CCMW Ottawa Presents Books and Biryani: A Muslim History of North America with Omar Mouallem
Join CCMW’s Ferrukh Faruqui as she catches up with the writer and filmmaker Omar Mouallem for an exciting online talk as part of The Ottawa International Writers Festival.
Omar is the author of Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas and has just released CBC Gem documentary The Last Baron, which celebrates the sweat-induced success of Arab immigrant families, including his own.
He is a writer, journalist, editor, filmmaker, commentator, educator, and small-business owner, and has worked for such outlets as The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, CBC TV, and The Guardian. He has edited several magazines, co-directed a documentary about men’s mental health, and co-authored the national bestseller Inside the Inferno..
Join us online on Sunday, October 17th at 7pm for Books and Biryani 2021: The Muslim History of North America. RSVP for this Free Event here.
About Books and Biryani
Books and Biryani began 18 or so years ago – even our long serving president can’t recall the exact year - in a Westboro church basement with guests perusing profound prose between sips of cardamom tea and fragrant spoonfuls of chicken-studded rice. Past guests include Moon of the Crusted Snow author Waubgeshig Rice and Cree playwright-novelist-composer Tomson Highway.
About Omar Mouallem
Omar Mouallem is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. His journalism has appeared in The Guardian , The New Yorker , Rolling Stone, Maclean’s, WIRED , and more. He coauthored the national bestseller Inside the Inferno: A Firefighter’s Story of the Brotherhood that Saved Fort McMurray , and codirected Digging in the Dirt , a documentary about mental health in the Alberta oil patch. In 2020, he founded Pandemic University School of Writing. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his family. Follow him on Twitter @OmarMouallem and find him at OmarMouallem.com. Visit PrayingtotheWest.com for more information.
About the Book, Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas
Omar Mouallem travels to thirteen remarkable mosques and discovers the surprising history of their communities. But what he finds also challenges his own long-held personal beliefs, and even his sense of identity. Purchase book here.