Vintage

Imam Khalid Latif  *  Haroon Moghul  * A.S.M. Hussain * Musa Syeed * Gaith Adhami  

Imam Khalid Latif wasappointed the first Muslim chaplain at NYU in 2005 where he began toinitiate his vision for a pluralistic future on and off campus forAmerican Muslims. He was also appointed the first Muslim chaplain atPrinceton University in 2006. Spending a year commuting between thesetwo excellent institutions, he finally decided to commit full-time toNew York University’s Islamic Center where his position was officiallyinstitutionalized in the spring of 2007. Under his leadership, theIslamic Center at NYU became the first ever established Muslim studentcenter at an institution of higher education in the United States. ImamLatif’s exceptional dedication and ability to cross interfaith andcultural lines on a daily basis brought him recognition throughout thecity, so much so that in 2007 Mayor Michael Bloomberg nominated ImamLatif to become the youngest chaplain in history of the New York CityPolice Department at the age of 24.

Imam Latif has not onlymanaged to solidify the basis of a strong Muslim community at NYU thatseeks to emphasize inclusiveness and understanding of others withoutcompromise, but has also worked tirelessly to foster dialogue withpeople of other faiths in order to clarify misconceptions and encouragemutual education. Through his work Imam Latif has demonstrated not onlyan exceptional dedication to gaining and disseminating religiousknowledge and values, but has begun to carve out a much-needed spacefor young American Muslims to celebrate their unique identity and havetheir voices heard in the larger public sphere. He is a sought afterspeaker, having lectured throughout the United States and in variousparts of the world and has been quoted, featured and appeared innumerous media outlets including BBC, NPR, CNN, the NY Times, Newsweek,Time Magazine, BET and GEO TV. Amongst many awards and distinctions for leadership and community service over the last few years, Imam Latif was most recently named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in 2009 by Georgetown University's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talaal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. 

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Haroon Moghul
Haroon Moghul is Director of Public Relations for the Islamic Center at New York University (NYU).

He holds an M.A. in Middle East and South Asian Studies from Columbia University, where he is currently a Ph.D. candidate.  His field of study is the intellectual history of Islam in colonial India, the Indian Ocean economy and the intellectual and political development of the modern Muslim world.  He graduated from NYU in 2002, with a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy, and a minor in Arabic.

Haroon is a prolific speaker and writer.  He has spoken at numerous Muslim, Christian and Jewish institutions and has led educational and interfaith workshops to advance understanding and dialogue on the Islamic faith, Muslim thought, world politics and contemporary Muslim affairs.  His speaking engagements include Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, Clark University and the University of Minnesota, as well as guest appearances on CNN, ABC-7, WNYC Radio and NPR.  He has been interviewed or otherwise featured on UN Radio (Arabic), The New Yorker, TIME, Voice of America, the Guardian, al-Hurra and The National (Abu Dhabi).

Formerly contributing editor and end-page columnist for Islamica Magazine,Haroon also maintains a popular blog, Avari, which won several BrassCrescent Awards (in 2004 and 2005), including wins for Best MuslimBlog, Best Post and Best Writing.  His essays and articles have beenpublished in a variety of international media, including Pakistan'sDawn and The Friday Times, as well as American media, including Tikkunand Religion Dispatches.  His first novel, "The Order of Light," wasreleased by Penguin Global in 2006.  A French translation, published byCherche Midi, was released in late 2007.  His research includesanalytic briefs prepared for Tabah Foundation, including an analysis ofthe Changing Course Report, prepared in English and translated intoArabic.

Haroon Moghul has been selected as one of 300 global Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, and participated in the Third Annual Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow Conference in Doha, Qatar (2009).  In 2009, he was nominated for the Presidential Award for Best Teaching by a Graduate Student at Columbia University, which includes all departments at that university.

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ASM Hussain
ASM Hussain graduated from Stony Brook University in 2005 with a degree in electrical engineering and applied math. In addition to serving as the MSA President, Hussain was a  member of the NCAA varsity tennis team, undergraduate student government, a frequent op-ed columnist for the school paper- where he went on to become one of it’s editors, and also served as Editor in Chief of the Stony Brook Minaret. During this time, he also began studying in the sacred learning program as a student of Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar. He is currently a senior associate at a leading investment fund, where he focuses on investments in the growth-equity and buy-out verticals across the United States, Western Europe, Middle East and Far East markets. Additionally, he serves on the advisory board for several foreign policy think tanks and organizations. In the past he has served as a member on select U.S State Department public diplomacy campaigns, as well as a consultant to numerous GCC and Europe based principal investment firms. Previously, he was an economic policy associate in the United Nations Security Council's Economic & Political Affairs group, focusing on the European Union and the Middle East.

Prior to joining the U.N, Hussain began his career as an analyst at a leading foreign policy think tank in their foreign affairs and energy policy programs. Hussain is a prolific writer and widely sought after strategist, having been published in a variety of foreign policy journals and opinion magazines. Hussain also frequently speaks at international conferences focusing on foreign and national security policy, investment strategy, foreign direct investment, trade and development; and spends all his spare time studying sacred knowledge and purification of the heart under Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar, benefiting immensely from his company over the years. In addition to his professional speaking engagements, Hussain also speaks at numerous universities and Islamic centers around the country introducing various communities to the work of his teachers, and imparting the knowledge he continues to learn from them.

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Musa Syeed
Musa Syeed is an independent filmmakerand writer. His most recent film BRONX PRINCESS was in competition atthe International Documentary Festival Amsterdam and the BerlinInternational Film Festival, and the film won Best Documentary Shortat the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. The film will be broadcaston the PBS series POV this fall. Musa recently completed production onTHE CALLING, a miniseries about young religious leaders in America.The program will be broadcast on PBS next year.

His previous film,“A Son’sSacrifice”, won Best Documentary Short from the Tribeca FilmFestival and the International Documentary Association Awards in2007. He was selected to represent the US at the 2008 InternationalPublic Television Conference in South Africa. He currently is producinga narrativefeature about environmental problems in Kashmir. As writer/director,Musa received the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Production Award forhis screenplay.

Musa was a Fulbright Fellow in Cairo,Egypt, where he focused on experimental filmmaking and Muslimidentity. As a writer, he produced original theatrical work for theChildren's Museum of Manhattan. Musa has worked as an educator inschools, community centers, and prisons. He was an adjunct professorof cross-cultural documentary production at Williams College lastfall and is an alumnus of New YorkUniversity's Tisch School of the Arts and the Middle Eastern &Islamic Studies Department.

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Gaith Adhami
Gaith Adhami is a poet,songwriter, and nasheed artist. He is a graduate of UCLA and iscurrently a grad student at NYU. He helped with the production of threealbums with the internationally known nasheed band "Noor," andcontinues to write songs for various artists in Arabic and English. Asa spoken word poet Gaith has performed at universities and eventsacross the U.S. and Canada. His album, "Upward Climb" is a blend ofpoetry, song, hip hop, and traditional Arabic folk music.

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