Advisory Council Member: Daisy Khan

Daisy Khan is Executive Director of ASMA Society (American Society for Muslim Advancement), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing an American Muslim identity and to building bridges between the Muslim community and the general public through dialogues in faith, identity, culture, and arts. As wife of an Imam, Ms. Khan mentors young Muslims on questions of assimilation, tradition and modernity, and intergenerational challenges. In the aftermath of 9/11, Ms. Khan focused on creating interfaith programs aimed at seeking commonalities among the Abrahamic faith traditions, such as a groundbreaking theater production titled Same Difference and The Cordoba Bread Fest interfaith banquet.

Given the ascendancy of issues of youth and women's marginalization, and sectarian divides in the global Muslim community, Ms. Khan has now launched two cutting edge intrafaith programs to create movements of change agents amongst the two disempowered majorities of the Muslim world: youth and women. The MLT: Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow and WISE: Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity programs were successfully launched at a global scale in Copenhagen (MLT) and in New York (WISE) in 2006. Both programs, which seek to empower and build networks in their target groups, are advancing the emergence of a leadership that speaks with a credible, humane, and equitable voice within the global Muslim community.

Ms. Khan frequently lectures in the United States and internationally, and has appeared on various media outlets, such as PBS, BBC World, CNN, National Geographic, Al Jazeerah, and the Hallmark Channel. She has also been quoted in several print publications, such as Time Magazine, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Saudi Gazette, and Khaleej Times. Ms. Khan is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Interfaith Center Award for Promoting Peace  and Interfaith Understanding, the Auburn Seminary's Lives of Commitment  Award, the Annual Faith Leaders Award and 21 leaders for the 21st  century. Born in Kashmir, India Ms. Khan spent her first 25 years as an interior architect and Project Manager at various Fortune 500 companies, and in 2005 decided to fully dedicate herself to the development of her community through ASMA Society.

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