FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Moniza Khokhar
Publisher/Editor
Elan: A Magazine of Contemporary Muslim CultureRockefeller Center, Seventh Floor
New York, NY 10020
Tel: 646-756-2551
Email: mkhokhar@elanthemag.com
AMERICAN MUSLIMS FIND THEIR VOICE
Magazine to Launch in the U.S. Representing the Contemporary Muslim Community
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (August 20, 2007) Americans can barely pick up a
newspaper or turn on the television without hearing news about Muslim terrorists
worldwide. The problem is the terrorists that are making news don’t reflect any of the
values and culture of the seven million Muslims living in the United States. Moniza
Khokhar, President and Publisher of Wahid Media Ventures, a Muslim woman, is set to
represent the cultures influenced by Islam in her publication. “A Magazine of
Contemporary Muslim Culture,” reads the ELAN Magazine heading, a publication set to
launch in January of 2008. The concept of the magazine came about as a response to the
overwhelming need for a Muslim publication that discussed the lifestyle of the jet setting
young professional, rather than other Muslim publications that focused on politics or
religious doctrine. ELAN, the very name means “announcement,” in Arabic, Farsi, and
Urdu; this magazine is the Muslim American community’s statement about their
sophisticated lifestyles. ELAN, a quarterly produced and nationally distributed
publication, is highly anticipated by the Muslim American community, where readers are
already subscribing online.
ELAN is dedicated to quality reporting on the current trends in the arts, business, and
contemporary Muslim lifestyle, also providing a public forum for the young professional
community in print and on the web. “ELAN represents, embraces, and commemorates
the unique and distinct lifestyles of Muslim Americans,” describes Khokhar, “making
ELAN a handbook for the chic Muslim.” This cosmopolitan publication is committed to
incorporating all interpretations of Islam, realizing unity within its diversity.
Moniza Khokhar, whose family is of Kashmiri descent, is more than familiar with the
experience of living as a Muslim in the United States. She was raised in Chicago,
Illinois, and Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Her family always has instilled a strong sense
of culture and tradition in her, while always allowing her to make her own choices and
branch out into the competitive American society. She did just that, when she set in her
idea to create a forum for other Muslims like herself. She thought, “America is the
melting pot for all cultures. It is the land of opportunity for all. Every culture nowadays
has an emblem of representation: Latin Americans have the popular Latina Magazine,
African Americans have succeeded with Vibe Magazine, and its time for the growing
population of Muslims to have a voice as well.” Moniza is committed to providing this
voice for her community.
With current worldwide figures of the Muslim population slightly over a billion people,
the publication is an empowering forum for the mainstream Muslim voice. With seven
million affluent Muslim Americans, ELAN showcases and honors the contemporary
evolution of the cultural experience. ELAN encourages, embraces, and celebrates the
diverse interpretations of these traditions due to the extraordinary beauty, strength, and
unity of the Muslim diversity.
ELAN will be covering topics such as travel abroad, the entertainment scene, current
events, the latest fashion trends, and other topics that the modern, jet-setting Muslim will
find of interest. Of course, as a mainstream publication, ELAN chooses to stay neutral in
topics such as politics and religious doctrine, which are the lenses the Muslim community
is often looked at. ELAN strives to portray the Muslim culture, to provide a common
ground for Muslim people, and to relay current trends and information within the Muslim
community, as opposed to telling people how to live their lives.
“ELAN’s philosophy of relating with our consumers,” provides Khokhar, “allows us to
represent the Muslim community in a way that truly exemplifies the diverse
demographics of today’s ever-changing society.”
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For more information, contact:
Wahid Media Ventures
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
Seventh Floor
New York, NY 10020
Telephone: 646-756-2551
Facsimile: 646-756-2999
Email: mkhokhar@elanthemag.com
Website: www.elanthemag.com
