Muslim Americans have played a vital role in building America’s varied cultural landscape, but their voices have often been marginalized through ignorance, isolation, and violence. Many Muslim-American writers and artists today are increasingly pigeon-holed by editors, journalists, producers, and audiences into explaining or defending their faith and its followers, rather than recognized for their
own creativity and unique contributions to American culture.
'The M Word,' a new series of public events, will provide a platform for Muslim-American writers and cultural figures to address audiences on their own terms—highlighting the art forms, narratives, and identities that influence their work—and to challenge the prevailing narrow representations of highly diverse Muslim communities comprised of more than three million Americans. We are also inviting audience members, online followers, panelists, and others—both Muslims and non-Muslims alike—to share their personal experiences with what it means to be a Muslim in America today. Share your video story to our Facebook wall! Please tell us your name and the city where you reside, and answer the question, "What does it mean to be Muslim American today?" Please post videos only of yourself—third party videos are subject to removal. You can also submit your story in writing at pen.org/m-word-stories. By submitting your story, you grant PEN America the right to use all still and motion pictures and sound recordings you provide in furtherance of its nonprofit charitable mission, including the right to advertising, promotion, and future marketing of PEN America and its activities via radio, television, video, DVD, the Internet, podcasts, PEN America publications, or any other use, by any means now known or hereafter devised, in perpetuity, throughout the universe. PEN America’s new initiative The M Word is supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s Building Bridges program.
