Imam Suhaib Webb
Suhaib Webb is an American Muslim imam who converted from Christianity to Islam in 1992. He has previously been the imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC).
He was born William Webb in 1972 in Oklahoma to a Christian family, including a grandfather who served as a preacher. At age 14, he lost interest in religion, going through a self-described spiritual crisis. He also began engaging in delinquency by joining a local gang and became a local hip hop DJ and producer, making records with various artists.
After converting to Islam, Webb left his career as a DJ and studied at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he graduated with a Bachelors degree in Education. He also studied privately under a Senegalese Shaykh, learning enough Islam and Arabic to become a community leader in Oklahoma City, where he was hired as Imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. He simultaneously started teaching at Mercy School, an Islamic K-12 school in Oklahoma City.
In 2004, he departed with his wife and children to Cairo, where he studied at Al-Azhar University in the College of Shari`ah. Additionally, he was in charge of the English translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Masriyah and trained as a Mufti. Webb strongly advocates for an articulation of American Islam that is authentic, and has leaders that are acutely aware of the issues facing Muslim Americans.
Imam Suhaib currently serves as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) in Roxbury, MA. He is the founder and an instructor at Ella Collins Institute. He also is a member of the North American Fiqh Council, was named on of the 500 most important Muslims for 2010, 2011 and 2012 and hosts “Refections” a weekly T.V program on Malaysia’s T.V al-Hijra as well as “Inner Dimensions” a weekly show on Malaysia’s Radio IKIM every Sunday eventing at 6:30pm.
According to a strategy report by the UK government, senior UK government officials, including representatives of nine of the biggest Whitehall departments, consider Webb as a notable moderate leader for mainstream Muslims along with the likes of Hamza Yusuf and Amr Khaled, who should receive more support in providing leadership to Muslims in the West. Webb was named one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in 2010.
Webb’s website, SuhaibWebb.com, was voted the best “Blog of the Year” by the 2009 Brass Crescent Awards, and his tweets won him the vote of “Best Muslim Tweeter” of 2010.
Views and Accomplishments
Webb had gone on a trip with a group of imams to Auschwitz in 2010, and then following the trip, publicly condemned Holocaust-denial and anti-Semitism. He helped raise $20,000 for widows and children of firefighters killed in the 9/11 attack. He is a part of efforts to more effectively rebut militants and religious extremists and is an advocate for grassroots Muslim activism to promote social change. He advocates for an American-style Islam, one which he claims to be true to the Quran and Islamic law but that reflects the country’s customs and culture. He has spoken out against radical clerics that seek to prey on insecure youth and their American identities, stating that “We do have to shepherd them and look out for people like al-Awlaki who tries to undermine that (U.S.) experience and use it against them.” Following the Boston Marathon bombing, Webb condemned the acts as radical and joined with interfaith clergy to pray that “we continue to live in harmony, honoring and celebrating our similarities and differences, working together for the common good.”
