My name is Farah Ali, and I’m the newest member of the ISPU executive team. As ISPU’s new Director of Development, I strive to be relentless in showing the power and potential of your support and in sharing our story–the one that we are creating together. Joining a team full of inspiring and impressive changemakers is a blessing, and I’m excited for the opportunity to help take ISPU to the next level!
I’m grateful for the opportunity today to share a little bit about me. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. These days, I live blocks away from the office of Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the New York City Council. I’m a first-generation American and the eldest child of three. When I was growing up, my parents worked before sunrise, past sunsets, into weekends, dreaming of a day when their kids would reign. They said: never settle, and always have faith. That’s why ISPU’svision–of an America where Muslims are thriving and equal–resonates.
Like many, I absorbed so much from my parents’ experiences.Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus was my dad’s professor and influenced my father,Dr. Showkat Ali, to come to America and pursue academia.Dr. Yunus’s dream of creating a world without poverty eventually drew me to finance, thus I joined J.P. Morgan as I sought to create change from within. I was blessed to have rare experiences there: driving large-scale investment impact, having conversations with clients–CEOs, outliers, some of the most influential leaders of America–advising and raising funds for philanthropy and sustainable investments. While I worked with some of the top 1%, the pandemic opened my eyes to the worsening wealth gap. During that time, I realized there was a different 1% of Americans I wanted to focus on: American Muslims. And that decision, in part, was catalyzed by ISPU.
Knowing time was our most valuable asset, I left J.P. Morgan to attempt to make a positive social impact, solo. In March 2023, I attended ISPU’s webinar onBanking While Muslim,seeking to be better informed. What I learned that day shocked me: Muslims are significantly more likely than all other faith groups to report facing challenges while banking. Perhaps it is a problem of privilege–despite being in the finance industry for nearly a decade, I had never even considered this could be a challenge.
ISPU found: 27% of Muslims report challenges, making them twice as likely as other faith groups and the general public to report challenges. Challenges include: being denied opening an account, having an account suspended or closed, or having payments placed under investigation. The ripple effects of this are felt not just on a personal level, but also by Muslim nonprofits and small businesses. Among those who report challenges with banks, Muslims are more likely than the general public to face challenges with nonprofit accounts (62% vs. 17%). This means starving children in Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Bangladesh, families devastated by the Turkey and Syria earthquakes, and low-income families in need in the United States are left awaiting relief—and the list goes on.
I encountered ISPU’s work as an adult, but as I learned more about it, I reflected on how impactful ISPU would have been in many different parts of my life including as:
The daughter of educators, who relied heavily on rigorous research
The minority child, just 8 years old during the 9/11 attacks (which took place blocks away from my high school, Stuyvesant), who had “terrorist” written on my desk, and was told to “go back to your own country,” my five-year-old self who was mistakenly told by my teacher that I couldn’t read English
The teenager who identified as “spiritual” and not “Muslim” after the media muddied the name of Muslims. The Islamophobia industry didn’t just twist people’s perceptions of me–it impacted me. I personally struggled with the desire to disassociate from the hate and the judgment
The former intern to Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, working in a district with great wealth disparity
The student who respects humans of all faiths and no faith, having attended a Baptist daycare and a Jesuit university, where I took classes on Buddhism, the New Testament, the history of Islamic global empires, and Islam and women
I needed ISPU then, and I need ISPU now. ISPU is doing incredible work–work that inspired me to transition careers to join. And as I dive into my work here, what is very clear is that your support is what makes it all possible. If you're open, I'd love the chance to meet with you in person or on Zoom, and learn more about what drew you to ISPU’s mission. Please feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts, questions, or feedback about the work we're doing. I hope we talk soon!
With gratitude,
Farah
Farah Ali
Director of Development
Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
ISPU is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and education institute. Contributions to ISPU are zakat-eligible and tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.