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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
altmuslim this week - june 29, 2009 - This week, reeling over the death of Michael Jackson (or is it Mikaeel?), a brutal (and brutally unfair?) new film about the stoning of women in Iran, and our good friend Farah Pandith - the most effective behind-the-scenes American Muslim you've never met - is promoted to a new office by Secretary Clinton.
ASIDES
editor's blog
US outreach to Muslims in good hands - Several of us at altmuslim have had the opportunity to work with Farah Pandith, who has just been appointed by Secretary Clinton to be a special representative to Muslim communities worldwide. (June 27, 2009)

Her name is Neda - Many have died tragic - and silent - deaths in the post-election violence in Iran. But one woman, Neda Agha Soltan, became a symbol with her death caught on video. Here, Neda's fiancee, Caspian Makan, comments on her story in comments transcribed exclusively for altmuslim.com. (June 25, 2009)

CONTRIBUTORS
PODCASTS
altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)

altmuslim review 031 - Oh, Bama! What does the election of Barack Obama mean for American Muslims, who were both courted and shunned during a long campaign? We speak with American Muslim Democratic activists who were gathered in Washington for the historic inauguration. (March 5, 2009)

ELSEWHERE
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.

Pushing the Envelope Without Breaking It, Shahed Amanullah, The Mosque in Morgantown, June 2, 2009.

Obama in Egypt: Let the unsaid be said, Zahed Amanullah, Patheos.com, May 28, 2009.

Zahed will be a panelist at Divan 2.0, a debate on the future of the Muslim internet sponsored by the Radical Middle Way at the London School of Economics in London, England, May 22, 2009.

Once Were Radicals (published by Allen and Unwin), the first book by Associate Editor Irfan Yusuf, is released in Australia, May 4, 2009.

Shahed and Wajahat will be speaking at the 3rd Annual Leadership Summit presented by the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals in Princeton, NJ, May 2, 2009.

Shahed will be leading a workshop on Media Strategies & Techniques at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in New York, NY, April 24-25, 2009.

Bringing it all back home, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 9, 2009.

Zahed will be conducting a two day workshop on Blogging and New Media for Italian students at the United States Embassy, Rome, Italy, April 8-9, 2009.

Crusading for Modern Islamic Art, Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet, March 26, 2009.

Wajahat will be speaking at the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in Doha, Qatar (January 16-19, 2009)

Finding the middle ground, Hesham Hassaballa, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 2009.

Shahed will be speaking about Muslims in the political process at the 8th annual Texas Dawah Convention in Houston, Texas (December 27, 2008)

Skyscraping ambition for Mecca, Ali Eteraz, The Guardian (UK), Comment is Free (December 18, 2008)

Zahed will be leading a technology workshop for European Muslim professionals at the Salzburg Global Seminar, Salzburg, Austria (November 16-20, 2008)

Zahed will be a keynote speaker at the inaugural meeting of the Network of European Muslim Technology Entrepreneurs, in Madrid, Spain (November 14, 2008)

Shahed will be a featured panelist at Red Faith/Blue Faith: Religion in the 2008 Election and Beyond at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC (November 7, 2008)

Let the Global Islamic Conspiracy Begin, Ali Eteraz, Jewcy, (November 5, 2008)

Zahed will be a guest on Press TV's Islam & Life, hosted by Tariq Ramadan, speaking on French and American Muslim experiences (November 3, 2008)

Zahed will be a guest on Irish broadcaster RTE's Spectrum radio show, speaking about Barack Obama and the Muslim factor in the US presidential election (November 1, 2008)

IN THE NEWS
Islamic Society reaches out to other faiths - "ISNA is very interested in extending their connections with Protestant groups," said Rafia Zakaria, an Indiana lawyer and associate editor at altmuslim.com, a Web site that looks at Muslim issues. "Having a figure as high profile as him gives them legitimacy to extend those kinds of alliances with church groups that have a significant amount of power in the United States." (June 21, 2009)

American Muslims, Jews rate Obama’s speech - "He was really pressing for people to say in public what they say in private. Everybody knows what the solutions to a lot of these problems are and I think there is vast agreement on what they are going to be. But nobody really talks about it and puts the cards on the table," said Shahed Amanullah, editor of the Web site altmuslim.com. (June 5, 2009)

A place to explore Muslim American life - "The biggest challenge facing us is more internal - asking the deeper question. Okay, now that we know that we are Muslim Americans or American Muslims, whatever you want to call us, what does that mean?" (May 23, 2009)

The great potential for online Muslim media - "A recent study in the US implies a correlation between non-Muslims who fear Islam and those who don't know any Muslims. The more Muslims get to know their non-Muslim neighbours, the more ability they will have to influence them." (April 29, 2009)

Obama’s entreaty to Islam surprises Muslims - "Here's where the American public is going, and here's where Obama is going and trying to head it off," said Shahed Amanullah, editor and publisher of altmuslim.com. The Bush administration asked Amanullah for help in shaping dialogue with the American Muslim community. "He's heading it off on a global level," Amanullah said. "He's starting at a core of the problem. The core of the problem is the crisis overseas." (April 8, 2009)

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The American Muslim
Shahed Amanullah
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Shahed Amanullah
As editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, Shahed Amanullah is an award-winning journalist who writes regularly about the challenges and opportunities facing Islam in America. Named one of ten "Muslim visionaries" by Islamica Magazine, Shahed's work and writings have been featured in magazines (Newsweek), newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune), radio shows (BBC News, National Public Radio, and major websites (BeliefNet.com). Television appearances include "Nightline with Ted Koppel", CNN Headline News, the "Today Show", and "Hannity & Colmes".

Shahed is the founder of Halalfire Media, a network of Islamic-themed websites with nearly 6 million visitors annually. Along with altmuslim.com, signature properties include zabihah.com, salatomatic.com, halalapalooza.com, and unitedmuslims.org. He has also served as a board member for the United Muslims of America, the Muslim Public Service Network, and the Muslim Youth Camp of California. He is a general partner in Zakat Community Ventures, a startup "venture philanthropy" fund dedicated to promoting Islamic charitable values.
Islamic Relief: A 4-Star Charity

ARTICLES BY SHAHED AMANULLAH

Filmmaker Jennifer Taylor
“There are so many things that surprised me”
Filmmaker Jennifer Taylor gives some insight into the people at the heart of her documentary film "New Muslim Cool", talks about avoiding the typical traps found when telling stories about Muslims, and explains how labels become meaningless for a community that increasingly blurs the lines between ethnicities, beliefs, and cultures. (1 comments)

Movie "The Mosque in Morgantown"
Pushing the envelope without breaking it
Asra Nomani, deserves credit for bringing light to the issue of gender inequity in American mosques. But since there is widespread agreement among Muslim leaders for the need for change, is Nomani's approach the best way to create it? (2 comments)

Author Reza Aslan
“We are fighting a war of the imagination”
For much of the past decade we have been fighting a "cosmic war" under the guise of a "war on terror," according to author Reza Aslan. In it, there lies a never-ending battle between almost mythical forces of "good" and "evil," skewing real-life history with a fantasy element with no practical resolution. (10 comments)

Comedian Azhar Usman
Allah made him funny
We speak to Muslim comedian Azhar Usman, whose concert film with fellow comedians Preacher Moss and Mohammed Amar, Allah Made Me Funny opens in select theatres today. (1 comments)

Author Sherry Jones
“I did all this in the service of a truth”
Jewel of Medina author Sherry Jones speaks to us about her book, a semi-fictional novel based on the life of Prophet Muhammad's wife Aisha pulled by her publisher Random House, and what led to a firestorm of controversy described by many as the next Satanic Verses. (34 comments)

Perspectives
Free speech is a two-way street
Some of the more abrasive encounters between Muslims and others have not centered around politics or foreign policy, but in the arena of free expression. It doesn't have to be this way. (37 comments)

US Elections
Blocking the vote
Block vote proponents are faced with two bad choices: either tell Muslims to abandon the candidate that the majority supports, or take credit for a block of votes they had nothing to do with creating. (5 comments)

Eid al-Adha
Is there room at the inn for a Muslim holiday in America?
I know it can be hard for people to share their most "religious" holidays with those not of their faith. But we are all children of God, and I believe the commonalities between us will shine over the differences. (0 comments)

Public diplomacy
Karen, we hardly knew ye
Karen Hughes' public diplomacy administration was certainly better than her "brand America" predecessors. Too bad an unchanging US foreign policy precluded any meaningful improvement in US-Muslim world relations. (3 comments)

Opposing terrorism
What would marches against extremism achieve?
If Muslim-Americans were able to pull off a grand protest, would it curtail the rise of extremism? Would the terrorists care what we thought? And would it make the average non-Muslim American feel more secure? (0 comments)

Preventing homegrown terror
Seeing eye to eye on extremism
American Muslims and the US government are often on opposing sides when it comes to combating extremism. By depoliticizing the issue and promoting a cooperation of equals, it doesn't have to be that way. (15 comments)

Musician Kareem Salama
“There’s something reverent about country music”
For Oklahoma native Kareem Salama, the Islamically-inspired country music he creates is no novelty. We speak with the budding country singer about why his varied influences mesh so well. (10 comments)

Muslim journalism
Western Muslims need a “fourth estate”
We started altmuslim.com because we could no longer tolerate the absence of an independent Muslim media. We would be happy if the emergence of one made us redundant. (11 comments)

Promoting civic involvement
Introducing unitedmuslims.org
With the launch of our new sister site unitedmuslims.org, we hope to broaden the base of Muslim activism in the West by addressing real world issues that benefit everyone. (12 comments)

Muslims in India
The new “untouchables”?
India's Muslim population, once thought to be relatively integrated, has been found in a recent report to be in many cases worse off than the "untouchable" dalits. (8 comments)

Talk show host Dennis Praeger
The extremists among us
Which is the extremist threat in America? The Muslim American bogeyman that everyone talks about but nobody can find? Or the thousands of Americans who openly declare their intent to fight their Muslim neighbors? (27 comments)

US Elections
The lessons of Keith Ellison
There are Muslim leaders, and then there are leaders who happen to be Muslim. In Keith Ellison, we are finally witnessing the ascendance of the latter. (32 comments)

9/11 Anniversary
Still caught between two hells
Sometimes it seems like the average Muslim American, caught between the extremists on both sides, just can't win. But there is a way out. (77 comments)

Muslims in Prison
Rehabilitating Islam’s prison image
The Islam that I encountered in prison several years ago was very different than what you read about in the headlines. (2 comments)

Muslim bookstores
Intolerance or incompetence?
Having a community full of bad businesspeople, however unfortunate, is preferable to having a community full of people who support terrorism. (45 comments)

Playwright Wajahat Ali
A Muslim family takes center stage
Are American theater-going audiences ready to plumb the depths of the American Muslim experience? Playwright Wajahat Ali, a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, thinks so. (1 comments)

July 7th Attacks
In the wake of shame, reject extremism
This week, the worst fears of secular Europeans (and European Muslims) came true. As a result, Muslims must expose and reject the extremists among them. (31 comments)

Women in Mosques
“Women-friendly Mosques” document leaves unanswered questions
The "women-friendly mosques" document allows male-run mosques to obey the letter of the law without significantly improving the situation of women in US mosques today. (74 comments)

Sensitivity
Some things are worth being offended by (and some aren’t)
Is getting offended always the best reaction to things we don't like? Maybe Muslims should get a thicker skin and save our anger for what really matters. (12 comments)

2004 Elections
Today, Muslims can help elect a new president
With so much wrong in the Bush administration, the best chance Muslims have of making things right is to elect John Kerry to office today. (3 comments)

Reflections
Yearning for a peaceful Ramadan
Ramadan today is very different than it was ten years ago, before Muslims came into the media spotlight. We lost a very special part of it. (0 comments)

Women in mosques
Bringing down the walls: the Islamic thing to do
The effort to incorporate Muslim women into the fabric of American mosque life should be seen as an Islamic overturning of cultural patriarchy. (24 comments)

A murder in Saudi
Yes, it’s our problem too
Muslims should not dismiss the murder in Saudi Arabia of American contractor Paul Johnson as "not our problem". It very much is our problem. (24 comments)

Anti-Muslim hysteria
Protocols of the Elders of Islam?
The way that anti-Muslim commentators describe what they think is in the minds of Muslims reminds one of an infamous book of long ago. (11 comments)

Ahmed Yassin killing
Why are Muslims so “shocked & awed” by Yassin’s assassination?
The killing of Hamas' founder marks a turning point for Palestinians and an opportunity to re-evaluate their support for the group's military activities. (35 comments)

Defining halal
If it’s not organic, it’s not halal
With the emergence of "mad cow" disease in the US, the only way to insure meat is truly halal is to use organic or "free range" animals. (3 comments)

Year in review
The top ten good news stories of 2003
It was a year of war, civil rights struggles, and natural disasters - but there were points of inspiration and hope as well. (1 comments)

Muslim leadership
Time for Muslims to expect more from our leaders
Unfortunately, American Muslims lack a healthy mistrust of authority within their ranks that is essential to maintaining accountability in our leadership. (4 comments)

Reflections
In death, a remembrance of how to live life
As we bear witness to sudden and tragic death, the lessons we can learn make life more worthwhile for those who remain behind. (0 comments)

Honor killings
Condemnations are not enough
The Muslim world's collective silence regarding "honor" killings is symptomatic of our continued inability to "enjoin the good and forbid the evil". (2 comments)

9/11 anniversary
Evaluating Muslim responses to 9/11
After 9/11, we sought to convince Americans that we oppose terrorism and tried to stave off discrimination and hate. One year later, it is clear that we have failed. (49 comments)


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