Community Matters Nutrilite, Cargill, Wrigley, Saffron Road, and American Halal Association. Their presence reflected the growing interest in halal ingredients in products, both in the U.S. and Muslim majority markets. Abbott Nutrition, several of whose products are halal certified by IFANCA for U.S. and export markets, was recognized as the company of the year. At the conference, ISNA with American Halal Association (AHA) announced that it is working towards creating an American Halal Standard and a Halal Accreditation Board. Ahmad Adam, who represented AHA, outlined this endeavor. IFANCA president, Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, welcomed this initiative and offered full cooperation and assistance in establishing such an entity.
■
FBI Leadership Award Dr. Shakila Ahmad, a volunteer at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati (ICGC), was recognized by the FBI for her work in educating the public and bringing diverse communities together. Ahmad received the 2010 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for the Cincinnati Division on March 25, for serving as a strong partner with law enforcement agencies and the area’s Muslim community. In 2008, Ahmad worked closely with the FBI to assemble a Multi-Cultural Advisory Council to strengthen ties between the field office and local ethnic, religious and minority communities. Ahmad has taken a proactive role in promoting peace through dialogue with the founding of the Muslim Mothers Against Violence. She also initiated the Bullies and Victims school violence prevention program while serving as president of the Academy of Medicine Alliance of Cincinnati. An active member of the ICGC board of trustees since 1995, Ahmad is the first woman to serve in this position. She also spearheaded the creation of the nationally recognized “A Visit to a Mosque in America” educational DVD to promote the understanding of Islam and Muslims in the U.S.
■
16
NEWS BRIEFS
Soha R. Abdeljaber, a professor of mathematics at the New Jersey Institute of Technology was named among the top 25 professors for 2010-2011 on RateMyProfessors.com—the largest trafficked U.S. college professor ratings site with almost 6,000 schools, one million professors and 7.5 million ratings. Four years ago, the hijab-clad professor was named among the top 50. Abdeljaber, whose favorite subject since elementary school was mathematics, has taught pre-calculus and calculus in the department since 2000.
■
Kansas City lawyer Tariq Abdullah was honored with Ingram’s Business Magazine’s “40 Under 40” award. He helped his family open Café Chai Shai, where he served mango shakes. Abdullah, who believes in family first, cites “their contributions they have made to his own successes.” Since earning his Juris Doctorate from UMKC in 1998, he has clerked at a local boutique law firm, then went to work as an attorney for Sprint (in two separate gigs), as negotiator and attorney for his own firm in Olathe, and as assistant general counsel/chief compliance officer for the Kansas Health Policy Authority in Topeka. For the past three quarters, he has served in a similar capacity for the Kansas Bioscience Authority, a $581-million bioscience venture capital fund. He is president of the Crescent Peace Society, which aims to foster understanding among people of different faiths.
■
Physics teacher Amir Abo-Shaeer, of Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, Calif., and his robotics team are the subjects of a recently released book, “The New Cool.” Each year, Abo-Shaeer leads the school’s robotics team into a rigorous national competition that requires months of preparation and a season’s worth of intense face-offs. Last year, the 39-year-old teacher was awarded a MacArthur Foundation $500,000 “genius” grant. Abo-Shaeer grew up in Goleta, the son of an Iraqi theoretical physicist who had worked and studied on four continents. Abo-Shaeer has managed to launch an in-school engineering academy and to raise $6 million for it.
■
Shaan Khan, a Glen Ellyn, Ill. high school student, was among the award winners of the international essay contest sponsored by the Gulen Institute Youth Platform, which
Maarij Baig was inducted to “Who’s Who” among students in American universities and colleges at the 100th commencement of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., on May 7. The selection is based on scholarship, leadership, community activities, citizenship, and service to the university. Baig, who received a B.S. degree, served as honor council representative and on the judicial review board.
■
Islamic Horizons July/August 2011