Glendale (CA) News Press

IN THEORY: Who made the biggest impact?

Every year, Time magazine awards the honor of Person of the Year to the individual who most impacted the news over the last 12 months. If you could name the person who did the most to advance the cause of God or spirituality in 2008, who would it be?

by Levant Arkabut

At 31, Arsalan Iftikhar is a typical Gen-X American Muslim with an atypical profile as a media personality and peace activist in the U.S. and international press. “I love reading the Quran and I love listening to Nirvana,” Iftikhar writes on his website “The Muslim Guy,” created on the seventh anniversary of 9/11 for the expressed intent of countering Islamic extremism.

His role as a public spokesman on Islam flourished in 2008. He advanced the cause of God in 2008 by working global peace like none other.

Iftikhar is an international human rights lawyer and contributing editor for Islamica magazine, a contemporary global affairs magazine headquartered in Los Angeles.

In March, Iftikhar took part in the BBC Doha Debates in Qatar, arguing that “Muslims are failing to do enough to combat extremism” and calling for the end of every form of global bigotry in the world, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Iftikhar is an honest broker for the truth. I personally love hearing the hard-rock grunge of his courageous honesty. The stereo boom of highly critical analysis for internal reform on the part of the Muslim community on one side along with the calls for justice and mutual understanding on Islamic issues from non-Muslims on the other side is a concert of enlightenment. A prime example of this balance is Iftikhar’s latest CNN commentary, “Both Sides Wrong in Gaza,” which defies today’s status quo. The article does not attribute moral equivalency for the civilian casualties and the disproportional Israeli response while recognizing Hamas’ complicity for its failure to govern responsibly and for irresponsible provocations.

Iftikhar models his spiritual message as a peace advocate after Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He deserves to be recognized in 2008 for his fierce defense of justice and truth, challenging both the West and Muslim world.

READ the entire article at: http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/01/10/religion/gnp-intheory10.txt

Date Posted: October 24, 2008

"U.S. Muslim voters are election-year outcasts'

By Rachel Zoll, Associated Press Religion Writer

‘‘I don’t think there could have been any better messenger than Colin Powell, being someone who is a well-respected Republican, a former secretary of state and an army general,’’ said Arsalan Iftikhar, a Washington, D.C., civil rights lawyer and writer who supports Obama. ‘‘American Muslims feel slightly politically radioactive at this time. This sends a resounding message of inclusiveness.’’

Read entire article at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27344069/

Date Posted: October 19, 2008

Watch Arsalan on former Secretary of State General Colin Powell's endorsement of Senator Barack Obama

VIDEO at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwUfZlXRIHI

Date Posted: September 19, 2008

NPR Tell Me More, September 19, 2008 · Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan, a time set aside by observant Muslims for fasting and prayer. Another important obligation tied to Ramadan is Zakat, the practice of offering of money to the needy. Imam Hassan Qazwini and civil rights attorney/Barbershop regular Arsalan Iftikhar discuss government scrutiny of charitable giving in a post-Sept. 11 world and the affect on donations

September 11, 2008

Christian Science Monitor

AFTER 9/11, SOME LIVES RECAST FOR GREATER GOOD

by Jane Lampman, Staff Writer Christian Science Monitor

Full article available at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0912/p01s01-usgn.html

Arsalan Iftikhar, 'clash' dispeller

For Arsalan Iftikhar, Sept. 11 is indelibly marked as "the most important day of my life."

A second-year law student at Washington University in St. Louis the day the planes hit, the articulate young Muslim American realized immediately what was at stake.

"I knew that getting the message out was of paramount importance, and I drafted a condemnation of terrorism [op-ed] to send to every major newspaper in the country," he says. Several published it, and his role as a public spokesman on Islam was launched.

Upon graduation, the human rights lawyer joined the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in Washington D.C., as its national legal director, and interacted with government agencies on hate crime incidents, as well as the USA Patriot Act and other law-enforcement initiatives.

His mission, he says, is to dispel the theory of a clash of civilizations in US and global venues and to play a part in "making a better world for all."

In March, Mr. Iftikhar participated in the BBC Doha Debates in Qatar, arguing that "Muslims are failing to do enough to combat extremism." (He and his partner won the debate.)

At home, he's seen peaks and valleys in American attitudes toward Islam. The whisper campaign against Sen. Barack Obama as being "some sort of a crypto-Muslim" shows how entrenched some negative attitudes are, he says.

Now a contributing editor for Islamica magazine and a commentator for National Public Radio, Iftikhar is marking the seventh anniversary by launching his own website, "The Muslim Guy," to help take the discourse away from extremists.

"I want people to know we are not only part and parcel of American society but at the forefront of trying to make it a better place," he adds.