by Imam Imad Enchassi | Jul 8, 2021 | Opinion
Preaching is difficult in an empty sanctuary. It’s even more difficult to get used to speaking to a screen and looking into a camera instead of faces. Seminary did not have a class on how to minister in a pandemic. Finding ways to connect to our faith communities...
by Imam Imad Enchassi | Jul 1, 2021 | Opinion
A young Jewish girl timidly walked up to the mosque and asked to speak with the imam. I was dressed in gym clothes and a cap doing yard work around the Islamic center. I guess I did not look the part. “I am the imam,” I said, laughing. She handed me an envelope with...
by Imam Imad Enchassi | Feb 18, 2021 | Opinion
The Azan, the call to prayer, is heard five times a day in the Muslim world. The person calling out faces each direction, north, south, east and west, declaring the supremacy of God Almighty. The story of the Azan still brings chills to my spine, for it began with a...
by Imam Imad Enchassi | Aug 21, 2020 | Opinion
Content warning: This article shares a firsthand account of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut, Lebanon. Certain details might be difficult for some to read. The first day of the massacre, I remember looking up to the hills and on top of buildings, seeing...
by Imam Imad Enchassi | Jun 18, 2020 | Opinion
I grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, called Sabra and Shatila. My father had fled there at the tender age of 12 when Israel declared independence. Growing up, my father told many stories about his life in Jaffa. He used to show me the deeds to my...
