2009 Speakers

Carla Power
Contributor, TIME Magazine

Carla Power is a journalist specializing in Islamic social issues. She has been writing on the subject since the early 1990s, first as a Junior Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, then as a correspondent for Newsweek Magazine, and more recently, writing for Time Magazine, The Times of London, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications.

Her work on the Islamic halal and financial industries has appeared in Time Magazine, Forbes, New Statesman and Foreign Policy. She graduated from Yale University cum laude in 1988, and went on to receive a degree from the Journalism School at Columbia University, and an M.Phil. from St. Antony’s College, Oxford University in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. As a journalist, she has reported widely from Central and South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Married, with two young daughters, she lives in North London and is currently writing a book on the global Muslim women’s movement.

Mohamed El-Fatatry
Founder and CEO, Muxlim.com

Mohamed is the founder and CEO of Muxlim Inc., the world’s largest Muslim lifestyle network. Created in 2006, Muxlim has already achieved a massive following with tens of millions of visitors each year from over 190 countries.

Mohamed’s vision is to connect the world’s Muslim communities to each other, and to the wider world, through shared online experiences. Muxlim is focused on the Muslim lifestyle as part of a diverse, all-inclusive world which which recognizes and welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds who want to share, learn and have fun. In 2008, Muxlim.com was cited as one of the top 100 technology start-ups in Europe by leading U.S. technology magazine Red Herring, and was included in the top 100 high growth success stories in Finland by Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper. In 2009, the company was named “Grand One Best Startup 2009″, one of the most prestigious digital media awards in Europe. In the same year the company became the official Finland nominee to the “World Summit Awards 2009″, and has been recognized as one of Finland’s top high-tech companies by the Finnish National Fund for Research & Innovation (TEKES). Furthermore, a case study about Muxlim is currently being written for INSEAD “Blue Ocean Strategy Institute”.

Paul Barrett
Assistant Managing Editor, BusinessWeek

Paul Barrett is an Assistant Managing Editor at BusinessWeek, a position he assumed in September 2005. He is responsible for overseeing investigative projects. The magazine has won a series of national awards for articles he has supervised.

Prior to joining BusinessWeek, Mr. Barrett was an editor and legal affairs reporter for The Wall Street Journal. At various times, he held the positions of Supreme Court correspondent, page one special projects editor, and page one news editor at the Journal. Prior to that, he was a staff writer and editor for The Washington Monthly.

Mr. Barrett is the author of American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007; Picador, 2008), which was named to best books of 2007 lists by the Washington Post, Christian Monitor, and Publishers Weekly. he is also the author of The Good Black: A True Story of Race in America (Dutton, 1999; Plume, 2000)

Mr. Barrett is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds an A.B. from Harvard College.

Shahed Amanullah
Founder,  Halalfire Media

Mr. Amanullah is a technology professional and veteran of several Silicon Valley startups, including Relatia Networks, a telecommunications software company where he served as CEO. He is the founder of Halalfire Media (http://www.halalfire.com), the leading network of Islamic-themed websites with over 6.5 million annual visitors and 22 million annual page views. Halalfire Media Group is considered the go to “think tank” for proprietary insights into the dynamic and growing American and UK Muslim communities. Halalfire’s flagship product is zabihah.com, the world’s largest database of Halal restaurants and markets, which stands at the heart of the fast-growing global marketplace. Zabihah.com was the recipient of the Halal Journal Award, presented by the Malaysian Prime Minister at the 2008 World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Other signature properties include altmuslim.com, the largest online newsmagazine focusing on issues related to Islam in the West, salatomatic.com, an extensive list of user-reviewed mosques and schools, and halalapalooza.com, a comprehensive guide to Islamic e-commerce. As editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, Amanullah writes and speaks regularly about the challenges and opportunities facing Islam in America. His work and writings have been featured in Newsweek, Time Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, and many other major publications. His television appearances include “Nightline with Ted Koppel”, CNN, the “Today Show”, and “Hannity & Colmes”.

Bob Burg
Coauthor of the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek Bestseller, The Go-Giver

Bob Burg shares information on topics vital to the success of today’s business person. He speaks for corporations and associations internationally, including fortune 500 companies, franchises, and numerous direct sales organizations.
Bob regularly addresses audiences ranging in size from 50 to 16,000 – sharing  the platform with notables including today’s top thought leaders, broadcast personalities Olympic athletes and political leaders including cabinet secretaries and a former United States President.

He is perhaps best-known for his book Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales which has thus far sold well over 175,000 copies and is still going strong.

His newest book (coauthored with John David Mann), is entitled, The Go-Giver. A business parable that both touches hearts and build bigger bank accounts, it shot to number 6 on the Wall Street Journal Business Bestsellers list just three weeks after its release. It’s also Bob’s fourth book to top the 100,000 mark in sales.

Lubna Khalid
Founder, Real Cosmetics

The founder of Real Cosmetics, Lubna Khalid, has channeled her personal quest for the importance of cultural diversity and real beauty, into a hot, contemporary and socially conscious make-up brand that truly delivers “mind, beauty, soul.”

The 35-year-old social activist, filmmaker and marketing marvel began her business out of personal frustration. Lubna, a Pakistani-American, was unable to find foundations and powders to match her skin tone. There were no appropriate products at retail, and even professional make-up artists had difficulty mixing realistic skin shades. In an increasingly multi-cultural world, Lubna noted a conspicuous lack of cosmetics designed for women who did not fit the typical categories of “beauty” and skin color. She also felt that beauty should be represented in a way that was not only attainable, but empowering.

A well-traveled, high-energy entrepreneur who speaks seven languages, Lubna took her degrees from U. C. Berkeley to jobs at Proctor & Gamble and L’oreal.  Her own analysis of demographic shifts in the cosmetic marketplace, confirmed the need for an “all-encompassing” product line that broke barriers and offered expansive, “real” representations of beauty.  She started Real Cosmetics in 1999, with a vision to create more than just another prestige beauty company. Real Cosmetics has become a platform to promote self-esteem and empowerment, to women all over the world.

Adnan Durrani
Chief Halal Officer, American Halal Co. Inc.

Currently, Adnan is Chief Halal Officer of American Halal Co., Inc., a socially conscious food brand , which from the “sustainable farm to the halal table “ is committed to super-premium organic halal foods that are ethnically authentic, with a mission to promote interfaith dialogue, understanding, and harmony between Muslims, Jews, Christians, and all faiths. He previously served on the Board, and as Finance Chair of Social Venture Network (www.svn.org).  Adnan has been a pioneer in establishing quantitative proof that socially conscious and economically just business models can yield exponential triple bottom line profits for consumer product companies and has delivered such exceptional returns for his shareholders. He has been recognized by BBMG, SRB (Socially Responsible Business Organization), and SVN as one of the entrepreneurs and venture investors who engineered “20 Ideas That Changed The Way The World Does Business”.  The select list of these inductees include: Ben Cohen (Ben & Jerry’s), Gary Hirshberg (Stoneyfield Farms), Eileen Fisher, Yvonne Chovinard (Patagonia), Muhammad Yunus (Nobel Peace Prize, Grameen Bank), Horst Rechelbacher (Aveda), and Steve Case (AOL, Revolution Ventures).

Adnan is also president of Condor Ventures, Inc., a venture firm devoted to strategic investing in natural food companies, as well as a Venture Partner of Blue Chip Venture Co. Adnan is a serial entrepreneur. He was the founder of Vermont Pure Holdings, the second largest bottled water company in the Northeast and the parent company of Crystal Rock Water Co. Adnan was also a financial partner of Stonyfield Farms Inc, whose private sale he led to Dannone. He was also a principal of Delicious Brands, Inc., a struggling regional brand whose growth he led, with the financial backing of Carl Icahn, through a strategic roll up strategy to become the fifth largest cookie brand in US.

Midhat H. Syed
Partner, Murtha Cullina

Midhat advises clients in corporate and cross border transactions, particularly in emerging markets of the Middle East and South Asia. He serves as co-chair of the firm’s Islamic Finance and Investment Group. Mr. Syed’s Islamic Finance practice involves assisting and advising institutions and entities with respect to Shari’ah (Islamic Law) compliant transactions in the realm of private equity investments, real estate finance, mergers & acquisitions, strategic investments and joint ventures, and investment funds.

His domestic corporate practice includes advising and assisting small to mid size companies with entrepreneurial spirit. In this realm, he focuses on company formations, private equity, venture capital and angel funding, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, business planning, asset transfers and corporate and operational compliance matters. He has closely worked with clients in the food, franchising, media and retail industries.

Mr. Syed has extensive experience in advising and assisting IT companies, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service providers and customers specifically with respect to Master Services Agreements (MSA), emerging technology companies, and business consulting firms. With a diversified cultural background, attorney Syed has developed a keen understanding and sensitivity for servicing the needs of Muslim clients.

Rafi-uddin Shikoh
Managing Director/ Founder, DinarStandard™

Rafi-uddin Shikoh is leading the development of DinarStandard™–a growth strategy and market intelligence consultancy, focused on the OIC markets (The Organization of the Islamic Conference*) and the global Muslim Lifestyle Market™.  The vision is to empower businesses in Muslim markets to become global leaders with recognized brands and services while leveraging their unique identity.

Rafi-uddin has led the research, analysis and writing of the DS100™ ranking of Top 100 Businesses in the Muslim World, the Top 10 Opportunity Trends, and various Muslim Lifestyle Market™ reports and features.  He has helped develop DinarStandard’s global media recognition which includes coverage in the Economist, Forbes, MSNBC and most of the major Muslim world based media.

Rafi-uddin has a marketing, technology, and business strategy consulting background with major Fortune 500 company as well as small business experiences.  He has an MBA from UNC-Charlotte , North Carolina, USA and a BSc. in Marketing from Southwest State University, Minnesotta , USA .  He was born in Pakistan and spent 14 years of his early schooling in the Sultanate of Oman.

Michael Hastings-Black
Co-Founder, Desedo Advertising Agency

Michael Hastings-Black is the co-founder of Desedo, an advertising agency that specializes in New Media + Minority Markets. Desedo works with brands and agencies to craft strategy, tell stories and reach these often overlooked markets. They have produced content for Sony Pictures, Panasonic and HBO’s True Blood and consulted for F500 brands.

Michael’s white paper American-Muslim Identity: Advertising, Mass Media + New Media has been presented at academic conferences and he is currently working with The Muslim Ad Network to help brands engage the Muslim consumer space.

His essays have been published in Ad Age and The Huffington Post and he was recently featured on MSNBC’s ‘Your Business’. Prior to Desedo, Michael worked as an urban planner and has a B.A. from Bowdoin College.

Farrukh Siddiqui
EVP and COO, Zayan Finance LLC

Farrukh Siddiqui is EVP and COO at Zayan Finance. His professional experience extends to over fifteen years in the insurance/financial services and technology industries.

Prior to establishing Zayan Finance, Farrukh served as regional manager for the North East United States for Guidance Financial Group, a Shariah compliant start-up financial services firm. As regional manager he was responsible for all aspects of sales and production within the region. Shortly after joining the firm, Farrukhs contributions to creating efficiencies in the company’s sales operations prompted Guidance’s senior management to assign him with the additional title of Sales Operations Manager. In this role, he successfully overhauled the company’s mortgage origination and processing methodologies and helped launch many useful best practices to the underwriting and closing departments.

Tayyibah Taylor
Founding Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Azizah Magazine

Tayyibah Taylor is the founding editor-in-chief and publisher of Azizah magazine, an award winning publication. Through Azizah, Tayyibah Taylor realized her vision of providing a vehicle for the voice of Muslim American women – a vehicle that portrays their perspectives and experiences, and shatters commonly help stereotypes. She presently works on the steering committee of WISE, an organization that convenes global Muslim women leaders and fosters Muslim women’s participation in Islamic law and contemporary debates. Tayyibah blends her passion for spritiuality, women’s issues and communication to further the causes of Muslim women.

She presently sits on the board of the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta and the board of directors of Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters and she has also served on the board of trustees for the Georgia Council for International Visitors. Tayyibah Taylor received the 2008 Community Service Award from Muslim Alliance of North America, the 2005 Media Award from the Concerned Black Clergy of Atlanta, the 2003 Honoring Women in the Media Award from the Muslim Women’s League and the 2002 Hagar Achievement through Sacrifice Award from Sisters United in Human Service. She attended the 2008 Leadership Institute for Women Journalists, is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Class 2005 and the Diversity Leadership Academy, Atlanta Class 2003. Tayyibah Taylor is the mother of five children.

Kamran Pasha
ScreenWriter and Director

Kamran Pasha is a screenwriter and director.  He recently partnered with Wonderland Sound and Vision, producers of TERMINATATOR: SALVATION, CHARLIE’S ANGELS, THE O.C., CHUCK and SUPERNATURAL, to sell his first television pilot to Warner Brothers.  Previously he served as a writer and producer for NBC’s television series KINGS.  His other credits include serving as writer and producer on NBC’s remake of BIONIC WOMAN, and on Showtime Network’s Golden Globe nominated series SLEEPER CELL, about a Muslim FBI agent who infiltrates a terrorist group.  Kamran directed the short film MIRIAM, which won the Gaia Award at the Moondance Film Festival in 2008.  He is represented by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Untitled Entertainment.

Kamran’s career launched when he sold his first feature script to Warner Brothers Pictures, an historical epic on the love story behind the building of the TAJ MAHAL.  He has also adapted the Japanese anime KITE, about a teenage girl who works as an assassin, into an action thriller for Rob Cohen, the director of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and THE MUMMY 3.

Janet Meiners Thaeler
Online PR and Social Media Specialist

Janet Meiners Thaeler has been in the online marketing industry for four years. Her expertise is online PR and blogging. She has coached individuals and businesses of all sizes in social media. She writes for sites including Marketing Pilgrim, Small Business Trends, American Express OPEN Forum® and her own blog Newspapergrl.  She is employed at OrangeSoda as a social media specialist and is an independent consultant. Her book: “I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What? A Guide to Online PR” will be out this Fall.

Janet worked as a web developer for four years until she determined her true passion is marketing – specifically Internet marketing. She is a professional writer and blogger whose work has been published in both offline and online magazines including City Search. She has presented to the PRSSA, the Social Media Club of Salt Lake and at conferences for entrepreneurs.

Janet has been employed as a business-to-business tech marketer, a web-marketing manager, and a brand strategist. In addition to her own consulting, she writes SEO press releases and specializes in Social Media at OrangeSoda.

She has helped many businesses of all sizes start blogs and take advantage of social media and online PR tools.

Monem Salam
President, Saturna Brokerage Services

Monem Salam, President, Saturna Brokerage Services, was born in Pakistan in 1972. Raised in Texas, Mr. Salam received his degrees from the University of Texas: BA (Austin) and MBA (Dallas).  He worked as Chief Investment Officer for ITG & Associates (Dallas) until 1999, then as a representative with Morgan Stanley (suburban Dallas) until joining Saturna Capital in June 2003.

Monem is active with the Muslim community in North America through ISNA, as there WZ rep, Boardmember of the Muslim Public Service Network, Boardmember of CAIR-WA and current Chairman of Peaceful Communications, a non-profit organization which completed a documentary called “On A Wing and A Prayer”. In 2008, Monem received the “20 Rising Stars” Award from Institutional Investor News.  The award is given to 20 leaders in the mutual fund industry, under 40, who the magazine feels will change in the industry in a positive way in the next 10 years.

Monem is also the co-author of a new book called “A Muslim’s Guide to Investing And Personal Finance”.  Monem has been quoted on all major newspapers and magazines, featured in BusinessWeek and SmartMoney and appeared on such TV stations as CNBC, Fox News, and Marketwatch.com.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Founder and President, Muslim Consumer Group

Syed Rasheduddin Ahmed is a senior food scientist consultant. He is the founder and president of  Muslim Consumer Group For Food Products. Muslim Consumer Group For Food Products is educating Muslims throughout the world about Halal food ingredients and products and has been providing service in Halal food certification since 1993. Mr. Ahmed has started writing the Halal food book “A Comprehensive List of Halal Food Products in US Supermarkets” since 1991. He is now working on publishing its eight edition in 2009. MCG has established two well known Halal food websites. The www.muslimconsumergroup.com website was established in 2000 and logged in over 110 countries with a million hits in June 2009. The www.Canadianhalalfoods.com website was established in 2006. Mr. Ahmed answered questions from Muslim consumers throughout the world via the websites, toll free phone number, and emails about food ingredients and food products.

Ahmad Adam
President/CEO, Crescent Foods

Ahmad Adam is the President and founder of Crescent Foods in Chicago and founder of the American Halal Association. With an engineering degree and extensive experience of building businesses from the ground up, he founded Crescent Foods in 1995 to supply the highest quality 100% grain fed Halal chicken products to the US market:  www.crescenthalal.com.

Continuous innovation and attention to detail has resulted in an extensive production process that exceeds USDA, HACCP, SSOP, SOP and GMP standards. This has earned Mr. Adam a wealth of experience, and has put Crescent at the forefront of Halal chicken production in terms of quality and technological applications such as SAP platform. Crescent Halal products are available at select WalMart Supercenters, Shop Rite/Giant supermarkets, local multi-unit stores and many community grocers nationwide.