| Suhaib Webb | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Webb June 29, 1972 Oklahoma United States |
| Occupation | Imam |
| Title | Imam |
| Religion | Islam |
| Website | |
| http://www.suhaibwebb.com | |
Suhaib Webb is a contemporary American-Muslim educator, activist, and lecturer.[1]
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He was born William Webb in 1972 in Oklahoma to a Christian family, including a grandfather who served as a preacher.[2] At age 14, he lost interest in religion going through a self-described spiritual crisis. He also began engaging in delinquency by joining a local gang, was involved in a drive by shooting, and became a successful local Hip-Hop DJ and producer,[3] making records with various artists.
After converting to Islam in 1992, Webb left his career as a DJ and studied at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Education. He also studied privately under a Senegalese Sheikh, learning enough Islam and Arabic to become a community leader in Oklahoma City, where he was hired as Imam at The Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City.[4] He simultaneously started teaching at Mercy School, an Islamic K-12 school in Oklahoma City.
From 2004-2010, Suhaib Webb studied at the world’s preeminent Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar University, in the College of Shari`ah, in Cairo. During this time, after several years of studying the Arabic Language and the Islamic legal tradition, he also served as the head of the English Translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah.[5]
Apart from his studies, he frequently lectures in the United States and Malaysia, and records public lecture series on Islam and contemporary Muslim matters. He resides in the Silicon Valley of the San Francisco Bay area and hosts a weekly "Real Talk" call-in radio show.[6] Suhaib Webb is an active member of the Muslim American Society and its youth department and has been so for the last ten years. It is through the Muslim American Society's scholarship program that he was sent to Egypt to attain fluency in Arabic and focus on Islamic studies.[7] Webb frequently hosts lectures and posts articles offering Islamic perspectives on modern-day issues such as community involvement and social relevance.[8]
Webb was inaugurated as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Boston's Cultural Center (ISBCC) on December 1, 2011.[9] The ISBCC is the largest Islamic center in New England, and the second largest on the East Coast. The 70,000 square foot building stands tall on Malcolm X Boulevard in the heart of Boston, a Muslim handprint on the city skyline.[10]
Some UK government officials were quoted in a 2004 edition of The Guardian describing Webb as a "moderate leader" along with the likes of Hamza Yusuf and Amr Khaled.[11] Webb was named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in 2010.[12] Webb's website, www.SuhaibWebb.com, was voted the best "Blog of the Year" by the 2009 Brass Crescent awards [13] and his tweets won him the vote of "Best Muslim Tweeter" of 2010.[14]
Webb joined a trip of imams to Auschwitz in 2010, followed by a public statement to condemning Holocaust-denial and anti-Semitism.[15] He helped raise $20,000 for widows and children of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attack.[16] He is a part of efforts to more effectively rebut militants and religious extremists [17][18] and is an advocate for grassroots Muslim activism to promote social change. He advocates for an American-style Islam, one that is true to the Koran and Islamic law but that reflects this country's customs and culture.[19][20]