Excerpt:
Anila Ali's life is threaded with efforts to bring together the cultures of her Islamic, Pakistani birthplace and her adopted homeland of the U.S., where she's lived for nearly 20 years.
The Irvine resident's latest endeavor is a simple Facebook page with a big goal: bring together a million American Muslims to champion the moderate, non-violent mainstream of Islam and counter extremists who taint the religion.
"A lot of my friends who are pastors and rabbis say, 'We don't hear from the moderate Muslims,'" said Ali, a 48-year-old middle school English teacher. "There's a vacuum of good Muslim voices."