The second one…

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Muslimedia debuted in South Florida, but the followup happened in Southern California – thanks to Michelle Dowd, a professor and newspaper adviser at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. On the evening of March 2, at a mosque with the awesome name of the Islamic Center of Inland Empire, 55 people ate dinner, attended a sunset prater, and met on the floor in a circle. They talked for 2 1/2 hours about journalism and Islam. Dowd says it was “warm, communal and eye-opening.” “Our journalism students learned – from an imam, an attorney, professors and activists – that Muslims are a community of people who love one another, who have a faith that informs their ethics, and who do not condone violent acts of any sort, let alone those committed in the name of Islam,” Dowd says. “I am so grateful to Nadeem Riaz for opening the mosque to us, and to Masood Kahn, Saheb Ashrafi and Niveen Behairy for generously sharing their personal stories and their professional wisdom with us.” Dowd concludes, “We are forever changed.” It doesn’t take forever to organize Muslimedia where you are. And it doesn’t even cost pocket change – SPJ will buy your meal. Hit us up.