Heritage & Health Series Program

Save the Dates: MHM 2025

Join in community and celebration for our MHM events this April.

For all upcoming events, view campus events calendar.

Thursday, March 13

Ramadan Iftar Dinner

Dining Hall
NOTE: This event occurred in March.

Iftar, or breaking of the fast, took place during the Holy Month of Ramadan. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) received his first Qur’anic revelations during this month. The holiest month in the Islamic calendar, Muslims abstain from all food and water from sunrise to sunset. Hosted by the Foothill Muslim Student Association.

Monday-Thursday, April 7-10

Week of Welcome Coffee Carts

9a.m.–1 p.m.
Library Quad, PSEC Quad, ASFC Office/Welcome Center, Admissions & Records

Don't worry about breakfast the first few days of Spring Quarter. We've got you covered!

You'll find ASFC coffee carts on campus for coffee, pastries, campus maps, info, and flyers in the following locations:

ASFC Offices (outside the Welcome Center)
Library Quad (at the steps)
PSEC Quad (in front of KJ's Cafe)
Admissions & Records (Building 8000)

Coffee/pastries served 9 a.m.–1 p.m. (while supplies last). Stop by to meet ASFC members and to get your questions answers about all things Foothill.

To see the full list of Welcome Week events and details, please visit the campus events calendar.

Wednesday, April 9

Muslim Heritage Month Opening Ceremony

Noon–1 p.m.
Dining Hall

We officially kick off Muslim Heritage Month with a powerful Opening Ceremony. Join us in celebrating Eid al-Fitr!

Eid is an Islamic Holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan where worshipers fasted from dawn until sunset as a way to grow spiritually, practice self discipline, and develop empathy. During Eid, celebrants get gifts, called “Eidi”, wear new clothes, and have festive parties. We’ll have lunch, henna, music, and games.

Thursday, April 10

Speaker Nadine Masour presents "Palestine 101"

Noon–1 p.m.
BIPOC Multicultural Center

Join us for a meaningful conversation and education on Palestine. Nadine shares: Many people are held back from taking a stand on the issue of Palestine/Israel by the common misconception that it is “complicated.” We’ll discuss the steady continuation of the more than 100-year-old Zionist project. Palestine 101 can help folks both familiar and unfamiliar to better understand the issues around Palestinian history and the ongoing struggle for liberation, freedom, and return.

Monday, April 14

Film Screening — Bisan Owda's Short Documentary Videos

1–2 p.m.
Dining Hall

Join us in the screening of Bisan Owda's short documentary videos and engage in a powerful discussion about Palestinian history. She won a 2024 Peabody Award in the News category and an Edward R. Murrow Award for News Series for her Al Jazeera Media Network show

Food will be provided.

More About Bisan's Work

Bisan Owda’s frequent video and livestream reports from the Gaza Strip vividly document the Palestinian civilian experience under Israeli siege following Hamas’ attack on October 7. The young journalist, activist, and filmmaker, who is in her 20s, chronicles her family’s plight as they flee the bombardment of their home in Beit Hanoun for the supposed safe zone of Al-Shifa Hospital. Reporting from her makeshift tent outside the medical center, she shows what survival looks like for her and the masses around her, reporting through tears and horror when Israeli forces strike an ambulance nearby.

Bisan has gained an international audience and her reportage has been picked up by legacy outlets such as ABC News, CBS News, and the BBC. In collaboration with AJ+, Bisan’s series of films portraying the realities in Gaza have garnered more than 40 million views across various platforms, each dispatch opening with a variation of her signature line: “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m still alive.”

For showing bravery and persistence in the midst of imminent danger, and for carrying a heavy journalistic burden as the entire world looks on, It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive was honored with a Peabody Award in 2024.

Tuesday, April 15

'You ARE Resilience: A Self-Development Workshop ' with Malaz Mohamad

11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
BIPOC Center

Join us for an inspiring workshop with Malaz as she draws from her lived experience as a triple minority—Muslim, Black, and female—the facilitator guides you on a powerful journey to uncover the internalized myths that hold you back and unlock the resilience within you. This session isn’t just about learning resilience; it’s about breaking through limiting beliefs and stepping into your fullest potential. Come ready to challenge narratives, embrace new possibilities, and transform the way you see yourself.

Read Malaz Mohamad's Bio

Meet Malaz Mohamad Malaz is a coach, mentor, and self-development advocate dedicated to nurturing resilience and fostering authentic growth. With a Master’s in Islamic Studies, an MBA, and an obsession with Psychology, she has spent over seven years supporting Muslim youth and their families through workshops, coaching, and research. She believes that self-development is not just personal—it’s a responsibility we carry to uplift those we serve.

Passionate about culturally sensitive mental health care, Malaz contributes to research at the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab. Her work in global health earned her the Young Innovators Award at the World Innovation Summit for Health. She thrives on facilitating conversations that are vulnerable, courageous, and transformative. When she’s not reading, researching, or leading discussions, Malaz enjoys painting, yoga, and spending time with her family.

For more about Malaz, visit makarim.agency.

Wednesday, April 16

Virtual Artist Talk with Wesaam Al-Badry

Noon–1 p.m.
Register to Attend

Note: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting

Meet Wesaam Al-Badry Please join investigative journalist Wesaam Al-Badry as he shares his work in video installation, sculpture, and painting through interconnected themes of identity, migration, simulated wars, and the archives. His work focuses on the social and environmental issues in the U.S. Middle East and the North African diaspora. His current projects investigate how the image-based process and text are complicit in using racialized ethnographic studies in Iraq.

Read Al-Badry's Bio

Wesaam Al-Badry is an investigative journalist, and interdisciplinary artist working in photography, video installation, sculpture, and painting through interconnected themes of identity, migration, simulated wars, and the archives. His work focuses on the social and environmental issues in the U.S. Middle East and the North African diaspora. His current projects investigate how the image-based process and text are complicit in using racialized ethnographic studies in Iraq.

Al-Badry was born in Nasiriyah, Iraq, when he was seven years old, at the outset of what became known as the Gulf War, his family fled to Saudi Arabia and lived in refugee camps for 4 and half years. In late 1994, Al-Badry and his family were relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska.His early arduous childhood experiences sculpted Al-Badry’s work, which focuses on imagining the human struggle with dignity, and love.

His clients include global media outlets such as CNN, Al-Jazeera America, the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Atlantic, NPR, Fortune, The Nation, and Mother Jones. Al-Badry has received The John Collier Jr. Award for Still Photography, Dorothea Lange Fellowship, the Jim Marshall Fellowship for Photography, The National Geographic Society fellowship, Magnum Foundation, and The Emerson Collective, and is currently a fellow at The Center for Visual Documentation. His artwork has been exhibited internationally at museums including the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany, Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City, Bernstein Gallery at Princeton University, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, and Jenkins Johnston Gallery in San Francisco.

Al-Badry received his master’s in New Media journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Al-Badry is represented by the Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco and New York, East Wing Gallery, and Contact Press Images, NYC. For more information about Al-Badry's work, visit wesaamalbadry.com.

Wednesday, April 23

Spring Club Day

Noon–2 p.m.
Library Quad

Clubs are the heartbeat of campus life at Foothill. Join us to meet club members, learn about joining one or more of the 50+ clubs currently active. Can’t find a club you want to join? Start your own! Learn how at this event all while enjoying Muslim-themed music and food.

More information about clubs

Wednesday, April 30

Closing Ceremony

Noon–1p.m.
Library Quad

Join us in bringing our Muslim Heritage Month events and festivities to a close. Food and beverages will be provided.

Questions? Please contact Victoria Strelnikova at strelnikovavictoria@fhda.edu.

MHM Planning Committee Members

Thank you to all our students, faculty and staff who helped plan our MHM events this month.

Shahana Shaik, Co-Chair
Aiza, Co-Chair
Noor Parak
Josh Germain
Amnah Khan
Chahid Bagdouri
Chris Yang
Daniel Yousefi
Sahil Jan
Judith Walgren
Mehreen Shaikh
Saleh Karami
Abdullah Navaid
Alina Lari
Aisuluu Arancibia
Fatima Jinnah
Victoria Strelnikova, Advisor

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