A new generation of young American Muslims are taking on the role of imams (leaders of the Muslim community) and are trying to correct wrong views about Islam to the American public.
"We are starting to have large numbers of young Americans taking Islamic studies and becoming imams," said Yvonne Haddad, a professor of Islamic history and Christian-Muslim relations at Georgetown University.
Recently, a 27-year-old young man named Asif Umar was appointed as the new imam at the Darul Islam Mosque in the St. Louis.
"Now if you see an advertisement for imams for vacancies, they ask the imam who speaks English, can connect with interfaith groups, and communicate with the younger generation," Haddad said. "They don't want to lose the younger generation."
Growing up in America, Umar, born to Indian immigrants, was different from other priests in the St area. Old Louis. He also studied at the Sacred Heart Catholic Academy. "Not every priest has attended a Catholic school on the outskirts of the city," he said.
For American Muslims, imams like Umar are potential ambassadors who are expected to present a true picture of Islam to American society.
"He [Imam Umar] is the kind of man we want to represent the face of American Islam," said Muhammad Dalal, 20, a student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, after becoming a congregation when Umar led the first Friday prayer as a priest. "He grew up here and is a representative of the Muslim-American community."
Memorizing the Koran at the Islamic Education Institute in Elgin, Illinois, Umar became a hafidz. He also studied mathematics and literature. Umar continued his studies in the field of Islam and studied in fiqh - the principles of Islamic law.
In 2008, Umar went to South Africa to earn a master's degree in Islamic law and earned the title "mufti." He also studied for six months in Cairo in 2009 to study Arabic, then he moved to Springfield, Va., To teach Islamic law at the same school when he graduated from Illinois. (Mel / Onislam.net / ddhongkong.org). *
