March means Women’s History month, and yesterday, March 9th, was International Women’s Day. From the start of Islam through the present day, Muslim women have influenced the course of history, advanced the standard of women’s roles, and pushed the envelope of human possibility past the closed doors in front of them.

Last night, Jay Leno re-returned to late night television, recouping his hosting position at the Tonight Show after Conan’s scuffle with NBC last January. And although last night Leno beat Letterman in the ratings department, I think it’s safe to say that everyone thinks he’s a selfish goon. But exactly how much of a selfish goon is he?

I recently had a chance to talk with Maz Jobrani, a successful Iranian-American standup comedian and actor with a long list of TV and film credits. Jobrani was also part of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour that appeared as a special on Comedy Central back in 2007. He has a new comedy DVD out now entitled Maz Jobrani: Brown and Friendly. 

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is a very busy man. So busy in fact that it was hard for this elan writer to think of a title that encompasses all that he does.  It turns out, you can’t. You could call him an author, or a sports radioman, or an environmentalist or a community organizer. On top of all that, he is a newlywed and the writer of a popular local blog, the Brooklyn Bedouin.  A native New Yorker, he was born in the middle of the 1977 blizzard and still loves cold weather. He (and in some cases, his wife Fatima) took a break from their busy schedules to talk to elan about everything from Muslim-American activism to his reaction to the Super Bowl. 

Microsoft pioneer Bill Gates.  Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.  Now, TwitVid.com’s Mohamed Adham and Adil Lalani.  Working inside their dorm rooms at the University of Waterloo in Canada, Adham and Lalani developed a fast and easy technology for people all around the world to share video. 

In honor of Black History Month (US & Canada: Feb), elan salutes 10 Black Muslims who shaped the world we live in today. From politics to sports, music to religion to exploration - these Black Muslims impacted people of all races, nations, and times. 

The Sundance Film Festival is currently underway, and this year Muslims are making a huge impact. From the much-anticipated debut of The Taqwacores to stories of foolish terrorists (Four Lions), movies about Muslims, by Muslims and featuring Muslims are all over the place. And while we all yearn to be among the crowds screening the films this week, I guess we’ll just have to wait until they come to a theater near us. In the meantime, take a look at the selections to see which movies you should be watching out for. 

It doesn’t matter where you are in America; if there is a reason to go to the mosque, there are some Muslims who will knowingly find places to park that will get them in trouble with the law. We all know this as a fact of Muslim life. But where did this habit originate from? Suffice it to say, it has to do with generosity and good will towards men of all creeds and ethnicities. 

Noor Elashi is many things. She is a writer, photographer, graphic artist, aspiring piano player, big sister, journalist, recent New York City resident, and M.F.A. student. But all of these things are secondary to her identity as proud daughter of Ghassan Elashi, one of the Holy Land Five. 

It’s been a few years since I first discovered the comedy of Aziz Ansari and I’m still fascinated with his obtrusively South Asian Muslim visage*, unapologetically Islamic first and last name, and colossal following among hipsters and comedy enthusiasts. I’m fascinated with him because growing up, I never imagined that someone who looked like Aziz Ansari could be considered cool by a large portion of the American public. This might seem like a completely superficial way to think about his success, but to me it speaks volumes about the effect Muslims can have (and do have) on mainstream America.