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Geeking out at SXSW Interactive - There is no better place to mingle with other geeks than at South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, one of the largest Internet-focused conferences in the country, where we presented a panel discussion on "Online Extremism - And The Muslims Who Fight It" (March 20, 2008)

Like “Groundhog Day” - What happens when you get 200 academics, activists, policy wonks, politicians, and journalists - all with opinions across the spectrum - into a room to try to determine the best course of action to improve the relationship between the US and the Muslim world? Unfortunately, not much. (February 24, 2008)

CONTRIBUTORS
PODCASTS
altmuslim review 027 - This month, we have a special report from the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar. Also, an interview with Dalia Mogahed, co-author of the forthcoming book "What a Billion Muslims Really Think" (March 7, 2008)

altmuslim review 026 - The US presidential race is in full swing, and we discuss Muslim involvement in the campaigns and our attempts at a block vote. Also, a perspective from recently elected San Carlos city councilmember Omar Ahmad. (January 29, 2008)

ELSEWHERE
Shahed will be participating in a panel discussion, Sourcing Islam, at the Religion Newswriters Association conference in Washington, DC (September 20, 2008)

Zahed will be a guest on BBC Radio 4's "Sunday" programme speaking about religious podcasting (May 4, 2008)

Rafia and Shahed will be guests on South Africa's Channel Islam, speaking about interpreting Islam in the modern world (March 28 & April 4, 2008)

Shahed will be speaking at the CAMP International Leadership Summit in Princeton, NJ (March 29, 2008)

Shahed will be a guest on Radio Tahrir, airing on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York, speaking about the Muslim block vote (April 1, 2008)

Shahed will be appearing on The Agenda with Steve Paikin for a recap of altmuslim's SXSW panel "Online Extremism" (March 26, 2008)

altmuslim is hosting a panel discussion at 2008 SXSW Interactive, "Online Extremism (And The Muslims Who Fight It)" (March 9, 2008)

Count blessings, then tally taxes - Hesham Hassaballa, Chicago Tribune (February 24, 2008)

'Busharraf' gets the people's message - Irfan Yusuf, New Zealand Herald (February 22, 2008)

Shahed will be participating in the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar (February 17-19, 2008)

Sharia an unlikely threat - Irfan Yusuf, stuff.co.nz (February 13, 2008)

Converts' dangerous pull towards extremism - Irfan Yusuf, Sydney Morning Herald (February 7, 2008)

Safiyyah will be appearing on The Agenda with Steve Paikin for a debate on "Today's Young Muslim Women" (February 1, 2008)

Sidelining the loud-mouthed cultural warriors - Irfan Yusuf, Canberra Times (January 10, 2008)

Safiyyah will be guest writing at the TVO website offering commentary on the two-part TV series Britz (February 2008)

Fault lines of a nation - Irfan Yusuf, The Age (December 31, 2007)

Is there room at the inn for a Muslim holiday in America? - Shahed Amanullah, Chicago Tribune (December 23, 2007)

Can Pakistan's non-violent past save its future? - Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet.com (December 28, 2007)

Not your father's hajj - Shahed Amanullah, Beliefnet.com (December 17, 2007)

Shahed will be speaking at the MPAC Annual Convention in Long Beach, CA about Muslims and new media (December 15, 2007)

IN THE NEWS
Why the silence? - "Both reactionary religion and militant secularism are on the rise, with both displaying a rigid certainty and a desire for power that will do nothing to benefit society. In this context, it is vital that people with open-minded faith speak up and demonstrate alternatives. [altmuslim.com has] set many good examples in this regard." (January 8, 2008)

Does the US tolerate anti-Muslim speech? - "You see more hostility towards Muslims now than you did the year after 9/11," says Shahed Amanullah, editor of a Muslim web-zine, AltMuslim.com. He and other observers point to America's failure to capture Osama bin Laden, the continuing difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan, and news of terrorist plots overseas as reasons why many Americans feel hostile towards Muslims. (December 7, 2007)

In the great Berkeley free speech tradition - [Amanullah] claims no personal agenda other than concerned dad. “I want my children to grow up in a country where they, as Muslims, feel valued,” he says, “and where their religion doesn’t contradict their nationality.” (November 9, 2007)

Shaping the debate on Muslims - The publication [altmuslim.com] promotes critical analysis, discussion, and debate within the Muslim community in the West while also showcasing commentary for non-Muslims who want a sense of the dialogue going on among Western Muslims. (October 19, 2007)

Blogging Where Speech Isn’t Free (.mp3) - Many nations have no tradition of free speech, and in those contexts, blogging can be extremely dangerous. How can those bloggers protect themselves, and how can we help them? (Panel discussion at SXSW Interactive, Austin, Texas, March 11, 2007) Audio available here. (July 9, 2007)

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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.
zabihah.com

ARTICLES BY SHAHED AMANULLAH

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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