Tuesday, August 30, 2005

no more advisory boards?

A quick look at the PMU web site shows that they no longer have any advisory boards.

Also, it appears, that Mohja Kahf (the MWU sex and umma fame) resigned from the board a few months back, but quietly, none of the razzle dazzle of the recent resignations.

At its inception, the PMU had invited over two dozen advisory board members, including such luminaries as Muslims For Bush, Fareed Zakariya and Nawaal al-Sadawi who supported the hijaab ban in France.

The current board of directors (assuming no more resignations) according to the PMU web site are:

Tarek Fatah

Zuriani "Ani" Zonneveld

Ahmed Nassef

(more on Ahmed Nassef)

Mona El-Tahawy

(more on Mona Eltahawy)

Pamela Taylor (fomerly co-chair, now the lone chair of PMUNA)

Saleemah Ghaffur

Naeem Mohaiemen


Coming soon: a brief history of the PMU - meanwhile, see the AMP report on the resignations.


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

WHO is public debate? - since it's discussing people by name, it's only appropriate that the discussants be public too.

Anonymous said...

Who cares who the messenger is as long as the message rings true.

Anonymous said...

Naeem Mohaiemen is no longer on the Board. His departure letter was posted on the general PMU list.

Subject: Naeem, respectfully saying goodbye to PMU Board

Salams To All

Ahmed Nassef contacted me last week to talk to me about my role on the
Board. I took the week to think about it and I thank him and others
for their patience. The last 2 weeks were a very heated time for PMU
and I didn't want my decision to be caught up in that drama. Nor did
I want to have my decision (especially a "departure") to be seen as a
vote against PMU.

I am respectfully leaving the Board because I don't actually have the
time/bandwidth to be a useful member of the Board. Active Board
members need to attend meetings, read all the e-mails, vote on issues
and provide organizing help at events. Since PMU's founding I have not
actually been able to do any of this because my
disappearedinamerica.org project took off at the same time. PMU has
been tolerant of my being a very passive and inactive member of the
Board. But now the organization is reaching a crucial juncture. It
now needs every Board member to be fully engaged and available. I
realize that I don't have right now the bandwidth to be such a member.

To make the seat available for other new, energetic, young leadership,
I am saying goodbye to the board. I wish PMU the best and will
continue to be a well-wisher on the general list.

As for the debates surrounding PMU, I do not wish to take any sides.
However, I do wish to say a few words on this matter.

I think it is time that all of us took a deep breath, moved on and got
on with our projects and work. Those who wish PMU to succeed should
continue to work with PMU. Those who oppose PMU should show a better
example by building up their own organizations. For us as a
collective community to spend this much time and energy battling each
other is very bad strategy.

At a time when the Muslim world is in total crisis, this is poor use
of our meager resources. We need to keep building organizations and
movements. If we don't like one organization, we can always build our
own alternatives. There is too much work to be done to waste time in
internal conflict.

in solidarity with and wishing peace to all,
Naeem Mohaiemen

Anonymous said...

no, actually we care about the messenger, because context tells us a great deal. why is the messenger anonymous is what I want to know. is that such a secret?

Anonymous said...

Salaams:

I don't know why "anonymous," who is, ironically, calling for "public debate" to name himself, doesn't know who "public debate" is. It's not like it's a secret. But your identity, "anonymous," is. -- Umm Zaid