Alumna Speaks at ‘Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys Bookshelf’ Program

Alumna Enfel Haddouche ’12 was a speaker at the Jennings Library’s “Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys Bookshelf” program on April 12. The Bookshelf is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association. Caldwell received the Bookshelf, which includes 25 books, four videos and the Oxford Islamic Studies Online database. The program is aimed at engaging the power of the humanities to promote understanding of and mutual respect for people with diverse histories, cultures and perspectives within the United States and abroad.

Participants viewed excerpts from the “Art Spots” video on mosques, calligraphy, textiles and gardens and discussed “The Butterfly Mosque”by G. Willow Wilson. This selection from the Bookshelf is the memoir of a young American woman who converts to Islam and moves to Egypt where she encounters the difficulties of entering a new culture and faith. Haddouche shared her experiences as a young Muslim woman encountering the culture of the United States, allowing the audience to explore the theme of bridging cultures from two very different perspectives.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is awarding many libraries and state humanities councils with the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf—a collection of books, films and other resources.

A master’s candidate in European history at Seton Hall University and a graduate of Caldwell University with a bachelor’s degree in history and English, Enfel came to the United States in 1996 with her family from Algeria. She was raised a Sunni Muslim, and while a student at Caldwell University she worked to create understanding and dialogue between the Muslim and Christian communities.

The Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association. Support was provided by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Additional support for the arts and media components was provided by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

The next Bridging Cultures program, featuring Beth Citron of the Rubin Museum in New York, will be held on September 19 at 6:30 p.m.