M. Salahuddin Khan presents "America, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Pathology of a Relationship" on May 3rd
On Thursday May 3rd, author and expert on American-Af-Pak issues M. Salahuddin Khan, will give a presentation called "America, Afghanistan and Pakistan: Pathology of a Relationship". Khan will discuss the history and relationship between the Soviet Union, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the U.S. in order to explore the current issues in these regions and educate the public on the cross-cultural misunderstandings apparent in today's society.
WHEN: Thursday, May 3rd from 6pm to 9pm WHERE: CAIR-Chicago's Gallery, 28 E. Jackson Blvd, Suite 1700 COST: Free! RSVP REQUIRED (limited seating): e-mail gallery@cairchicago.org
About M. Salahuddin Khan
M. Salahuddin Khan is an expert on American-Af-Pak issues. He was born in Pakistan of refugee parents who lost everything in India during the 1947 Partition. His father found a job in the post-war immigration boom in England, where Khan spent his childhood and later learned in college how to be an aerospace designer.
On his first trip to America, in 1972, Khan witnessed the launch of Apollo 16 and wanted nothing more than to live in this great country one day. His dream was fulfilled when he, his wife and their three British sons moved to America in 1988. Three American daughters later, by 1996, Khan became Chief Technology Officer of Massachusetts-based Computervision Corporation.
In 1998, Khan moved to Chicago-based NAVTEQ (making digital maps used in map websites like MapQuest and most car and cell-phone navigation systems), where he became Chief Technology Officer and Senior VP for Global Marketing and Strategy. In 2007, he left NAVTEQ to direct his management consultancy, QMarket Associates, focusing on corporate strategy, product development and marketing.
After 9/11, as a Muslim living in America, Khan became involved with Muslim issues. In 2006, he became publisher of the highly regarded ISLAMICA Magazine, just as that publication became a nonprofit.
In 2008, he also co-produced a movie short called The Boundary, starring Alex Siddig of Syriana, Kingdom of Heaven and Star Trek, Deep Space Nine. The Boundary dealt with issues of mistaken identity and misunderstanding at a border crossing into the U.S.
Cross-cultural misunderstanding as an issue prompted Khan to write his multiple-award-winning debut novel SIKANDER, released in August 2010. SIKANDER is about a Pakistani youth’s dream of coming to America, and his tumultuous path from being a 1980s mujahideen fighter against the Russians in Afghanistan to a post-9/11 executive in corporate America.
Khan is the host of a talk show about Muslim issues on Radio Islam, http://www.radioislam.com. He has also appeared on many radio and TV programs, and his opinion pieces have been published in The Huffington Post online and in The San Francisco Chronicle print edition. He lives near Chicago with his wife.
“Sikander manages to capture the complexity and intricacy of the human story that is often lost in impersonal evening news reporting on military conflicts. M. Salahudin Khan’s passionate and lucid storytelling marks a coming of age for American Muslim novelists” - Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago