Your Muslim Next Door | Meet Your Neighbor
Channel: Muslim Speakers Service of the Bay Area
Date: 28/09/2018

As part of a mosque open house, five congregation members of the Muslim Community Center - East Bay provide a varied and broad understanding of Islam and the American-Muslim experience on Saturday, September 22, 2018. 
 
This panel was delivered at the Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California.

The topics addressed in the panel are:

- “Islam 101": Basic Tenets of the Islamic Faith" (Dr. Asad Tarsin)
- “Mythbuster: Hijab, Women in Islam, Shariah" (Hina Mukhtar)
- "How Islam Made Me A Better American" (Sara Kim)
- "Mythbuster: Jihad and ISIS" (Mike Kim)
- "Addressing the Elephant in the Room – What do Muslims think about ISIS?" (Mahdy Amine & Panel Emcee)

About the Panelists:
Hina Khan-Mukhtar is a mother of three boys and one of the founders of a homeschooling co-operative in Lafayette, CA, which now serves over 35 homeschooling families in the East Bay. In addition to teaching Language Arts to elementary, middle school, and high school students, she is also involved in interfaith dialogue. Hina is a monthly contributor to The Muslim Observer's "Raising Our Ummah" column and also writes for Seeker's Hub where she shares parenting advice and ideas for nurturing spiritual traditions in childhood.

Sara Kim is one of the founders of the ILM Tree Homeschooling Cooperative, an educational co-op comprised of over 35 Muslim families in the East Bay. After attending the US Naval Academy and University of Maryland and getting a degree in Civil Engineering, Sara now lives with her husband Mike and their six children in Lafayette, California, where she also owns and runs Sienna Ranch, a 21-acre ranch dedicated to outdoor education.

Mike Kim is the Chief Investment Officer at a private real estate development and investment firm in San Francisco. Along with their institutional and private equity capital partners, they have developed over 5 million square feet of real estate in the Bay Area. Mike is currently overseeing the firms $750 million development pipeline including three high rise projects located in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Mike is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a BS in Political Science and the University of Southern California with a Masters degree in Urban Planning and Development. Prior to his career in real estate, Mike served the nation as a naval officer leading maritime missions and expeditions in Asia, Europe, Middle East, Central and South America. He resides in Lafayette with his wife Sara and their six children.

Asad Tarsin has been designing Islamic educational programs and teaching the basics of Islam for more than a decade. After completing his bachelor's degree in Islamic studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he continued his study of Islamic theology, sacred law, philosophy and spirituality with some of the country’s most prominent Muslim scholars. He has served as the curriculum director for the Deen Intensive Foundation for the last ten years and has a particular interest in creating sustainable models of education for new and returning Muslims. He lectures and teaches courses on Islam across the country. In 2015, he released his first published work, "Being Muslim: A Practical Guide," a primer on practicing the faith. He is an emergency physician by training and lives in California with his wife and three children.

S. Mahdy Amine was born and raised in Chicago, IL. During high school, he served as captain of his high school basketball team, then completed his double bachelor's in economics and political science from Loyola University Chicago at the age of 19, and thereafter his law degree from the University of Minnesota School of Law, while serving as President of the Muslim Students Association at each respective institution. Concurrent to his studies, Mahdy helped to found CAIR Chicago, has over ten years of teaching experience, and serves as a member of the popular Muslim-American band Noorification, which has released two albums, four music videos, and performed at over 100 national and international venues. Mahdy is married, has three little girls, and is also blessed to be a cancer survivor. In 2012, Mahdy resigned from his job as Corporate Counsel for Dell Corporation to attend Zaytuna College, the first ever accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the US. Mahdy currently works as Senior Vice President, General Counsel of a global cancer diagnostic and research laboratory; teaches Islamic Studies at ILM Tree, a homeschool co-op in Lafayette, CA; and serves as Convert Care Coordinator at Ta'leef Collective in Fremont, CA.