By: Ehab Zahriyeh

As the sun disappears past the Hudson River, the call to prayer echoes inside hundreds of mosques and Islamic centers, and thousands of homes in New York City.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater)...

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin was voted in office this past summer, as the first Muslim mayor in Bergen County, New Jersey.  Teaneck, NJ is famous for its diversity and put itself on the map, by electing the official whose family is originally from Hyderabad.  But what is most interesting is the Mayor’s sidekick, Adam Gussen.  Gussen is an Orthodox Jew, and Hameeduddin’s Deputy Mayor.  That’s right, a Muslim Mayor with an Orthodox Jewish Deputy Mayor.  Doesn’t get cooler than this! 

Ever wonder who that dashing Arab man was in Superbad?  Or the sexy Palestinian, with great hair, in Fast and the Furious?  Remember the intensity of Badran in Munich?  It was none other than, Mousa Kraish: a skilled actor, writer, director, photographer, amongst many other talents.  With a successful blog, AngryHappyArab.com and his new series, You Love I, Kraish is well on his way, breaking stereotypes as he rises.

Ever fantasized about marrying a FOB?  Having trouble attracting them?  Its true, everyone is having trouble finding somebody...even match.com has slim pickings.

As we reap the benefits of this month, learning discipline, self-control, and gratitude for our daily comforts, several old habits threaten to topple our success. 

Have you ever gone to a brown people party and felt uncomfortable?  Do you often find yourself feeling misunderstood by your brown peers?  We admit, its hard to find brown people that are down, but we at elan, were wondering… what’s up with that?!

Thanks to Facebook, no one’s life is private anymore.  There is a way of controlling what information is put out into the public sphere, but is that really helpful?  Or is it a cause for greater concern?  For some elan readers, apparently, Facebook has caused some family drama.  elan put together a list of some of our favorite traumatic stories.

Ramadan is quite hard on Muslims as it is, but living in a non-Muslim majority country can often leave Muslims misunderstood.  Do you know a Muslim and wonder why he or she seems a little “off,” out of one month in the year?  Or why, they constantly ask what time is sundown, and get nervous?  At elan, we thought we’d help you decode our odd behavior and help navigate through our practices.  Here’s a fun list of things you may notice your Muslim peers doing during the month of Ramadan. 

by E. Nina Rothe

Art, by nature, has a transcending quality across all superficial boundaries.  While the media, our heads of state, and various religious leaders contribute, to create an even further split between the Arab world and the West, immortal artists like Rumi, Khalil Gibran and Oum Kalthoum continue to inspire and expose generation after generation to the beauty of looking to the Orient.

Despite the recent barrage of news on the ridiculous niqab/hijab/burqa bans restricting women’s entry into education, it turns out that Muslim women are some of the best educated women in the world. Even in the most unlikely place of Saudi Arabia, Muslim women are graduating and becoming some of the most accomplished and successful scientists in the world.