Source: The Clarion-Legder

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060610/FEAT04/606100317/1022

On June 10, 2006 The Clarion-Legder reported, "In a new book about Muslim women in America, Okolo Rashid's story is featured in a chapter called 'The Changers.' It's a fitting title for a woman who helped launch the first museum in America dedicated to Muslim cultures - in Mississippi. 'To come from where I came from does take a certain kind of vision,' said Rashid, 57, who converted to Islam 30 years ago. Rashid's vision is evident in how the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson has helped educate Americans about Islam. The one-of-a-kind museum has drawn more than 30,000 visitors from throughout the country since it opened in 2001... 'The perception many Americans have about Muslim women is that they are housewives or covered from head to toe and don't interact with the public,' said the museum's co-founder Emad Al-Turk. 'This couldn't be further from the truth.'"