Ani Zonneveld
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Ani Zonneveld (born 1962) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, activist, and writer based in Los Angeles. She has released three original albums, produced music for other artists, and participated in the writing of
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-winning songs. She is the first Malaysian person to have won a Grammy. She is the president and founder of
Muslims for Progressive Values Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) is a grassroots human rights organization founded and incorporated by Zuriana (Ani) Zonneveld and Pamela K. Taylor in 2007. Headquartered in Los Angeles California, MPV has chapters around the United States ...
(MPV), a nonprofit organization in the United States with affiliates in Canada, Europe, Chile, Australia, and Malaysia creating inclusive communities that welcome and support
interfaith marriage Interfaith marriage, sometimes called interreligious marriage or mixed marriage, is marriage between spouses professing and being legally part of different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in so ...
s,
gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
s, gender & sexual minorities, as well as sectarian minorities.Jaweed Kaleem
Progressive Muslims Launch Gay-Friendly, Women-Led Mosques In Attempt To Reform American Islam
''Huffington Post'', March 29, 2012
Zonneveld is also the editor, along with Vanessa Karam and Olivia Samad, of ''Progressive Muslim Identities: Personal Stories from the U.S. and Canada'', a 2011 anthology that features a diverse groups of progressive Muslims, with a foreword by
Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala, known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is an English–American actor, comedian and writer. He was a List of The Daily Show correspondents, correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other televis ...
, published in the United States by Oracle Releasing.Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV)
Anthology


Early life

Ani Zonneveld was born in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, Malaysia, along with five other siblings, and was raised in Germany, Egypt, and India as the daughter of a Malaysian ambassador and a stay-at-home mother. In 1981, she moved to the United States, where she studied economics and
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a musician instead of following in her father's footsteps.


Music and activism

As a musician, songwriter, and producer, Zonneveld has had a bustling career that has included producing several pop songs for singer
Ziana Zain Siti Roziana Zain (born 2 May 1968) is a Malaysian pop singer and actress. Her music career began in the early '90s with her signature single, "Madah Berhelah" followed by hits like "Terlerai Kasih", "Setia Ku Di Sini" and "Puncak Kasih". In ...
, as well as composing pop tracks for
Fauziah Latiff Siti Fauziah Sheikh Abdul Latiff, better known as Fauziah Latiff, is a Malaysian singer and actress. One of Latiff's first public performance was at a charity concert at Stadium Merdeka in 1987. Talent scouts from Happy Records spotted her and ...
,
Aishah Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic history, both during Muhammad's life and afte ...
, and vocal boy band Kool in Malaysia. She has collaborated with singer
Siti Nurhaliza Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin (Jawi script, Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين, ; born 11 January 1979) is a renowned Malaysian singer, songwriter, and actress, celebrated for her significant contributions to the music and ...
, for which she won several awards at the
Anugerah Industri Muzik ''Anugerah Industri Muzik'' (literally: "Music Industry Award"), commonly known by the acronym AIM, is an award ceremony which celebrates the Malaysian music industry. The award is organized by the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (R ...
, including Album of the Year twice with Siti's '' Adiwarna'' (1998) and '' E.M.A.S'' (2003). She is also a three-time finalist of
Anugerah Juara Lagu ''Anugerah Juara Lagu'' (literally: "Song Championship Award"), commonly known by the acronym AJL, is a popular annual music competition in Malaysia, organised by TV3 since 1986. It features the best musical and lyrical compositions of each y ...
, a local song competition, through her collaboration with Kool (in 1997 for "Cemburu" and 1998 for "Satu Arah) and Siti (2003, "Ku Milikmu"). In Hollywood, Zonneveld's collaborations with Keb Mo' earned her a
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
award, becoming the first Malaysian ever to be nominated and to win this accolade. After the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
in the United States, her religion became a strong part of her identity, leading to writing and producing spiritual-themed music, including an album titled ''Ummah Wake-Up'', in which she sings the praise of Islam while encouraging Muslims to rise up for progressive causes. She also began performing at various interfaith organizational events in an effort to raise awareness of Islam as a
religion of peace Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
. A few years later, Zonneveld joined other concerned Muslims of a progressive background as a board member of Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU), launched on November 15, 2004, in New York City. Before disbanding in 2006, the group met with controversy when in 2005 they supported a public woman-led prayer in New York City, raising a global uproar.Andrea Elliott
Woman Leads Muslim Prayer Service in New York
''The New York Times'', March 19, 2005
In July 2007 at Sarah Lawrence College, New York, Zonneveld spearheaded the founding of
Muslims for Progressive Values Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) is a grassroots human rights organization founded and incorporated by Zuriana (Ani) Zonneveld and Pamela K. Taylor in 2007. Headquartered in Los Angeles California, MPV has chapters around the United States ...
(MPV). Since its founding, Zonneveld has presided over the expansion of MPV into several chapters across the United States, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Australia, and Malaysia, and helped it secure a consultative status at the United Nations. The organization's successes include "Literary Zikr", a project that turns scholarly works into everyday language aimed at youth and the general public; and "Progressive Muslim Identities", an anthology highlighting personal struggles of progressive Muslims in the United States and Canada, including women of interfaith marriages,
LGBT Muslims Within the Muslim world, sentiment towards LGBTQ people varies and has varied between societies and individual Muslims. While colloquial and in many cases '' de facto'' official acceptance of at least some homosexual behavior was commonplace i ...
, and other minorities.


Discography

* ''Ummah Wake Up'' (2003) * ''One'' (2005) * ''Islamic Hymns: Celebration of Life'' (2012)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zonneveld, Ani Living people 1962 births American Muslim activists Malaysian Muslim activists Malaysian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians 20th-century Muslims 21st-century Muslims 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American women musicians Muslim reformers