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American Imam Leaves Roxbury Mosque For Muslim Youth Organization
ResumeWilliam Suhaib Webb has been the imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury since 2011. Two weeks ago, he stepped down.
He's an interesting figure: blond, blue-eyed, a former hip-hop DJ from Oklahoma City and the grandson of a fundamentalist Christian preacher. As a young man, he memorized the Koran and moved to Cairo to become an Islamic legal scholar.
For the past three years, he's been the face of Boston's Muslim community — forging connections with the city's Jewish and Christian leaders, guiding his community through crises like the Marathon bombing and establishing a virtual mosque — he has more than 66,000 Twitter followers, and he's also been outspoken on the big issues of the day.
Guest
William Suhaib Webb, outgoing imam at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury. He's accepted a position as resident scholar at MakeSpace, a young Muslim organization in Northern Virginia. He tweets @ImamSuhaibWebb.
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The Boston Globe: New England’s Largest Mosque Seeks Imam — Again
- "Webb and his congregation built stronger ties with interfaith leaders — improving, in particular, their relationship with the Jewish community following years of tensions surrounding the mosque’s early leadership."
The Boston Globe: In Life And Words, Muslim Leader Bridges Cultures
- "William Suhaib Webb, imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury, has been a target of conservative Muslims on the Internet, who call him a sellout, and of other critics who say he is an extremist."
This segment aired on January 7, 2015.