Ingrid Mattson
Ingrid Mattson (born 1963) is a Canadian Muslim convert professor and activist and a former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
She was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, and studied philosophy and fine arts at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. Raised as a Catholic, she ultimately abandoned religion "for good" during her teenage years,;[1] in her senior year of college, she went to Paris and befriended several Muslim Senegalese, and in a year converted to Islam and began to wear the hijab. She had initially studied art, but later came to accept non-visual representation of individuals.[2]
In 1987 she travelled to Pakistan where she worked with Afghan refugees for a year. There, she met and married a fellow volunteer Aamer Atek, an Egyptian engineer.[3].
She earned her Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of Chicago in 1999. She went on to be very active in educating Canadian Muslims to become active participants in Canadian society at large. She is now Director of the Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations and Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. She founded the Islamic Chaplaincy program at Hartford Seminary, the first Islamic chaplaincy program in the United States.
In 2001 she was elected Vice-President of ISNA and in 2006 she was elected the first female President of the organization. She has guest lectured at such institutions as the US Naval Academy.[4] Dr. Mattson is the first convert to lead the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
Mattson was an advisor to the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
[edit] Huron University College Controversy
In 2011, Huron University College of The University of Western Ontario announced that it's Anglican theology department will appoint Mattson as the Chair of the Islamic Studies Program.[5] Two million dollars in funding was provided by the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) and International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIT).[6] Alumni of Huron college protested the decision because of alleged links between the two groups - which they allege receive funding from Saudi Arabia - and the Muslim Brotherhood.[7] A particular cause for concern was the MAC's endorsement of Iman Hassan Al-Banna, who once stated "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it".[8] The alumni also expressed concern at the fact that both Shaykh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, the former president of IIT and Jamal Barzinji, the vice-president, have been implicated in funding for alleged terrorist groups, specifically the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.[9][10] There have also been allegations by former students that there was intolerance against non-Muslims and the critique of Islamic tenets under Mattson's watch at Hartford Seminary.[11]
In 2011, in response to allegations made against Mattson, Stephen McClatchie, the principal of Huron College expressed his support for Mattson and stated that he does not believe that Mattson is a Wahhabi.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Ingrid Mattson: Raised Catholic, this Muslim professor is bringing the moderate viewpoint to the world.- MSNBC
- ^ How did Dr Ingrid Mattson became Muslim
- ^ SFGate Chronicale article
- ^ Dr. Ingrid Mattson Elected First Female President of ISNA - The American Muslim
- ^ http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Taking+closer+look+Islamic+Studies/5571307/story.html
- ^ http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Taking+closer+look+Islamic+Studies/5571307/story.html
- ^ http://www.eclectecon.net/2011/04/concerns-about-the-funding-of-a-chair-in-islamic-studies-at-huron-college-university-of-western-onta.html
- ^ http://www.eclectecon.net/2011/04/concerns-about-the-funding-of-a-chair-in-islamic-studies-at-huron-college-university-of-western-onta.html
- ^ http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/891.pdf
- ^ http://nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/U.S._v_Al-Arian_dojprsentencing.pdf
- ^ http://frontpagemag.com/2011/10/21/ingrid-mattson-a-case-study-in-stealth-jihad/
- ^ http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Ingrid+Mattson+voice+tolerance+diversity/5585252/story.html
[edit] External links
- Home page of Ingrid Mattson
- Ingrid Mattson Lectures
- Article: Finding the Prophet
- Article about Ingrid Mattson in the "Who's Next 2007" special section of the January 1, 2007 issue of Newsweek
- Ingrid Mattson speaks at Pennsylvania State University
- "A New Voice for Islam." Speaking of Faith
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Ingrid Mattson on Charlie Rose
- Works by or about Ingrid Mattson in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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