Duke hosts WRAL documentary screening, panel talk on Muslims

The 20-minute documentary, which first aired this past December, explores the lives of Muslims living in the state and examines the anti-Islamic prejudice and discrimination that is often fueled by the actions of Islamic extremists.

There are an estimated 26,000 Muslims in North Carolina, less than 1 percent of the state’s population but a 30 percent increase in the past 10 years.

WRAL's David Crabtree, an Emmy award winning TV anchor, will moderate the panel discussion that follows the screening, and audience members are encouraged to ask questions.

The event will be held in The Garage, Bay 4 of Duke University’s Smith Warehouse, 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., from 7 to 9 p.m. Light refreshments will be available beginning at 7 p.m., with the screening and discussion starting at 7:30. Free parking is available at the Smith Lot, adjacent to Maxwell Street in front of Bay 3.

Those unable to attend can watch a live stream of the event on Duke Islamic Studies Center’s YouTube channel and on WRAL.com. Viewers can post comments and questions on Twitter using the hashtag #NCMuslims. An archive of the recording will also be posted online.

Panelists include Abdullah Antepli, the Muslim Chaplain at Duke and associate director for community and student outreach at the Duke Islamic Studies Center; Amna Baloch, a local community member and recent UNC graduate who was active in interfaith collaborations through UNC’s Muslim Student Association; Carl Ernst, the William R. Kenan Jr. distinguished professor of Islamic studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and co-director of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations; and David Schanzer, associate professor of the practice for public policy at Duke and director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, a research consortium between Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and RTI International.

Ernst will be available before and after the screening to sign copies of his books “Islamophobia in America” and “How to Read the Qur’an: A New Guide with Select Translations." The books are available for purchase at the event.

“Faith, Fear and Freedom” documentary producer Clay Johnson, who also teaches a course in television journalism at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, will be available at the event to answer questions about the making of the documentary.

“People just didn’t really take much notice of the Muslims around them until 9/11 and other high profile acts of terrorism committed by radical extremists claiming to be Muslims. Those acts have helped fuel a fear of Muslims and Islam,” Johnson said. “Some people ask where the moderate Muslim voices are. They’re hard to hear when the extremists get all the media attention. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to let you hear some of them in our documentary.”

The event is sponsored by the Duke Islamic Studies Center, ISLAMiCommentary, the Durham County Library and WRAL-TV, and made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Co-sponsors include the British Council’s Our Shared Future project, Center for Muslim Life (Duke), Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations (UNC-Chapel Hill), DeWitt Wallace Center for MEDIA & DEMOCRACY, Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, Franklin Humanities Institute (Duke), Sanford School of Public Policy (Duke), and the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security (Duke/UNC/RTI).