The United States is a great nation. It is a land of rule of law and its Constitution provides protection to minorities, religious groups and people of all ethnicities. Moreover, the government cannot impose any particular religion or ideology on its citizens nor discriminate on the basis of religion and creed.
The United States of America has been a beacon to the world in defending the rights of religious minorities, yet it is also sadly true that at times in our history particular groups have been singled out for unjust discrimination and have been made the object of scorn and animosity by those who have either misconstrued or intentionally distorted the vision of the Founders.
The face of America is changing. Islamophobia, stereotypes and hate against Islam and Muslims are here and real. Hate used to be on the fringes of society. Now, Islamophobia is part of the mainstream. This escalation of anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia has truly gotten out of control. Thankfully, some interfaith leaders and politicians, even in the GOP are speaking out. But, we need many more voices. This is not the America that we know and love, that received the Pilgrims and found a place for the Quakers, that built its cities through immigrant sweat and tears. We must not turn our backs on this legacy. This is a critical moment in our history as a nation.
This Islamophobia and hate towards Islam and Muslim is there because we have not effectively challenged them. In order to effectively challenge them we have to understand that combating Islamophobia is a much larger systemic challenge that requires a strategic and critical approach.
We can and must push back on the Islamophobic backlash. We can and must engage in challenging Islamophobia as an integral part of our efforts for justice in our country. We believe that the positive values we live by are worth more when we pass them on. We can do this, and we must do it today.
Hope and optimism is the way of a Muslim. Stand up for the rights and dignity of not just American Muslims but of all Americans.
Hope-not-hate.org is a project of Mission Kindness International (MKI) which is a not for profit, 501 (c) 3, educational organization. Donations and gifts to MKI is fully tax deductable. Our tax ID is: 47-2420019.
This web portal is managed by patriotic American Muslims who believe in united, prosperous and peaceful America; free from Islamophobia, hate and injustices.
In pursuit of just and peaceful society.
We will:
INFORM public and present Islam through our positive attitude and proactive approach; and combat Islamophobia and injustice in the society via traditional and social media.
INSPIRE and motivate Muslim community to be proactive and to stand up for the rights and dignity of all Americans.
TRANSFORM Muslim community and encourage them towards Operational Unity and more involvement in civic engagement, so that America becomes a better place for all.
Founder, President
Zaheer Uddin is a researcher, writer, educator, activist and presently leading the Mission Kindness International, Inc., a non-profit organization which has launched the Hope-not-Hate campaign for the betterment of our country. He has been founder and president of many institutions including the Internet Islamic University (2001-2011), Islamic Circle of North America, (1973-2002; founded ICNA Canada), Young Muslim for Faith & Action which evolved to YM (1988- 1991), Center for American Muslim Research and Information (1992-2015). He was founder, publisher and editor in chief of the Message International, a monthly magazine (1988-1991). He has edited and published many books for the Muslim community including Da’wah Manual, Manual of Tazkiyah, Guidelines for Islamic Workers, An Introduction to the Qur’an and Towards Understanding Islam (1983-1987) and a research by Dr. Ilyas Ba- Yunus, A Report on Muslim Population in the U.S. (1997).
He has written many articles on Islam in America for many publications including World & I, Islamic Horizons, the Mirror, Muslim Observer, Muslim Journal and Message International. He did research and published two volumes on Halal and Haram products in America (1994 & 1998). He reorganized and lead as executive director of Islamic Leadership Council of Metropolitan New York (Majlis Ash-Shura; 2010-2011) also worked as Director Outreach for Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA; 2011-2012); and established the Unity Foundation International, a non-profit and launched for them Peace TV on satellite, cable, IPTV and on Internet in North America (2012-2014).
Vice President
Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang was a professor and former chairman of the African Studies Department at Howard Univ ersity in Washington, D.C. He is a co-founder and president of Center for American Muslim Research and Information (CAMRI) and was a co-principal investigator of the Project MAPS and also a former deputy ambassador and head of chancery of the Gambia Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Sulayman has served as consultant to several national and international agencies and on the boards of the African Studies Association, the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, America's Islamic Heritage Museum, and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists. He has written extensively on Islamic, African and Middle Eastern affairs. He holds a master's degree in public administration and a Ph.D. in government from the University of Virginia. Dr. Sulayman was an advising scholar for the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentaries Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (2002) and Prince Among Slaves (2007), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
Content Manager
Ahmad Jamal did his BA in Liberal Arts and has over five years experience in content writing and editing. He built and updated complex site using customized CMS, Sitefinity, Ektron, XML, and CSS. He managed content in six languages and designed and implemented taxonomy, tag, and feed strategies for global organization.
He is involved in social and humanitarian work in his free time. He has written articles on different aspect of social and humanitarian work in different Muslim magazines.
Tech. Coordinator
Saleem Khan has a master’s degree in electronic engineering. He maintain and support systems, workstations, mobile devices, printers and peripherals; respond to user service requests; and resolve trouble tickets. Ensure system security for desktop, mobile and cloud environments. He is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) and has command in Windows, Unix, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android.
Outreach Coordinator
Aisha Hasan is a creative design and implementation of life skills presentations to senior high school students. She works directly with director of admissions and financial services to achieve company goals. She creates strategic brand building events to expand community outreach. She conducts face-to-face meetings with teachers and counselors throughout assigned territory. Moreover, she contacts, interview, tour and enroll prospected senior students.
She volunteers her time and expertise to many Muslim organizations and guides and supervises many aspect of outreach for them.
Web Portal Manager
Mohammad Azad is a UI/UX designer and Front End Developer. He holds a degree of Computer Science from the Jamia Millia Islamia University and currently works at sofware company, where he spends most of the time crafting and working on awesome projects.
He has more than 5 years of web design and front-end development experience for commercial and federal clients. Working directly with clients, He plays a key role in the development of clean and modern solutions that utilizes hand-coded HTML5 and CSS3 along with accessible, standards-based implementations and modern trends in web/mobile design.
Social Media Coordinator
Abdus Subhan is a Digital Marketing Expert. He holds a degree in Computer Science from the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University(AKTU), Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, India. He currently works at a marketing firm, where he spends most of the time on digital marketing and other social media projects.
He has more than 3 years of Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing experience for commercial and federal clients.
Content Manager
Fatimah Ahmad is an artist and content manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications. She coordinates design, production and delivery of marketing collateral and web content for markets worldwide. She writes and managed production and distribution of monthly customer, employee and channel partner e-newsletters for multiple markets. She also manages legal reviews of content and collaborates with corporate legal team to stay abreast of company legal standards.
Dr. Aslam Abdullah is a naturalized US citizen with residence in California. He is originally from India where he worked as an editor in Daily Dawat, an Urdu language newspaper, and March of the Nation as well as Research officer for International Youth Center. He also taught sociology in Jamia Millia for a short period. He worked as an editor for the Islamic World Review, a monthly publication from London, England.
In the US, Dr. Aslam worked as vice president of American Islamic College as well as editor in chief of the monthly Minaret magazine and the weekly Muslim Observer. He was the vice chairman of the Muslim Public Affairs Council as well as the Muslim American Council. He served in the capacity of director for Islamic Society of Nevada as well as the Masjid Ibrahim in Las Vegas. He also taught Islamic Studies at the OLLI center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has authored several books and published hundreds of papers in different magazines and newspapers all over the world. He writes a regular blog at aslamabdullah.blogspot.com
Cheikh Ahmed Mbareck was born and raised in Mauritania. He started his schooling with attending the traditional Quranic teaching system, while attending the French elementary school. He is fluent in Arabic, French and English. Cheikh Ahmed earned: A Bachelor Degree in Arabic Language Sciences from Nouakchott University, in Mauritania in 1993; Master degree, in Political Sciences in 1998 and another Master degree in Linguistics in 1999, both from Egypt; and a Master Degree in Public Administration from Northeastern University in Boston in 2009. Currently, he is a PhD (abd) in Public Policy and Administration with Public Management and Leadership as an area of focus at Walden University.
During his time in the USA, he has always contributed at the Muslim leadership level especially in the domains of outreach and public relations, coalition building, civic engagement, community organizing, community service and development, leadership and management and organizational development, Friday sermons, public speaking, debates, and interviews with national and international media. He is one of the founders of New York Coalition Against Islamophobia. Currently, he is Executive Director of Majlis Ash Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of Metropolitan New York since year 2014.
Ustadh Ekram Haque is a writer, journalist, author, and khateeb. He has a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has written hundreds of articles in large and small publications, including a number of Op-Ed and features articles in the Dallas Morning News, News & Observer, Denver Post, Newsday and Asbury Park Press.
He has taught the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallaahu Alaiyhi WaSallam to different age groups and delivered weekly lectures on the Seerah at the East Plano Islamic Center in Plano, TX. Those lectures served as the nucleus for his recently published book, “Muhammad: Son of Abraham, Brother of Moses, Successor of Jesus.”
He received much of his informal education about Islam from Sheikh Abul Yosr Mohamed Baianonie, then imam of the Islamic Center of Raleigh in North Carolina. Ustadh Ekram teaches the Seerah in a contemporary context and helps draw lessons that are relevant to our current challenges. “Only by following the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (s) can we successfully navigate through these turbulent times,” he said.
Dr. Nassimi Hassimi is an Adjunct Professor of Islam at Shenandoah University and NOVA College in Virginia. Also, he has been volunteering to teach at various Muslim community centers and serve an Imam, Khateeb, teacher, family and youth counselor. He served as the Vice-Chairman of Council of Muslim Organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for 7 years. He is a regular speaker of Islam at various forums, including universities and local/national Muslim conventions. Dr. Nassimi has a unique and combined educational background in Engineering and Islamic Studies. After finishing his BS in Electrical Engineering in Afghanistan, he moved to USA in 1983 and did his Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University. He worked as an electrical engineer in the field of telecommunications and satellite communication for many years. Then, because of his passion for serving Islam and the community, he decided to move his career from engineering to Islamic Studies.
Dr. Nassimi started his academic Islamic studies in 1995 by first studying the Arabic language in Imam Muhammad University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Then, he moved to Virginia to join Institute of Arabic and Islamic Sciences. Later, he earned a second Master’s degree in Islamic Studies at Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (Cordoba University) in 2004, and then he finished his PhD in Islamic Studies from University of Birmingham in England in 2008. His PhD thesis was on a comparative review of English translations of the Qur'an.
Mr. Abu Nuruzzaman is a Bangladeshi American and a grassroots activist, educator and Islamic leader. He had his Masters in Liberal Arts and presently working with NYC Dept. of Education.
Currently, Mr. Nuruzzaman is a Shura Member and vice president of Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), an Islamic Da’wah and social services organization, vice President of MFA (NYC Muslim Day Parade) and Board Member on behalf of MUNA at USCMO, a Muslim Umbrella Organization. He has served, for many years, as president of MUNA National. He also served in many projects related to youth empowerment, interfaith, civic engagement, community outreach, media and relief initiatives.
Imam Abdul Latif Al Amin has been an activist, community organizer and teacher of Islam for over 45 years. He has traveled extensively to places such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Ghana, Trinidad, United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, Kuwait, and many cities throughout the United States. Throughout his travels, he has addressed various audiences at universities, high schools, conference centers, Masajid, Churches, and many other forums. He is an ardent promoter of Islam by way of example, giving Da'wah, lecturing, teaching, and organizing Muslim communities and movements.
He took shahada (accepted Islam) in 1969 and educated and trained in the Dar-ul-Islam School of Theology under Sheikh Yahya A. Kareem and completed course work and certification in Usul ad-Deen: Comparative Religion, Qur’anic Arabic and Tajweed in 1976. He attended and organized the Imam Training Programs in 1987 in Plainfield, Indiana, USA and Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 1999 and 2000.
Imam Al-Amin earned certificates in Arabic, Usul al Fiqh, Aqeedah, Seerah, and Hadeeth under Sheikh Khalid Al-Halwani. He was a chaplain in the New York Department of Corrections (1971-1993); was one of the early pioneers of the Islamic Da’wah in the NYS Prison System in 1971; became one of the founders and former president of Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of New York (1990-2012). Currently he is Imam of Masjid Allahu Akbar in Long Island, NY and Amir/founder of Jamaat Iqaamatideen.
Mr. Adem Carroll is currently New York and United Nations Program Director for Burma Task Force USA. With a background in human rights advocacy, Adem worked for five years for Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA Relief) after the 9/11 terror attacks. There he directed a program providing emergency legal and financial help to over 825 detainees and their families after 9/11. Adem was also founder of Muslim Consultative Network (now called Muslim Community Network) in late 2003 and served as Chairman and later as Executive Director, directing the Nafis Salaam anti-smoking program for Muslim community in partnership with Islamic Medical Association of North America.
Adem is or has been an active steering committee member of several interfaith coalitions, including the Metro New York Religious Campaign Against Torture; the Flushing Interfaith Council; and New York Disaster Interfaith Services. He has worked as a visiting professor and written papers for conferences including the Duke-UNC Graduate Islamic Studies Conference and International Center for Ethno-Religious Mediation (ICERM) conference. He writes also for Muslim publications and served as producer of Global Movements Urban Struggles on WBAI radio from 2004 through 2014.
Mr. Mizan Khawaja was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He migrated to the United States in 1983. He studied at St. John's University and completed his BA in Government & Politics in 1988 and Masters in Government & Politics in 1991. He did another Masters in International Law & Diplomacy from St. John's University Law School in 1994.
He has been involved in community work for many years. He is a member of NYPD Muslim Advisory Council since 2013. He is serving as president of Jamaica Muslim Center in Queens, New York. Currently he is employed with NYC Department of Probation.
Ms. Shahana Masum is by profession a social worker for over 8 years. But she has been serving American Muslim community, particularly South Asian community, in different capacities, with different organizations for over 23 years. Currently, she is part of the Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group (B.A.A.G.); as board member of New York Muslim Voter information Club; NYC Clergy Roundtable Co-Coordinator, Staten Island; and MUNA (Muslim Ummah of North America), deputy director of civic engagement department. She has developed and conducted interactive workshops on social issues for newly arrived immigrant families including on parenting, family and marriage life, and cultural transitions. She conducted panel discussions on critical thinking about personal social issues; including raising awareness about domestic violence and helped in providing resources to immediate treatment. She also provides counseling services to youth; develop specific programs for female youth empowerment and cultural transitioning; coordinate summer youth camps.
Ms. Masum is also involved in the lobbying strategies for South Asian peoples’ rights in New York City; support and consult in official election campaigns; raise awareness of important issues i.e. Universal Pre-K, IDNYC, health care and public safety. Also served on the Transition Team for City Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito (Elected 2013) and is a Co-founding member of Public Advocate’s Task Force to Combat Hate of NYC.
