Farhana Khera is the Executive Director of Muslim Advocates and the National Association for Muslim Lawyers (NAML). Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy organization which promotes freedom, justice and equality for all, regardless of faith. Farhana and her organization work tirelessly to make sure American Muslims are equipped with the legal resources they need to navigate the post 9-11 environment, and policy-makers, in turn, are educated about the needs and issues of the community. elan recently spoke with Farhana about her career path, mission and advice for young Muslims.

Chances are if you’re a Muslim living in the United States today, Dalia Mogahed is somewhat of a household name to you. Dalia is the Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, and has most recently been in the spotlight for her high profile role on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The co-author of the acclaimed book “Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think,” Dalia is a trailblazer for Muslim women around the world. elan recently caught up with her to talk career, inspirations, and even the World Cup!

The Coalition for Muslim School Holidays is a broad-based coalition of over 80 faith-based, civil rights, community and labor organizations that have come together to call on the New York City Department of Education to recognize Muslim population in New York City and include the two Muslim holidays in the school calendar - Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha. 

Father’s Day in the United States is this Sunday, June 20th, and many around the country are going to commemorate the occasion with gifts, cards and maybe just a special loving phone call.  To celebrate the wisdom, brilliance, and downright quirkiness that define so many of our fathers, we at elan decided to ask our bloggers, prominent leaders in the Muslim community, and you, our readers, the following question: “What’s the best advice your father ever gave you?”

20,000 people. 200 vendors. 100 artists. 4 stages. 1 day.

No, I’m not talking about Woodstock or Lilith Fair or the latest tweeny Disney extravaganza concert (or some other generic music festival that’s either dating me or showcasing my horrific knowledge about music). The above stats are for Takin It to the Streets, a Muslim-led arts and entertainment festival taking place at Marquette Park in Chicago this weekend. This groundbreaking event has been around since 1997, and is the largest Muslim-led festival in the United States.

While Apple CEO Steve Jobs is busy unveiling the new sexy iPhone 4G, Bill Gates, tech mogul of yester-year, has been working on something perhaps a bit more worthwhile for the world. (Not that I don’t want that phone, Steve). 

Here’s an understatement for you: US foreign policy is complicated. As global citizens (and voracious Daily Show consumers), we think, talk and fight about the topic all the time, yet it isn’t often that we think about the men and women behind the scenes in the US government, working to ensure the best decisions are made. These are the people aside from the Obamas, Clintons and yes, Bushs’, of the world. Fatema Sumar is one of these people.

Pamela Geller, a blogger and conservative activist who one commenter on New York’s Gawker blog calls a “poor man’s Ann Coulter,” has decided to take her fab Upper West Side stylings this week to dress up dowdy NYC buses with this cheerful message: 

Summer concert season has begun, and along with it comes the occasional Muslim-majority country where someone-or-other is attempting to ban someone-or-other (okay, usually Western) artist from performing. First up - Elton John in Morocco! 

Last December at the 9th Annual MPAC convention, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Mark Scoffield, who is spearheading American Medical Overseas Relief (AMOR), an organization dedicated to improving the health of people in impoverished areas of the Middle East. AMOR’s first initiative is Afshar Hospital, the newest privately funded hospital in Afghanistan.