Rumi: Rapped.

In probably the greatest crossovers of all time, Rumi is taken from the esoteric to the symbol of Hip-Hop Culture itself, bringing the thoughts of the world’s greatest Sufi to a knew generation of leaders, thinkers, and change-makers.

It’s also my top song for my morning work out routine.

Generation Change

Over the summer, the Department of State invited me and 75 other Muslim young leaders to their official Iftar on September 7th, 2010. I was honored to be invited,  and had a wonderful time. The 75 of us Muslim leaders were also asked to attend a full day program at the State Department entitled “Generation Change”, referring to our roles as change-makers in our communities and (if God wills) the world.

We began our afternoon together with speeches by leading Muslim voices in American society (and believe it or not, there are a lot of them), and then moved on into break-out session discussion groups where we were to talk about important issues regarding and affecting Muslims in America and abroad.

While some of the thinkers in my discussion group were intelligent and thoughtful, others took a more histrionic approach, and one rudely demanded a State Department staffer tell her why we were all invited, insinuating an insidious plot by our gracious hosts. Another member of our breakout session announced while were discussing the ethnic pluralism within Islam, that as a Pakistani Shiite, she fervently believed “Mecca is a myth.” Still another person changed the context of our conversations from the issue of identity and faith into a lecture on women’s rights in Iran, totally flabbergasting all of us.

Needless to say, my favorite part of the day was not the break-out session’s formatted discussion. My favorite was however, the time we spent with the US Representative to the Muslim Communities, Farah Pandith, and the time we had to network with one another throughout the day and evening. I truly believe I met some of my best friends that day, and many of my Muslim role models, too.

In the aftermath of the night, the young leaders who gathered decided it was important for us all to remain in touch, and to develop an online platform for us to share with other Muslims and with other Americans what ‘Generation Change’ was really up to when it comes to making a positive difference in the world we live in. Out of those discussions came the GenChange wiki, a Wikipedia-styled online reference about Muslim American change-makers, and the work they are doing. The wiki’s been up for about 3 weeks, and has had modest success so-far. Our first goal is to bring as many Muslim leaders as possible on board the wiki through informative articles about their biographies and work. Once we’ve made substantial progress there, we’ll work on sharing,recruiting, and expanding our network of proactive Muslims.

What was really special and amazing about the night again, was the networking. I met fellow interfaith activists, feminists, social media enthusiasts, journalists, magazine publishers, playwrights, religious leaders, politicos, poets, and many more. All had stories, all are accomplishing and doing amazing things. Some were working on translating Hafiz accurately into French, others were public policy experts devising unique solutions to Pakistan’s financial woes, and more than a few had started NGO’s dedicated to ensuring women’s rights and girl’s literacy in far-off places like Malawi and Iraq. Some of us were experts at history, and still others were accomplished authors with published textbooks and mind-blowing resumes.

We all shared stories of yearning for an identity, and struggling for our (and within our) faith, heartbreak due to bigotry, and redemption through worship and introspection. It was a very special time for all who came to the State Department that day.

I hope to be invited back again next year, and to continue to work with this amazing group of young, talented Muslim individuals.

Statements by Muslim American Speakers at opening plenary for the Generation Change program:

Here are a collection of photos from the Iftar:

http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg147/ulookepatha_2008/Blog/Generation%20Change/

Here is a link to the invitation:

http://www.scribd.com/full/41524028?access_key=key-1baohkufwxnecee9gozb

My Life, Explained

Hamza

this girl i dated and i had nicknames

it spread to all my friends

so i am officialy ‘the uloo’

which i have explained essentially means

‘village idiot’

1:19pmZenit

hahaha

1:21pmHamza

randomly you’ll see statuses that say

“the uloo has returned”

comments: “from what? getting his *** kicked by short arab girl?”

“no, from dancing on the roof again and falling 30 feet

smoothe one, khan”

or even, “you went streaking again? was it on purpose this time?”

1:22pmZenit

hahahah

1:24pmZenit

hhahahahahahaha

are these true stories?

1:25pmHamza

All I’m going to say is: Pledging AEPi

is not easy.

1:25pmZenit

hahahahah

Important Announcement About College Politics.

Effective April 3rd, I will be stepping down as President of the Maryland Federation of College Democrats.

With that, I will be retiring from collegiate politics here in Maryland.

Being president of the MFCD has been great. I learned a lot, and we achieved a of a lot more than we set out to, including gaining the respect of state federations across the country. The cabinet we put together is by far the best, and most diverse we’ve ever seen. From meetings with Congress, to private discussions with community and state leaders, we’ve finally put MFCD on the map.

That said, I really have an itching to have a social life again. As Erich and Kinjal can attest, I put in 10-20 hours a week on CDA and MFCD related projects. I’ve given my all to the Federation and to making us a more professional organization this past year, and I leave knowing that Erich Reimer and the rest of the team know what they’re doing.

I will however, stay on as Chair for CDA’s Middle Eastern Caucus. This is the first time that there is a DNC-backed institution to focus on the interests of college students of Middle Eastern heritage. I look forward to putting the Middle Eastern Caucus on the map, too.

And so there you have it, I’m retiring! Expect details of a party soon!

The soundtrack of my life

The Interns

So when I started this project of mine, I realized I’d need some help.   So I called up a few kids I knew, and lo and behold I have a whole team of goofy interns. Here are a few photos they took at the office during move-in day.

If you’re looking for probably the most fun internship in the DC area, send in your resume to: MDCampaignsHQ@gmail.com

Project Rumi: My Newest Endeavor!

I am starting a political consulting firm.


The idea came to me after this summer, I spent time consulting a few Iranian groups on political matters. I wasn’t too bad at it, and I had some coups (and flops) along the way. But where I definitely had a knack was connecting to people, organizing them effectively, and using social media to make it all happen.

I am by no means brilliant, but I am a risk-taker. I began setting up my firm’s office with a few interns the other night in College Park. It was pretty exciting, even if cubical walls kept crashing on my head. 

I’m trying to think of a new name for the firm though. When I formed it over the summer, there were only two partners, but now I’ve taken on a few new faces, and am going in a new direction. A few ideas include the Bunny Project, and Khan & Associates, but we’ll see. For now Khan and Associates is winning out. 

I have a lot of faith that this will be an exciting project.

Please Consider Supporting my Firm on Facebook.

Helping the Maryland Democratic Party Move!

 This weekend, the Maryland Democratic Party was moving to its new headquarters at 33 West Street in Annapolis, Maryland. I gathered up all of our interns at Khan & Associates LLP, several of our partners, and  members of the MCYD and Maryland Federation of College Democrats.

The party leadership were floored. There were about 8 20 people from the Young Democrats of Maryland (all across the state) come out. I think we brought about 12-16 people, somehow in just three cars!!

    Two of our firm’s partners Syrus and Shireen with me at Magia’s Pizzeria after helping with the big move!

    Syrus, Shireen, and I with our awesome interns!

Finally, a Post about Me.

The past few weeks have been hectic. 

My mother left us the day before New Year’s Eve to go visit our grandfather, and join her brother who recently sojourned back to Pakistan after nearly 25 years of being a proud American. Necessity sent them both abroad, their father is an octogenarian; of the same brave generation of men and women who put their faith in the creation of a Pakistan, only to live to see the day that her existence might be threatened a second time in 63 years.

My father and I have been manning the ship the best we can. The house is spotless (a feat given my brother’s nickname around here is the first name of a wanted Yemeni hiding somewhere in the Hindu Kush). I barely get any sleep, Dad never gets any sleep, and between us chores, work, and errands dominate the schedule.

At night, Dad and I furiously debate to the last detail the tenets of several business plans. His, mine, our back up strategies, our lack of backup strategies for the backup strategies, and whether or not green tea is better with lemon or plain.

I’ve been hatching a few plans to get into the workforce, and all of them seem to be remarkably well recieved. However, I suffer from an age-old trait in the men of mother’s family: nerves. I get scared pretty easily that I might be destined to fail,that my schemes are only quarter-baked, and that the mean Pakistani gang of bullies from middle school might just come back with a vengeance to laugh at me when I do fail!

Then I come back to reality and realize I haven’t seen those buggers in over a decade. But still, they could be lurking around the corner…(dun dun dun!!!)

Back in November, only days before my birthday, I was appointed at the College Democrats of America’s new Middle Eastern Caucus Chair. A lot of interesting people came out supporting my nomination for the post, and I’m honored to accept it. I plan on working with the newly appointed board to expand the caucus to 25 states by April, insha’Allah.

That’s all for now.

My Favorite Comedians.

So it’s 2010. New decade, and so its time for a new life.
…Or at least a new blogging style.

I wanted my first post of the decade to have a bit of a new flare to it,
something a little more uplifting then heavy posts about Muharram, and
Islamic martyrdom (#FBI, we’re talking about Karbala 680 CE, not terrorism).

In any case, I thought I’d share my favorite comedians with you all, and show
that Allah can Muslims funny, too (I mean me being funny, since none of the comedians are Muslims).

I like edgy ethnic humor, particularly about Mideasterners. Given that I’m a dork, I also love political
and historical humor. I consider religious humor a bit too heretical.

So without further ado, check out three clips from my three favorite comedians:

Omid Djalili is an Iranian Bahai with a hell of a humor. He reminds me easily of a family friend in Boca Raton. I love his off-color humor about his background, mainly because it matches my own.

Eddie Izzard is a riot. If I ever became a comedian (and its seriously crossed my mind oh, maybe a dozen times this past week), I’d probably mix Izzard with Djalili, minus the whole obese/cross-dressing thing.

Maz Jabrani hastam Shah e Humor. If there’s a guy who understands Persians even better than I do, it’s Maz.  I’ll give him credit on his Arab identity routine, also.