Patheos Featured Writers

Dilshad D. Ali joined Patheos.com as Managing Editor of the Muslim Portal in May 2011. She has covered Muslims and Islam in America for more than 10 years for a variety of media outlets, including Islam-Online.net (before it became OnIslam.net), Newsweek, Azizah Magazine, Illume Magazine, Altmuslim.com, Islamica magazine, and Beliefnet. She has also worked as an editor at Islamic Relief USA, the largest Muslim charity organization in the U.S. During her time at Beliefnet, Ms. Ali greatly expanded coverage of Islam and Muslims in America as well and was also responsible for the site's Hinduism and minor Asian religion pages. She developed a comprehensive "Understanding Islam" section for Beliefnet prior to the fifth anniversary of 9/11, managed numerous blogs and newsletters, and produced an award-winning online travel diary with Islam scholar Akbar Ahmed.

Ms. Ali has appeared on CNN, MTV, NPR, and New York radio stations and has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Newsweek. For nine years, she covered Asian and Middle Eastern news and arts and culture for Islam-Online.net, including the early chaotic days after 9/11, when she was one of the few journalists on the ground with an insider's view on how Muslims in New York dealt with the tragedy. Ms. Ali also is a member of the WISE (Women Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity), a project of the ASMA Society. She is a first-generation Muslim-American who makes her home in Virginia with her husband and three children. Her other passion is autism education and awareness, as her eldest son is autistic.