The association is a nonprofit organization that works to promote the principles of and knowledge about Sufism, one of the branches of Islam. It is headed by Seyedeh Nahid Angha and Shah Nazar Seyed Ali Kianfar. It is based in Novato, Calif. Send questions through the website.

The council is an organization of Islamic scholars and clergy in Canada and the United States.

The Cordoba initiative is a multifaith organization whose goal is to build understanding between Muslims and the U.S. It sponsors educational programs, meetings, policy initiatives and lectures on a range of subjects including women in Islam, interfaith understanding and youth leadership. John Bennett is its executive director, and he is located in Aspen, Colo.

The foundation works to promote unity and religious understanding among different groups of American Muslims. Its chairman is Sheik Muhammad Hisham Kabbani. The organization is based in Burton, Mich.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council works for Muslim participation in civic life. It works to cultivate leadership in young Muslims and encourage a sense of ownership over their religious and national identity as Americans. The group’s $1.1 million budget includes no overseas funding. It has offices in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles and has several […]

The Islamic Society of North America promotes unity and leadership among Muslims. The organization, based in Plainfield, Ind., has a large immigrant presence. Contact executive director Ahmed Elhattab.

Muzammil H. Siddiqi, chairman of the Executive Council of the Shura Council of Southern California and director of the Islamic Center of Orange County, has written about the need for forgiveness from an Islamic perspective and led Muslim-Catholic dialogues.

Zaid Shakir is an African-American imam who converted to Islam during his service in the Air Force. He has a master’s degree in political science and received classical scholarly training in the Muslim world. He is a writer, speaker, teacher and activist, having founded several Muslim organizations in the eastern U.S. before becoming a resident scholar […]

Karen Leonard is an anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine. Her publications include Muslims in the United States: The State of Research and Immigrant Faiths: Transforming Religious Life in America.