Interfaith Center Names Two New Board Members
The Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College recently named two new executive board members.
The Center promotes understanding and reverence for the richness of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; the history together; and the imperatives of ongoing relations, while breaking down and healing all stereotypes and prejudices directed at members of these communities: antisemitism, anti-Christian animus, and Islamophobia. The Center encourages joining together to act more effectively for justice and peace. For more information on the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations, call (978) 837-5428 or email jcm@merrimack.edu.
New Executive Board Members, Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations:
Mohammed M. Khusro
Mr. Khusro has spent most of his life in the U.S., and has been involved in community based organizations, interfaith work, and has given lectures before and after 9-11 to promote better understanding between peoples of different faiths. He is involved in humanitarian efforts in India and Pakistan for poor and underprivileged families to promote better education and health.
Professionally, Mr. Khusro has successfully managed large groups at two Fortune 100 Companies with multi-million dollar budgets, which required excellent interpersonal, communication, financial and technical acumen both with higher level executives and staff. He owned and successfully operated several motels in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire for several years, and operates a riding academy in Massachusetts for the past thirty years. He has successfully completed numerous multi-million dollar real estate development projects in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Mr. Khusro has resided in Andover since 1972, is married to Dr. Nafees Khusro, an Internist, and has a son Imran Khusro who is at Whitier Law School in California.
Mary Lahaj
Pioneering a new profession for women in religion, Chaplain Mary Lahaj is currently the first Muslim chaplain at Simmons College, a liberal arts women’s college in Boston. This position culminates her commitment to community, interfaith relations, spiritual development, and leadership.
Mary, an American-born, second generation Lebanese, first studied Middle Eastern history at Harvard in a post-graduate course, piquing an interest in Islam, the religion of her parents and grandparents. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Islam and Christian/Muslim relations at the Hartford Seminary, where she experienced the rewards of interfaith relations and realized a lifelong desire to connect deeply with others. Mary dedicated her life as a proponent of peace and better understanding through education for 25 years, as a professional speaker, member of the Acton/Boxborough Clergy Association, and teacher of philosophy and Islamic studies. In 2005, the Boston Dialogue Foundation honored her with the “Promoting Peace Through Dialogue Award,” and sponsored her on a trip to Turkey to study history, culture, and religion.
In 2007, Mary decided to act on her spiritual development by becoming a chaplain. She sought training and was accepted into the highly selective residency program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital where she received her certificate in Clinical Pastoral Education (2008). Today, she is one of the only Muslim women in the world who has ever completed four units of clinical pastoral education (CPE).
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