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A native of Buffalo, New York, Nasheyah is a Yemeni-American interior designer at Lowe’s. A mother of five, she silently endured domestic violence for 18 years, too scared to ask for help. Only when a neighbor heard her screaming and called the police did Nasheyah step forward. After gaining the courage to break her silence, […]

Maher Gabra is an independent writer, speaker, and commentator on the Middle East based in Washington, DC. He has been featured on major media news outlets including Al-Jazeera and Huffington Post. My name is Maher Gabra. I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. I have been working in the civil society sector since 2001,

Humaira is the co-founder of Afghan Friends Network (AFN). She was the cultural consultant for stage productions of the Kite Runner, BLOOD AND GIFTS, and other theatrical and Hollywood media. Humaira blogs about Afghan culture and cuisine on her widely popular site—Afghan Culture Unveiled. Previously, Humaira was director of International Marketing at Sun Microsystems and

Javed Nasiri is a women’s rights activist and global entrepreneur. His passions include mentoring young leaders in an effort to help drive their businesses forward. He hopes to develop infrastructures to help orphans with support, whilst empowering them with opportunities and resources. My name is Javed Nasiri, and I was born in an Afghan refugee

Dr. Nadia Oweidat is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, focused on extremism, counter-terrorism, and the Arab Spring. Born and raised in Jordan, she holds a Ph.D. in Oriental Studies from Oxford University, where she was awarded the Weidenfeld Leadership Scholarship. She has appeared on various Arabic and English networks including BBC,

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American writer, speaker and interfaith activist. She is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a literary magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose. Her short-story collection Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan depicts Muslims and Pakistanis in fresh ways.   I was born in Karachi, the city of lights,

Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol is a Turkish-American composer, ethnomusicologist, multi-instrumentalist, Harvard research fellow, and Emerson College and Holy Cross faculty member. He is the co-founder of the DUNYA musicians’ collective. I hail from the ancient and enchanting Middle Eastern landscape of Cyprus and Turkey. This is where I fell in love with music and bonded a

Raza Rizvi is an IT infrastructure engineer based in New York. He holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Wichita State University. A grassroots community grassroots organizer and philanthropist, Raza is a mentor to young thinkers and leaders from diverse Muslim backgrounds.   America is not the land of my birth, but my adopted

Alaa Basatneh, a Muslim American of Syrian heritage, is the main character in the award-winning documentary film #ChicagoGirl, which has aired in over 40 countries, including Al Jazeera and Fusion Network, and is currently on Netflix. Amnesty International named her one of the Human Rights Heroes of 2014. She currently works as an ELL, ESL