1) Chobani CEO Advocate For Refugees, Despite Hateful Backlash: Hamdi Ulukaya is the founder of Chobani, one of the largest Greek yogurt companies in America whose personal wealth exceeds $1.4 billion. Chobani employs 2,000 people, about 300 of which are immigrants (hailing from Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey). Mr. Ulukaya has become a leading advocate for the refugee crisis and as a result, has suffered what many see as a xenophobic backlash.
2) Inside Baghdad, Where Bombs Never Stop: Middle-East correspondent Borzou Daragahi reports on the recent history of terrorist attacks in Iraq, stating that since the US invasion, thirteen years ago, it “unleashed a new era of instability” which has made “many around the world numb to violence in the Middle East, especially in Baghdad…. The country remains the world’s leading location of terrorist incidents, and Baghdad is the most dangerous city, with more than 1,000 incidents recorded each year.”
3) Muslim Vlogger Is CoverGirl’s New Brand Ambassador! According to Glamour magazine, CoverGirl’s So Lashy! campaign stresses “inclusivity within beauty” and are proving their point by picking their latest beauty ambassador – Muslim vlogger Nura Afia, best known for her makeup and hijab tutorials on Youtube where she has over 200,000 subscribers.
Ms. Afia will be featured in CoverGirl commercials as well as a Times Square billboard.
4) In St. Louis, A Successful Refugee Story For Bosnian-Americans: There are currently about 70,000 Bosnian Muslim immigrants living in the St Louis area — the majority having arrived in the 1990s, after fleeing their home country’s brutal civil war. At the time, city leaders welcomed the new immigrants as many neighborhoods were in a state of decay with populations declining and thus eroding the tax base. As Bosnians resettled to St. Louis and the suburbs, they rented apartments and purchased homes. They took jobs as in construction, and opened stores and restaurants. In short, they revitalized the city.
5) And finally, Muslim Culture and Fashion Becomes Vogue: Big news in the fashion world with the announcement of a new international edition of Vogue — Vogue Arabia. The new magazine will officially launch next year with Saudi Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz appointed as editor-in-chief. Elizabeth Paton, styles reporter for the New York Times, calls it the “strongest, new voice to join a growing chorus demanding global recognition and respect for Muslim culture and its commercial clout.”
