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Washington Post
21-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
New York Narratives tour centers Muslim experiences, history in the city
NEW YORK (RNS) — Participants are often surprised when Asad Dandia's Muslim Harlem tour stops at JC Barbershop in Spanish Harlem — only until he explains it was the headquarters of the country's first Puerto Rican Muslim organization, the AlianzaIslámica (the Islamic Alliance). A photo of the 1990s storefront in hand, Dandia lectures a tour group on a Saturday in April about the history of Latino Muslims in New York City.
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
New York Narratives tour centers Muslim experiences, history in the city
NEW YORK (RNS) — Participants are often surprised when Asad Dandia's Muslim Harlem tour stops at JC Barbershop in Spanish Harlem — only until he explains it was the headquarters of the country's first Puerto Rican Muslim organization, the AlianzaIslámica (the Islamic Alliance). A photo of the 1990s storefront in hand, Dandia lectures a tour group on a Saturday in April about the history of Latino Muslims in New York City. 'I've stopped there so many times, I know clients and barbers probably wonder what I'm doing,' he said. Dandia founded his walking-tour company, New York Narratives, in 2023 to help tourists discover the city's Muslim history. He highlights traces of the earliest Muslim New Yorkers and locations important to the approximately 750,000 Muslims who currently call the city home. The tours have since expanded to show experiences of other religious minorities and cultural histories, such as a tour through the 'Jewish Lower East Side,' and others focused on social movements and working-class New Yorkers. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ A museum educator for the Museum of the City of New York with a background in Islamic studies, Dandia draws from both his professional interests and personal experience as a Pakistani American who grew up in southern Brooklyn. He shows a side of New York many aren't familiar with, referring to it as 'my New York.' 'I try to demonstrate how Muslims are deeply interconnected and intertwined with the histories of New York City,' Dandia said in an interview before the tour. On the company's flagship Muslim Harlem tour, Dandia covers five different communities that settled in the neighborhood, highlighting American Muslims' diversity. The group first stopped at the Islamic Cultural Center on the Upper East Side, the city's first mosque built for that purpose, as earlier mosques were created in homes or apartments. In Spanish Harlem, Dandia touched on the history of Hispanic Muslims and Bengali immigrants. After a stop at a Somali restaurant — the only one in the city, Dandia said — for chicken suqaar and bits of East African history, the group headed to central Harlem. In Little Senegal, Dandia delved into the history of West African immigrants and their kinship with Harlem's African American residents. The tour, which ended early on that April day, usually ends in front of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz in central Harlem, where Malcolm X once preached. The itinerary covers various Muslim sects, from the Nation of Islam to Sufism. It places a 'great emphasis on Islam in Harlem as a lived religion,' according to the New York Narratives website. He came up with the idea of creating tours focused on New York's religious minorities after noticing few walking tours reflecting the city's immigrant communities, where Dandia grew up. Since he launched the company, Dandia has broadened tour offerings to cover Ottoman Empire diplomats who settled on Manhattan's Lower West Side and highlight Harlem's cultural relevance for Black Muslims. 'There was a tremendous gap in how public historians and tour guides talk about New York City's communities,' he said. 'I just saw that some stories were not being told that I felt needed to be told.' Through his tours, Dandia hopes to demystify the history of Muslim New York by highlighting the community's contributions to the city. Muslim presence in New York, he said, dates back 400 years and has added to the 'city's tapestry and its culture.' 'Muslims are a central part of New York,' he said. 'We are your doctors, your pharmacists, we are your cab drivers. We're making your halal food right at the food carts, and we're involved in social justice movements. We're educators.' When developing a new tour, he relies on historians, history books, local faith leaders, activists, and community historians as integral sources, he said. 'They share with me their knowledge and what they know, and I turn it into a compelling story with their consent and with their support,' he said, adding he also pulls from old newspapers and other written archives to craft his itineraries. Since 2023, he has taken hundreds of university students and professors on tours, as well as nonprofit staff, eager to learn more about the communities they serve. The opportunity to talk about Muslim New Yorkers' experiences without focusing on Islamophobia feels refreshing, he said. 'I can talk about cultural traditions, theologies, urban religion, and all of that really fun stuff,' he said. In 2013, Dandia was among plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the New York Police Department for its decade-long surveillance of Muslims. The suit resulted in a change in the NYPD's policies, barring it from opening investigations on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity. Dandia also helped curate the 'City of Faith' exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York in 2022, which documented religious profiling that South Asian Americans faced post-9/11. Still, on the tours, Dandia often addresses how Muslim New Yorkers navigate anti-Muslim biases and the impact the post-9/11 Islamophobia peak had on the community. Recently, he started developing a tour in conjunction with the Tenement Museum, which covers immigration in New York from the late 19th century to the 1970s, to explore Muslim history on the Lower East Side and Buddhist and Taoist communities in the area. 'Asad's outlook on history and working with community members and sort of unearthing untold stories felt so aligned with the way the Tenement Museum shares stories of immigrant and migrant communities,' said Kathryn Lloyd, vice president of programs and interpretations at the museum. Their joint tour, still in the planning phase, is part of the museum's 'Lived Religion' project, which looks at religious practices of Lower East Side communities. The project, funded by a Lilly Endowment grant, will help the museum document the experience of Muslim immigrants, Lloyd said. Though the museum currently documents the lives of a German Jewish immigrant family, an African American family, and families from Puerto Rico, China, and Italy, the museum had no section on a Muslim family. 'They're a community that often doesn't get talked about as much, so we're excited to kind of elevate both the past and present Muslim communities on the Lower East Side,' Lloyd said.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New York Narratives tour centers Muslim experiences, history in the city
Participants are often surprised when Asad Dandia's Muslim Harlem tour stops at JC Barbershop in Spanish Harlem — only until he explains it was the headquarters of the country's first Puerto Rican Muslim organization, the AlianzaIslámica (the Islamic Alliance). A photo of the 1990s storefront in hand, Dandia lectures a tour group on a Saturday in April about the history of Latino Muslims in New York City. 'I've stopped there so many times, I know clients and barbers probably wonder what I'm doing,' he said. Dandia founded his walking-tour company, New York Narratives, in 2023 to help tourists discover the city's Muslim history. He highlights traces of the earliest Muslim New Yorkers and locations important to the approximately 750,000 Muslims who currently call the city home. The tours have since expanded to show experiences of other religious minorities and cultural histories, such as a tour through the 'Jewish Lower East Side,' and others focused on social movements and working-class New Yorkers. ___ This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___ A museum educator for the Museum of the City of New York with a background in Islamic studies, Dandia draws from both his professional interests and personal experience as a Pakistani American who grew up in southern Brooklyn. He shows a side of New York many aren't familiar with, referring to it as 'my New York.' 'I try to demonstrate how Muslims are deeply interconnected and intertwined with the histories of New York City,' Dandia said in an interview before the tour. On the company's flagship Muslim Harlem tour, Dandia covers five different communities that settled in the neighborhood, highlighting American Muslims' diversity. The group first stopped at the Islamic Cultural Center on the Upper East Side, the city's first mosque built for that purpose, as earlier mosques were created in homes or apartments. In Spanish Harlem, Dandia touched on the history of Hispanic Muslims and Bengali immigrants. After a stop at a Somali restaurant — the only one in the city, Dandia said — for chicken suqaar and bits of East African history, the group headed to central Harlem. In Little Senegal, Dandia delved into the history of West African immigrants and their kinship with Harlem's African American residents. The tour, which ended early on that April day, usually ends in front of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz in central Harlem, where Malcolm X once preached. The itinerary covers various Muslim sects, from the Nation of Islam to Sufism. It places a 'great emphasis on Islam in Harlem as a lived religion,' according to the New York Narratives website. He came up with the idea of creating tours focused on New York's religious minorities after noticing few walking tours reflecting the city's immigrant communities, where Dandia grew up. Since he launched the company, Dandia has broadened tour offerings to cover Ottoman Empire diplomats who settled on Manhattan's Lower West Side and highlight Harlem's cultural relevance for Black Muslims. 'There was a tremendous gap in how public historians and tour guides talk about New York City's communities,' he said. 'I just saw that some stories were not being told that I felt needed to be told.' Through his tours, Dandia hopes to demystify the history of Muslim New York by highlighting the community's contributions to the city. Muslim presence in New York, he said, dates back 400 years and has added to the 'city's tapestry and its culture.' 'Muslims are a central part of New York,' he said. 'We are your doctors, your pharmacists, we are your cab drivers. We're making your halal food right at the food carts, and we're involved in social justice movements. We're educators.' When developing a new tour, he relies on historians, history books, local faith leaders, activists, and community historians as integral sources, he said. 'They share with me their knowledge and what they know, and I turn it into a compelling story with their consent and with their support,' he said, adding he also pulls from old newspapers and other written archives to craft his itineraries. Since 2023, he has taken hundreds of university students and professors on tours, as well as nonprofit staff, eager to learn more about the communities they serve. The opportunity to talk about Muslim New Yorkers' experiences without focusing on Islamophobia feels refreshing, he said. 'I can talk about cultural traditions, theologies, urban religion, and all of that really fun stuff,' he said. In 2013, Dandia was among plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the New York Police Department for its decade-long surveillance of Muslims. The suit resulted in a change in the NYPD's policies, barring it from opening investigations on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity. Dandia also helped curate the 'City of Faith' exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York in 2022, which documented religious profiling that South Asian Americans faced post-9/11. Still, on the tours, Dandia often addresses how Muslim New Yorkers navigate anti-Muslim biases and the impact the post-9/11 Islamophobia peak had on the community. Recently, he started developing a tour in conjunction with the Tenement Museum, which covers immigration in New York from the late 19th century to the 1970s, to explore Muslim history on the Lower East Side and Buddhist and Taoist communities in the area. 'Asad's outlook on history and working with community members and sort of unearthing untold stories felt so aligned with the way the Tenement Museum shares stories of immigrant and migrant communities,' said Kathryn Lloyd, vice president of programs and interpretations at the museum. Their joint tour, still in the planning phase, is part of the museum's 'Lived Religion' project, which looks at religious practices of Lower East Side communities. The project, funded by a Lilly Endowment grant, will help the museum document the experience of Muslim immigrants, Lloyd said. Though the museum currently documents the lives of a German Jewish immigrant family, an African American family, and families from Puerto Rico, China, and Italy, the museum had no section on a Muslim family. 'They're a community that often doesn't get talked about as much, so we're excited to kind of elevate both the past and present Muslim communities on the Lower East Side,' Lloyd said.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Saturday Racing Tips: Best bets for Ayr and the Scottish Grand National
Traprain Law (Ayr, 1.10) – 0.5pt each-way @ 5/1 (bet365) Whistle Stop Tour (Ayr, 1.43) – 1pt win @ 4/1 (bet365) Ethical Diamond (Ayr, 2.15) – 1pt win @ 3/1 (William Hill) Surrey Quest (Ayr, 3.35) – 0.5pt each-way @ 11/1 (Unibet, 6 places) Spanish Harlem (Ayr, 3.35) – 0.5pt each-way @ 16/1 (William Hill, 6 places) Wiseguy (Ayr, 3.35) – 0.5pt each-way @ 25/1 (BoyleSports, 6 places) Betsen (Curragh, 2.50pm) - 0.5pt each-way @ SP One Look (Curragh, 3.25pm) - 0.5pt each-way @ 4/1 (William Hill) The Willie Mullins battalions arrive on the west coast of Scotland this weekend with the Closutton maestro bidding to take a vice-like grip on a second UK trainers' championship with six runners in the £200,000 Coral Scottish Grand National on Saturday at Ayr. Mullins trails Dan Skelton by roughly £130,000 in the title race despite saddling just 16 per cent of the runners his chief rival has sent out since the season started. A sum total of just 143 runners has yielded 29 winners, 12 of them achieved in Grade 1s and it is incredible to think that Skelton has saddled in excess of 900 runners for his trio of Grade 1 successes. Mullins takes dead aim at Ayr again a year on from Macdermott, Klarc Kent and Spanish Harlem giving him a priceless 1-4-6 in Saturday's marathon feature on route to a landmark UK title. Perhaps we should have taken more notice at the time as just a year later at Aintree he was leaving that achievement well behind in the rear mirror with an astonishing 1-2-3-5-7 on Merseyside. In last year's renewal, the Toby Lawes-trained Surrey Quest was the unfortunate victim of the Mullins dominance, denied by a nose by Macdermott and an inspired Danny Mullins ride following a pulsating stretch duel in the Ayr sun. Jockey Kevin Brogan has a chance of redemption aboard the eight-year-old who has enjoyed a light campaign with connections building towards this race with a largely unexposed chaser who arrives on the back of a 69-day break after running creditably in February's bet365 Edinburgh National. History tells us that Surrey Quest is a better horse when fresh with his form figures standing at 2131122 following an absence of 60 days or greater. If he finds a similar rhythm to last year he ought to go close once again, and his yard have been in decent form of late. Nicky Henderson's hoodoo in the Grand National was extended by another year with Hyland and Chantry House failing to make an impact last week at Liverpool, but Wiseguy could well reward an each-way play in the Scottish version with betting sites offering enhanced places. The selection looks like marathon trips are required these days following staying on efforts at the Cheltenham Festival and previously at Ascot where he stuck to his task admirably. A good winner on his comeback at Newbury last November, he remains attractively treated and is available at 25/1 on some betting apps offering six or seven places looks worth an each-way play. Last, but no means least, last year's sixth Spanish Harlem is also fancied to run a big race with the cheekpieces applied for the first time. Rider Brian Hayes was arguably unlucky not to land last week's National aboard Grangeclare West but for pitching at the final fence and losing valuable ground, but he could gain a measure of compensation here with the seven-year-old looking to be peaking following an encouraging fourth in the Punchestown National Trial last time. A slow leap at the first in the straight saw Spanish Harlem, sent off at just 12/1 last year, lose valuable momentum and he could only find the one pace from that point on. A year older, he looks to be coming to the boil nicely and it appears significant his price has shortened on horse racing betting sites from 33/1 in the last 24 hours. Others to take the eye at Ayr include last year's runner-up Traprain Law (1.10pm) who has a record at the track which reads 413312 and, who like Surrey Quest, is another that could go one better than 12 months ago in his corresponding race for an owner that loves winners at this meeting. Whistle Stop Tour (1.43pm) was hampered at an early stage of the Ultima Handicap Chase and should be more at home at a venue where he has recorded career figures of 1331, while Ethical Diamond (2.15pm) could be the answer to the Coral Scottish Grand National following an eyecatching effort in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham. Over at the Curragh, pay attention to Betsen (2.50pm) who chased home a potentially Group class sprinter in Two Stars last time, while One Look (3.25pm) is two from two on straight courses and has won both first time out and following a 189-day absence. Betting on can become addictive, so it's vital bettors take precautions to keep themselves safe when using gambling sites. Every licensed UK betting site should offer safer gambling tools, such as deposit limits, time outs, self-assessment questionnaires and self-exclusion options. These are free tools to help punters stay in control and they are available at various gambling sites, including online bookmakers, casino sites, slot sites, and poker sites. These operators may offer punters free bets or casino bonuses from time to time, but it's important to treat these rewards with caution. Read the terms and conditions before accepting any bonus as some will require you to place a cash bet before handing out the reward. Always remember that sports betting is meant to be fun. It should never be viewed as a guaranteed way to make money. If you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don't hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below. NHS Help GambleAware Gamblers Anonymous We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Saturday Racing Tips: Best bets for Ayr and the Scottish Grand National
Traprain Law (Ayr, 1.10) – 0.5pt each-way @ 5/1 (bet365) Whistle Stop Tour (Ayr, 1.43) – 1pt win @ 4/1 (bet365) Ethical Diamond (Ayr, 2.15) – 1pt win @ 3/1 (William Hill) Surrey Quest (Ayr, 3.35) – 0.5pt each-way @ 11/1 (Unibet, 6 places) Spanish Harlem (Ayr, 3.35) – 0.5pt each-way @ 16/1 (William Hill, 6 places) Wiseguy (Ayr, 3.35) – 0.5pt each-way @ 25/1 (BoyleSports, 6 places) Betsen (Curragh, 2.50pm) - 0.5pt each-way @ SP One Look (Curragh, 3.25pm) - 0.5pt each-way @ 4/1 (William Hill) The Willie Mullins battalions arrive on the west coast of Scotland this weekend with the Closutton maestro bidding to take a vice-like grip on a second UK trainers' championship with six runners in the £200,000 Coral Scottish Grand National on Saturday at Ayr. Mullins trails Dan Skelton by roughly £130,000 in the title race despite saddling just 16 per cent of the runners his chief rival has sent out since the season started. A sum total of just 143 runners has yielded 29 winners, 12 of them achieved in Grade 1s and it is incredible to think that Skelton has saddled in excess of 900 runners for his trio of Grade 1 successes. Scottish Grand National Tips Mullins takes dead aim at Ayr again a year on from Macdermott, Klarc Kent and Spanish Harlem giving him a priceless 1-4-6 in Saturday's marathon feature on route to a landmark UK title. Perhaps we should have taken more notice at the time as just a year later at Aintree he was leaving that achievement well behind in the rear mirror with an astonishing 1-2-3-5-7 on Merseyside. In last year's renewal, the Toby Lawes-trained Surrey Quest was the unfortunate victim of the Mullins dominance, denied by a nose by Macdermott and an inspired Danny Mullins ride following a pulsating stretch duel in the Ayr sun. Jockey Kevin Brogan has a chance of redemption aboard the eight-year-old who has enjoyed a light campaign with connections building towards this race with a largely unexposed chaser who arrives on the back of a 69-day break after running creditably in February's bet365 Edinburgh National. History tells us that Surrey Quest is a better horse when fresh with his form figures standing at 2131122 following an absence of 60 days or greater. If he finds a similar rhythm to last year he ought to go close once again, and his yard have been in decent form of late. Nicky Henderson's hoodoo in the Grand National was extended by another year with Hyland and Chantry House failing to make an impact last week at Liverpool, but Wiseguy could well reward an each-way play in the Scottish version with betting sites offering enhanced places. The selection looks like marathon trips are required these days following staying on efforts at the Cheltenham Festival and previously at Ascot where he stuck to his task admirably. A good winner on his comeback at Newbury last November, he remains attractively treated and is available at 25/1 on some betting apps offering six or seven places looks worth an each-way play. Last, but no means least, last year's sixth Spanish Harlem is also fancied to run a big race with the cheekpieces applied for the first time. Rider Brian Hayes was arguably unlucky not to land last week's National aboard Grangeclare West but for pitching at the final fence and losing valuable ground, but he could gain a measure of compensation here with the seven-year-old looking to be peaking following an encouraging fourth in the Punchestown National Trial last time. A slow leap at the first in the straight saw Spanish Harlem, sent off at just 12/1 last year, lose valuable momentum and he could only find the one pace from that point on. A year older, he looks to be coming to the boil nicely and it appears significant his price has shortened on horse racing betting sites from 33/1 in the last 24 hours. Ayr Racing Tips Others to take the eye at Ayr include last year's runner-up Traprain Law (1.10pm) who has a record at the track which reads 413312 and, who like Surrey Quest, is another that could go one better than 12 months ago in his corresponding race for an owner that loves winners at this meeting. Whistle Stop Tour (1.43pm) was hampered at an early stage of the Ultima Handicap Chase and should be more at home at a venue where he has recorded career figures of 1331, while Ethical Diamond (2.15pm) could be the answer to the Coral Scottish Grand National following an eyecatching effort in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham. Over at the Curragh, pay attention to Betsen (2.50pm) who chased home a potentially Group class sprinter in Two Stars last time, while One Look (3.25pm) is two from two on straight courses and has won both first time out and following a 189-day absence. Please Gamble Responsibly Betting on can become addictive, so it's vital bettors take precautions to keep themselves safe when using gambling sites. Every licensed UK betting site should offer safer gambling tools, such as deposit limits, time outs, self-assessment questionnaires and self-exclusion options. These are free tools to help punters stay in control and they are available at various gambling sites, including online bookmakers, casino sites, slot sites, and poker sites. These operators may offer punters free bets or casino bonuses from time to time, but it's important to treat these rewards with caution. Read the terms and conditions before accepting any bonus as some will require you to place a cash bet before handing out the reward. Always remember that sports betting is meant to be fun. It should never be viewed as a guaranteed way to make money. If you ever feel like you need help or advice on gambling addiction, don't hesitate to contact one of the charities or organisations below.
