One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in 15 years of covering Muslims in America is this – we are surer of ourselves, stronger in our agreements and disagreements and proud and protective of our place as Muslims on a national and global stage.

At a kitchen table, though I own a desk set up in a study converted from a dining room, I sit and write. I report, I read, I research, I make calls, I conduct interviews, I make connections, I edit and I write. No matter what state that kitchen table has been in – Maryland, New York, Virginia – the focus has been the same – covering Muslim Americans and Islam in America.

Fifteen years on this beat, through the horrors of 9/11, the scrutiny turned on Islam and Muslims around the world, through the war in Iraq, the terror attacks in London, the Danish cartoon controversy, the growth of strength and pride in ourselves as Muslims, the rise of rock-star Imams and shaykhas, the emergence of Muslim artists, writers, social justice activists, politicians, government workers, advocates and allies – I’ve seen an immense resilience and pride bloom.

I see a future for Islam that is challenging, difficult, strong, burgeoning and glorious. A future couched in narrative discourse and continuing ijtehad (independent reasoning). A future where we have learned better (and are still learning) to dig into the issues we disagree on without tearing each other down. A future in which we fully realize that when we say to the outside community that Islam and Muslims are not a monolith, that we understand and believe that ourselves instead of a rush to judgement.

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