Artist Bios
Nadeen Abuhasan
Nadeen Abuhasan is a designer and “geek” who brings her appreciation for the arts and sciences under one realm. She is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Neurobiology and Chemistry from Simmons College in Boston, MA and is the owner of a graphic design and photography business, Nadeen Designs. For more on her work, visit her Facebook Page.
Tanzila "Taz" Ahmed
Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is an activist, storyteller, and politico based in Los Angeles. Her writing developed around creating a counternarrative for the communities she belonged to, whether youth, Muslim, South Asian, or counterculture. She can be heard monthly on “The #GoodMuslimBadMuslim Podcast” and can be read monthly in her “Radical Love” column at loveinshallah.com. She was a long-time writer for Sepia Mutiny and is published in the anthology “Love, Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women.” Her personal projects include writing about Desi music at Mishthi Music, where she co-produced “Beats for Bangladesh,” making #MuslimVDay Cards and curating images for Mutinous Mind State. A mixed-media artist, her artwork was recently featured in the group show “Rebel Legacy: Activist Art from South Asian California” and in 2012 had her first gallery show called “Maghrib Memories” of mixed media art around themes of South Asian diaspora, family, and grief. You can find her rant on Twitter @tazzystar and at tazzystar.blogspot.com.
Shireen Alihaji
Shireen Alihaji is a documentary filmmaker from Los Angeles covering social issues such as labor rights, environmental justice, hate crime, and human trafficking. She grew up in the mosque as a student of the Islamic Center of Southern California and today volunteers the at Women’s Mosque of America. As a child of dual-ethnic and dual-faith background, she seeks to create environments that provide modes of existence for disenfranchised identities. Contact: shireenalihaji@gmail.com
Mark Gonzales
Described as “Khalil Gibran meets Pablo Neruda,” Mark Gonzales is an “HBO Def Jam” poet who has shared his writing on stage around the world, including the first TEDxRamallah talks held in Palestine, which led him to trend worldwide on Twitter. As a community builder, he was an invited speaker at the United Nations tribunal on Social Exclusion. Mark’s work breaks borders to wage beauty across continents of language and culture, which has earned him respect for his creative approaches to suicide prevention, human rights, and human development. For more on his work, visit his website.
Faezeh Fathizadeh
Faezeh Fathizadeh was born and raised in Iran until the age of nine when she moved to the U.S. Faezeh recently graduated from the University of California, Riverside, with a B.A. in religious studies and is now doing research for Harvard’s Pluralism Project, a project dedicated to researching the religious diversity in the United States. Faezeh plans to continue her studies in Islamic Studies. Contact: faezehfathizadeh@gmail.com
Justin Mashouf
Justin Mashouf is a three-time Emmy-Award winning filmmaker and artist living in Los Angeles. Hereceived his B.F.A. in Media Arts from the University of Arizona in 2008. Justin’s most recent documentary “Warring Factions” follows him to Iran where he meets a group of young Iranian break dancers for an impromptu b-boy battle. Justin’s work deals with the blurring of borders and his unique interactions within the Muslim world. He is currently working on a film about the U.S. prison system and performs and speaks about his adventures around the nation. For more on his work, visit his website.
Tarik Trad
Tarik Trad is an award-winning photographer, artist, writer, and humorist. Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, he has been active in the American Muslim community for more than 30 years. Professionally, he has worked for such industry giants as the Los Angeles Times, Ernst & Young and Northrop Grumman. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two sons. Samples of his photography can be found at www.tariktrad.com
Mustafa Rony Zeno
Mustafa Rony Zeno is a filmmaker, photographer, cultural anthropologist, and educator reared in Syria, living in his birthplace Los Angeles. His work focuses on the study of both fringes and the spaces between, especially of culture and religion. His current webseries, “solidimpressions,” challenges stereotypes using satire and social science. Mustafa was formerly director of the Arab Film Festival in Los Angeles and is a ‘NewGround Muslim-Jewish fellowship’ alum. Mustafa also teaches Levantine Arabic at an LA Orthodox Jewish high school. Contact: mustafa@olhaagprods.com