January 18, 2012

Soumaya Khalifa, an MPAC leader in Atlanta, GA, who also works for the Islamic Speakers Bureau (ISB), is one of 50 people featured in the book, "Green Card Stories," a coffee table style book that features dramatic narratives of 50 recent U.S. immigrants — each with permanent residence or citizenship — in compelling essays.

The book is a project of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers and was written by nationally recognized journalist Saundra Amrhein with portraits by award-winning documentary photographer Ariana Lindquist.

At a time when the immigration debate in America threatens to boil over, Americans are losing the ability to talk about a phenomenon that has defined who we are as a nation—a nation of immigrants from all walks of life, from all corners of the earth, who have fueled America’s success with individual talents. Immigration tells our essential story: E pluribus unum — Out of many, one.

"Green Card Stories" dispels the myth that today’s immigrants are not as hardworking, energetic, or eager to contribute to U.S. society as past generations of new arrivals. In fact, it illustrates the energy and passion of these people and conveys a collective determination to fulfill their potential in America.

"Green Card Stories" features the dramatic narratives of fifty recent immigrants — each with permanent residence or citizenship — by nationally-recognized journalist Saundra Amrhein, with compelling portraits by photographer Ariana Lindquist, created and produced in collaboration with renowned immigration lawyers and scholars Laura Danielson and Stephen Yale-Loehr.

Khalifa, who was born in Egypt, longed to share the complexities of her Muslim religion and background with fellow Americans with different faiths. She never imagined her first experience in doing so would be right after the horrific events of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Today, her Islamic Speakers Bureau chapter reaches thousands of people, focusing on education and debunking negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.

-- Marium F. Mohiuddin
(marium@mpac.org)
Communications Coordinator