Aminah Assilmi
Aminah Assilmi (born Janice Huff, 1945 – 5 March 2010)[1] was a broadcast journalist, national Muslim community activist[2] and director of the International Union of Muslim Women.[3] Formerly a Southern Baptist preacher, she converted to Islam in 1977 in college while trying to convert some Muslims to Christianity. As the director of the International Union of Muslim Women, she visited campuses discussing Islam. She was named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in 2009 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan.[4]
Assilmi was involved in the release of the 2001 Eid stamp,[4] as well as future anniversary editions. She was also involved in creating an educational center for Muslim converts. She died on March 5, 2010 in a car accident while returning from a speaking engagement in New York. She had a daughter and two sons, as well as several grandchildren.[1]
She appears in the 2005 National Film Board of Canada documentary film about North American Muslim women, Me and the Mosque.[5] When she converted she was at first ignored by her family, but her grandmother, mother, father and husband eventually also converted to Islam.
References
- 1 2 "Aminah Assilmi: A Leader Lost". About.com. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
- ↑ "CAIR Offers Condolences on Passing of Aminah Assilmi - WASHINGTON, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ↑ "International Union of Muslim Women Home". Iumw.org. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- 1 2 Samana Siddiqui. "Who was Aminah Assilmi?". SoundVision.com. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- ↑ Ken Lem, Val (April 2006). "Me and the Mosque". Canadian Materials XII (17).