MECCA Institute Welcomes New Board Members

Pamela Taylor and Therisa Shams el-Din Rogers join the board members of the Muslim educational and research institute.

The Muslim Education Center for Creative Academics (MECCA), an institute that works in the training of Muslim and non-Muslim students to become certified Muslim chaplains and community faith leaders, as well as in Islamic research, welcomes new Board members Pamela Taylor and Therisa Shams el-Din Rogers.

Pamela Taylor, known for her influential faith column in the Newsweek and Washington Post’s On Faith dialogue panel, holds a Masters in Theology from Harvard University. She currently serves as a visiting imam for the Columbus Unity Mosque, part of a progressive Muslim organization she co-founded in 2007. She is an outspoken advocate for human rights, both within the Muslim community and globally. She has been a particularly strong proponent of women’s and LGBT rights within the Muslim community. Her writing has been published in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and has delivered lectures on dozens of college and university campuses.

Therisa Shams el-Din Rogers, was a Rotary International Scholar during her undergraduate studies in Islamic Near East Studies at University of Pennsylvania. She has a Master’s degree in Islamic History from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and did further graduate work in Islamic Studies. She has studied in Spain, Morocco, and advanced Arabic coursework at the University of Alexandria, Egypt. As an educator for more than 20 years in university and secondary schools in the US, Romania, Abu Dhabi, and South Korea, she has been the recipient of a Fulbright award for Teacher Exchange, and four National Endowment for the Humanities Teacher Fellowships.

Both of these scholars have been champions of the organization behind the scenes for several years before they officially joined the board this past month. Their diverse backgrounds, both as people and in academia, will add to the richness of MECCA Institute, as an organization that seeks to give voice to all of us. They will both teach at the Institute’s educational wing, and will contribute to the research wing.

MECCA Institute was founded in 2014 by Imam Daayiee Abdullah. Having run a progressive mosque in the past, Imam Daayiee Abdullah believes the Muslim community is ready for a graduate-level, progressive and inclusive theological institution that focuses on graduating men, women, LGBT and intra-faith/interfaith spiritual and community leaders. He envisions graduates filling positions of Imam/Immate in an increasing number of inclusive mosques, hospitals, and local, state and federal government agencies, something many Muslims in all walks of life have been waiting for.

For more information, contact MECCA Institute at +1-202-599-1667, email Imam Daayiee Abdullah at Daayiee (at) Gmail (dot) com, or write to the organization at Box 26022, Washington, DC, 20001.

MECCA Institute was founded in 2014 by Imam Daayiee Abdullah. Having run a progressive mosque in the past, Imam Daayiee Abdullah believes the Muslim community is ready for a graduate-level, progressive and inclusive theological institution that focuses on graduating men, women, LGBT and intra-faith/interfaith spiritual and community leaders. He envisions graduates filling positions of Imam/Immate in an increasing number of inclusive mosques, hospitals, and local, state and federal government agencies, something many Muslims in all walks of life have been waiting for.

MECCA Institute
P.O. Box 26022
Washington, DC 20001

This release was published on openPR.