In recognition of Muslim-American Heritage Month , Chatham Community Library will host a virtual film screening of The Mosque in Morgantown (2009), beginning Thursday, July 14, and continuing through Thursday, July 21. 

The Mosque in Morgantown follows one woman’s campaign for change against extremism in her West Virginia mosque, throwing the community into turmoil and raising questions that cut to the heart of American Islam. When former Wall Street Journal journalist and single mother Asra Q. Nomani returns from working in Pakistan to her hometown mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia, she sees signs of trouble: exclusion of women, intolerance toward non-believers, and suspicion of the West.  Finding such signs alarming, she is determined to halt the ‘slippery slope’ that she maintains leads from Islamic intolerance to violence and begins a campaign to drag the mosque’s practices into the 21st century.

Director Brittany Huckabee takes a balanced view of the tensions dividing this community, exploring both sides from a neutral standpoint. This riveting Emmy® Award nominated film is not only about women’s rights in the mosque but about the struggles a Muslim community faces as it strives to be a part of American life.

 Film Highlights and Accolades:

• True/False Film Festival
• San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature

“A very smart documentary, expertly dissecting a complicated subject matter — gender and Islam — while not taking sides.” - San Francisco Examiner

 “The Mosque in Morgantown is an important film for our troubled times. Its narrative has a place in America’s message of change and in the feminist movement that is gaining momentum in many predominantly Muslim countries.” - Alicia Izharuddin, The Feminist Review

Access to the virtual screening will be available beginning Thursday, July 14, by clicking HERE .  A password is required at the time of viewing. Please contact social.library@chathamlibraries.org to request the password or for additional information.

This program is free and open to the public.