Title: President
Organization: Muslims for Progressive Values
Area of Expertise: Arts & Culture, Interfaith issues
Media Experience: TV, Print, Radio, NPR, “The Globe” (BBC), LA Times
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact: Ani Zonneveld
Email
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Phone 323 842 2869
Ani Zonneveld is a songwriter, singer and the co-founder and President of Muslims for Progressive Values. Born in Malaysia, Zonneveld spent a good portion of her formative years being raised in Germany, Egypt and India before acquiring a B.A. in Political Science and Economics at Northern Illinois University.
As a songwriter and producer she has worked with many different artists with releases in Asia, Europe and the U.S. Her work in Malaysia resulted in an Album of the Year award at the AIMM which is the Malaysian equivalent of the Grammy. She also contributed a song to Keb’ Mo’s album “Keep It Simple” which helped him win a Grammy (2005) in the Contemporary Blues category, a song for the Grammy nominated album “Big Wide Grin” (2003) performed by Grammy winners Keb’Mo’ and Brenda Russell, and to Melissa Manchester’s latest release called “Thank You For Your Faith In Me”.
As a direct result of 9-11, Zonneveld has uniquely blended her two worlds of music and social activism into one. She speaks and sings her message of social justice, her angst against patriarchical practices within Muslim societies and other discriminatory practices that have distort the values of Islam. To drive home this message, Zonneveld wrote, sang and produced “Ummah Wake Up” an Islamic pop album.
Now in its third year, she also co-founded an annual interfaith arts and music festival entitled “God Loves Beauty” with a local Episcopalian church. Attended by hundreds each year, it is a festival that not only celebrates diversity but also provides a platform for Muslim women artists and performers. The songs in “One," an interfaith album, were born as a result of her love for the many faiths and the realization that everyone is truly one humanity.
Zonneveld has been featured on NPR and BBC’s “The Globe”, as well as in various interviews from the Los Angeles Times, Globe and Mail (Canada), to The Star (Malaysia).
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