1:00pm to 1:03pm Moderator Introduction:
Khalid Mahmood, Secretary, Pakistani American Association of Connecticut (PAACT)

 

1:03pm to 1:10pm - Session II opening remarks by moderator - Watch his opening remarks on YouTube.
Session Moderator: Professor Adil Najam

In case you missed his presentation on"Causes of Radicalization in the US" on the Session I page, watch it on YouTube.

Dr. Adil Najam is the Frederick S. Pardee Professor of Global Public Policy at Boston University. He also serves as the Director of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and a Professor of International Relations and of Geography and Environment. He served as a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), work for which the IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore. Prof. Najam has also taught at MIT, University of Massachusetts and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Prof. Adil Najam's research focused on issues of global public policy, especially those related to South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human well-being. He served as a Lead Author for the Third and Fourth Assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), work for which the IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Prof. Najam has written nearly 100 scholarly papers and book chapters, and his recent books include: Pakistanis in America: Portrait of a Giving Community (2006); Trade and Environment Negotiations: A Resource Book (2006); Envisioning a Sustainable Development Agenda for Trade and Environment (2006); Environment, Development and Human Security: Perspectives from South Asia (2003). He is a past winner of MIT's Goodwin Medal for Effective Teaching, the Fletcher School Paddock Teaching Award, and the Stein Rokan Award of the International Political Science Association, the ARNOVA Emerging Scholar Award, and the Pakistan Television Medal for Outstanding Achievement. Prof. Najam also serves on the editorial boards of various scholarly publications, including Global Governance, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, The Journal of Ecological Economics, Annual Editions: Environment, and The Encyclopedia of Earth. Prof. Najam is frequently interviewed by and writes for the popular media and is the founding editor of the blog Pakistaniat.com.

Adil Najam is an expert in international diplomacy and development. His research interests include sustainable development, Muslim and South Asian politics, environmental politics in developing countries, and philanthropy among immigrant communities in the United States. Much of his work has focused on longer-term global policy problems, especially those related to human well-being and sustainable development. He contributed to Pakistan's first environmental policy document, as well as to that country's report to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, has worked closely with governments and civil society in both industrialized and developing countries, and regularly collaborates with the United Nations. Prof. Najam is an Associate at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), a Visiting Fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), and serves on the Boards of the Pakistan Institute for Environment-Development Action Research (PIEDAR) and the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada.

 

1:10pm to 1:20pm: Dr. MGM Qureshi
“How times have changed? Being an American Muslim now VS the past" - Watch it on YouTube.

Dr. Qureshi started his medical training at Dublin Royal College in Neonatology and Pediatrics. He had the rare and privileged opportunity to train and teach in educational facilities in England, Scotland and Wales. He continued his career in Jinnah Hospital Karachi as a private practitioner and came to host his own radio and television programs related to child health care. He availed the opportunity to come to the United States to join a research program related to Pediatrics in Bristol Connecticut and later joined Blue Cross Blue Shield Claims department. He moved to Houston where he climbed the corporate ladder in the health care insurance company. Because of various health setbacks, he has been able to see the American society both thru the prism of a physician and as a patient. He has remained optimistic at all times and a role model for his family and community.

 

1:20pm to 1:30pm: Dr. Yusra Anis-Anwar
“Raising children in America- Home Grown Worriers" - Watch it on YouTube.

Dr. Yusra Anis-Anwar was born in Pakistan but came to the United States at a young age and completed her elementary education in Wisconsin. Her father’s employment in the United Nations led her to Saudi Arabia where she finished her high school education. Yusra completed her Medical School at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan following which she came to Connecticut in 1992 to train at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Internal Medicine and specialize in Hypertension and Vascular Diseases. Since 2000 she has been working as a Primary Care Physician in Connecticut. She has two children and is actively involved in their lives both at school and outside school.

 

1:30pm to 1:40pm: Yasmin Hafeez
“Challenges and Opportunities for American Muslim Youth" - Watch it on YouTube.

Author of a best seller book, “American Muslim Teenagers Hand Book”
Yasmine Hafiz, a student at Yale University, and speaks nationally and internationally on the culture of America’s Muslim youth. The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook, has been called accessible and provocative, is a fresh perspective on Islam updated for the 21st century. The essentials of Muslim beliefs are interspersed with lively commentary and quotes from American Muslim teenagers. Each chapter deals with a timely subject in Islam, beginning with excerpts from the Quran and a teen-friendly interpretation of that verse, then offering real-world examples that illustrate the essence of Muslim life.
Muslim teenagers across America contributed their thoughts on living as American Muslims, expressing their heartfelt belief that one can successfully fulfill that role through better education and greater understanding – hence the need for the user-friendly Handbook. There is a dearth of current literature that addresses Muslim teens or discusses Islam in a progressive context. With books such as this one, the media’s constant refrain of “Where are the Moderate Muslims?” is no longer a valid question. Anyone curious about the silent majority of Muslims who do not receive media coverage will find this a refreshing, fascinating read.
Yasmine possesses a strong background in Islam, but it is their insightful combined experiences in Sunday school, as teenage students, interfaith activists, and public speaker that elevate the Handbook into a ‘must-read book’ for anyone interested in Islam.
Yasmine is currently doing an internship with the State department. She is at Yale University and is a part of her own radio show as well as active in accessing youth beyond US in the Muslim majority countries as well.

1:40pm to 1:50pm: Mansoor Alam
“Rising above the challenges" - Watch it on YouTube.

Mansoor Alam is a 16 year old Pakistani-American entering the 12th grade at Cheshire High School in Cheshire, CT. Through political involvement Mansoor has sought to defeat the barriers of racial and religious discrimination in the community. In middle school Mansoor experienced bullying and name calling. He rose about the challenges and name calling and initiated his work to help manage the ignorance and misinformation.
Mansoor is founder and the current executive officer of the “Young Democrats of Cheshire”. He has been involved extensively with the Connecticut Democratic Headquarters, and worked with Dan Malloy, Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Esty.
Mansoor is the founding president of “Enough”, a student-led group that advocates for peace, progress and unity in the Middle East. Enough is a group currently composed of over 80 members from New Haven County. The group has sponsored lectures on topics such as “De Mystifying Islam” as well as organized many rallies confronting a wide range of issues. Enough members and collaborators include teenage youth of Muslim, Jewish, Christian and other faiths to work together to help them become part of social change locally, nationally and beyond. Enough has been working to help build an orphanage in Pakistan. The efforts of the group have won them many awards, including the 2010 “Be The Change” award, as well as a nomination for the 2010 “Princeton Prize in Race Relations.”

1:50pm to 2:00pm: Haroon Moghul
“Challenges and opportunities in our Masajids (Mosques) in US" - Watch it on YouTube.

Haroon Moghul is Executive Director of The Maydan Institute. He served as Director of Public Relations at the Islamic Center at New York University (NYU) from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Moghul holds an M.A. in Middle East and South Asian Studies from Columbia University, where he is currently a Ph.D. candidate. His fields of study include Muslim nationalism in South Asia, colonial and post-colonial Islamic politics and the development of the Indian Ocean economy. Mr. Moghul graduated from NYU in 2002 with a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Philosophy, and a minor in Arabic. He has also has studied Persian, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. He was nominated for the 2009 Presidential Award for Best Teaching by a Graduate Student at Columbia University.
Mr. Moghul’s sermons and lectures are included in the Islamic Center at NYU’s new media services, which average over 30,000 unique downloads per month from over 120 countries. His academic engagements include Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, the University of California-Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota. Mr. Moghul has been interviewed by or otherwise featured on CNN, al-Hurra, The History Channel, ABC-7, Voice of America, National Public Radio (NPR), UN Radio (Arabic), The New Yorker, TIME, the Guardian, and The National (Abu Dhabi).
Formerly contributing editor and end-page columnist for Islamica Magazine, Mr. Moghul maintains a popular blog, Avari, which won several Brass Crescent Awards, including wins for Best Muslim Blog, Best Thinker and Best Writing. His essays and articles have been published in a variety of international media, including Pakistan's Dawn and The Friday Times, as well as American media, including Tikkun and Religion Dispatches. He prepares policy reports and analyses for Tabah Foundation, an Abu-Dhabi based think-tank devoted to bridging Muslim tradition and contemporary Western politics and thought. Mr. Moghul’s first analytic brief, published in English and Arabic, considered the role of Muslim scholars in encouraging dialogue with the United States. His first novel, The Order of Light, was released by Penguin Global in 2006. A French translation, Comment j'ai échappé à l'Ordre de lumière, was published by Cherche Midi in 2007. Haroon Moghul has been selected as one of over 500 global Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) and participated in the MLT Conference in Doha, Qatar (2009). Mr. Moghul will be presenting his research into the effects of new media at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, Australia.

 

2:00pm to 2:10pm: Muntasir Sattar
“Social Change and Opportunities for South Asian Youth: Self Help Initiative" - Watch it on YouTube.

Muntasir Sattar, is currently the Young Men's Development Coordinator for the South Asian Youth Action (SAYA), he has previously served as the Academic Program Manager at South Asian Youth Action. He is a graduate of Reed College and currently a student at Teachers College in New York. He just completed his first year in an anthropology and education doctoral program.

South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!) was founded in 1996 with the mission to create social change and opportunities for South Asian youth to realize their fullest potential. It is the only organization in the country dedicated to providing non-sectarian comprehensive youth development services to the South Asian community—one of the fastest growing minority groups in New York City. SAYA! Provides low-income South Asians, ages 5 to 19, with academic support, leadership development and athletic opportunities that equip them for healthy and successful lives in the United States.

2:10pm to 3:00pm: Questions and Answers