stir in the entertainment industry by suddenly leaving a $50 million dollar deal, Dave Chappelle has been more vocal about his faith. Now with this recent announcement, his faith should not be an issue of speculation. When we heard from the Allah Made Me Funny camp that Chappelle was on board, we scrambled into “PR” mode. We contacted the AMMF webmaster, posted links on Facebook and sent out emails. This is a continuation…

People in the DC area will be delighted to know that two warm-up sets will be conducted in mid-August 2007. Visit this link for the details: http://www.allahmademefunny.com/pr/dc/

The actual filming for the movie will take place in Anaheim, California in late August 2007. 

Time and Place Date: Saturday, August 25, 2007
Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Venue: Heritage Forum
Address: 201 E. Broadway, Anaheim, CA
Map: http://dwarfurl.com/c3407

The IslamCrunch team (at least half of us) intend to be there and we hope to meet our friends and readers. Here are some side notes behind the monumental press release:

• Seth Fuller = Word of Mouth PR firm for Allah Made Me Funny, other clients include Little Mosque on the Prairie TV show.
• Andrea Kalin = president of SparkMedia, currently working on “Prince Among Slaves“, a biography of Abdul Rahman Ibrahima. Here is a great interview with Andrea conducted by Unity Productions.
• Unity Productions = producer of “Prince Among Slaves”, details here: http://upf.tv/upf06/Projects/PrinceAmongSlaves/tabid/77/Default.aspx
• 3 days before the Anaheim show tune in on August 22 to watch Unity Productions’ “Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain” on PBS.

Breaking news! Art Festival, Banquet and Concert in one event! Appearing:

• Dawud Wharnsby Ali
• Kareem Salama
• Zafar Razzaqi
• Project26
• Hassan Ahmed
• DJ Man O Wax
• The Khaled Brothers
• Aman Ali
• and more!

For more details: http://poeticvisiontour.com/

Thanks to Ali from Project26 and Saad from The Ghazali Project for the info. You heard it here first on IslamCrunch!

Our brother and blogging friend, Haseeb Ahmed has posted an article from the Chicago Tribune about IMAN’s biannual event, Takin’ it to the Streets. Haseeb has also posted more info about this fantastic event. A few of us were there in 2005 and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. An event like this should attended by anyone who is interested in the culture of American Muslims. IMAN = Inner-City Muslim Action Network