Since September 11, 2001, Muslim Americans have had the challenge of facing stereotypes and prejudices within the media. Even with organizations and rights groups speaking out against hatred, “Islamaphobia” is still very high. In an effort to combat this, Mustafa Stefan Dill created a consultancy firm just for Muslims.

Ummah Relations, which launched December 1, 2010, is a public relations firm dedicated to helping Muslims and Muslim organizations improve their image and to be more effective in reaching out to the non-Muslim community.

“We weren’t being very effective in getting our message out,” said Dill. “If we had been effective, then why is Islamophobia so high? It’s higher now than it has ever been.”

Dill plans on using his nine years in the media to promote a positive view of Islam.  Dill has worked in radio, web and social media for print and television and has lectured about online journalism and social change.

“It gives me an interesting viewpoint,” said Dill. “When you’re in the newsrooms, and you see the press releases that come in, you see what makes the cut and what doesn’t, you see which turn into stories and which don’t.”

Dill says his company doesn’t just help their clients from one angle, but does so from a comprehensive approach. They start from the clients’ goals and mission statements, and tackle social media, public relations efforts and even their current relationships with media.

While Ummah Relations will create press releases and help with advertisements and PSA’s, Dill said he also does consulting, advising and training.

“The best way to help is show them how to develop media strategies on their own. We can go to mosques and work with them over three or four days and work with their media outlets” said Dill. “I’m a firm believe in empowering.”

Ummah Relations is based out of New Mexico. For more information visit www.ummahrelations.com, email them at msd@ummahrelations.com or call 505.660.0347.