The People Made This: Closing Reception with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

2744 West 63rd Street,Chicago IL 60629

19 May, 2023

Description

*Note: Tickets are limited at one per registration. Each attendee should register for their own ticket. Join us for an evening of a final look of our inaugural exhibit, The People Made This: A Look into IMAN’s 25 Years. The evening will include a moving conversation with long time IMAN supporter and world renowned athlete and activist, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, a live performance by special guests and with a farewell tribute to Senior Director of Arts & Culture Sadia Nawab. Event Details: – Free parking available in both IMAN parking lots and street parking. – Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served. Program Details: 6:00PM: Doors open & Exhibit Viewing, Sounds by DJ Lokari 6:30PM: savory hors d'oeuvres 7:00PM: Program featuring Mahmoud Abdul Rauf and farewell tribute to Senior Director of Arts & Culture - Sadia Nawab 8:00PM: Maghrib/Sunset Prayer, sweet hors d'oeuvres 8:30PM: Special guest performance & Exhibit Viewing About Muhammad Abdul-Rauf: A natural born leader and competitor, Abdul-Rauf, of Gulfport, Mississippi was formerly known as Chris Jackson before converting to Islam in 1991. He is a Humanitarian, Activist, Author, Former NBA Player with unimaginable career stats and community impact. grew up with Tourettes syndrome (undiagnosed until the age of 17) and expresses he "Wouldn’t be the basketball player that he became if it wasn’t for Tourette syndrome". It's also a driving force in supporting mental health causes and initiatives. As an athlete he has set several freshman scoring records at Gulfport High School. He earned first-team All-America honors both years at LSU. He was taken with the third overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1993, appeared in the Slam Dunk Contest at the 1993 NBA All-Star Weekend, and was one of the league's most accurate free throw shooters. In 2020 LSU retired Abdul-Rauf’s Number 35 basketball jersey and in 2022 he was recognized by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. In his unwavering faith in Islam Abdul Rauf preaches, “The goal in life is to find your gift, the purpose in life is to give it away" Today Abdul Rauf spends a lot of time traveling extensively in the U.S. and abroad doing speaking engagements and basketball training while also partnering with organizations that align with his faith on issues such as Education, Social Justice, Mental Health and Humanitarianism. Mahmoud says "The way we live has to produce a legacy of action which also mirrors the importance of Coalition building which was a primary strategy of our beloved Prophet (PBUH)."