Career beginnings Khan's first big project was helping to design the Islamic Center of Long Island, which was cofounded by her uncle. Khan later worked on designing a Hindu temple. Through her work with religious architecture and local devotees, Khan recognized how immigrants yearned to recreate their homelands in America. Khan went on to work as project manager for what was then
Shearson Lehman Brothers on the 106th floor of the
World Trade Center. She remembers the lasting effect of the first foiled bombing in 1993. After Shearson she worked for Primedia (now
RentGroup), where she oversaw the design of
Seventeen magazine's offices, and then later joined a telecommunications firm.
Community service In order to promote a vision of a harmonious and forward-looking Islam, Khan co-founded American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) in 1997 where she served as the executive director for the non-profit for 18 years. At ASMA, Khan dedicated herself to strengthening an expression of Islam based on cultural and religious harmony through interfaith collaboration, cultivating the next generation of leaders, promoting women's rights and building bridges through culture and arts.
Foundation of Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality In an effort to emphasize commonalities among the
Abrahamic traditions, Khan created interfaith theatrical productions including
Same Difference and
Cordoba Bread Fest. To prioritize the advancement of Muslim women and the empowerment of youth globally, Khan launched two programs to create a platform which maximized the collective impact of these social change agents. In 2004 Khan founded,
Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLT) in order to cultivate and empower a global network of young Muslim leaders. In the early 2000s, Khan grew increasingly disturbed by the mistreatment (stonings, honor killings, forced marriages) of Muslim women around the world. In 2008, WISE launched the first global Muslim Women's
Shura Council to provide religiously-grounded opinions on controversial issues that are relevant to Muslim women. Drawing upon its members' expertise in both Islamic jurisprudence and fields such as history, political science, theology and sociology, the Shura Council issued its first statement in 2009 titled "Jihad Against Violence", condemning violent extremism. The Global Muslim Women's Shura Council has made statements on domestic violence, violent extremism, female genital mutilation, and adoption. The Council's statements were used to train Imams in Afghanistan to champion women's rights and combat the spread of violent extremism. In 2006 Khan founded, '''Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality''' (WISE). WISE operates in order to build a cohesive, global movement of Muslim women, promote women's rights, enable women to make dignified choices, and fully participate in creating just and flourishing societies.
Publications and activism In 2017, Khan published
WISE Up, a collaborative report written with the help of 72 contributors.
WISE Up aims to counter the rise in hateful rhetoric and violent extremism. In March 2011, Khan spoke against
Peter T. King's hearings on the "radicalization" of American Muslims. Khan further organized a rally against Peter T. King's hearings titled "I am a Muslim, Too" on March 6, 2011 in
Times Square, NYC. In 2011, Khan brought together 300 people of all religions for a night of remembrance. The event, entitled
In Good Faith: Stories of Hope and Resilience, highlighted hundreds of bridgebuilding projects undertaken since September 11, while also paying tribute to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim families of 9/11 victims. In 2009, Khan proposed to build a Muslim Cultural and Community Center, the Cordoba House at
Park51, two blocks from the
World Trade Center. ==Media==