November 16, 2012

Last week, Marium Mohiuddin, MPAC's Communication Coordinator, moderated a panel discussion at the Pakistani American Youth and Young Professionals Conference with five prominent Southern California Pakistani Americans about their identity and the community. 

The inaugural event on Saturday, Nov. 10, was organized by the YoungMALAC board and brought together more than 100 people to talk about the issues facing young Pakistani Americans.

The day opened with words of welcome from LA County Sheriff Lee Baca who spoke about the importance of communities coming together and the work the Consul Geneal of Pakistan, Riffat Masood, has had upon the community. 

Masood tireless work has not gone unnoticed. On Dec. 15, MPAC will honor the Consul General at its 12th Annual Convention with its Community Leadership Award. This award is given to individuals and organizations who promote the Islamic values of mercy, justice, service and equality for all.

In the past honorees have included Human Rights Watch, the White House's Office of Public Engagement, the UMMA Community Clinic and the ILM Foundation. 

Mohiuddin moderated the first session of the day: "Exploring the Pakistani American Identitiy and Community Relations." Speaking on the panel was Amir Hussain, Professor of Theology at Loyola Marymount University; Rehan Chaudhry, Board member for New Ground — Jewish, Muslim Interfaith Organization; Rob Asghar, Professor at USC and a writer and political commentator; Sheikh Jamaal Diwan, Resident Scholar at the Islamic Center of Irvine; and Omar Mahmood, adviser to the Muslim Youth of North America and board member for Access California Services. 

Each panelist brought to attention different struggles they have faced growing up Pakistani from differentiating themselves from being Indian to speaking Urdu. 

The day-long program included several panel discussions, workshops, networking opportunities and performances by big entertainers including Josh, a Canadian Indo-Pakistani Bhangra music group.