Many of you know Salman Ahmad as a rock star and founder of the hugely successful band Junoon. He has sold over 25 million albums and is one of the most popular and exciting musicians in the world. Salman is also a humanitarian, bridge-builder, and social activist. His real "junoon" (passion) is using his music to bring people together and raise awareness of some of the most important social and political issues of our time: bridging the divide between Islam and the West, promoting peace between Pakistan and India, HIV/AIDS, and global health and poverty.
After 9/11, Salman spoke out in the media about Islam and his identity as a Pakistani-American Muslim. He continues to be actively involved in bridging cultures - through his participation in forums, such as the Brookings Institution and the Search for Common Ground; through his writing, for Newsweek's "On Faith" column and op-eds in the Washington Post and other publications; through his speaking, at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006, at university campuses around the country, and at Queens College where he currently teaches; through his documentaries, including the 2003 PBS documentary, "The Rock Star and the Mullahs" and the 2005 BBC film about Muslims in America called "It's My Country Too"; and of course, through his music. He just released a song with Melissa Etheridge called "Ring the Bells", a call for peace, performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in 2007 and at the UN General Assembly in 2001, the first band ever invited to perform there.
As UN Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, and through his music video Al-Vida, Salman has brought urgent attention and resources to this issue throughout South Asia. He has raised thousands of dollars for social causes and for those in need, including earthquake victims in Pakistan and hurricane survivors in the United States. His commitment to bringing India and Pakistan closer together reached monumental heights last year when he performed the first-ever concert in Kashmir, with thousands of young Kashmiris singing "sayonee" (soulmates).
The NYT describes Salman as "South Asia's answer to Santana"; the Wall Street Journal says of his music, "it's a powerful combination of the pumpyour- fist hard rock of Led Zeppelin or Santana and traditional South Asian percussion like tabla and dholak….It's almost as if Van Morrison had slipped into a salwar kameez". And many have likened Salman to Bono, and described Junoon as the "U2 of Asia".
Doctor Ahmad has led a gifted
life. It is rare that one can combine two
distinct, but totally dissimilar, careers and
achieve unprecedented success in both
endeavors. Dr. Ahmad has done just that.
A graduate of the University of
Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan with a Medical
Doctor degree, she began her medical career
at Services Hospital as an Internal
Medicine Physician in the Senior Gastroenterology
Department where she assisted
with fiber optic video endoscopic procedures.
Thereafter she accepted an appointment
with the National Institute of Child
Health as a Casualty Medical Officer
working with emergency patients. She
rapidly progressed with that clinic to Assistant
to the Director, assisting in all areas
of the clinic. Thereafter, she started
her own practice - Family Practice Health
Care Clinic for Women and Children, providing
all types of medical healthcare services
for women and children.
Deeply concerned about
healthcare and its availability to underprivileged
women and children, Dr.
Ahmad subsequently built and administered
the Al-Rehman Welfare Trust &
Medical Center in Karachi, Pakistan.
With boundless energy, Dr. Ahmad hired
and trained competent staff, organized all
functional areas of the clinic and facilitated
assessment, treatment and care forthousands of women and children who
might not have otherwise had ready access
to such medical services. In addition
to the hospital, a school was also built
to serve underprivileged children.
As though her medical career
wasn't enough to fill a busy day, Dr.
Ahmad concurrently developed a second
career in scriptwriting, directing, producing
and hosting numerous highly popular
television programs targeted at
healthcare, nutrition, family planning and
social issues. Comparable to a Martha
Stewart of Pakistan, for many years, Dr.
Ahmad hosted television programs on
healthful cooking, family issues and nutrition.
She has graduated as a Health
Counselor and qualified for national certification
as a Holistic Health Practitioner
by the American Association of
Drugless Practitioners. She has also received
a certificate of completion for educational
outreach from the Teachers College
of Columbia University.
Dr. Samina Ahmad is presently
the Business Manager for Junoon,
(http://www.junoon.com) a highly acclaimed,
internationally renowned, Pakistani rock
band that specializes in Sufi music promoting
peace throughout the world. She
organizes tours, books engagements, and
manages business affairs, finances and
publicity for the band. She recently negotiated
in collaboration with the United
Nations, a south Asian college tour for
the band, to travel to Bangladesh, India
and Pakistan to raise AIDS awareness.
Samina led the band to memorable venues
such as the Nobel Peace prize concert
in Oslo in December 2007 and a historic
first ever concert in Kashmir in May
2008.
Together, Salman and Samina
have launched their latest initiative -- the
Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative
(SSGWI). The New York-based
NGO focuses on three main areas: interfaith
and cross-cultural dialogue; global
health and wellness; and music education.
Throughout their lives, Salman and
Samina have worked on raising awareness
and bringing people together,
through music, media and advocacy.
Now, they are launching their non-profit
to further enable them to confront health
and social challenges and lend their voice
to bringing people together.
Abid Shaban has served as chairman of some of Pakistan’s largest NGOs in the past two decades. He has focused on rural development, earthquake-proof housing, construction, water and sanitation. He served as a member of the President’s National Education Advisory Board for Pakistan from 2000 to 2002. Abid Shaban has served as chairman of some of Pakistan’s largest NGOs in the past two decades, including Aga Khan Education Services and Aga Khan Planning and Building Services.
He has focused on education, vocational education, rural development, seismically resistant construction, water and sanitation and disaster mitigation and management. He served as a member of the President’s National Education Advisory Board for Pakistan from 2000 to 2002, the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Private Sector and the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee on building and construction from 1997-1999. Abid sits on a number of boards of NGOs. Abid earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and his law degree from the University of Karachi.
Hashwani is one of Pakistan’s leading entrepreneurs, running businesses in commodities, mining, property and textiles. An alumnus of Cornell University, he served as the founding president of the India-Pakistan CEOs Business Forum and as president of the Pakistan-France Business Alliance. He has also been active in the internationally prominent Young Presidents Organization and has founded and managed cross-cultural networks to promote international commerce and peace.
A graduate of the University of Southern California, Rob Asghar is a Fellow at USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy. His essays and commentaries have appeared in more than thirty outlets around the world, including the Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Denver Post, Japan Times and Huffington Post. Asghar is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.