Written by Yasin T. al-Jibouri
[email protected]
While living in Hyattsville, Maryland, from 1979 – 1982, then in Virginia thereafter, Yasin T. al-Jibouri became involved in the activities of the Islamic School located in Potomac, Maryland, where the Principal was Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim, a very active and energetic Iraqi pediatrician who started his Islamic activities at the Islamic Center in the U.S. capital, Washington.
You can actually write a book about Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim due to the thousands of those who came to learn about Islam through his efforts, which included writing quality books designed either for new converts to Islam or for Muslim children and adults. He is an icon in the history of Islam in the United States and the world, may the Almighty reward him most generously in this life and in the life to come, Allahomma Aameen اللھم آمين.
Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim, an Iraqi-American pediatrician who is an institution all by himself and whose life’s achievements are seldom matched. Dr. Hashim was born in the holy city of al-Kadhimiyya (Kazimain) in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 15, 1927. He went to Jafaria private schools in Baghdad, finishing his high school studies in al-Adhamiyya city. In 1945, he joined the then Royal College of Medicine, Baghdad, Iraq. He graduated from the medical school with honors in 1951. He served for one year as physician in the Iraqi army in the Rawandooz area.
In 1953, Dr. Hashim migrated to the United States at his own expense seeking medical training in pediatrics during the years from 1953 to 1955 whereby he won residency and fellowship in pediatrics in 3 hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts and one hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1955 Dr. Hashim returned home to Baghdad where he practiced his career for one year following which he returned to the United States and won in 1957 a fellowship in Pediatric Pathology at the Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, after which he practiced Pediatrics in Cumberland, Maryland in 1958, then after 10 years he moved to Rockville, MD in 1968 to be close to the Islamic Center, Washington DC.
In 1966, Dr. Hashim became Superintendent of the Sunday School at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. Family members, especially youngsters, of many Arab and Muslim ambassadors, diplomats, businessmen and permanent residents were taught Islamic Arabic, Quran and the tenets of the Islamic faith every Sunday. Under his leadership, and the active participation of the staff he selected, the number of the school’s students swelled from 26 to 241. As its Principal, Dr. Hashim had to divide it, because it was too crowded, and to move part of it to Tilden Jr. High School in Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland, eleven miles from the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., and close to where Dr. Hashim has been living.
Most students at this Sunday Islamic School (75%) were Sunni, while 25% of them were Shiite. The other part of the school was left at the Islamic Center in DC. The school at Tilden grew from 99 students to 191 students in two years. This impressed many Iranian visitors such as Mr. Futuvat, who once worked for the prestigious Parvizian family’s rug store and who wanted to establish an Islamic Center for Iranian and non-Iranian children. Dr. Hashim decided to write and introduce to his students a new book titled Teachings of Muhammed as Passed down by Ahlul Bayt (ع) in order to test the tolerance of the Sunni brothers to the teachings of the Prophet’s Family. As it turned out, they raised their ire and it was like a nightmare and things became intolerable, so it was the parting time: Dr. Hashim and other Shiite teachers and students (plus 30% Sunni students from the Center’s School) went to Woodward High School in Rockville, Maryland, where the Sunday school grew from 65 students to 160 students in 2 years.
From 1968 to 1985, Dr. Hashim wrote as many as 20 books forming the Series of Islamic Books for Beginners. At that juncture, and in 1981, the Sunday school moved to the Islamic Education Center (IEC) where it still is functioning till now. At the same time, a fulltime Islamic school, that is, the Muslim Community School (MCS), moved to IEC and continues to do so till now. the Muslim Community School (MCS) won accreditation from the local Maryland government.
From 1981 to 1986, Dr. Hashim managed to get 72,000 copies of the English translation of the Holy Quran by A. Yusuf Ali printed and distributed mostly to new Muslims and new converts serving prison sentences. This was the first time the Holy Quran (as translated by Yusuf Ali) was published in the United States by a private individual in coordination with other parties, after which Holy Quran was printed by the IGPS at its own expense and distributed commercially.
In 1987, Dr. Hashim quit being the Principal of the Sunday school, to be directed by Br. Adnan eldadah, (another Iraqi doctor), and established the “Quran Account, Inc.” to help educate new converts to Islam in American prisons among whom Islam was spreading steadily and quickly. From that year and up to now, as many as 9,734 Americans joined the Islamic faith, a monumental achievement by any standard, Masha-Allah. Many of these are becoming Shiite Ithna Asheris. Prisons in most American states always contact him. Also chaplains of prison libraries request Qurans and books in order to make them available to the prisoners through their libraries.
Earlier, in 1985, Dr. Hashim wrote How to be Your Child’s Doctor, Sometimes as a textbook to help mothers who tend to their children at home. Remember that Dr. Hashim is a pediatrician, an expert on this subject.
In 1992, Dr. Hashim retired from his medical practice and completed the next year, 1993, the writing of his Sunni-Shi’i Dialog Pamphlets.
From 1996 to 1998, he helped organize Ahlul-Bayt Conferences at the IEC where top Shiite scholars were invited to speak and the attendants, especially invited Sunni guests, were encouraged to raise questions. One of the speakers was Dr. Muhammed al-Tijani al-Samawi, the famous Tunisian-born professor who descended from an originally Iraqi ancestry that lived in Samawa city, Iraq, and a formerly Tijani Sufi scholar who converted to Shiite Islam following a visit to Najaf, Iraq, where he had met Martyr Muhammed Baqir al-Sadr. Our brother, al-Jibouri, always translated al-Samawi’s speeches as delivered both at the IEC in Maryland and at the Khoei Foundation in New York. Both al-Jibouri and al-Tijani became good friends during that time and continue to be so.
Besides Dr. al-Tijani, other prominent Shiite university professors were always invited to speak at conventions held at the spacious theater area of the Center, including Dr. Abdul-Aziz Sachedina and Dr. Liyakat Takim, both are noted for their scholarly contributions to the Islamic intellectual discourses in North America since the early 1970s.
In 1997, Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim put together the Abstracts of Proceedings for the Ahlul-Bayt Assembly of America.
In 1999, Dr. Hashim wrote the Bylaws for the short-lived Darul-Salam Center which was established in Annandale, Virginia (Fairfax County), by mostly Iraqi Shiites, notably Dr. Ali al-Attar, Dr. Mahmud Thamer, Dr. Sundukchi, and Dr. Ridha al-Attar.
Darul-Salam Center premise consisted of a two-storey townhouse, a kitchen and facilities plus a small parking lot. The town of Annandale is located in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. Al-Jibouri resided in Annandale before leaving the United States for the United Kingdom in late July of 2003. In the U.K., Al-Jibouri stayed in the tourist town of Bournemouth, Middlesex, which is located about one hour and a half on the bus south of London.
Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim wrote the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation for Darul-Salam in 1998, registering it in 1999 as a nonprofit religious organization. Its activities were astounding, and many of the personalities in the Iraqi government nowadays were guest speakers, such as the late Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, Dr. Humam Hammoudi, Dr. Muaffaq al-Rubai’i, Dr. Hussain al-Shahristani, Dr. Adil Abdul-Mahdi, to mention only a few individuals who now are well-known officials in the Iraqi government. Revenue from membership, however, never met the expenses. From 1999 to 2006, expenses of Darul-Salam were around $219,300 whereas membership income was around $45,400, causing a huge deficit which was met by a few generous individuals especially the Center’s founding fathers: During this period, about $175,000 came from these few benevolent contributors.
But this continuous financial hemorrhage could not be sustained indefinitely; therefore, Darul-Salam Center was closed as of June 2006 and remains till now to be so. Our brother, Yasin T. al-Jibouri, had made a contribution of a large number of books to this Center just to be told few days later that a number of them were thrown in a nearby dumpster because the librarian of the Center did not like them. Perhaps they were “too Shiite” for him which he could not tolerate. All the remaining books were given to Imam Ali’s Center, and thank God, this time the librarian did not throw any of them away; they are put to good use, read or borrowed.
Darul-Salam Center was a medium for all Iraqis to meet, socialize, and hold discussions. But without money to support it, it could not be sustained. Many informative lectures, religious and political, town-hall meetings, even a previous ambassador to Iraq (Wilson) gave lively discussions. Among those who delivered speeches and lectures at the Darul-Salam Center were famous personalities such as Dr. Phebe Marr, now retired university professor and author of many books on Middle East politics including The Modern History of Iraq, and Dr. Hussain al- Shahristani, now Iraq’s oil minister. Al-Jibouri met both of these intellectuals but kept in touch only with Dr. Marr who expressed interest in what al-Jibouri wrote about Iraq shortly before and after the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. Al-Jibouri presented a copy of his book titled Allah: The Concept of God in Islam to Dr. Hussain al-Shahristani there and then.
Also, Darul-Salam sponsored the publication and distribution of al-Jibouri’s translation of Ghadir’s Khutba in the month of Thul-Hijja of 1419 A.H. (March 1999 A.D.), and Dr. Hashim was instrumental in getting it printed. This book is still being distributed to prison inmates all over the U.S. and it made headways with those who read it. This book contains both the original Arabic text of this great sermon of the Prophet of Islam ( ص) in 23 pages and al-Jibouri’s translation of it. Ansariyan Publications hopes it will in the near future reprint it in a different format. In 2004, Dr. Hashim rewrote and edited his book titled Khutbas of Jumu’ah.
In 2005 Dr. Hashim posted his website: www.islamicbooks.info where you will find themes of Nahjul-Balaaghah in 27 selection subjects (such as Nahjul Balaaghah about the Prophet, Nahjul Balaaghah about Ahlul Bayt, or Nahjul Balaaghah about the Umayyads). This website has a very interesting section for downloading “slide shows” in Microsoft PowerPoint which Dr. Hashim first introduced in 2007 and continues to add to it. As regarding the books which Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim has been able to write so far, they now number 24 and still counting, and their titles are as follows:
- Iman,
- Ibadat,
- Eleven Surahs Explained,
- Life of Muhammed ( ص) Vol. I,
- Life of Muhammed ( ص) Vo l. II,
- Al-Khulafaa Al-Rashidoon,
- Islamic Ethics and Personal Conduct,
- Life of Some of the Prophets ( ع) Vol. I,
- Life of Some of the Prophets ( ع) Vol. II,
- Islamic Arabic,
- Salat,
- Workbook for Islamic Arabic (By Sr. Siham eldadah, wife of Dr. Adnan eldadah referred to above),
- Arabic Alphabets Cards (by Sr. Siham eldadah),
- The Way of Ahlul Bayt ( ع),
- Ahlul Bayt Vol. I,
- Ahlul Bayt Vol. II,
- Ahlul Bayt Vol. III,
- Quranic Selections Explained Vol. I,
- Quranic Selections Explained Vol. II,
- Quranic Selections Explained Vol. III,
- Quranic Selections Explained Vol. IV,
- How to be Your Child’s Doctor, Sometimes,
- Abstract of Proceedings, of Ahlul Bayt Assembly of America, and
- 40 Sermons of Friday Prayers (Khutba of Jumu’ah).
With such a glowing record, Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim qualifies to be described as an institution all by himself, an icon, an Ummah أمة … May the Almighty grant him long, healthy and happy life and reward him for all what he has done and will be doing for the sake of promoting Islam in a mostly hostile environment, Allahomma Aameen .اللھم آمين
As of 1976 the Sunday School rented Tilden Junior High school from Montgomery County to teach each Sunday children of Muslim families in Maryland, the District of Columbia (D.C., where the U.S. capital is located) and Virginia. As the children were learning the tenets of their creed, Islamic Arabic and history in classes upstairs, the parents were downstairs listening to speeches about Islam some of which were delivered by al-Jibouri. These activities were arranged and directed by Dr. Salahuddin Mahallati, an Iranian-American physician, and called “Adult Education Service”. Now let us introduce you with some available information to another important personality who have had a big impact on the spread of Islam in the area and that is Dr. Mehdi Haeri.
Dr. Mehdi Haeri son of Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi who was one of the mentors of the late Ayatollah Ruhulla Khomeini (founder of the modern Islamic Republic of Iran). Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri is the one who revitalized the hawza (religious seminary) in Qum, one of the main Shiite religious centers in the world. Dr. Mehdi Haeri studied at the same hawza حوزه then at Tehran University where he taught theology (ilahiyyat). He was once loaned by Tehran University to be a visiting professor at Georgetown University in the U.S. capital, Washington, where he taught Eastern Existentialist Philosophy, a branch of knowledge with which very few scholars are familiar. In fact, Dr. Haeri was one of three individuals in the whole world who specialized in this subject and had written books on it. He came to Georgetown University through his acquaintance with Mr. Schriver, one of the relatives of the renown Kennedy family.
Dr. Mehdi Haeri will always be remembered affectionately by all those who were honored to meet him, learn from him or in any way benefit from his ocean of knowledge. At the time, Yasin T. al-Jibouri worked as receptionist at a Persian rug store owned and managed by a highly respected Iranian-American family, namely the Parvizians. The store is still located till now in the Chevy Chase area of the metropolitan U.S. capital area. It was there and then that our brother, al-Jibouri, came to know this great man and saw how hard he worked towards establishing the Islamic Education Center (IEC). He sometimes used to visit him at his most modest Chevy Chase apartment and noticed how ascetic, simple and highly intellectual Dr. Haeri was. You will get to know more about this unique personality later on. This great personality played a pivotal role in founding the IEC, may the Almighty bless his soul and reward him for his efforts in spreading Islam in North America and the world, Allahomma Aameen .اللھم آمين
Now let us narrate for the inquisitive avid reader the story behind the establishment of the Islamic Education Center (IEC), one of the largest and most prominent Shiite centers in North America:
The location is 7917 Montrose Road, and it has an interesting story behind it: The site was first a community center for the Syrian (or Syriac) Orthodox Church of Antioch, a Christian community of mostly Syrians who spoke Arabic and perhaps Syriac or Aramaic and whose religion was Christianity. By the way, there is an area in Syria where the natives speak the same language spoken by Jesus Christ, namely Aramaic, and they are unique among all other Christians of the world. These Christian Syrians were falling behind on paying the mortgage installments for their center and wanted to move to Texas, so they lost the property to the lending bank.
The center was then comprised of a large hall for meetings or special functions as well as congregational prayer services, a modern stage, a large kitchen, cafeteria, many classrooms and restrooms in addition to vast five acres of grounds for either landscape or expansion. Al-Jibouri was at the time working for Parvizian’s rug store on 7034 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase, Maryland, which still exists and to which reference is made above. He noticed how a female realtor used to go quite often to Manoucher Parvizian, the most senior of the Parvizian brothers, trying to convince him to buy the property. It so happened that Professor Mehdi Haeri was loaned at the time by Tehran University to Washington’s Georgetown University during the days of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Dr. Haeri had previously intended to go to Iran and collect contributions to start an Islamic center. At the same time the Parvizians tried to make offers to purchase and renovation the property, as well as converting the center to meet the Muslim community’s needs.
Al-Jibouri typed the application for the center’s mortgage, and the Parvizian brothers managed to pay its $240,000 down-payment for a total cost at the time of a very modest $1.2 million; Manoucher Parvizian negotiated the deal.
The Mostazafan Foundation later bought the premise of the IEC, and it changed its name later to the Alawi Foundation because it originally was the Pahlevi Foundation, a trust catering to the needs of the family of now buried Muhammed Reza Shah Pahlevi whenever they lived abroad. Ironically, the shah’s son lived not far from the area where the IEC now stands, and once the friends of his “royal highness” had to make a collection in order to help him pay for the rent of his apartment because he had run out of cash! See how some people go from riches to rags.
The above information introduced the reader to how the IEC came to exist, and the full story of this great institution, which has been serving Islam and its converts to Islam since its establishment in 1981, will be narrated for you later in this rather lengthy Preface! So, let us go back to Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim and see what he is up to.
Dr. Hashim received, on the IEC’s inauguration day, the keys to the place from Abdi Parvizian who delivered a speech on the occasion. Al-Jibouri attended that inauguration and soon started teaching Quranic Arabic and Islamic History at it. During that time he was renting one room in a rooming apartment, sharing the kitchen and bathroom with other tenants, and Al-Jibouri was paying the rent on a week-by-week basis. He simply could not afford to rent an apartment for himself, nor could he afford to get a telephone installed in his room except many months later. In 1978,
Dr. Hashim was also a Founding Father of the Muslim Community Center as of 1977, which was established in the city of Silver Spring, Prince George’s County, Maryland, which is adjacent to Montgomery County. The Muslim Community Center started with a small building to be followed by a larger addition. Then a Mosque was built, then a medical clinic was added. Nowadays construction to increase the Mosque size and add more facilities to the medical clinic continues. Most of its members nowadays are Pakistanis and Indians. It is Sunni oriented.
Below is a brief chronology of the Islamic Education Center with focus on its school where Muslim children have for years been learning the tenets of their creed:
In 1978, Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim wrote and published his book titled Book of Teachings of Muhammed as passed down by Ahlul Bayt (ع) when he was Principal of the Sunday School at the Tilden Junior High in Rockville MD. Strong and persistent objections were raised by the Sunnis parents about this book, for they did not want it to be taught even optionally to the Shi’a students. This led to the establishment of a predominantly Shiite school at Woodward High School in Rockville, Maryland. In 1979, Dr. Mehdi Haeri became involved in the activities of the Sunday School, delivering series of lectures to adult classes there and then.
The next year, 1980, witnessed the purchase of the Islamic Education Center which needed renovations and conversions. These were completed by 1981, the date when the Center became operational. Yasin T. al-Jibouri now moved his classes of Quranic Arabic and Islamic History from Woodward High School to the Islamic Education Center (IEC) which has been expanding and its activities diversifying ever since.
The board of directors of this great institution at the time of its establishment included the following dignitaries: Dr. Mehdi Haeri, Dr. Salahuddin Mahallati, Dr. Moinfar, Br. Bahram Nahidian, Br. Manoucher Parvizian and Dr Rafii, who all are Iranians, and Dr. Parvez Shah, a Pakistani physician and a very generous donor to all good Islamic causes, may he and all these dignitaries be most generously rewarded by the Almighty for their good intentions and actions, Allahomma Aameen اللھم آمين .
Dr. Shah later was instrumental in the establishment in the late 1980s of the Idara-e-Jaferia at 3140 Spencerville Road, Burtonsville, Maryland, for this reason: Since the administrators of the IEC were all Iranians, Persian was the dominating language on the center’s activities. Other Shiite communities had to wait till Persian programs were completed before theirs could start, and this meant a delay as late as midnight. By the time the activities of these non-Iranians were completed so those of non-Iranians could start, the time would have already past midnight! When they concluded, the time was in the early hours of the morning, and the children would have by then slept for quite some time while drowsiness would have taken its toll on those who have to drive their families back home in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia so late in the evening, or so early in the morning, on State highways where one wrong turn could end in a traffic accident and a disaster; most program attendants lived outside Maryland or far away from the Center.
It was not a pleasant situation, so this prompted dignitaries in the Urdu speaking community to establish their own center in Maryland and the Arabic speaking community to first meet in Northern Virginia at apartments of active Shiite brothers, notably from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, then establish the Darul-Salam Center in Annandale, Virginia.
One of the above dignitaries, namely Br. Bahram Nahidian, later established his own Manassas Mosque at 12950 Center Entrance Court, Manassas, Virginia, not far from the Metropolitan area, where he has been the imam since its establishment in the mid-1980s. The Manassas Mosque has been expanding since its establishment both by way of activities and physically, acquiring more space by purchasing adjacent stores. It was established at a mid-size commercial area. Imam Bahram Nahidian, who received religious training in Iran and specializes in the exegesis of the Holy Quran, has been one of few Shiites in the United States who have been working very hard to strengthen a Shiite-Sunni brotherhood, tolerating in the process so much bothering and resistance from those who despise such a blessed effort, and unfortunately there are many such folks at every time and clime.
Just as there are prejudiced Sunnis, there are also prejudiced Shiites, and it is this ugly prejudice which is responsible for tearing the unity of the Islamic world apart. Sunnis and Shiites are brothers, and they should treat each other according to the principles of Islamic brotherhood. Opponents of Islamic unity are at the root cause of the ills afflicting our Islamic communities worldwide.
One of the earliest programs at the IEC was an interesting Friday evening sessions in the exegesis of the Holy Quran presented by Dr. Adnan eldadah, an Iraqi medical doctor whose wife, Sr. Siham, was also very active in teaching the children Arabic and prayers, may Allah reward both of them for their selfless efforts, Allahomma Aameen اللھم آمين .
In the mid-1980s, the IEC managed by way of Mustazafan Foundation to raise one million dollars to add another floor which allowed it to increase its activities. These activities attracted not only Iranians but also Pakistani, Arab, Turkish and other communities living in three states: the District of Columbia (where the U.S. capital, Washington, is located), Virginia and, of course, Maryland.
Also, a nearby house was purchased to be the residence of the center’s imam. Mawlanas (highly trained clerics who graduated from recognized religious seminaries) from abroad were invited temporarily to conduct special events. Among them have been these well known scholars: Mawlana Ayatollah Abdul-Majid Mahallati, God bless his soul, who was very much loved because of being so witty, knowledgeable and very cordial with everyone, and Mawlana Rafiq Naqvi, who came from India.
Other mawlanas who have served at the IEC include: the late Mawlana Shahroudi (Iranian) who stayed in office for a short period of time in the early 1990s; may he always be blessed, Mawlana Mohammad Reza Hejazi (Iranian) who served as the imam from 1994 – 2001 during which he was studying for his Ph.D. degree in theology at Washington’s Catholic University. Mawlana Dr. Hejazi is now in California, and he is remembered for having started a very interesting “Interfaith Dialogue” with the Catholic University in D.C., his alma mater. Three-day meetings once a year were held regularly for full three years during which ayatollahs from Iran were invited to participate.
One of the products of those dialogue meetings was some Catholic University professors going to visit Iran, particularly the hawza (theological seminary) in Qum, where some of them stayed for few years. This was the streamlining of such unique activities started by Mawlana Hejazi, the great young and energetic scholar.
From 2001 – 2003, Mawlana Dr. Reza Akbarian (Iranian), a professor of Islamic Philosophy at Tehran University, was in charge of administering the IEC.
From the year 2004 and till the present time, Mawlana Ahmed Bahraini (Iranian) has proven to be the most active, energetic and organized imam the IEC has been lucky to have. According to Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim, the IEC is now enjoying its golden age, thanks to Mawlana Bahraini.
Mawlana Bahraini saw to it to add Maulana Abdul Jalil (a scholar from Ghana who had received theological training in Qum) to the IEC’s staff. Abdul Jalil is most dynamic and eloquent in both English and Arabic, and his Friday khutbas (sermons) attract many people. He also conducts on each Friday evening meetings for exegesis (tafsir) of the Quran which are usually attended by 60-100 persons.
Expansion of premises of the IEC has always been on the mind of each and every imam who administered this great institution. In the late 1990s, the third phase of IEC’s expansion was completed when the yard between the school’s building and the mosque became an office space. The likelihood of more expansion remains to be real due to the fact that the front and back yards of this institution are still largely wooded areas.
In 2007, a medical clinic opened to people without insurance was inaugurated at the IEC along with its sponsor MobileMed organization. Several hundred patients visit it every year. It is called Ibn-Sina (Avicenna) Clinic, and it serves all people of all languages and creeds.
It is also worth mentioning that presently there are eleven Shiite centers in Greater Washington area: Three of them are administered by mostly Iranians, three others by Pakistanis, two by Afghanis, one by Arabs, in addition to others in the southern part of the State of Virginia information about which could not be obtained at the time when this material was collected for you. This phenomenal spread of Shiite institutions in Virginia has taken place within a short period of three decades, Alhamdu Lillah!
Let this information serve as a chronicle for present and all future generations. The doing of good is always rewarded by the Almighty according to the intention of the doer. May the Almighty purify our minds and souls and enable us to be worthy of bearing the name of His religion, Islam, Allahomma Aameen .اللھم آمين
