The Markazine

DEDICATION

To the people who, like vibrant tiles, add color, beauty, and depth to the mosaic of the Markaz community.

THE MARKAZ RESOURCE CENTER The Markaz supports a vibrant community of students who identify with or are interested in Muslim experiences both here and around the world.

We provide a welcoming space, resources, and programming to engage, educate, and empower the entire Stanford community. Whether addressing the issues of today or celebrating our rich heritage, the Markaz fosters a sense of belonging and builds connections across Stanford’s diverse community.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Directors...................................................... 6 What’s in a Mosaic?................................................................ 7 Advocacy through the Years: Timeline............................... 9 10 Years: What Does It Mean?............................................ 13 Memories of the Markaz.............................................................

Parsa Nowruzi ‘19..................................... 15 Faatimah Solomon ‘20............................ 17 Maya Salameh ‘22...................................... 19 Yusuf Zahurullah ‘24.................................. 21 Community Canvas................................................................ 23 Program Overview................................................................. 27

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS ‫ مل جائے ُتجھ کو دریا تو سمندر تالش کر‬- ‫منزل سے آگے بڑھ کر منزل تالش کر‬ When you reach your destination, search for the one after; when you find a river, search for the sea.

— Allama Muhammad Iqbal And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. — Khalil Gibran Friends, it has been ten years of the Markaz at Stanford University. Ten years is a significant period of time for many reasons, but perhaps most so because it is a critical reminder of our place in history: where we have been, where we are, and where we could be. The Markaz has come a long way, and the Markazine is our humble effort at capturing a decade of this work through community voices, art, and reflection.

The story of the Markaz, of course, begins more than ten years ago. As the timeline will illustrate, claiming space and place at Stanford has been an endeavor that minority communities, including the Stanford Muslim community, undertook from the very beginning. We recognize that the Markaz is but one iteration of those efforts, and we can say proudly that it has been a successful one. We also feel deeply that our success cannot be separated from the advocacy and persistence of those who came before us and set the groundwork for what we are today.

Over the last decade, the Markaz has evolved in many ways, adapting swiftly to student needs, institutional changes, and local and global current events. In the following pages, you will learn a little more about the center, its programs, its community, and its trajectory. We want to highlight that as we continue to serve our students, we also realize that we have something unique to offer to broader discourse on the Muslim experience in American higher education. With the launch of the Muslim Campus Life Summit in 2021—a Markaz-led convening—our work has gained national attention and we have built a strategic network of professionals who engage in campus diversity work and serve Muslim students or students from Muslim contexts.

This summit is one example, among many, of what we have accomplished and where we are today. We have many more to uplift. But just as much as this decade-long commemoration is a milestone celebration, it is also an articulation of potential and ambition. The best is yet to come!

We are so grateful for your company on this journey thus far. Do stay with us and enjoy the Markazine!

Sincerely,

Dr. Abiya Ahmed Markaz Director & Associate Dean of Students

Cassie Garcia Markaz Associate Director

WHAT’S IN A MOSAIC?

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MARKAZINE Zarif Ahsan, Telling Our Stories Manager Walking through Main Quad, I am fixated by the tile work. My eyes settle on the center of the pattern: a dot, surrounded by petals, followed by circles. One after the other, the tiles are arranged concentrically to make a floral image. Something about this feels comforting to me, provoking a sense of familiarity—something Islamic. These tiny tiles are too simple to be found in a grand mosque in Turkey or Iran, but they obey the same laws of symmetry, the same geometric repetition, and sense of consuming shape.

A longstanding Muslim tradition, mosaics are composed of interlinked patterns that form larger structures, alluding to the patterns in life, nature, the cosmos. They are a means to create beautiful, sprawling forms that capture the expansiveness of life without illustrating any particular object. It is representation without depiction. A presence formed within absence. For these reasons, the mosaic is the ideal motif for the Markazine, our first ever community magazine.

The Markazine is a commemoration of the first ten years of the Markaz. An overview of the center: the ways it has grown, what it now exhibits, and how it is always changing. It is a celebration of the space, the colorful couches, geometric art, and gray and turquoise walls, but also all the lively people within, the patterns they have made, the impact they have left. The Markazine is a vessel to explore and admire our community’s history at Stanford. Like when gazing at a mosaic, we see the sprawling image of the Markaz, but also zoom in to see the individual pieces that define it.

Let’s observe: Visitors loop about a circular Ottoman (black, leather, three legs evenly spaced) listening to a lecture. Friends reconnect at Afternoon Chai, grouping around cups of hot tea poured from a silver cylindrical carafe. Iftars in Old Union courtyard, round tables overflowing with food circling the fountain, with people sitting around like petals, blooming into conversation. These diverse, interlocking circles of community, individual, and identity stretch and expand within and outside of the Markaz. A sense of belonging is defined locally, everywhere we look.

As we reflect on the Markaz’s growth, we wonder what lies at the center? Is there a center of a mosaic? Maybe for the simple floral ones in the Main Quad there is a center: that solid dot that starts it all. However, we believe that a true mosaic embodies a certain decentralization that prevents a particular focus. There is no starting point, no middle, no largest part. The best mosaics defy a hierarchy and force you to focus on the interplay of individual shapes.

Ten years of the Markaz, and this community is as delightfully nebulous as ever—and perhaps this is the true beauty of it! Many people come and go through the center every day, and many people have come and gone over the years. Our community can never be contained in a page or captured in a picture. We embrace this. Yet, in creating this magazine, we hope to uplift what does unite us. What is at the center? A connection and kinship between people. The friends we laugh late into the night with, the mentors who shape us, the acquaintances who applaud us. So perhaps, to extend the metaphor, the Markaz, the space where we gather, is the glue between the pieces, the wall behind our tiles. A container for an ever-evolving community at Stanford to make their own, generation after generation.

ADVOCACY THROUGH THE YEARS ENGAGE. EDUCATE. EMPOWER. The Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, a key forum for interdisciplinary research and teaching in Islamic Studies, is endowed.

To advance the study of mental health in Muslim communities, Dr. Rania Awaad launches the Muslim and Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab at the School of Medicine, the first and only of its kind.

Graduate student Marghoob Quarishi, ’59 establishes the Stanford Islamic Society (SIS) to serve the spiritual needs of the community.

1958

2003

1981

2014

2013

2015

The Markaz Resource Center is created to serve as a hub for students that identify academically, culturally, and otherwise with the Muslim world.

The Stanford musallah, a prayer room for daily use, opens in Old Union, the heart of campus.

Our Origins: Oral History of The Markaz

9

With the support of student leaders, Markaz creates its four signature programs: Chai Chat, Project Pomegranate, Mosaic, and the Frosh Intern Program and begins hosting Afternoon Chai.

Markaz organizes Anti-Islamophobia workshops to promote inclusivity and educate students, faculty, and staff on the religious and cultural identities of Muslim students.

2017

FALL

2017

WINTER

2017

WINTER

Hundreds of students and community members attend a vigil to mourn victims in the Christchurch, New Zealand shooting.

SUMMER

2017 1958

SUMMER

WINTER

In response to the Muslim Ban, Markaz partners with the Bechtel International Center to initiate campus-wide support, including legal services, counseling, and a platform for activism.

2019

2018

A mass student protest against an Islamophobic speaker is organized, featuring speeches and performances from allied student groups.

The ORSL establishes and hires an Associate Dean for Religious Life and Advisor for Muslim Life to nurture Muslim religious life and foster interfaith engaement.

Markaz begins the Markaz Oral History Project to capture the center's foundational story and celebrate five years!

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ADVOCACY THROUGH THE YEARS ENGAGE. EDUCATE. EMPOWER.

Markaz goes virtual during COVID and the staff create DigitalMarkaz, a hub online for the community to connect, share, and create.

In collaboration with the Stanford Learning Accelerator, the Markaz builds Virtual Ramadan, an interactive space for the Muslim community to engage in spiritual reflection, community service, and togetherness while apart.

SPRING 2021

2021

FALL

2019

2020

FALL

WINTER FALL

1958 2019

FALL

SPRING

Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad speaks at Baccalaureate, a multi-faith ceremony for graduating students.

2021

Minara, Stanford’s first Muslim Mentorship program, is created featuring one-on-one mentorship matches, panel conversations, and in-person mixers.

Markaz launches the Artist in Residence Program with the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, welcoming artists in the space for year-long residencies.

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New Markaz Academic Fellowships within the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and the Center for South Asia create more student-initiated events.

Stanford community supports one another after Turkey and Syria earthquakes, mobilizing to support those affected by the disaster that left tens of thousands dead and injured many more.

CCSRE and The Markaz host Stanford’s first-ever course on addressing Islamophobia. Taught by Abiya Ahmed, it focuses on catalyzing campus discourse.

2022

WINTER

2023

2022

WINTER

SUMMER

2022

FALL

FALL

FALL

The Markaz announces the Ansaf Kareem and Anna Khan Fellowship, a Cardinal Quarter opportunity creating new pathways to service in and for Muslim communites.

2023

2023

The Markaz organizes the Muslim Campus Life Summit, a convening of higher education leaders, to discuss the experiences of Muslim students. This was a strategic collaboration among professionals from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Howard, NYU, and more.

To provide 1:1 therapy and support groups with Muslim clinicians, the Markaz launches the Muslim Mental Health Initiative (MMHI) through a partnership with Maristan.

At Homecoming Reunion, the Markaz begins its ten year anniversary celebration. Many gather to hear reflections from students, board members, and a keynote from Dr. Farouk Dey.

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10 YEARS: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? In the Markaz office, directors Cassie Garcia and Abiya Ahmed sit in a cozy, lived-in space. A large framed print with an ayah from the Quran sits waiting to be hung. A new sandy white couch sits on the entry wall, about which the directors have a small back-and-forth: “Does it go more to the right? Left?”

“No, it needs to be centered.”

Nearby, bookshelves hold rows and rows of books: Religion is Raced, Women and Gender in the Quran, Islam is a Foreign Country, and Islamophobia in Higher Education. The last one features a chapter co-authored by the two presenting the Markaz as a national model.

It’s strange to think that just ten years ago, this cozy space did not exist.

Cassie Garcia and Abiya Ahmed in the Markaz Office

In 2012, the second floor of the Nitery had just been renovated. Old photos reveal that the Directors’ office was just another conference room with a few loose tables and a handwritten banner reading “Welcome to the Markaz!” A first-year student, Zainab Taymuree ‘16, designed the center’s layout and chose a neutral color scheme: comforting gray walls with accents of turquoise and orange, textured couches and wooden arcades.

She created an open design that could be shaped by whatever the future might hold.

Although the Markaz’s physical space was renovated in one summer, years of advocacy informed and prompted its creation. The Muslim Community Board, a coalition of students and staff, had advocated for a space like the Markaz for over a decade. Some student organizers spent their entire undergraduate careers waiting for its approval! In 2012, the Board met with University President John Hennessey to present a newly expansive proposal for the community center. Their vision was intentionally broad: a place of healing from prejudice that pervaded the Muslim experience in America, post 9/11; a space invested in the peoples and diverse cultures of regions often homogenized under the label “the Muslim World”; and a staff that would work toward including those in the margins of this community. In that uncertain meeting, this version of the Markaz Resource Center would finally be approved.

Markaz space original blueprints

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The Markaz opened its doors the Fall of 2013, originally as a student-run space. Two years later, under the leadership of the first director Mona Damluji and then Program Associate Cassie Garcia, Markaz’s initial flagship programs came into shape: Project Pomegranate, Chai Chat, and Mosaic. Each program sought to address a distinctive aspect of Muslim life: mental wellness, powerful ideas, and community stories, respectively. Over time, these programs were modified or expanded to meet community needs. Some would disappear altogether for new programs to sprout in their place.

In 2020, the next generation of Markaz students aimed to shape the university more explicitly. Aneeqa Abid ‘22 and Mahnoor Hyat ‘22 proposed the Muslim Mental Health Initiative (MMHI), a community-driven research and advocacy project to address the unique mental health realities of Muslim students. Maya Salameh ‘22 observed a need to platform Markaz artists and then created the Artist-in-Residence program, providing a space for students to produce and share their work. Nour Assaoui ‘23, Maryam Khalil ‘23, and Rafeea Tamboli ‘23, were eager to connect students with the talented network of Muslim alumni and launched the Minara mentorship program. With the steady push of its students, the Markaz has adapted its resources to address the various niches of Muslim life at Stanford.

Walking into the no-longer-empty Markaz, you can see that time has passed.

Posters keep a comprehensive record of Chai Chats featuring notable authors, academics, and organizers. The formerly blank walls hold student art, a vivid portrait of a mother in a garden and a textile piece that reflects on “TO BE MUSLIM IN AMERICA." The center has grown and reimagined itself exactly as intended. Ten years ago, every Tuesday for Afternoon Chai, a student or two would rummage out loose tea bags, boil hot water, and pour out a milk carton.

Now that same simple social hour requires a week’s worth of planning and large steaming carafes of chai. Rotating snacks such as roti canai, xalwa, gulab jamun make each week unique, reflecting the diverse identities and cultures of the community.

At today’s Afternoon Chai, student attendees fill the Markaz lobby and spill out into the Old Union Courtyard. In their office, Cassie and Abiya continue their humorous debate over the couch. It’s a valid concern, as they want their space to be welcoming, comfortable to all. Nearby, at a small table, student staff plan upcoming speaker events, support groups, and art installations. In the kitchen, tea bags steep in a knee-high carafe. Soon chai will be served again at the Markaz—as it always was, and it always will be.

Though it may be in the same space, the Markaz is an ever-changing center, shaped by the community we serve.

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MEMORIES OF THE MARKAZ

Parsa joined the Markaz staff in 2018 when the center was commemorating its first five years of operation. He was tasked with launching the Oral History Project, an initiative to capture the student history of the center’s creation and assemble a sound story for future generations to learn from. Parsa joins us to reflect on the importance of Markaz community, identity, and storytelling.

Years after his time at the Markaz, Parsa remembers when he first hosted Afternoon Chai, pens and papers scattered on the lounge table. Gathering them around a table, he instructed a group of students—more than he expected—on the basics of Arabic calligraphy.

“People who didn’t know the script, had never done calligraphy, just picked up the pen and started following the patterns. It was meditative, and one of my favorite memories.”

Amazed by the group's ability to catch on quickly to the ornate art form, Parsa felt fulfilled as he shared his skills with his community. His calligraphy event was one of many offerings the center provided during its weekly social hour to highlight the talents and cultures of its students. For him, it was an important way to connect to his community.

Parsa describes Afternoon Chai as inviting and, “the perfect excuse to hang out without expectation.” He fondly remembers how every Tuesday, Chai would envelop the entire community in conversation and connection. People at the center doing all sorts of things—working, relaxing, chatting— would get roped in; to him, it felt like a focal point of the community.

Having the Markaz and this weekly time to check in created a unique cultural space on campus for Parsa, who, at the time, did not see himself as religious Muslim. A student from Iran, more so, Parsa felt understood by the space around him.

“Coming to a place that celebrates the cultural value of Islam, that not every person relates to this faith the same way, was beautiful to me.”

Leading the Oral History Project, Parsa and his fellow Markaz staff discovered the power of community storytelling, in a project that he first proposed. Much like a mosaic, Parsa reflects, community storytelling highlights different life and cultural experiences of the community, “different pieces that nevertheless fit together beautifully.” His project grew into Markaz's Telling Our Stories program, which has since generated multiple community events, three serial podcasts, and now this the magazine!

“To be honest, when I was starting it felt like a far, unreachable ambition that I wasn't sure how long would last.

But I am appreciative to the center for seeing the value of storytelling."

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CENTER IN 10 YEARS? I wish the center can bring together people who identify with the community culturally and folks who practice Islam and care about their connection to faith—and bring these together as part of the same community.

What's beautiful about the Markaz is that it has managed to encapsulate a space that welcomes both of these communities, and I'm excited for it to grow to its full capacity.

I'm hopeful that it can create that dialogue and playground or space for people to be able to express themselves in whatever ways they connect to culture, religion, and spirituality broadly—and develop that sense of camaraderie that expands individual identities and individual faiths."

16

MEMORIES OF THE MARKAZ

Faatimah worked at the Markaz all four years she was at Stanford. Every role she held, from Intern, to Frosh Experience Coordinator, to Space Coordinator, focused on inclusive community building. When Markaz went virtual during the pandemic, Faatimah led weekly community gatherings to bring students together to check in and have reflective conversations about quarantine, racial justice, and more. Faatimah reflects on these experiences, organizing in-person and virtually, and her contributions to a community that always inspires her.

Faatimah’s recollection of the Markaz, unfortunately, includes Zoom meetings. In 2020, vital community building happened, not in the buzzing rooms of the Nitery, but on a screen in the comfort of her bedroom.

"Do I like it now? No. But it did what it had to. We were trying to find ways to connect with people, different ways to be in community.

We had to get very creative.”

On staff, Fatimaah hosted AfterZoom Chais, a clever name coined to continue the center’s weekly social tradition online. But by the end of the year, even it became a victim of Zoom fatigue, she admits.

Regardless of turnout, however, she ensured virtual Chais were spaces to unwind.

For this remote community building, Faatimah coordinated many online games (Among Us, Taboo, “tag yourself in a meme”) as well as more mindful activities, including journaling sessions and reflection meditation. After all, adjusting and compromising was the norm during the pandemic.

Winding through her memories of the center, in-person and virtual, she shares the joy of community and its capacity to organize in the face of adversity.

“In my last year, I saw a large coalition of groups—Students for Justice in Palestine, Muslim Student Union, Arab Student Association of Stanford— working together. It was a beautiful moment. I met a lot of new people.”

Fatimah’s love of meeting people was reflected in the many roles she took on at Markaz. As the space manager, Faatimah enjoyed being able to draw people to the center for events and regular hangouts. She was committed to intentional community building that emphasized inclusion.

“I wanted to make them feel seen, like they belonged, being really intentional about those small acts. Some of my favorite memories are the small things at the center.”

Yet, in taking care of the center, she learned to accept the discord inherent in a community, letting go of the stress she initially felt about things not going to plan. “Chaos descends,” she explains, “but as long as you come with a lot of love and gratitude and care things work out most of the time.”

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CENTER IN 10 YEARS? I imagine a space that has a reciprocal relationship with the land that Stanford is on, whether we are paying land taxes or spreading our roots off campus to other Muslim organizations. Being connected to things around us and to people around us, in a way that does not enforce dominant cultures, is really important. This can be a community garden, or a community kitchen.

I am thinking about what it means to like to laugh, love, and connect very deeply yet be transparent about the different ways that we can take accountability and bring in marginalized people in our community.“

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MEMORIES OF THE MARKAZ

Maya, an award-winning poet and psychology major, was the inaugural Artistin-Residence at the Markaz in the 2019–2020 school year. Empowered by her love for art and SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) communities, Maya initially proposed the Artist in Residence program to create a creative space at the Markaz. She shares the process behind organizing an unprecedented position—and the enduring importance of art in our communities.

Looking back on it now, Maya sees her sophomore self as nothing short of audacious.

Art was always important, if not necessary to her, but creating a larger platform for artists of color at the Markaz? This was a new and ambitious endeavor, but one she approached with certainty and poise.

“I take pride in my belief in the power of platforming art in immigrant and SWANA communities. When I proposed the position, I said, ‘Art should be a cornerstone of Markaz programming.’”

Through the position, Maya wanted to counter whiteness in art spaces on campus and express her dual identities as an Arab woman and as an artist. At the same time, she sought to engage and empower a broader community of artists she knew and loved.

Her first event, Borders, brought together a collection of writers, performers, and artists from communities of color across campus to perform and share space in White Plaza.

Similarly, during the pandemic, Maya curated a digital archive that “legitimized, compensated, and appreciated” artists of the community—receiving submissions ranging from poems to digital art to someone’s class paper. Maya laughs at this last one, but is happy that the archive was a space for people to share.

“A lot of the work was piecemeal. A lot of emails and finding funding.

When people say 'community organizing', there's this fancy glimmer, but I feel that most of it is the boring [stuff].”

Though fulfilling to her, organizing both these projects taught Maya the time and effort required to empower an entire community.

Moreover, through both, Maya was able to better understand her own position as an artist.

“It’s great that I write poems and fiddle with my Google Docs, but what does that mean for how I encourage people who look like me? The Markaz made me think a lot about the community.”

As a result, the Markaz became a formative space for her, one where she felt cared for and represented, as Maya emphasizes, “It was not just because of my worth or because of my poems, but because of who I was.” She continues to be grateful for the space Markaz offered for her identity and art, but, most of all, would like to see it expanded further.

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CENTER IN 10 YEARS? I feel that we've been able to cultivate the space so beautifully, but in an ideal world, I would also love to see more collaboration between Markaz, art centers, and other community centers on campus. That was my hope in starting Borders—that we would be able to establish longer, sustainable ties.

The Markaz has been able to serve so many different communities at once and has done a great job about trying to keep a pulse on things going on in the [SWANA] region, but I hope Markaz doesn't always have to be the crisis responder…and in 10 years I hope that Markaz has more money and a bigger space.”

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MEMORIES OF THE MARKAZ

Yusuf has always sought to better understand Islam through a historical lens.

As an academic fellow for the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and the inaugural Anti-Islamophobia Teaching Fellow at the Markaz, Yusuf explored the nuances of Muslim identity and culture, in America and beyond. He discusses these insights and his experience at the Markaz, in a short interview.

Though he did not expect national media attention beforehand, Yusuf is unsurprised that the course he taught at the Markaz became the topic of clickbait. In an interview with the Stanford Daily, Yusuf described the course, “Interrogating Islamophobia” as an advocacy effort to enhance the discourse around the phenomenon. The article was picked up by other news media, but his mention of an Islamophobic speaker on campus dominated the coverage.

“It’s weird to know my name is out there, but we knew we were teaching something important. We were spreading awareness and trying to understand Islamophobia from an academic lens."

Yusuf was motivated by a lack of awareness he saw in both Muslim and non-Muslim students.

Class discussions were abundant with important questions regarding the nature of Islamophobia, investigating it as a concept and category, as well as a phenomenon.

“Islamophobia is a lived experience as much as something institutional.

To address that, you need an institutional understanding, so that's where we were coming from.”

Indeed, as the 2022–2023 Teaching Fellow, Yusuf explored various lenses of MuslimAmerican identity and history. As a teaching assistant in the course, “Contemporary Islam and Muslims in America” in Spring Quarter, he examined the intersections of Islam, race, and gender in an American context. Not that Islam has ever been separate from the U.S., he adds, for Muslims have existed in the country from its colonial origins.

In Yusuf's eyes, the Markaz has always been a space to explore Islam in ways he could not in his hometown: historically, academically, and politically. From his freshman year onwards, his involvement in the center has assumed these forms; Yusuf's first introduction to the Markaz came as he attended meetings for Students in Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the American Middle East Network for Dialogue at Stanford (AMENDS) in the space. Beginning his final year at the Markaz, Yusuf foresees nothing but a continuation of these same themes, as the center expands its academic connections.

WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CENTER IN 10 YEARS? I'm hoping as we have more and more Muslim students attend Stanford and be involved with the Markaz, our alumni network just explodes to become this really good network of alumni and current students who can help with careers and internships and graduate programs. In my maybe-more-selfish capacity, I also hope that the academic fellowships become more competitive—and they create some really dope events, teaching courses, and getting involved with grants to do research. In 10 years, the Markaz can be this intellectual hub of a place where there's a lot of research happening on both a graduate and undergraduate student level through grants and courses and fellowships—and it's a place that people want to come visit to see what the intellectual capacity of the community is. I think that would be super powerful.”

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COMMUNITY CANVAS

Sundarbans Woman by Nahian Haque Digital Art

Irony by Halima Ibrahim Photography & Garment

“Irony is a project made of 400 disposable face masks that addresses the Niqab ban and Mask Mandate in France (a country famous for its Islamophobia) at the start of the pandemic.

Unlike those who abide by the WHO's mask mandates, a woman with a Niqab is perceived as a threat. Yet, even during a public health emergency, her own safety isn't considered. So, which is it? Are we as Muslim women supposed to abide by the rules of the pandemic in order to keep everyone safe, or are we expected to show our faces to make others feel comfortable?”

“This digital art piece was inspired by a photograph taken by Tim McDonnell of a woman in Gabura, Bangladesh who lost her home due to storms caused by climate change. Climate change is disproportionately affecting the Sundarbans region of Bangladesh, forcing local communities who hold deep ties to their natural environment to migrate as climate refugees. As a Bangladeshi artist, I wanted to use this piece to raise awareness about the issue.

After all, our natural environments and cultural spaces are one and the same: the destruction of one means the destruction of the other.”

Engaging identity through creativity

Amah

by Lora Supandi

Amah swats mosquitos with a plastic slipper, chops kelapa and raw meat with a blade. she raises her arm and the carbon machete pierces into the baby blue langit. stray cats roam the alleyways, sleep on java’s shoreline. amah brings scraps of rendang, sarongs twirled into animal beds. beneath constellations, we wrap each other in cocoons of batik. amah prepares soto ayam, brews a cup of kopi, yearns for life: semangat, suasana, sanubari. amah peels a manggis, and my past unravels: born as a seed, set sail across the pacific, a sapling amah holds when the moon is whole: bulan kuning, bulan merah, bulan biru.

“This sonnet is a love letter to a grandmother, living in Indonesia, a place where the speaker’s cultural identity grows and lives on away from the United States. Through language, specifically bilingual slang, two worlds—stretched by distance and time—are bridged together. It is in this space I find myself sprawling out, past the pains and material needs of this world.

Like many of my other works, this asks, ‘How do we endure even after being pierced by cultural memory?

How do we search for love and care in the aftermath of grief, migration, and separation?’”

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COMMUNITY CANVAS

1969 by Aleena Mufti Anand Graphite on Illustration board

“This piece centers around memory and, specifically, maintaining community through memory. It depicts Nahid Hatami and her daughter Noushin during the summer of 1969 in their native village in Iran. The two later fled persecution to the United States, the memory of their village and their community there kept alive by stories and a single blurry photograph. I drew this piece in graphite to preserve and share this memory and their story.”

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Dua'a by Ziyad Saber Gawish Calligraphy

“This dua'a for you and your parents is one I hold close to me, for it is a reminder to always pray for my parents and to remind me of how patient and caring they were with me when I was younger. They've sculpted me into the person I am and have instilled the values that have become part of my identity. I'll never be able to fully appreciate the sacrifices they have made for me, but I try to do my best and make praying for them a habit. The dua'a translates to: ‘My Lord, forgive me and my parents and be merciful to them as they raised me when I was young.’”

mama introduces her father to me during the middle of the quarter, and i am reminded of an old exam question

by Reyan Choeb « ‫يا ديرتي يا ديرتي يا ديرتي وداعًا يا حبيبتي‬ ‫» لوال الشقا يا عبدهللا ما تطول عنك غيبتي‬

“This poem is a tribute to my late grandfather who passed away in my ancestral village in Southern Syria. Despite occasional summer visits, for my entire life, I have been separated from my family back home. To stay connected, my father purchased calling cards weekly from our local gas station, so I have called, WhatsApped, Vibered, Skyped, and Zoomed my extended family.

My parents made it a priority to ground my sister and me in our people, culture, and native tongue.

When my grandfather passed, I found it difficult to grieve someone I never knew that well. Here, I attempt to paint his likeness from stories, pictures, and videos passed between my family members.”

IMG_9875 my grandfather / draped in a checkered keffiyeh / serenades his daughters / during a power outage. / there is a man half his age who / plays with the utilities / and paints his cities like incident reports / and burns the wheat fields like California sun / falling. / and my grandfather sits, / back straight in my aunt’s lamp-lit salon / a patterned cardigan underneath his dress coat / and i am forgetting how regal revolt can be. / my grandfather, 83, / performs his own rendition of exile, / replaces a symbol for home / and chooses to invoke god instead. / and my aunts laugh full. / «‫»كل الشغل‬ “all everyone ever does now is work and worry,” / he protests. / my grandfather is an elder statesman.

IMG_9348.JPG he is looking at me. / mouth agape / as if / he expected something less star-spangled. / a large, purple mass sprawls over my grandfather’s bridge / and matches the shade of his cardigan. / and we have only ever associated this with seasons. / how many springs can a man live before he lets something grow on him for a change? it is week 6, and in an afternoon lecture, they’ve indexed my grandfather’s nose under tumour.

Arabic Translation: “oh my hometown, oh my hometown, goodbye my love. if it wasn’t for the misfortune and hardship, we [Allah’s children] wouldn’t be away from you this long.”

i come from a long line of late reckonings.

IMG_9822.jpeg my grandfather couldn’t have been more than 40, a patterned cardigan underneath his dress coat. his wife stands on the opposite end of the frame. and in between them, four of their eight children. they are looking at me, hungry; behind them, pruned trees and snowfall. one time, i walked in on mama piecing together her father’s old jewelry like counterfeit plane tickets.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW MENTAL HEALTH Muslim Mental Health Initiative The Muslim Mental Health Initiative (MMHI) serves the Markaz community’s mental health needs by connecting students to Muslim-identifying therapists for one-on-one and group sessions.

In 2021, Markaz student staff conducted a focus group study in collaboration with the Stanford Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab to better understand the mental health needs of our community. The research found that a majority of students preferred to see a Muslim therapist and that spirituality and religiosity play a significant role in students’ mental health wellness. To address this, Stanford launched a partnership with Maristan, a local Muslim mental health organization, to provide students with virtual therapy sessions and quarterly group sessions on campus with Muslim therapists.

MENTORSHIP Minara: Muslim Mentorship in Action Minara is a dynamic professional mentorship program that fosters relationships between Muslim professionals and Stanford students for individual growth and collective empowerment.

With support from the Stanford Associates Grant and Stanford Muslim Alumni Association, Minara offers a rotating schedule of opportunities for mentorship and engagement, such as a one-on-one matching program, industry-specific panel conversations, large pop-up networking mixers for the entire community, and intimate dinners in downtown Palo Alto with Stanford alumni. Our mentorship program engages alumni mentors working in tech, medicine, law, education, and beyond. Minara provides students with relevant professional advice and internship opportunities and helps create intergenerational Muslim professional networks in the Bay Area.

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INTELLECTUAL VITALITY Academic and Teaching Fellowships Through annual Academic and Teaching Fellowships, the Markaz opens opportunities for students to advance the study of Islam and Muslims and expand campus discourse by engaging their peers.

Our Academic Fellows, housed within the Center for South Asia and Abbasi Program for Islamic Studies, organize speaking events to engage topics such as “Race and Law in the Malay Archipelago,” “Islamic Perspectives on Abolition,” and “Islam in Eastern Europe” under the guidance of a faculty advisor. In 2023, the program has expanded to include a Palestine fellowship in collaboration with CCSRE. For longer-term engagement, the center offers two courses for students: “Interrogating Islamophobia” and “Contemporary Islam & Muslims in the US”, co-taught

by Director Abiya Ahmed and our undergraduate teaching fellow.

COMMUNITY BUILDING Afternoon Chai, Annual Traditions, and More!

The Markaz organizes social and community events celebrating students’ cultures and traditions with the goal of building connections across our vibrant community and creating a sense of belonging.

During Stanford’s annual traditions, such as Admit Weekend, New Student Orientation, and Graduation, the Markaz serves as an important nexus for students and their families. Our large flagship events, such as Reunion Homecoming Banquet and our annual iftar, bring the community together for connection and networking. And, of course, the Markaz hosts Afternoon Chai, a weekly social hour where we gather over tea. Student-led cultural organizations such as the Somali Students Association, Malaysian at Stanford, and Arab Students Association bring snacks and teas that reflect the diversity of our community.

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW GRADUATE STUDENTS Markaz Mini Grant Program and Student Socials The Markaz’s Graduate Student Programs are focused on increasing graduate student engagement by organizing social events, facilitating communication between student leaders, and supporting research.

The Markaz Mini-Grant program supports and uplifts the research of graduate and professional school students, fostering intellectual engagement within our community and building a vibrant cohort across disciplines. The program culminates in an annual symposium where awardees present their work to peers, faculty, and undergraduates. Additionally, in partnership with the Vice Provost for Graduate Education (VPGE), the Markaz annually honors the contributions of outstanding graduate students through the VPGE Academic Achievement Award, which recognizes their exceptional academic achievement and mentorship.

PUBLIC SERVICE Advancing Muslim Communities Fellowship The Advancing Muslim Communities Fellowship allows our students to give back to local, national, and international communities through engaged and effective public service opportunities.

In partnership with the Haas Center for Public Service and through a generous gift from Stanford alumni Anna Khan and Ansaf Kareem, the Markaz established the Advancing Muslim Communities Summer Fellowship. This fellowship funds and supports undergraduate students working with nonprofit organizations that center Muslim communities, issues, and regions. Launched in 2022–23 academic year, our inaugural fellows worked with the Tayba Foundation for individuals and family impacted by incarceration in Southern California and the Afghan Women’s Council in Afghanistan.

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ARTS AND CULTURE Artist-in-Residence and Storytelling The Markaz utilizes storytelling and art-making to uplift student voices, archive our rich history, and invite others to learn and engage with student perspectives.

Mosaic is a storytelling platform for the diverse voices of the Markaz community. Every year, we explore a different theme to engage a variety of student voices and perspectives in creative projects, such as a podcast or a community magazine. Additionally, the Markaz routinely hosts an Artist-in-Residence at the center, who is provided with time, space, and support to develop a body of work to present at the Markaz.

Students selected for this program work in all media, including, painting, photography, film, dance, and music. Residencies are typically yearlong and artists develop their work with the mentorship and guidance of Markaz staff.

ADVOCACY AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT Community Conversations and Support The Markaz acts as a conduit between the student community and university leadership to advocate for the needs of Muslim students and respond to local, national, and international events.

To further advance the university’s commitment to inclusion, the Markaz works towards creating a campus culture where all members feel they belong.

This work is achieved through initiatives, such as MMHI, where we identify a need, collect data, and make programming recommendations.

Other examples include organizing diversity training and providing consultations to campus partners. During times of turmoil, the university looks to the Markaz to connect with impacted students and determine a response. Based on outreach, we organize support groups, pen solidarity statements, and bolster studentled advocacy efforts.

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Editing and Project Coordination by Zarif Ahsan Design and Cover Art by Melina Oseguera-Arasmou Introduction Photography by Bailey Nicolson Interview Photography by Lora Supandi Supervision and Support from Cassie Garcia and Abiya Ahmed

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