New Islamic institute prioritizes outreach, education

(AP) — When the Islamic Institute of America bought a Baptist church, the plan initially was to remove the pews — until the mosque's leader objected, in part because he saw keeping the benches as a way of showing Islam's compatibility with its sister faith.

Qazwini said reaching out to Christians, Jews and others has never been more important, with a U.S. president who has said Islam hates the U.S. and polls finding most Americans holding negative views of the faith.

Qazwini, who comes from a family of prominent American Shiite scholars and is of Iraqi descent, said he hopes to quell fears and misunderstandings through regular interfaith gatherings and a media division that will produce short videos and other internet-based programming.

Next year, the center plans to launch a seminary aimed at equipping a new generation of Muslim leaders who can help forge a better understanding of Islam in the West.

Liyakat Takim, a professor of global Islam at McMaster University in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario, said the U.S. has one or two Islamic educational institutions, but "none with the same vision" offered by Qazwini.

President Donald Trump's campaign was marked by anti-Muslim rhetoric and, since being inaugurated, he's sought to enact a travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries.