'America To Zanzibar' invites Philly families to explore Muslim cultures

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PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A new exhibit about Muslim culture opens at the Please Touch Museum on Saturday. The traveling exhibit, two years in the making, is called "America To Zanzibar." It was customized for Philadelphia after curators first caught a glimpse of it at the Childrens Museum of Manhattan.
"We brought in local families to give us objects to put in our American Home," Suswell said, referring to a portion of the exhibit.

#AmericaToZanzibar #Muslim cultural exhibit opens tomorrow through 9/2 @pleasetouch #Philly more @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/kqsLAz4cBM

— Hadas Kuznits (@hadaskuznits) February 1, 2019

"The whole idea is A-Z, from beginning to end we have represented so many different Muslim cultures," she said.

At Please Touch, she says, visitors will find items borrowed from the Penn Museum and the Rosenbach.

"There’s been a lot of misdirection and misinformation and Islam and Muslims," Kenney said. "The president himself has been one person that’s been setting up this narrative along with his followers, and when you start using religion as a weapon, weaponizing religion and different ethnicities, it’s not good for the country. It’s not good for the world."

Adds Suswell, "I mean, I believe there are so many individuals who find the religion to be mysterious, and so this museum is offering the opportunity for individuals who have had questions about the religion to ask those questions, to ask those questions in an environment that is recreational and fun and where they will learn."

CORRECTION: This story is updated to correct the spelling of Salima Suswell's name.