Extraordinary American Muslims

CAIR-SFBA

Posted Sep 13, 2007      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) is pleased to release two new stories in this month’s update of the “Extraordinary Muslims” campaign.

On the Path of Activism and Service - Adeel Iqbal

While many college students spend their summers primarily for recreation, Adeel Iqbal interns in the Economic Section of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, covering energy and bilateral trade. He hopes to do such social work and international development in the future.

Iqbal, 20, is currently an undergraduate student studying Development and Public Policy at UC Berkeley. An active member of his local Muslim community, he is also a speaker for the Islamic Networks Group (ING) and has served as Chief Editor of the Daily Californian, a student-run newspaper.

Many factors in his life motivated him to pursue social activist work. From his Sunday classes at the South Bay Area Islamic School, Iqbal learned the importance of lending a helping hand by volunteering at soup kitchens. Attending Bellarmine College Preparatory, a Jesuit high school, further emphasized his service to society as a “man for others”. Regarding his parents, Iqbal says, “They would drive hundreds of miles to deliver food, visit the sick or be with those who had lost a loved one. Their actions reinforced the values I was taught at home and in school.”

Award-Winning Muslim Woman in the Media - Souheila Al-Jadda

After graduating from college, Souheila Al-Jadda caught the political bug. Today, she is a recipient of the George Foster Peabody award, television journalism’s most prestigious award, and an associate producer of Mosaic, a television show on Link Television.

Upon graduating from George Washington University, Al-Jadda worked for U.S. House of Representative Dennis J. Kucinich where she handled issues dealing with foreign policy, human and civil rights, veterans’ affairs, and health care. She completed her Masters during this time at Johns Hopkins University.

After completing her Masters, Al-Jadda moved to California and focused on her interest in journalism. She has authored numerous freelance writings in various publications like USA Today and The San Jose Mercury News.

Today, Al-Jadda continues to write opinion pieces, while also maintaining a position as an associate producer for Link Television. As part of the team that produces the show Mosaic, Al-Jadda monitors and selects news stories that air on the show from a wide range of Middle East satellite stations. The team translates the stories from Arabic to English with voice overs. The stories are then compiled into a half hour show.

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