Source: THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER*
Mark Curnutte, mcurnutte@enquirer.com
A local mosque is donating $1 million to the University of Cincinnati to increase understanding of the Islamic religion amid concerns about Islamophobia.
UC is adding a titled professorship in Islamic studies, thanks to the gift from the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati. Money originates from Inayat Malik and his wife, Ishrat Malik.
Dr. Inayat Malik is a urologist and former 18-year board chair of the Islamic Center. He came from Pakistan in 1967 to specialize in urology at UC Medical Center and was a member of the UC College of Medicine clinical faculty for 20 years.
The Maliks have been leaders in the local Muslim community and promoted interfaith dialogue and understanding, efforts that include the co-founding of the Bridges of Faith Trialogue. It is an ongoing conversation among Cincinnati civic leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, restarted in January 2016 to address renewed incidents of Islamaphobic violence and hate speech.
Categories: America, Islamophobia, Mosque, The Muslim Times, USA