WALKING WHILE MUSLIM IN MANHATTAN
From Malcolm's Harlem to New Amsterdam
New York City
SEPTEMBER 27 - 28, 2025
$ 750 Per Person • Open to all participants age 17+.
with $400 deposit
Islam has been a part of the story of New York City since its beginnings. The lives and experiences of Muslims are layered across its sprawling blocks and its five Boroughs. On this walking tour of Manhattan, we will explore some of these stories from a street-level perspective. The life of Malcolm X, in particular, figures centrally in our learning experience.
Traveling by subway and on foot, we will criss-cross the island to retrace the lives of Muslims found among the enslaved Africans of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam that preceded NYC, the immigrants of what was once Little Syria, and the many vibrant communities that call Harlem home. With 2025 marking what would have been Malcolm X’s 100th year, we’ll also visit key locations from his life and career while also learning about the enduring influence of Black Muslims across the city over many decades.
faculty guide
Dr. Martin Nguyen
Dr. Martin Nguyen is the son of refugees who fled Vietnam in the last days of the war in 1975. Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, he went on to receive his Ph.D. from Harvard and is presently a Professor of Islamic Studies at Fairfield University. His work on Muslim theology, ethics, spirituality, the Qur’an, and the intersection of race and religion has been long absorbed with questions of community, belonging, and faith. He is the author of several books including Modern Muslim Theology: Engaging God and the World with Faith and Imagination and An American Muslim Guide to the Art and Life of Preaching, which he edited and revised with the late Imam Sohaib Sultan. He has taught at a variety of places including Boston Islamic Seminary, the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World, the Muslim Public Service Network, The Mantle, and Dar Al Islam in Abiquiú, New Mexico. More can be found here.
guest presenters
Saafir Rabb
Saafir Rabb is a business strategist, real-estate developer, community activist and former assistant to the late Imam WD Mohammed. He served on President Barack Obama’s transition team in relation to public diplomacy and remains actively involved with bridging divides within and across political difference. In addition to working as an ambassador for indigenous Muslim American expression, his career also has involved substantial investment in social enterprise- working with returning citizens and other vulnerable populations - to curb recidivism, improve food security, provide addictions recovery and build low-moderate income housing.
Yusef Salaam
Yusef Salaam is an American politician, motivational speaker, and activist currently serving as a member of the New York City Council, representing the city's 9th council district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five, was wrongfully convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989. He and his co-defendants were cleared of wrongdoing in 2002.
Itinerary in new york city
Saturday, September 27th
7:30am - Breakfast
8:30am - Gather and take the subway together to Central ParkNorth (110th St.) station
9:00am - Tour Start
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The tour program officially begins at 7:30 am on September 27th and ends after brunch on Sunday September 28th. Accommodations are not included in this tour.​​
9:15 am - Malcolm X's Mosque
Masjid Malcolm Shabazz (Mosque No. 7)
102 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026
Originally Temple #7 for the Nation of Islam (NOI). Firebombed on Feb. 21, 1965 after MX’s assassination. Renamed by Warith Deen Muhammad in 1976 to Masjid Malcolm Shabaz.​
9:20 am - Malcolm in Harlem
Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market
52 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026
An outdoor market specializing in African heritage goods established in 1999. The community around the mosque helped to found this space in conversation with the city after controversy in 1994. The vendors are mostly West African immigrants.​​
Walk Along Marcus Garvey Park
(9 short blocks, 1 long block detour)​​
9:45 am - Early Muslims in NYC
Former Mohammedan Unity Society
67 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027
The 1938 guide book New York Panorama lists this address and the Powers Street Mosque in Brooklyn as the only operating Muslim gathering places in the city for believers in the early 20th century.​
9:50 am - Nation of Islam
Muhammad's Mosque No. 7
106-08 W 127th St, New York, NY 10027
Eastern Regional headquarters of the NOI today.​
10:00 am - Nation of Gods and Earths
Allah's School in Mecca (Five Percenters)
2122 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, New York, NY 10027 Longstanding home of the Five Percent community or the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE), founded by Clarence 13X, once a member of the NOI.​
10:10 am - The Global Malcolm X
Hotel Theresa
2070-80 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, New York, NY 10027 Malcolm X welcomed Fidel Castro here in 1960. The hotel, with many suites, later served as the home office for Malcolm’s Organization of Afro-American Unity and Moslem Mosque Inc.​
10:20 am - NYPD 28th Precinct
2071-89 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10027
NOI member Johnson Hinton, a victim of police brutality, was kept here in 1957 after being severely beaten. Malcolm X and the NOI assembled out front to demand that he receive proper medical care.
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11:00 am - Audubon Ballroom
The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and
Educational Center
3940 Broadway, New York, NY 10032
Where Malcolm X regularly spoke after leaving the NOI and where he was assassinated. Guided Tour (60 minutes)​
12:30 pm - Malcolm Before Islam
Former Small's Paradise
2294 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, New York, NY 10030
During his early years as a hustler, a young Malcolm worked at this nightclub from 1942-1943.​
12:35 pm - Malcolm X Archive
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10037
The famed branch of the New York Public Library, where Malcolm X’s archive is kept.​
3:00 pm - African Burial Ground
African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center
290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007
The site where enslaved Africans from the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam were allowed to bury their dead. An estimated 15,000 enslaved Africans were buried here with archaeological evidence showing that a significant number were Muslim. It was rediscovered in 1991 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.​
4:15 pm - World Trade Center Site/Freedom Tower
9/11 Memorial Pools
180 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007
The site commemorates those killed in the 9/11 attacks, which initiated the U.S.’s global war on terror. Among the slain honored here were many Muslims who worked and lived in the area.​
4:30 pm - New Amsterdam/Little Syria
Formerly St. George's Maronite Church/St. George Tavern
Downtown Community House
Last Tenement Building of Little Syria
103-109 Washington Street, New York, NY 10007
The few architecture traces remaining here point to a longstanding Arab immigrant enclave known as Little Syria. While predominantly Christian, Muslims from the Ottoman empire were among the Arab transplants.​
Sunday, September 28th
11:00 am - Brunch with Yousef Saalam
Red Rooster
310 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027
9:05 am - Moslem Mosque, Inc.
Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood
130 W 113th St, New York, NY 10026
Established by Shaykh Ahmad Tawfiq, this mosque is the spiritual successor to Malcolm X's envisioned Moslem Mosque,Inc.​
1:00 pm - Lunch (Prayer onsite at 12:48)
Red Rooster
310 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027
6:15 pm - Dinner
Turkuaz
310 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
with $400 deposit
Bayan has been offering faculty-led tours to world heritage destinations since 2017, with previous tours to Southern Spain, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jerusalem & Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and Senegal/Gambia, with exciting new destinations being planned in the coming years.
Tours offered by Bayan cater to the diverse interests and needs of families, while offering an exceptional educational and cultural program. Each tour is led by one or more faculty members who provide daily background lectures and insights about the historical and contemporary contexts. Local guides are utilized as well at various points in time. The itinerary is crafted by experienced personnel to maximize your enjoyment and satisfaction. While the scheduled program is robust, ample time is provided to explore on your own, shop for local handicrafts and souvenirs, and enjoy some leisure activities. Bayan’s tour group size is typically between 20-30 participants.
All meals, activities, accommodations and lectures are included.
TOUR information
Early Bird (Reserve by 6/1/25) After 6/1/25
Adult $750 $850​
​Minors (8-17) $600 $700​​
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PACKAGE INCLUSIONS
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Day Programs only
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Subway transportation between Sites
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Saturday Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
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Sunday Brunch
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Entrance fees for scheduled sites​
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take advantage of early bird pricing!
with $400 deposit