Edina Lekovic

Edina Lekovic is the Communications Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and frequently acts as a national spokesperson for the American Muslim community to media outlets, government officials, interfaith leaders, academic institutions, and community groups. [http://www.wkconline.org/index.php/seminars/speakerpage?sid=1636&seminarid=91 Western Knight Center] - Speaker profile]

Bio

Lekovic is a European Muslim whose parents came from Montenegro in the former Yugoslavia. [http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-09/2006-09-08-voa3.cfm US Muslims Say They Face Prejudice, Growing Acceptance] - Voice of America] She is one of the founders of Elev8, an arts-based youth program which has a mission to identify, train and develop youth community leadership rooted in awareness, responsibility, and action. [ [http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/lekovic_edna/ Edina Lekovic] - profile on The American Muslim] In 2005, she was pursuing her Master’s degree in Communications at Pepperdine University. The topic of her master's thesis was to understand whether Arab males' willingness to speak out on airline racial profiling is determined by their perception of dominant public opinion. Lekovic is also a 1999 graduate of UCLA where she earned a degree in American Literature & culture. [http://www.investigativeproject.org/MPAC-2001_Bio_with_Al-Talib.pdf MPAC Convention] - Conference program for Dec 29, 2001 ] During this time she was also the Editor in Chief of The Daily Bruin, the third largest paper in Los Angeles. Under her leadership, the staff won a number of national awards, including the "Society of Professional Journalists Best of the West in college publications". While at UCLA, Lekovic was also was the managing editor of Al-Talib (The Student), a nationwide Muslim student publication. She was the former managing editor of a Muslim publication at UCLA.

Appearance in the media

Lekovic has made many appearances in the media including FoxNews, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and the History Channel. [http://www.mpac.org/about/staff-board/edina-lekovic.php MPAC.org] - profile for Edina Lekovic] She has also written for several leading newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune , and Los Angeles Times. Lekovic has also participated in many national and international conferences and interfaith dialogues speaking on a variety of issues related to American Muslims.

In 2003, the Malaysian government invited Lekovic to be one of two U.S. representatives to the International Conference of Muslim Young Leaders, which was as a precursor to the annual conference of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Participation in Lectures and presentations

* "Defining the Muslim American Identity Post 9/11" - March 15, 2003 at Wellesley College [http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/WellesleyWeek/Archive/2006/ww031306.html WellesleyWeek] week of March 13-20, 2006]
* "Confronting Islamophobia" - Dec 7, 2004 at the United Nations Headquarters
* "The Rising voice of Moderate Muslims" - Dec. 29, 2001, California

References

Interviews

Edina Lekovic vs. Clark - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h_6xGdM9WU

Edina Lekovic on O'Reily Factor - Religious Accommodation - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q55KNsC2XqQ

Edina Lekovic on PEW Survey - Paula Zahn Now - CNN - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QdEHYUd2DY

Edina Lekovic vs. Steve Emerson - PEW Survey - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so6F48p31sw

Truth Over Fear - Countering Islamophobia - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4w1QIHfh4A

External links

* [http://www.mpac.org/about/staff-board/edina-lekovic.php Edina Lekovic: Communications Director - MPAC Staff & Board]
* [http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2006/04/14/TopStories/Expert.Says.Women.Honored.In.Islam-1852457.shtml Expert says women honored in Islam] - DailyTexanOnline
* [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14b8b_interview-de-robert-spencer Video interview on FoxNews along with Robert Spencer]
* [http://www.investigativeproject.org/redirect/1999-07_Al-Talib.pdf The Spirit of Jihad] - Controversial editorial of Lekovic's "Al-Talib"
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=144957070 Project Elev8] - Official website (on MySpace)