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A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 5 November 2019
Continued from Front graduate program. Ten stu-
For mosques around the dents graduated earlier this
country, the need to pro- year.
duce U.S.-trained religious Faezi, a Pakistan native
leaders is increasing. who also studied in Iran,
Traditional imams and said the program is on hold
scholars who once came while they seek more re-
from the Middle East or sources, but it plans to ac-
were educated in schools cept students in 2020.
there are having more dif- Traditionally as a minor-
ficulty entering the United ity, Shiite communities are
States. The Trump admin- more dependent on hav-
istration imposed a travel ing trained and accred-
ban in January 2017 on ited scholars leading their
people from several Mus- mosques, but as the com-
lim majority countries, and munity has grown in the
the government has made United States, so too has
it harder to enter the U.S. the need for these trained
entirely, with more rigorous scholars. Faezi said in the
interviews and background 1980s, Shiite communities
checks. began inviting scholars
"In many other states there and imams from places like
are mosques with no ... India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran or
functional imam, who can Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini speaks at the Islamic Institute of America, home of the Al-Hujjah Lebanon to fulfill the need.
assume the responsibilities Islamic Seminary, in Dearborn Heights, Mich., Oct. 1, 2019. But many scholars were un-
of the religious leader or Associated Press able to get visas, especially
even speak," said Islamic as relations between the
Institute of America leader working to address a short- emphasis is on North Amer- in America. But the center United States and some of
Imam Hassan Qazwini, who age of leaders. ica because of the desire seeks a permanent imam the countries soured.
started the seminary with The seminary started in fall to deepen the bench of to meet its broader, long- "Those who were able to
his son. "I thought maybe a 2017 with about 35 regis- U.S.-trained imams, schol- term objectives: Having a get the visa and they came
long-term solution for fac- tered students. Now it has ars and speakers, accord- strong understanding of here, they were also not
ing this shortage is to have nearly 400, with some at- ing to the elder Qazwini, a challenges within their own very effective, because
our own Shiite Islamic semi- tending in-person, others native of Iraq. community, particularly their mindset was very dif-
nary in the U.S., instead of watching live and still more In a class on a recent eve- among youth, and forging ferent than the people who
waiting for imams to come." watching recorded videos ning, the younger Qaz- stronger bonds between had migrated here... not to
Al-Hujjah Seminary is the online. In addition to the wini led an intense session the Muslim and non-Muslim mention the communica-
newest of several semi- Qazwinis, there are four on faith, proposing case populations. tion barrier," Faezi said.
naries focused on the Shi- other instructors. studies, playing devil's ad- "On one hand, you can find Jawad Bayat, 31, comes
ite branch of Islam in the Although there are stu- vocate and prompting a an imam who is very knowl- from a Shiite background
United States and Canada dents in 25 countries the philosophical back-and- edgeable, very strong and is part of the chang-
forth with his students. His background in theology, ing face of faith here. While
execution is informal but but that person might not in college, he began to
authoritative. The students speak English or might have explore his spiritual jour-
understand him. lived most of his life outside ney and considered going
"I need to make sure he the country," Nawras said. abroad to attend a semi-
speaks the language, he's "On the other hand, you nary. Instead he enrolled at
knowledgeable, he's re- might find someone who is Hartford Seminary in Con-
spectful, he's truly caring born here and educated necticut, a non-denomina-
and he's trying to adapt to here, but they don't have tional graduate school for
the country we live in," said a good or strong theology religious and theological
Alia Bazzi, 32, a graphic background." studies. Bayat graduated in
designer and seminary stu- "To have a combination 2015 and now serves as an
dent. "Why would my imam of both, that is where the imam and Muslim chaplain
speak Arabic if we live in challenge comes," he add- at an academic medical
America and the main lan- ed. center in Cleveland, Ohio.
guage we speak is English? Qazwini wants to expand "There is a shortage of Mus-
... I want to know he's up to the curriculum, faculty and lim leaders as a whole in
date, he knows what's go- enrollment at Al-Hujjah but the U.S., whether it's in Sun-
ing on." another important step for ni or Shiite communities,"
About an hour's drive south, the seminary is pursuing ac- Bayat said, adding the fo-
in Toledo, Ohio, the Ahlul creditation so it can award cus on applied spirituality
Bayt Center mosque has official degrees rather than that allows him to connect
been running for about four completion certificates. In with the Cleveland Mus-
years without a full-time the meantime, he has spo- lims he serves now may not
imam. Imam Mohammad ken with other established have been covered in a
Qazwini and other clerics schools offering Islamic more traditional seminary
travel there for services and studies about collaborating overseas. Zaytuna College
special events. on accreditation. in Berkeley, California, was
Dr. Ali Nawras, a board The Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Sem- founded in 2009 and is the
member of the Toledo inary, located near Chica- first accredited U.S.-based
mosque, said the arrange- go, is another U.S.-based Muslim college, but it focus-
ment works for day-to-day seminary focused on the es on the Sunni branch of
needs because of its prox- Shiite tradition. Shaykh Amir Islam. Overall, Sunni is the
imity to the Detroit area — Mukhtar Faezi founded it in largest sect of Islam and
a longtime hub for Islam 2014, offering a five-year Shiite the second-largest.q