Program Overview

• Hosts: Amer Smadi
• Length: 29:24
• Original Airdate: Nov 2008

Ahmad is the popular guitarist and composer of the popular South Asian rock group, Junoon. Ahmad is also a goodwill ambassador for the UN, acting as the US national spokesperson in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He is also on the board of directors of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization that uses education and popular culture to promote values of dignity, equality, and justice.

Ahmad has produced two documentary films. The Rock Star and the Mullahs tracks Ahmad's visit to the northern Pakistani town of Peshawar, where he directly challenges the local Muslim clergy who have banned all forms of music. His most recent film, Muslims in America: It's My Country Too, uncovers the authentic spirit of American Muslims and their experience wrestling with the personal and social consequences of the 9/11 attacks.

Read Salman's Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post, Rescuing Pakistan from the Taliban.

About the host:

AAM Journalism Fellow Amer Smadi is one of Jordan Television's leading hosts and news anchors, host of a weekly prime time talk show on social, political, and cultural issues, and topics particularly relevant to Muslim youth. Amer produced a special series from the US after the presidential elections, looking ahead to US relations with Jordan and the Middle East, and exploring religion, culture, and the Muslim community in America. Learn about the AAM Journalism Fellowship program.