Precious Rasheeda Muhammad employs the power of true stories well told to build community through history.
الحَمْد لله
In May 2010, Coe College invited Precious to give the Baccalaureate address, a first for a Muslim woman at Coe. The next day the college awarded Precious an Honorary Doctorate for her international work building community across religious and cultural divides.
scholarship
From Morocco to Australia to the United States of America to England; from encyclopedia entries to book chapters to exhibits; from panels to lectures to keynotes, from Princeton to the Smithsonian; and so much more, Precious has used her scholarship in diverse ways in service to building community across seemingly intractable divides.
Frustrated with the paucity of scholarship on Islam in America, Precious founded and spearheaded the Islam in America conferences at Harvard from 2000 to 2001, to educate the Harvard community and general public about the growth and development of Islam in America and to promote tolerance, fellowship and understanding. The “first-rate” conference gained international recognition and motivated many scholars, practitioners and religious leaders to organize similar events. For more than three years after Precious’ graduation, students at Harvard worked together with various departments, organizations, faculty, and staff at Harvard to carry on the conference.
leadership
Whether founding and spearheading an innovative history conference at one of the world's most competitive academic institutions, or helping to plan an interfaith event for a world audience, Precious has extensive experience developing and leading successful programs and projects.
Precious served a significant role in planning the historic 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions held in Melbourne, Australia—the largest interfaith gathering in the world. There were over 6000 attendees with over 500 programs/sessions across seven days.
service
From speaking at a maximum-security prison, as an NAACP Prison Branch MLK keynote speaker, to providing pastoral care and counseling at a 770-bed hospital, as a student chaplain, Precious carefully chooses her projects based on how well they fit into her commitment to being a servant of the people for the betterment human condition.