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Role Model of the Month
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Month 1 - Hedieh Mirahmadi
Long before the war on terror, the struggle for the soul of Islam had begun in cities across the world, Hedieh Mirahmadi was inextricably drawn to liberating her co-religionists from the shackles of extremists who systematically suppress such inalienable human rights as the equal treatment of women and the freedom of religious expression.
As a director of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, she taught Muslim communities around the world how to create vibrant civil society infrastructure, such as setting up community centers, interacting with free media, participating in trade associations, and even negotiating international business transactions as part of a free market economy. She worked with governments in Central and Southeast Asia to fight corruption, and to empower their people with the intellectual and financial capital that could support a successful democracy. At the same time and at great personal risk, she researches international insurgency groups in order to brief US government officials about those groups who threatened our national security.
An attorney by profession, Dr. Mirahmadi combines her legal acumen with practical experience to inform policy makers and counterterrorism experts on how various aspects of the legal system- internal revenue service rulings, charitable/non profit law, foreign policy, or national security policy-- both foreign and domestic, can be used or amended to ultimately succeed in the long term battle against terror. Her analytical skill and expertise earned her a two year political appointment under President Bush to the US Embassy of Afghanistan as Senior Advisor.
Dr Mirahmadi’s latest endeavor is her most significant both personally and in the long term battle for freedom. As Executive Director and founder of the WORDE, Hedieh has combined her political, social and intellectual resources in the Muslim world to create the policy and networks that will transform stifled and oppressed Muslim communities into progressive, self-sustaining, institutions of grass roots democracy. |
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Month 2 - Shahed Amanullah
Shahed Amanullah is a longtime Muslim American community leader who has been active in articulating the voice of American Muslims. As editor-in-chief of www.altmuslim.com , an online newsmagazine covering issues related to Islam in the West, Shahed writes and speaks regularly about the challenges and opportunities facing Islam in America. His work and writings have been featured in Newsweek, San Jose Mercury News, New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, National Public Radio, BeliefNet, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Voice of America. His television appearances include "Nightline with Ted Koppel", CNN Headline News, the "Today Show", "America's Most Wanted", and "Hannity & Colmes".
Shahed is the founder of Halalfire Media www.halalfire.com a network of Islamic-themed websites with over 5 million visitors annually. Along with altmuslim.com, signature properties include zabihah.com, the worlds largest database of Halal restaurants and markets, salatomatic.com, an extensive list of reviewed mosques and schools in Muslim-minority countries, and halalapalooza.com, a comprehensive guide to Islamic e-commerce.
Shahed serves as a board member of the United Muslims of America www.umanet.org, the Muslim Public Service Network www.muslimpublicservice.org and the Muslim Youth Camp of California www.muslimyouthcamp.org. He is also a general partner in Zakat Community Ventures www.zakatventurefund.com, the first "venture philanthropy" fund dedicated to promoting Islamic charitable values. He serves as an advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council www.mpac.org, Islamic Networks Group www.ing.org, American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism www.amila.org Arab World and Islamic School Services www.awaironline.org and other local and national Islamic organizations. Born and raised in California, Shahed currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Islamic Studies professor Hina Azam, and sons Hanif and Haroon.
Note: I myself am a big fan of the altmuslim podcast. Ipod users, make sure to check it out on itunes.
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Month 3 - Asma Mobin-Uddin
Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin was born and raised in the United States. She attended a public school and a Catholic high school in a small Ohio town where there were few other Muslim families. Her parents came from Pakistan, and while she was growing up, she and her family frequently visited relatives in Pakistan. As a child and as an adult, she has had the opportunity to travel throughout the world.
Asma received her undergraduate and medical school degrees from the Ohio State University. She practiced pediatrics in a private practice for years.
Asma initially decided to write about the Muslim-American experience because she had difficulty finding good books in this area to read to her kids. Her first children’s book, “My Name is Bilal”, was published in 2005. Her second book, “The Best Eid Holiday Ever” is due to be published in 2007.
Several of Asma’s op ed and columns on issues relating to Islam and Muslims have been published.
She has served the community by working in organizations that encourage dialogue and promote understanding between faith traditions. Currently, she is President of the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR.
Please make sure to check Asma’s website. |
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Month 4 - Karen Nur El-Amin
Karen Nur El-Amin (Queen Nur) grew up hearing her grandparents tell stories about the African-American community. What began on a dare has now turned into a full-time career. Now Queen Nur is telling her own stories in performances and workshops everywhere. A Muslim convert, El-Amin took the name of Queen Nur from a female figure in the Quran who represents light.
"My path was not planned but my journey was organic and natural," notes the storyteller.
El-Amin, soon 50, was always on stage in school plays but never dreamed of making a career as a storyteller. After graduation from high school, she enrolled as a criminal justice major at Northeastern University in Boston. A certificate in dispute resolution from Harvard Law School helped further her goal of helping troubled families. After 10 years in Boston, El-Amin and her husband moved to Willingboro in 1987. As president of the Parent Teacher Association at Twin Hills Elementary School, she wanted school programs to have "more content and context" so she launched Bedtime Theater, a program that brought kids back to school in their pajamas to hear adults read stories to them. After the death of her husband, El-Amin discovered a new career when she was invited to share her talents and stories in a Kwanzaa program. Asked to repeat the reading in other schools, El-Amin discovered she had a talent for holding the children with the tales she was telling. El-Amin's blossoming career quickly turned into a voyage of cultural discovery as she enrolled in graduate courses in African-American studies at Temple University and folklore at the University of Pennsylvania.
"I learned about the history of what I do and the responsibility of doing it," she explains. Responsibility is the key word, she insists. A storyteller is more than a teller of tales. She carries a cultural tradition in her stories and passes on the history of her community.
To find out more, you can check her website: www.queennur.com
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Month 5 - Dr. Jamaluddin Connell Monette
Dr. Connell Monette is the Assistant Professor of Literature at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco. He received his doctorate in Medieval Studies from University of Toronto. His research and teaching interests include: medieval European and Islamic literature, comparative folklore and mythology.
Monette was born in Halifax, Canada in 1975. His family background was Irish-French Canadian, and his upbringing was in the evangelical Christian tradition. Following high school, Monette attended an evangelical college for a year to increase his knowledge of Christianity. As a part of his religious studies, he encountered Islam for the first time. Monette became briefly involved in Christian outreach to Muslims, and studied the differences between Christianity and Islam.
Following his religious studies, he enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies at University of Ottawa, where he studied history, religion, and such languages as Arabic, Latin, and Ancient Greek. During his time as an undergraduate student, Monette became concerned about contradictions in Christian doctrine and scriptures, and began to explore other faiths in search of answers. Thanks to the presence of the Islamic Information Centre in Ottawa, he embraced Islam in 1995. Following his studies in Ottawa, Monette moved to Toronto, where he obtained an MA in Medieval Studies, then a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from the prestigious Centre for Medieval Studies at University of Toronto. Monette’s research and teaching is in the field of medieval literature, especially comparative Christian-Islamic texts. Following his doctoral studies, Monette took a position as Assistant Professor of Literature at Al Akhawayn University, where he continues research and teaching, as well as delivering lectures on the medieval period and Islamic literature. He is an advocate for Muslim-Christian understanding and tolerance. Dr. Monette speaks English, French, Arabic, and Farsi. He is the author of The Medieval Hero: Christian and Muslim Traditions (2008), and a contributor to Islamic Horizons, The Journal of Indo-European Studies, and Moroccan Arabic and Culture (forthcoming 2010). He is married, has a daughter and currently resides in Ifrane, Morocco.
To find out more about Dr. Monette's story of conversion to Islam, you can watch this series of videos. |
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Month 6 - Nouzha Skalli
Born in 1950 in El Jadida, Morocco Married and mother of 2 children, Nouzha graduated as a Pharmacist of the University of Montpellier in 1974.
She is now the Parliament spokesperson of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS). She was chief of the Parliamentary Group of Socialist Alliance, vice-president of the commission of the social sectors to the Parliament, founding member of the Democratic Association of the Women of Morocco (ADFM created in 1985). Founding member of the Women Leadership Center created in 1997 in Casablanca. Founding member of the Moroccan Organization of the Human Rights (OMDH). Founding member of the center of listening and legal assistance to the women victims of domestic violence, member of the Board of directors of INSAF national institution of solidarity with the women in distress. Founding Member of the national committee for the participation of the women in the political life and a member of the steering committee of Global Network for Local Governance (GNLG), based in New Delhi. Last but not least, Nouzha was a key contributor in the efforts that led to the reform of the Moudawana (family law in Morocco).
Nouzha has recently been appointed minister of social development by the King of Morocco.
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Month 7 - Al Hassan Ait Belaid
Each Friday Alhassan Ait Belaïd, preacher at El Mohammadi Mosque in Casablanca-Morocco speaks at the radio about religion and everyday life. His weekly show “DIN wa Mouaamalate” translated as “Religion and Behaviors”, lasts two hour, but for him, the direct contact with the listeners does not stop there. On his cell phone, the calls don’t stop, questions, confessions, requests for assistance or spiritual support. He is also often asked to do arbitration in family conflicts, heritage disputes, marital dramas and all sorts of quarrels. He is famous for being remarkably just.
Ait Belaïd is a former member of the scientific Council of oulemas of the area of Casablanca, he is also a professor of Islamic studies and a preacher at the El Mohammadi mosque in Casablanca.
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