Obama’s Muslim Advisor to address ISNA Convention

(June 18, 2009) – Dalia Mogahed will be addressing American Muslims at the Annual Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) convention in Washington set to take place on July 3 – 6, in Washington, D.C.

Mogahed was appointed in April by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve on the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

“I am very honored to be given this opportunity to serve my country in this way,” Mogahed, who will be Obama’s window into the Muslim American community, told AlArabiya.net.

In this position, Dalia Mogahed will be the first Muslim woman to sit on the council which advises the President about the opinions, values, perceptions, attitudes, and desires of more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide.

Mogahed will be a keynote speaker at ISNA’s Community Service Recognition Luncheon that is set to take place on Saturday, July 4.

Dalia Mogahed’s family came to the United States from Egypt when she was 5 years old. She is a naturalized U.S. citizen and lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband and two sons.

Ms. Mogahed has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Pittsburg.

She served as a Senior Analyst at Gallup and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, a position in which she organized global research surveys to examine Muslims’ beliefs regarding education, religion, democracy, culture, financial prosperity, and the media.

In 2008, she co-authored woth John L. Esposito, ‘Who speaks on behalf of Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think,” the largest and most comprehensive study of the Muslim public opinion around the world.

When asked by Asharq Al-Awsat, the Arabic International Daily, about the type of Islam she is promoting, Dalia Mogahed said:

“I am on the council to serve my country by cooperating with other Americans to solve shared problems. I will draw heavily on the research Gallup has done on Muslim public opinion. I believe that the administration selected me to join this group because of this research. It means they are genuinely interested in understanding Muslim societies. At Gallup we believe that leaders make better decisions when those decisions are informed on the people. To solve the difficult problems facing the world today, ones that don’t stop at national boundaries or discriminate based on color or creed, leaders must hear what is on the minds of all people. President Obama and Muslims around the world tell us that they want to be partners in solving the world problems. Our research helps make this possible by giving ordinary people a voice at the table.” (A Talk with President Obama’s Advisor on Muslim Affairs, Dalia Mogahed, 07/05/2009, Asharq Al-Awsat)