January 9, 2009
From 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.
