“Every baby is born with an urge to make sense, to make contact, to connect itself with a rational context for his life and existence. Some describe this as a search for G-d. I don’t think any of us are born looking for G-d directly. G-d invites us to come to Him and the way He invites us is by giving us the urge to make sense of things. The more sense we make of things, ourselves and our place in the external world, the closer we come to seeing G-d and the closer we get to G-d.”
– Imam W. D. Mohammed, from For Those Who Thirst: Commentary of W. Deen Mohammed, by Ronald Shaheed, 2016, p. 84-85
Sincere thanks and gratitude to Almighty G-d for inspiring this venture and placing special helpers on this path to make the project possible. I thank and acknowledge vital input and support from Sonoe Nakasone, archivist at UNC Wilson Library; Chaitra Powell, Archivist of African American Collections and Outreach, and Dr. Aisha Johnson, School of Library & Information Science, NCCU. I am most appreciative of Amir El-Chidiac, the NCCU student intern who engaged in serious research and endured with patience and diligence the many edits and updates. Although I believe I’ve been weaving this narrative in bits and pieces for a very long time, these efforts reached a significant milestone in 2016, when I met Katie Spencer of the Museum of Durham History. Our united efforts evolved into an excellent exhibition – “Building Bridges through Good Faith” in 2018. Of course, this narration of history is a testament to those early pioneers – those who had faith in G-d and in the dignity of man – and the journey continues…We must continue to document, preserve, and share our unique Islamic history so that we leave our ‘footprints’ on the pages of antiquity to illustrate our evolution over time, by Allah’s permission.
– Naomi Shakir Feaste, NALs
North Carolina Muslim Americans have a rich history. Courtesy of Naomi Feaste. 
Collection day in Raleigh, 2018. Courtesy of Katie Spencer. 
Ar-Razzaq History Project collection day at Stanford Warren Library in Durham. Courtesy of Naomi Shakir Feaste. 
Inside Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center. Courtesy of Naomi Feaste.
Muslim African Americans in North Carolina 