Mutah Wassin Shabazz Beale

Mutah Wassin Shabazz Beale is a former rapper more commonly known as Napoleon. He was born to Muslim parents. When he was three years old his parents were murdered in front of him by family friends and members of the Nation of Islam. He later started rapping and eventually, with Tupac and five other rappers, formed the very successful group known as the Outlawz. Years later, he became inspired to learn about his Muslim roots. After following in the footsteps of Malcolm X and making the Hajj, he began to learn about the essence of Islam and decided to leave a fast lifestyle of music, intoxicants, and fame for the simplicity of Islam. He now travels across the world to inform people about his transformation and the dangers associated with his previous lifestyle.






Savera Iftikhar

Savera Iftikar is someone who tries to see beauty in the everyday. Using her Creator, the greatest artist of all, as inspiration, she closely views every passing subject and image to the most minute detail always left in awe of His never-ending combination of color, composition and concept. She is an aspiring painter/illustrator and photographer who hopes to be able to capture with justice the unique beauty that The One has spread all over His land. Savera received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently working towards her Certificate in Graphic Design at Parsons: The New School for Design. She has displayed work at the Emory University Art Gala, The Nawawi Foundation Eid Luncheon, The Open Shutter Project at Northwestern University and various IMAN events. She has photographed many prominent individuals some of whom include: Hamza Yusuf, Dr. Umar Farooq Abd Allah, Zaid Shakir, Amir Sulaiman, Brother Ali, The ReMINDers, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Lupe Fiasco and Outlandish. Though her training is primarily in painting/drawing, she has recently dived into the world of Graphic Design, having done Graphic Design for IMAN's Community Cafe flyers, posters and online promotion. Savera will be contributing photography to The New Muslim Cool companion book set to release in June of 2009.






Mufti Hussain Kamani

Shaykh Hussain Kamani was born and raised in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. After completing the memorization of the Qur'an in Buffalo, New York, he went on to complete a rigorous eight year ‘alim and ‘ifta course at Darul Uloom Bury, located in the United Kingdom. His studies were based on the traditional Darse-Nizami curriculum of Islamic education and under some of the world's greatest scholars such as Shaykh Yusuf Motala and Shaykh Bilal Bawa. Following his graduation with top honors, Shaykh Hussain went on to earn his post-graduate degree in Business Management & Strategy at the University of Coventry (RDI). Aside from being a teacher at Darul Hikmah, Shaykh Hussain holds various programs around the city of Chicago and beyond for Muslim youth. He is also currently serving as the Imam of the ICC Masjid in Chicago and teaches for the Sacred Learning educational institute (www.sacredlearning.org).






Nouman Ali Khan

Nouman is the founder and CEO of Bayyinah, as well as the lead instructor for a number of Bayyinah courses including the ‘Fundamentals of Classical Arabic’ and ‘Divine Speech’. His first exposure to Arabic study was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he completed his elementary education. He continued Arabic grammar study in Pakistan, where he received a scholarship for ranking among the top 10 scores in the national Arabic studies board examinations in 1993. But his serious training in Arabic began in the United States in 1999 under Dr. Abdus-Samie, founder and formal principal of Quran College, Faisalabad, Pakistan who happened to be touring the US for intensive lectures in Tafsir and Arabic studies. Under Dr. Abdus-Samie, Nouman developed a keen methodical understanding of Arabic grammar. He further benefited from Dr. Abdus-Samie by internalizing his unique teaching methods and later translating his work into English for the benefit of his own students. Nouman served as professor of Arabic at Nassau Community College until ‘06 and has taught Modern Standard and Classical Arabic at various venues for nearly 7 years with over 10,000 students nationwide. Currently he has dedicated himself to a seven-year-long project, of conducting a linguistic & literary focus Qur’anic Tafseer series in English. Recordings of sessions conducted so far can be downloaded at www.bayyinah.com/dream.






Khalil Meek

Khalil Meek is a native of Texas and was raised in a Baptist family in Dallas. He wanted to be a Baptist minister after graduating from college. However, while studying comparative religion his senior year in college preparing to go to seminary he actually became an American Muslim convert and embraced Islam in 1989. He graduated from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. Khalil Meek has previously held positions such as owner and CEO of Mecca Logistics (freight logistics company), Vice President of ROC Transport, Inc. and General Manager of All American Flooring in Dallas TX. He is currently the President & CEO of the Muslim Legal Fund of America. He was the past President (and c/o founder) of the Islamic Association of Lewisville / Flower Mound and a past BoD Member & former President of Council on American Islamic Relations (DFW chapter). He is co-founder of the Muslim Legal Fund of America. MLFA is a 501 c 3 charitable organization founded in 2001 to defend the legal and civil rights of American Muslims and American Islamic Organizations.






Amir Junaid Muuhadith

Best known by his stage name, Loon, Amir Junaid Muuhadith gained recognition while signed to Bad Boy Records, where he was featured in the hit songs “I Need A Girl”. Muuhadith surprisingly quit in 2009 despite the wealth and fame he amassed over the last decade. Having never found the solace and inner peace he desired in the rap industry, Muuhadith turned towards Islam to provide him with a purpose and motivation in life. He soon changed his name from Loon to Amir Junaid Muuhadith and began to study his new found religion while traveling across the world to inform people of what led him to his life changing decision.






Rami Nashashibi

Rami has been serving as the Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) since its incorporation as a nonprofit in January 1997. He is currently a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of Chicago. Rami has been an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities across the Chicagoland area, where he has taught a range of Sociology, Anthropology and other Social Science courses. He has worked with several leading scholars in the area of globalization, African American studies and urban sociology and has contributed chapters to edited volumes by Manning Marabel and Saskia Sassen. Rami has lectured across the United States and Europe on a range of topics related to American Muslim identity, community activism and social justice issues and is a recipient of several prestigious community service and organizing honors including the Norman R. Bobbins Fellowship presented at the most recent Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards. Rami and his work with IMAN has been featured in many national and international media outlets including the BBC, PBS and a front page story in the Chicago Tribune. In 2007 Islamica Magazine profiled Rami as among the 10 Young Muslim Visionaries Shaping Islam in America and most recently Chicago Public Radio has selected Rami Nashashibi has one of the city's Top Ten Chicago Global Visionaries.






Sa'ad Quadri

Sa'ad Quadri studied the Islamic sciences at the Institute of Islamic Education (IIE) for three years, where he memorized Qur'an, studied Arabic, and learned basic principles of the deen. Sa'ad completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Illinois University where he majored in English and minored in History. By profession, Sa'ad is a teacher at the College Preparatory School of America. He is also pursuing studies of Islamic studies in the Sacred Learning Individual Study Program under the tutelage of Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar.









The ReMINDers

The Reminders have been making music for a while now, both individually and together. In 2005, Big Samir began performing with Aja Black around the Midwest. Sharing similar views on life, music and religion, they decided to come together and work on a concept entitled The ReMINDers. After a two year break to raise their children, they are back with a powerful debut record ReCollect that will gain them a solid position in the music world. Aja Black sings and raps on the record while Big Samir occasionally flips back and forth from French to English. The Couple-Duo is very busy promoting positive vibes and great music for people of all ages in the world to enjoy. For the past couple of years, they have acquired much success by sharing stages with such artists as Mos Def, DeLaSoul, KRS 1, Dead Prez, Little Brother, K'Naan, Immortal Technique, Pharcyde, Talib Kweli and have also hit the road with Blackalicious and OneBeLo. The ReMINDers will be performing in entertainment and will also speak in our arts panel lecture.






Khalil Ismail

Khalil was born in the Nation’s Capital and raised in Baltimore, MD as a child of two early converts to Islam. Growing up with the principles and moral standards of Islam helped shape Khalil’s focused attention to social and spiritual issues within his music. Every part of his music is directly or indirectly influenced by his firm belief in God and His principles. Khalil released his debut album “The Truth” in April of 2007. In late 2008 Khalil took the opportunity to perform at various venues around the country and overseas. When Khalil is not working on his music, he is working for the community or building his business. He does nonprofit consultant work for a womens homeless shelter. He is also a mixing engineer and producer. His aspirations are to create a new kind of record label specifcally servicing independent artists who have a message. He also moonlights as a video editor and eventually plans to produce documentary and film that much like his music, invoke thought and insight into truth.






DJ Man - O - Wax, Asad Jafri

Asad is currently the Director of Arts and Culture at the Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN), a Chicago-based community organization that works for social justice, provides direct services, and cultivates the arts in urban communities. As a multidisciplinary artist, Asad has created, curated, and presented original productions across many genres of music, theater, visual art, and dance. Asad also DJs under the moniker, Man-o-Wax and has played at venues and events across the country blending soulful and funky music from all over the world. One of Asad's more recent projects is Turntable Dhikr, a fusion of traditional and contemporary music from dedicated to the Most High with the DJ and turntables as the foundation. Asad's fusion of art and social change through innovative mediums has been recognized through out the country, especially in the Hip Hop Community. He holds a position on the National Office of the Hip Hop Congress, and is member of the Universal Zulu Nation. Asad hopes to use his experience and holistic approach to social justice in working with communities across the globe.






Zain Lodhia

A late bloomer, Zain picked up a guitar for the first time during his senior year of college. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2009, he became serious about pursuing music and has been working on original material since then. He believes that music is a powerful way to connect with people of all backgrounds and Insha'Allah hopes to release his first CD soon.