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  johnpi 12:02 pm on November 20, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, American Muslims (71), muslim american (20), Muslim writers (6), Muslims in America (36), Muslims in Politics (5)

  The people power is with Zeba.

  Zeba Khan has blown the competition out of the water in the latest round of the Washington Post’s ‘America’s Next Great Pundit Contest’ beating the nearest competitor by over a thousand votes. See Zeba’s powerhouse performance here in the video competition.

  The competition now comes down to Zeba and one other contestant, who have been tasked to write one final column for the contest that will be published on Monday, which will be your opportunity to participate in the FINAL VOTE in the contest.

  Watch here on Monday for your opportunity to vote for Zeba and give her a platform to launch her pundit career at the Washington Post.

   

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  johnpi 11:38 am on November 20, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, American Muslims (71), Muslim journalists (4), Muslim writers (6)

  Elan magazine profiles Muslimah Media Watch founder Fatemeh Fakraie.

   
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  buzz 3:21 pm on November 18, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: 500 most influential Muslims (2), American Muslim leaders, authority (7), leadership (5), political islam (9), Terrorism (399)

  I have been thinking about the question of influential people in Islam and who has the right to speak on behalf of Islam. This led me to an article in the American Muslim today. There is a legal battle in Malaysia where authorities are attempting to silence some self-proclaimed cleric:

  The Sharia authorities in the Malaysian state of Selangor have charged the former Mufti of Perlis, Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, of preaching Islam without a permit to do so. For Malaysian-watchers worldwide, this case will be seen as a litmus test for Malaysia, the Najib administration, the government and Sharia authorities of Selangor (now under the control of the Pakatan Rakyat), and the state of Islamic praxis in Malaysia in general. The outcome of the case will tell us where Islam is heading in a country that has for some time now been seen and cast as an exemplary model of normative Islam at work. But is it really?

  Former Mufti Asri’s ‘crime’, if one could even call it that, was to preach Islam without an official permit. But in the course of the past few weeks the man himself has been vilified by his critics and accused of being – among other things – a Wahabi Muslim as well.

  It is an interesting debate. I can see how some who are drawn to anarchy would also be drawn to Islam. It has a very decentralized nature with only a Transcendent God and an anti-iconic Holy Prophet to hold it together. Islam is ….whatever they say it is. Politics. Activism. Terrorism. Mysticism. Etc. 

  (More …)

   
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  johnpi 9:57 pm on November 17, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, American Muslims (71), muslim american (20), Muslim writers (6), Muslims in America (36)

  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.

   
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  johnpi 6:25 pm on November 16, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, American Muslims (71), muslim american (20), Muslim writers (6), Muslims in America (36)

  Vote for Zeba (again).

  Zeba Khan who founded Muslim Americans for Obama, has made it into the group of final four contestants being considered in the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit” competition.

  Earlier, she requested help from friends and supporters to vote for her in the competition, and she needs our help again.

  I’m writing to inform you that thanks to your votes, I made it past Round 2 in the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit” Competition! But there was little time to celebrate as Round Three was a live Q&A session this morning. Online voting has already begun and will go until tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 17 at 3 pm EST.

  You can read the Q&A transcript here.

  And hopefully, you’ll find reason to vote for Zeba again here.

  What next if she wins this round?

  Should I garner enough votes to proceed, there are two more rounds before the Post determines the overall winner of the competition. So worst and best case scenario, you’ll be finding my name in your inbox two more times this week.

   
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  johnpi 8:47 pm on November 7, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, American Muslims (71), muslim american (20), Muslim writers (6), Muslims in America (36)

  Vote for Zeba.

  Last week, I was selected as one of ten contestants in the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit” competition. Nearly 5,000 entries were submitted. The Post is holding an online voting weekend starting today and ending Monday, Nov 9th at 3pm EST for readers to choose the top 4 (plus 1 Judges’ pick) to move on to the next round.

  I am shamelessly asking for your vote.

  You got it!

  Zeba Khan created the Muslim Americans for Obama website and blog – http://www.mafo2008.com.

  Here’s something she wrote back in September for The Huffington Post: Muslim Americans missing from the political fray.

  Last week’s “Tea Party” demonstration in D.C. illustrates that using the term “Muslim” as a slur is still acceptable in many parts of the country as protesters exclaimed they were afraid “Muslims are moving in and taking over” – an echo of their leader Mark Williams’ comments about candidate Obama being an “Indonesian Muslim” during the presidential campaign.

  That Muslims aren’t well liked hasn’t been lost on Muslim Americans themselves. But rather than confront the stereotypes and misunderstandings that led to the negative views, most Muslim Americans seem to have gone into hiding and decided not to participate in American political life.

   
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  johnpi 11:58 am on November 6, 2009 | 39 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, American Muslims (71), associating with Muslims (2), campus Muslims (2), conservative Muslims (7), gay muslims (11), mosque control (3), mosque leadership (3), mosques (38), muslim american (20), muslim american extremism (25), Muslim converts (7), Muslim dissidents (2), Muslim families (3), Muslim family life (3), muslim fanatics (18), Muslim feminists (6), Muslim Identity (2), Muslim Leaders, Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (2), muslim liberals (7), Muslim Schools (8), Muslim unity (2), Muslim women (80), Muslim World (13), muslims condemn (3), Muslims in America (36), Muslims in Politics (5), peace activist Muslims (3), progressive muslims (6), western muslims (8)

  Interesting conversation I was having with another moderate Muslim.

  Her point: Mainstream/moderate American Muslims deserve the suspicion of our fellow Americans for having allowed this thing to grow among us that resulted in the violence at Fort Hood and other recent expressions of extremism, for shrinking back from mosque boards and private school committees when those of the puritanical strain among us take them over, for allowing ourselves to be put on the spot at mosque functions and social events instead of turning it around and not putting them on the spot.

  Agree or disagree?

   
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  johnpi 8:43 pm on September 1, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, Taha Abdul-Basser (7)

  In several of the discussions about Taha Abdul-Basser’s letter on apostasy, there has been some disapproval expressed that it was a private communication and should not have been published on the Web.

  Joe Klein of Time magazine has been raising similar complaints about Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com who recently published several private communications of Klein’s.

  Here’s Klein:

  What I have seen from him, ad nauseum, are intemperate attacks in which he questions the character of–no, it’s worse than that: he slimes–anyone who has the temerity to disagree with him.

  I agree with Greenwald on some things, and appreciate his insights on others. But he is a thoroughly dishonorable person–as he proved by releasing my private emails…

  Greenwald’s response, in part:

  When you write for 4 million people in a national political magazine and constantly go on TV to opine, outbursts that you have about politics at a beach party or in a club of a few hundred journalists aren’t “private” and the entire world isn’t obligated to honor the demand that it stay secret.

  (More …)

   
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  abunoor 3:38 pm on July 9, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders, Zaid Shakir (4)

  Imam Zaid Shakir (hafidhuAllaah) responds to a commenter who criticized him for writing a brief piece for his blog about the death of Michael Jackson. The commenter made a big mistake in labelling Imam Zaid as a “Muslim rock star.”

   
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  johnpi 11:32 am on February 10, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: American Muslim leaders

  Yale will be holding a conference on Community leadership in American Islam. One of the panels described as follows:

  “The” American Muslim Leader
  Focusing less on scholarly leadership, this panel seeks to define leadership within the American Muslim context. Papers and case studies may examine the leadership styles, strengths, and approaches of individuals or may compare several such leaders. Possible questions to be addressed include: What makes a successful American Muslim leader? How can leaders effectively attain cohesion while negotiating questions of power and legitimacy? How are the challenges posed to American Muslim leaders similar or different from those challenges that confront the leaders of other religious communities? What defines legitimacy for American Muslim leaders? What effect has history played on the leadership typologies within American Islam?