Ramez Islambouli – Lecturer of Arabic and Islam; Adjunct Professor of Islamic Law; and Vice President, Uqbah Mosque Foundation

Cleveland’s first mosque was established in 1937 by Al Hajj Imam Wali Akram, an African American. That should remind us that generalizations about “Islam in America” based on current political controversies are highly likely to confuse images with realities.

Most adult Muslims in the U.S. are immigrants, but they may come from very different countries; and they range from refugees fleeing for their lives to physicians recruited for their skills. Yet there are commonalities as well, especially the challenges of living within a minority religious tradition that is distrusted by many Americans; for all immigrants the challenge of adapting old ways (religious or not) to a new country; how to build good lives for their children – some of whom become students at CWRU; and sometimes dealing with the politics and administration of the “war on terror.”

Many studies focus on variables that might be relevant to that “war”: public opinion among Muslims (how much support for extremists?) or trends in Islamic institutions (how much do Saudi fundamentalists influence religious education and practice? Is an “American Islam” developing?) or markers of assimilation (though into what?) Yet it may be too easy to lose sight of real people and communities. So we welcome Ramez Islambouli to share his perspectives on Muslim life and challenges in the Cleveland community in which he has lived since coming to CWRU as a student in 1985. What are the concerns, the divisions, the trends, the future?

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Ramez Islambouli a native of Lebanon moved to the United States in 1985 to pursue his academic studies. He holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and a graduate degree in bioethics, both from Case Western Reserve University. He is an adjunct professor of Islamic law at the school of law at Case, a part-time lecturer of Islam in the Department of Religious Studies and a full-time lecturer and section head of Arabic language in the Department of Modern Languages and Literature and is the faculty advisor for the Muslim Students Association (MSA).

He serves as Vice President of the Uqbah Mosque Foundation (the mosque on Stokes Boulevard) and as a Muslim chaplain for University Hospitals of Cleveland, and also teaches Islamic Studies at Cleveland State and John Carroll universities

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library.

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.

The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

November 10: Lead Poisoning in Cleveland: Why, After All These Years? With Dorr Dearborn MD, Ph.D., Mary Ann Swetland Professor Emeritus and Department Chair Emeritus, Department of Environmental Health Sciences.

November 17: Digging Into Football and Voting With Data. With Andrew Healy Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Loyola Marymount University and Senior Strategist for Player Personnel, Cleveland Browns.

November 24: Thanksgiving Break

December 1: TBA

December 8: Environmental Policy in the Pruitt EPA. With Catherine J. LaCroix J.D., Adjunct Professor of Law.