ASMA Society has Received its Share of Media Coverage!

Some examples: – Newsweek: Imam Feisal and Daisy Khan authored an article titled “The Ideals We Share” as part of Newsweek’s July 30th issue featuring Islam in America. – The New Yorker: Imam Feisal interviewed about the Pope’s controversial comments earlier this year. – Christian Science Monitor: Imam Feisal is quoted in this article on challenges faced by a foreign born Imam in leading the American Muslim community. – CNN’s Paula Zahn: Daisy Khan speaking on CNN about Rep. Keith Ellison’s use of the Qur’an for his swearing in ceremony. – BBC Radio: Daisy Khan interviewed on BBC on the topic of “Muslims in the Armed Services.” – The Chicago Tribune: Daisy Khan, quotedon Laleh Bakhtiar’s translation of the Qur’an – Newsweek: Daisy Khan speaks about the rise in interfaith marriages – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Daisy Khan speaks about her trip to Germany. – New York Times: Daisy Khan quoted in a discussion on the phenomenon of advertising directed toward Muslim consumer markets. – Pioneer Press: Daisy Khan, speaks about Minnesota cab drivers refusing to pick up passengers carrying alcohol – Dallas Morning News: Daisy Khan becomes the first Muslim woman to speak at Thanksgiving Square. – Kashmiri TV: Imam Feisal appeared in an interview on Kashmiri TV to talk about the importance of regional peace. Lectures, Conferences: – Washington, DC – May: Daisy spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, DC as part of a SheSource Networking Reception. – Hempstead, NY – May: Naz Ahmed spoke at Hofstra University providing an Islamic perspective on medical ethics and the environment. – Dallas, TX – May: Daisy Khan becomes the first ever female Muslim keynote speaker at the annual National Day of Prayer breakfast sponsored by Thanksgiving Square. – San Francisco, CA – May: Daisy Khan attended the Women’s Funding Network to help galvanize support for WISE. – Seattle, WA – May: Daisy Khan was invited to perform an ecumenical prayer service along with Reverend Jim Wallis at the annual meeting of the Council on Foundations – New York, NY – April: Daisy Khan lectured on the occasion of the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday at Columbia University organized by the Isma’ili community – Abu Dhabi, UAE – April: Daisy Khan spoke at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair on avenues for integration of minorities in multi-ethnic societies. – New York, NY – March: Daanish Masood spoke at the 92nd street Y on the current challenges faced by the American Muslim community. – Austin, TX – March: Imam Feisal lectured at St. Edwards University on strategies for bridging the divide between the West and the Islamic World. – Wilton Park, UK – February: Imam Feisal and Daisy Khan participated in a Conference entitled “Platforms between Muslim and Western Societies.” organized by the Home Office. – Berlin, Germany – February: Daisy Khan participated in a conference entitled “Muslim as Citizens” in Berlin, Germany and later toured various German cities to discuss the need for intercultural understanding and tolerance. – Davos, Switzerland – January: Imam Feisal and Daisy Khan attended the C-100 Islam-West dialogue group at the World Economic Forum. Award: – Daisy Khan received the Affinity Faith Leaders Award for outstanding leadership in community service at the beginning of the month. Summer Interns We are fortunate to have three excellently qualified interns complementing the ASMA Society staff for the foreseeable future. – Josh Martin – Having recently returned from a period of residence in the Middle East, Josh will soon be enjoying his final year at New York University where he is concentrating in Economic Development and Middle Eastern Studies. – Amara El-Haj – Also at NYU, Amara has been making waves as the new chairperson of the university’s Middle East Dialogue Group. A Middle Eastern Studies major, she proves her dedication to Muslim society on a daily basis through her grueling two-hour commute from Connecticut. – Tanya Mir – a fellow commuter from Long Island is a third year Women Studies major at the College of William and Mary has been a valuable addition to the staff. ASMA Society’s two main projects, Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) and Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity (WISE), are currently in full swing. MLT Changes have been made to this year’s program since last year’s successful Copenhagen MLT. The 2007 MLT will include participants from Muslim-majority countries in addition to Muslim-minority areas. This is a large step for the MLT initiative, and the growth in the scope of its participant community reflects an important increase in the scale of issues to be tackled at the conference. No longer is MLT strictly concerned with the interface between Muslims and their neighbors in the West, though this remains a crucial element of the program’s agenda. Now, more than ever, MLT participants will be asked to respond to the challenges faced by the global Islamic community and its image from the outside. MLT Highlights MLTs have continued to speak out in the media, including an appearance on CNN in a live segment in response to the recently published Pew survey titled “Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream.” Despite some positive conclusions, the survey contains contentious results including a claim that up to 15% of Muslim-Americans (under 30) consider “suicide bombings in defense of Islam” to be “sometimes justified.” You may view Yasmin Hamidi, Haroon Moghul, and Zaheer Ali on CNN’s “Morning Show” here. Some other prominent MLTs: – Eboo Patel, MLT participant and CEO of the Interfaith Youth Corps, has published his first book, “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, The Struggle for the Soul of a Generation” (click link for review and author’s bio). The volume was acclaimed by prominent activists and scholars including former US president Bill Clinton. – Mona Eltahawy appeared on CNN’s Paula Zahn discussing hot-button issues in Muslim American life including the Minnesota taxi driver controversy. – Naif al Mutawa, an MLT, has developed a new way to bring the Muslim community into the Western cultural “mainstream” – comic strips. His The 99 comic series, whose plot is based on Muslim superheroes, was recently featured in a PBS Frontline World feature. – WISE As you read in the last update, the November (2006) launch of the WISE initiative in New York was a tremendous success. Preparations have now begun for the second annual WISE conference, ambitiously planned to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Shura Council The time has come for the establishment of an all-women’s Shura (consultative) Council. As part of the WISE initiative, ASMA Society held its first Shura Council planning meeting at the Rockefeller Brother’s Pocantico Conference Retreat on July 14-15. Over the course of the weekend, participating female scholars and activists engaged in spirited discussions around developing a council that would offer alternative legal perspectives on Muslim women’s issues. To see pictures of the meeting, click here. WISE Participants in the Press and highlights: – Mohja Kahf featured in a recent New York Times article about her activism in the field of women’s empowerment. – Debbie Almontaser was quoted in the New York Sun about her pioneering of a new public school to teach Arabic and Middle Eastern history to supplement conventional material. – Daud Sharifa Khanam received Rotary’s “For the Sake of Honor” Award for her pioneering work in establishing on all-women’s mosque in India. – Laleh Bakhtiar, WISE, published an article in the Chicago Tribune. She was also featured in a New York Times piece about her translation of the Qur’an, specifically her reinterpretation of a verse that was previously used to justify domestic abuse. –
Fareena Alam, WISE, published a front-page feature piece for Newsweek in which she outlined her take on the Islamic practice of wearing a veil (or hijab).?