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A veteran of twenty years of human rights research and activism and recent recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Bennoune offers an eye-opening chronicle of peaceful resistance to extremism in her recent book. Scouring the globe for stories of heroic individuals—artists, doctors, lawyers, and educators— who challenge stereotypes of Islamist fundamentalism, Bennoune shares these vivid portraits that offer an uplifting look at our best hopes for ending fundamentalist oppression worldwide.
Karima Bennoune is a professor of International Law at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. She is a former legal advisor for Amnesty International. Currently, Bennoune sits on the board of the network of Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML). She has appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and made frequent appearances on MSNBC, including on All In With Chris Hayes, after the Paris attacks. Her recent book,Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism, which details local struggles against extremism, is based on 300 interviews with people of Muslim heritage from 30 countries. It won the 2014 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. The related TED talk, “When people of Muslim heritage challenge fundamentalism,” has received over 1.2 million views.
Ani Zonneveld is the founder and President of Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV). Since its inception in 2007, Ani has presided over MPV’s expansion to include chapters and affiliates in the United States and around the world, as well as securing consultative status at the United Nations. She is a strong supporter of women and LGBTQ rights, freedom of expression, and for freedom of and from belief. Ani is the brainchild of Literary Zikr—a project that counters radical Islam online, co-editor of an anthology Progressive Muslim Identities—Personal Stories from the U.S. and Canada, and a contributor for Huffington Postand Open Democracy. Ani performs Islamic wedding services for mixed-faith and gay couples.
