Public Affairs Events
American Imam Visit to Bahrain
Georgetown University chaplain, Imam Yahya Hendi, paid a two-day visit to Bahrain, Oct.19-20, 2005, to give lectures on ‘In the spirit of Ramadan, Dialogue of All Religions’ and ‘Moderate Islamic Proclamation’, at University of Bahrain, Beit Al Quran and Al Fateh Grand Mosque. His lectures focused on similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism, regarding the practice of fasting and stories of the prophets, stressing the many ideas shared by the three religions.
During his lectures and many meetings with Bahrainis, the Imam also discussed the state of Islam in America, women’s empowerment, and the necessity for interfaith dialogue and moderate Islamic Proclamation to eliminate hostility between the various Islamic sects and between Islam and other religions.
Imam Yahya Hendi had Iftaar at US Ambassador William Monroe’s residence on Wednesday, hosted in his honor. The Iftaar was attended by the Minister of the Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa, members of the Shura Council, businessmen, and senior journalists.
The highlight of the program was Imam Hendi’s speech at Al Fateh Grand Mosque, Thursday night, attended by Government officials, Ambassadors to Bahrain and Arab Imams, in addition to dignitaries and local Bahraini citizens.
Imam Yahya Bio
Imam Yahya Hendi is the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University, the first American University to hire a full-time Muslim chaplain. Imam Hendi is also the Imam of the Islamic Society of Frederick, and is the Muslim Chaplain at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. He also serves as a member and the spokesperson of the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of North America. He serves as adjunct faculty member at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD.
Mr. Hendi holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Religions from Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Comparative Religion.
He has written numerous publications on many topics, including women in Islam, women and gender relations in Islam, the coming of the Messiah, and religion and Islam in the United States. A sought-after speaker, Imam Hendi has presented a multitude of interfaith and general lectures in the USA, Asia, Europe, central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East over the past eight years.