North American Muslim Pow Wow
Encyclopedia
The First North American Muslim Pow Wow was held in June 1993 in New Mexico
, United States
. The event brought together Muslim
s of diverse backgrounds to know one another, to increase trust, and to discover a common voice. The original Pow Wow was largely the result of efforts by Sheila Musaji
and Hakim Archuletta.
'Pow-wow
' is a native Algonquian
word, and was used to indicate a desire for Islam
to become native to the American Continent
. The word further expressed the intention of the gathering, as a conference, a council meeting, a caucus, a time to hear each other out. The gathering was a grassroots, three day camping event which took on a spirit of celebration.
Annual gatherings continued over the next three years, and within the last decade such transformative study & worship circles have become formalized into what are known as “Deen Intensives”.
Deen Intensives have spread to different places in North America and as far abroad as England
. The Pow Wow is currently inactive.
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The event brought together Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s of diverse backgrounds to know one another, to increase trust, and to discover a common voice. The original Pow Wow was largely the result of efforts by Sheila Musaji
Sheila Musaji
Sheila Musaji is the founder and editor of The American Muslim quarterly journal , the Muslim Resource Directory of America , and most recently The American Muslim online publication ....
and Hakim Archuletta.
'Pow-wow
Pow-wow
A pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...
' is a native Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
word, and was used to indicate a desire for Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to become native to the American Continent
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The word further expressed the intention of the gathering, as a conference, a council meeting, a caucus, a time to hear each other out. The gathering was a grassroots, three day camping event which took on a spirit of celebration.
Annual gatherings continued over the next three years, and within the last decade such transformative study & worship circles have become formalized into what are known as “Deen Intensives”.
Deen Intensives have spread to different places in North America and as far abroad as England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Pow Wow is currently inactive.