Browse Exhibits (2 total)

During the Spring 2022 quarter, a class titled Grassroots Self-Documentation: Community Archives among North American Muslims was held at UCLA as part of the year-long Global Islam course and freshman Cluster Program. Throughout the 10-week course, 17 freshmen explored how diverse Muslim communities throughout the continent preserve and make accessible their own histories, on their own terms, and determine what is of enduring value. 

As part of this exploration, students had the opportunity to work with the Islamic Center of Southern California (ICSC) to support its budding community archive. This exhibit - titled Photographic Heritage Exhibit - is the result of those efforts. 

In the various collections housed within this digital exhibit (linked on this page), users can explore heritage materials that provide a glimpse into the Center’s rich history from its inception to the present day. From its beginnings in the mid-20th century to its Covid-19 landscape, these collections provide a small glimpse into the particularities of the ICSC, its unique community, and how it came to be. 

A project such as this would not be possible without the tremendous support and collaboration of its participants. To this end, we must thank Sadik Alloo, Hashem Sherif, Zeynab Abdelaziem, Kenan Kapetanovic, and Omar Ricci from the ICSC for their generosity, time, and willingness to share their expertise and experiences with our class. We also acknowledge the incredible work of the students enrolled in this class who, despite being new to community archiving and archives, approached this endeavor with humility, enthusiasm, and care. Their names are listed below: 

• Iman Afzal
• Valerie Barrios
• Bryn Bowser
• Isabel Delgadillo
• Sarah Gauger
• Isaac Ha
• Krithik Jatavallabhula 
• Sophia Karimpour
• Adam Mejia 
• Christopher Milan
• Amari Muhammad
• Mahmoud Musleh
• Alicia Park
• Yahia Rahmouni
• Nate Scott
• Khadijat Solebo
• Laila Tran

And thank you for your interest in this exhibit! We hope you enjoy it.