Zeba Khan advances to the next round in the Washington Post’s ‘America’s next great pundit’ contest.
Zeba and the other two remaining contestants are being brought to Washington DC where they will meet face-to-face for a roundtable debate. She came in third for votes among the three participants who are advancing, so you’ll really need to show up for the next vote on Thursday, when you will be able to see video of the debate and vote for the best pundit – which will be Zeba of course.
The winner of this contest will write a weekly column for 13 weeks and paid $200 for each, which then may be published in the print or online edition of the Washington Post.
In the meantime, here is an excerpt of a blog post Zeba wrote for the round two competition in which she proposed making Detroit, Michigan, into a center of Islamic finance.
Much has been said about the economic devastation in the Motor City, and weekly stories abound, letting the rest of us in on just how grim the situation is. But in the midst of economic ruin, there are flickers of hope, with occasional stories of small business owners entering the city and setting up shop. Yesterday, a very big flicker of hope was announced in the form of online mortgage mogul Dan Gilbert, the CEO of Quicken Loans, who wants to help spark a revival by relocating his company’s headquarters and its 1,700 employees into the heart of the city. If Gilbert moves his company, it will surely be a step in the right direction. But as Gilbert admits himself, if Detroit is going to become a success story, more people are going to have to follow him in, and it’s going to need to make good business sense to do so.
Gilbert intends to recruit innovative companies into the downtown area, envisioning an entrepreneurial center that would be critical for a true transformation. In light of his plans, I want to relay an idea that came up over dinner last week with my friends: Let’s turn Detroit into a hub for Islamic finance.
I know it might seem like I’m throwing a curve ball, but hear me out.
Follow this link to read more about Zeba’s idea to turn the ‘Motor City’ into a showcase city for the Islamic finance sector.
