the conference engaged a range of questions on the place of islam within global, regional, national and local media. it was attended by scholars on islam and contemporary media, media professionals, activists, and members of ngos. featured speakers and presenters included charles hirschkind, professor of social cultural anthropology at university of california at berkeley, zarqa nawaz, creator of little mosque on the prairie, a canadian broadcasting corporation sitcom that chronicles the life of a small muslim community in a prairie town in saskatchewan, and mona eltahawy, an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international public speaker on arab and muslim issues who is based in new york.