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May 2016 Program

 

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM AND MUSLIMS
Presented by May Shogan (Rescheduled from March 2015)
Director • International Visitors and Education Department
International Institute of Buffalo
Wednesday May 11, 2016 • 7:00 PM
Tonawanda City Hall Community Room


May Shogan received a Bachelor of Art’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in French from the University of Jordan. Her native language is Arabic, and until 1987 she was employed at The Arab Bank Ltd., in Amman, Jordan.

Mrs. Shogan moved to Buffalo in 1988. At that time, she joined the Women’s Club at the University of Buffalo where she held the position of treasurer. The Women’s Club’s mission was to help families of university students who come from other countries adjust to their new life in the U.S. She joined the International Institute of Buffalo in 1989 as a professionally trained Arabic translator and interpreter in the Buffalo area’s courts, hospitals, and businesses to ensure appropriate interpreting services for foreign language speaking clients. In 1995, May started working for the International Institute as a Language Coordinator working closely with immigrant and refugee clients. In the past few years, she held the positions of Domestic Violence Advocate, Employment assistant, Medical Advocate, School Advocate for refugee families in the Buffalo school district, and an Arabic language instructor.

May is currently the Director of the International Visitors and Education Department, where she supervises the International Visitors program; which arranges professional itineraries, activities, and home stays for International delegations that come to Buffalo through the U.S. Department of State. May also plans and conducts cultural events and global education programs for local schools grades K-12. In addition, May has been conducting cultural competency and diversity training for businesses, schools, colleges, and social services agencies for more than twenty years.

Mrs. Shogan served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Middle East Studies, the Advisory Board of The North Tonawanda Academy of International Studies, and the Community Steering Committee at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. She is currently a member of Say Yes Buffalo’s Parent Engagement Task Force, and a member of the Cultural Advisory Committee at Explore & More Children’s Museum.

Her program, Understanding Islam and Muslims, will cover the basics of the religion Islam, differences between the various sects, the articles of Islam, and the 5 pillars of this religion. She will also cover some misinterpreted concepts and terms like Jihad, Islam’s relationship with other religions, the meaning of the word “Allah”, etc. The goal is to promote a better understanding of Islam and its followers, and to refute some myths about this topic.


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