A Seminary’s Call: Leadership for Our Time and Our Place

A few years ago a young person called me from somewhere in North Carolina.

He was distraught, he said, because he could not connect with his Imam and the masjid leadership in general. Perhaps they seemed to him distant, from a time he had not known and places he had not visited. He could not share their cultural experiences and just felt unconnected to them. Frustrated and upset, he called me. “I want to become an American Imam,” he said. “That’s great,” I responded. “That’s what we need, American Imams who can function within the American context,” I added. After a few moments of his complaining and my consoling, I asked him what he intended to do to become an American Imam.

After a moment of silence, he asked, “So, where should I go to study, Egypt or Syria?”

I told him that if he went to Egypt or Syria to study, he would become an Egyptian or Syrian imam and when he returned to America, he will be fish out of water in the American context. He would be just another imam with whom others will not be able to connect, just as he cannot connect with imams in his community now. I told him that there are scholars and scholarly institutions in this country that can provide deep and relevant Islamic learning, and that is where he should get his education. Once grounded in learning in an American education environment, he can feel free to travel to Egypt or Syria to connect with roots and references that can deepen his learning.

This is where The Islamic Seminary (TISA) of America steps in. Do check it out, whether you are an aspiring imam, chaplain, counsellor, youth leader, humanitarian worker, community activist, or just an interested Muslim. Do visit: https://www.islamicseminary.us