AIF Board of Directors
Executive Directors
Melissa Robinson email Kelly Wentworth email
Press, Public Relations Website, Public Relations
Events Committee
Karen Martin-Elbahesh email
Farah Elliott email
Rehan Sayeed email
Zuleikha Shah email
Organizing Committee
Ahmed Bastawy
Diane Allen email - Internship Opportunities
Shahidah Iqbal
Zoya Iqbal
Nadia Hassan email
Melody Moezzi email
Matthew Lenard email
Members-at-Large - Anjali Jarrett, Salman Sayeed, Shahidah Foster
Interested in becoming part of our team or being involved? Email the Board of Directors.
Board of Scholars
Because the Fellowship respects a wide variety of perspective, the Board of Scholars is important in maintaining the mission, vision, and values of the Fellowship through scholarly study, critical thinking, dialogue, and the pursuit of knowledge. The AIF appreciates the contributions of these scholars to this diversity of thought. The Scholars have generously agreed to allow the Fellowship use of their published works in AIF meetings.
Alexandra Jerome - PhD Candidate, American Islamic Studies - College of William & Mary (CV) (Email)
Dr. Alan Godlas - Associate Professor - University of Georgia (Bio) (Email)
Dr. Aisha Musa - Associate Professor - Florida International University (Bio) (Email)
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar - Resident Scholar of Kazi Publications (Bio) (Email)
Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na`im - Professor- Emory Law School (Bio) (Email)
Dr. Omid Safi - Associate Professor- Colgate University (Bio)
Interested in becoming part of the Board of Scholars or referring someone? Email the Board of Directors.
Board of Advisers
The Board of Advisers consists of people we admire and consult for inspiration, guidance, sanity and other resources.
Hussein Latif - Birmingham, AL
Dilara Hafiz - Phoenix, AZ
Chaunda Robinson - Knoxville, TN
Aisha Jumaan - Seattle, WA
Audrey Galex - Atlanta, GA
Saleemah Abdul Ghafur - Atlanta, GA
Interested in becoming part of the Board of Advisors or referring someone? Email the Board of Directors.
FAQ
What is the mission and vision of the American Islamic Fellowship?
The mission of the American Islamic Fellowship is to provide an open forum and spiritual community based on Islamic principles for the diverse voices of people of faith.
The vision of the American Islamic Fellowship is to become an integral part of the Islamic and Interfaith communities locally, nationally, and internationally through the implementation of critical thinking, scholarly study, spiritual awareness, community action, and educational outreach.
Please visit our Charter for more information.
How do I join the American Islamic Fellowship?
To become a member of the American Islamic Fellowship, one simply participates in events (online and/or offline) and has your name as part of our email membership directory. Members voluntarily contribute to the fellowship according to their means, their talent and/or their time. Suggested yearly dues are $60 and help AIF pay for rent, email marketing, office expenses and activities. Contact info@americanislamicfellowship.com for details.
What were the motivating forces behind the creation of AIF?
The founders of the American Islamic Fellowship felt the diversity of Islam was not being fully represented in their local mosques. They had discovered the issues of gender inequality, culture, language, race, and elitism had permeated the atmosphere and leadership of these places of worship. Consequently, they neither felt completely welcome nor free to worship in these spaces because of their understandings of how to approach Islamic worship. The founders wanted to organize a place that provided both a safe and open space of worship and discussion for Muslims and others who identified with the Islamic community, but who avoided mosques or did not go to mosques as often because of a feeling of the inability to practice their own understanding of Islam. They also hoped to develop a dynamic, diverse and inclusive faith community based on Islamic principles such as faith, fasting, pilgrimage, charity and prayer.
What are AIF's Values?
Because the Fellowship respects a wide variety of religious interpretation and perspective, the answer to this question is neither yes nor no. The Fellowship believes its values and mission are in keeping with the teachings of Islam and that a particular label is not necessary. The term "Progressive" implies movement away from an original idea, so each member's idea of what a term means may be different. The term "Progressive" has also been affiliated with certain political movements. As a faith-based organization, the Fellowship does not have any political affiliations. What does the term "Fellowship" mean? The term "Fellowship" simply means a gathering of friends with similar interests. The AIF respects a wide variety of Islamic interpretations, understandings, and perspectives. The fellowship is governed by a board of directors, is counseled by a board of advisers and is building a board of scholars to maintain the mission and vision. Absolutely! At each of our meetings, we have people from several different faiths. Membership of the AIF is not restricted to Muslims. The AIF is a community founded on Islamic principles for people of all faiths. We have had people visit us from such diverse faiths and philosophies as Christianity, Atheism, Hinduism, Agnosticism and Unitarian Universalism. In addition, we have participated and continue to participate in various Interfaith events, which is one of the fellowship's core values. The Fellowship believes music helps bring the group together, creates a sense of common experience and lifts the spirit of each person, in addition to allowing a moment of reflection following meaningful dialogue. The use of various media improves learning and critical thinking. Music has been important to a variety of Islamic perspectives throughout history. Music is also an important method of human expression. Encouraging music as a kind of self-expression is important to the Fellowship. The inclusion of music is in keeping with the hope that each person will feel safe enough to express his/her views, even though there may be others in the group who might disagree. The mutual respect of opposing views is at the heart of the Fellowship's mission.
Does the AIF consider itself to be "Progressive?"
Why doesn't the AIF have an Imam, or religious leader?
Are AIF meetings open to people of other faiths/philosophies?
Why is music part of the structure of AIF meetings?
How has the AIF been received by the Islamic community?
The Fellowship has been well received by the majority of the Islamic community. We have been contacted by supportive communities and individual Muslims not only in Georgia, but also in places like Illinois, Arizona, California, Washington D.C., Canada, France, Spain, Greece, Pakistan, India and Sweden. In fact, due to the enormously positive response from communities all over the world, the Board of Directors have been working with other leaders to develop the "International Muslim Action Network" (IMAN), an organization to unite these communities through information sharing, coordination and collaboration of events and resources.
Is the American Islamic Fellowship part of another organization?
Please visit Links for more information about some of the communities with which we have worked.
Have other questions? Please email us!