Home   /   ON Personalities: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Facebook Like StumbleUpon Google Plus One

Imam Feisal Rauf is the founder and CEO of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA Society) and the Imam of Masjid Al-Farah, a mosque in New York City, 12 blocks from Ground Zero. He is also the chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, which he founded in 2004.  He has dedicated his life to building bridges between Muslims and the West and is a leader in the effort to build religious pluralism and integrate Islam into modern society. 

Learn more:

Tue, 03/08/2011 - 00:00
Topic(s):
9/11: Beyond Hate
Facebook Like StumbleUpon Google Plus One

Last March, some 150 organizations and interfaith leaders rallied in New York City against Rep. Peter King's Radical Islam hearings before the House Committee on Homeland Security. Rally participants included Daisy Khan, Executive Director, American Society for Muslim Advancement; Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Cordoba Initiative; Rabbi Marc Schneier, president, The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; Imam Shamsi Ali, Islamic Cultural Center of New York; the Rev. Dr. Katharine R. Henderson, President, Auburn Theological Seminary; media and fashion mogul Russell Simmons; and the Rev. Chloe Breyer, Interfaith Center of New York.  A counter-rally held by supporters of Rep. Peter King several blocks away, included protestor Andy Sullivan, founder of the 9/11 Hard Hat Pledge. 

 

ON ScriptureThis video is featured in the ON Scripture article Matthew 15:21-28: Teaching Jesus written by Barbara Lundblad for Sunday, August 14, 2011. 

In 1997, Imam Feisal founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), the first Muslim organization committed to bringing American Muslims and non-Muslims together through programs in academia, policy, current affairs, and culture.  As Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque located twelve blocks from Ground Zero in New York City, he preaches a message of understanding between people of all creeds.  Additionally, Imam Feisal sits on the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of New York and serves as an advisor to the Interfaith Center of New York.

He has appeared regularly at the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum (Davos). He has been interviewed by and quoted in leading print media, including BBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Frontline, and Foreign Policy. His publications include the books, Islam: A Search for Meaning, Islam: A Sacred Law (What every Muslim Should Know About the Shariah), and What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West, which the Christian Science Monitor rated among its five best books of 2004; as well as articles such as “The Ideals We Share” (Newsweek, July 31, 2007) and “The End of Barbarism? The Phenomenon of Torture and the Search for the Common Good” (with Rev. Dr. William Schulz in Pursuing the Global Common Good, 2007).
 
Born in Kuwait and educated in England, Egypt, and Malaysia, Imam Feisal holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Science in Plasma Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. He speaks English, Arabic and Malay.