Author: Edward E. Curtis IV

Edward Curtis is an author and professor at Indiana University, Indianapolis.

National Arab American Book Prize for “Muslims of the Heartland”

In the summer of 1936, Arab American Muslims from across the Midwest arrived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to celebrate the first anniversary of the Rose of Fraternity mosque, also known as the Moslem Temple. It was a joyous affair. Local community members Elaine Graham, Lucille Mann, and Margaret Hamad sang, “To a Wild Rose.” Participants belted out Arabic songs, too. Several speeches were given in … Continue reading National Arab American Book Prize for “Muslims of the Heartland”

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“The Largest Syrian Colony Outside New York”: Syrian-Lebanese Immigration to Fort Wayne, Indiana

Originally published in Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History (Indiana Historical Society), Spring 2023: 5-13. By 1900 there were vibrant Arabic-speaking communities across Indiana, including in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Michigan City. But Fort Wayne was special, at least according to its Syrian residents. Alixa Naff, who developed the Smithsonian Institution’s collection on Arab American history, wrote that Fort Wayne “was among the largest and … Continue reading “The Largest Syrian Colony Outside New York”: Syrian-Lebanese Immigration to Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Arab Indianapolis Wins Three Emmys

I decided not to attend the 2023 awards ceremony for the Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences because I had already committed to teach at an NEH institute just two days after, and I promised myself I would no longer do back-to-back business trips. So, I stayed at home and watched the live stream from Cleveland. I tried not … Continue reading Arab Indianapolis Wins Three Emmys

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Podcasting “Muslims of the Heartland”

In addition to hitting the road for a multi-stop Heartland Muslim book tour in 2022, I really enjoyed spending time talking with other professors about the book on a variety of podcasts this year. I wrote Muslims of the Heartland for public, Midwestern audiences, the people who, like me, are descendants of the first Arabic-speaking people who settled here before World War I and for … Continue reading Podcasting “Muslims of the Heartland”

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Why My New Edited Volume Features Students of Vernon Schubel

More than any other factor, the reason why I became a professional scholar of Islam and Muslim cultures is because of my undergraduate adviser, Prof. Vernon Schubel of Kenyon College. As a first-year student at Kenyon in the fall of 1989, I enrolled in a course on classical Islam. Vernon, as he invited us to call him, used Marshall Hodgson’s magisterial Venture of Islam to … Continue reading Why My New Edited Volume Features Students of Vernon Schubel

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Moses of Cairo (Illinois)

Originally from Belt Magazine: April 24, 2023 By Edward Curtis IV  Around 1899, my great, great-grandfather, a man named Hanna Samaha, left his beautifully green three-thousand-foot-high village located in contemporary Lebanon where, on a clear day, you could see the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean. He landed at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the town of Cairo [pronounced “Care-oh”], Illinois. He … Continue reading Moses of Cairo (Illinois)

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Indiana Humanities offers funding to host “Arab Indianapolis”

20 Community Orgs To Get $250 Each Indiana Humanities, a statewide nonprofit that encourages Hoosiers to think, read and talk, is offering stipends to nonprofit organizations across the state to host screenings and discussions of the film Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History. Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History, hosted by author and IUPUI Professor Edward E. Curtis IV, directed and produced by local filmmaker Becky Fisher … Continue reading Indiana Humanities offers funding to host “Arab Indianapolis”

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“Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History” Selected for 31st Annual Heartland Film Festival

Indianapolis — Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History has been chosen for inclusion in the 31st annual Heartland International Film Festival. The documentary will be shown on October 11 at Living Room Theaters and on October 12 at Glendale Landmark Theater. It will also stream from October 6 – 16 on the Heartland Film website. Tickets are available here. The documentary, directed and produced by local … Continue reading “Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History” Selected for 31st Annual Heartland Film Festival

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