Advisory Board

Ali Abunimah
Ali Abunimah, a writer and commentator on Middle East and Arab-American affairs, lives in Chicago. He is co-founder of Electronic Intifada and Electronic Iraq. He was born in the United States and grew up in Europe. Both of his parents are originally from Palestine. His articles have appeared in newspapers worldwide and is a frequent guest on local, national and international radio and television, including public radio and television, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, the BBC and many others. Abunimah lectures frequently at colleges in the United States. He received his BA from Princeton University and MA from the University of Chicago. Recent book contributions include "No Justice, No Peace," in "The Anti-Capitalism Reader," edited by Joel Schalit. New York: Akashic Books, 2002 and "The Palestinian Right of Return" (with Hussein Ibish), Washington, DC: ADC, 2001.

Akbar S. Ahmed
Akbar S. Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies and professor of International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C. Born in Allahabad, a small town on the Ganges River in what was then British India, Dr. Ahmed is a distinguished anthropologist, writer and filmmaker. He has been actively involved in inter-faith dialogue — and his work to bring understanding between Islam and the West has included three appearances on Oprah and a BBC news series called "Living Islam" — broadcast for the first time in 1993. From 1999 to 2000, Dr. Ahmed was the Pakistani High Commissioner (Ambassador) to the United Kingdom. He has also held many other senior positions in Pakistan. His many award-winning books include: Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society, Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise, Islam Today: A Short Introduction to the Muslim World and Jinnah Quartet.

Ziad Asali
Ziad J. Asali, MD is the President and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine and past-president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the largest Arab-American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States. Dr. Asali is a long-time activist on Arab-American issues. Dr. Asali was born in Jerusalem and completed his elementary and secondary education there. He received a B.S. from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1963 and an M.D. from AUB Medical School in 1967. Dr. Asali is the author of several publications that include "Expedition to Jerusalem" (1990), "Zionist Studies of the Crusades" (1992), and "From Crusades to Zionism" (1993).

Muqtedar Khan
Muqtedar Khan is Director of International Studies and Chair, Political Science Department at Adrian College in Michigan. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. Dr. Khan earned his Ph.D. in International Relations, Political Philosophy, and Islamic Political Thought, from Georgetown University in May 2000. He is the author of American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom (Amana, 2002) and Jihad for Jerusalem: Identity and Strategy in International Relations (Praeger, 2004). His forthcoming book is titled Beyond Jihad and Crusade: Rethinking US Policy in the Muslim World (Brookings Institution, 2004). Dr. Khan frequently comments on BBC, CNN, FOX and VOA TV, NPR and other radio networks. His political commentaries appear regularly in newspapers in over 20 countries.

Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle
Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle is Assistant Professor of Religion at Swarthmore College. His research focuses on the intersections between Islamic mysticism (Sufism), Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), and Ethics, including a special focus on gender, sexuality and the importance of bodies in Sufi devotional practices. Dr. Kugle received his Ph.D from Duke University in the History of Religions. His essay "Sexuality and Sexual Ethics in the Agenda of Progressive Muslims" appeared in Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism (2003).

Amina Wadud
Amina Wadud is Islamic studies professor in the department of philosophy and religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is nationally and internationally known for her ground breaking book Qur'an and Women: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective, the first interpretive reading of the Qur'an by a woman. Dr. Wadud seeks to validate the female voice in the Qur'an and bring it out of the shadows.