Muslim Writers Collective (MWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting storytelling in the Muslim American community. [1] The organization holds monthly open mics across the country featuring spoken word, poetry, comedy, music, and other art forms. [2] [3] [4]
The Collective was founded in 2014 by Hamdan Azhar and Ayisha Irfan in New York City.
MWC emerged from a heightened post-9/11 context and is composed predominantly of millennials who are either university age or young professionals and are the children of Brown and Black immigrant parents. [5] According to a Vice magazine article published in 2016, "At a time when Islamophobia has reached new virulent and violent heights, MWC provides a space for young Muslims to honor their humanity." [4]
MWC has held events in over a dozen cities in addition to New York, including Boston, [6] Chicago, [7] Dallas, [8] Oakland, [9] Seattle, [10] Washington, D.C., [11] Toronto, [12] and Lahore, [13] routinely drawing hundreds of attendees.
Stories shared at MWC include topics such as heartbreak, family, and what it means to grow up Muslim in post-9/11 America. [4]
Muslim Writers Collective (MWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting storytelling in the Muslim American community. [1] The organization holds monthly open mics across the country featuring spoken word, poetry, comedy, music, and other art forms. [2] [3] [4]
The Collective was founded in 2014 by Hamdan Azhar and Ayisha Irfan in New York City.
MWC emerged from a heightened post-9/11 context and is composed predominantly of millennials who are either university age or young professionals and are the children of Brown and Black immigrant parents. [5] According to a Vice magazine article published in 2016, "At a time when Islamophobia has reached new virulent and violent heights, MWC provides a space for young Muslims to honor their humanity." [4]
MWC has held events in over a dozen cities in addition to New York, including Boston, [6] Chicago, [7] Dallas, [8] Oakland, [9] Seattle, [10] Washington, D.C., [11] Toronto, [12] and Lahore, [13] routinely drawing hundreds of attendees.
Stories shared at MWC include topics such as heartbreak, family, and what it means to grow up Muslim in post-9/11 America. [4]