For Nashashibi, empowering the community is a spiritual experience. He was named one of the “500 Most Influential Muslims in the World” by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in concert with Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is also the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), a Chicago-based nonprofit group, which also means “faith” in Arabic.
He began volunteering for his community as a student at DePaul University in Chicago. In 1995, he and other college students founded IMAN where they collected donations from members of the Muslim community to start computer classes, food pantries and healthcare clinics for the less fortunate.
Nashashibi has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago and has been an adjunct professor at various colleges and universities across the Chicago land area where he taught Sociology, Anthropology and other Social Science courses. Yet, to Nashashibi, Islam is a living and breathing part of the universe. Therefore, he believes his mission is to make young people realize that they can relate to it and help young generations rethink their Islam.
“We become renewed with the spirit of engagement that is at the center of the Muslim tradition and at the center of Quranic spirit, as human beings are dignified. Part of works in our community is to preserve this dignity irrespective of his religious and educational background or class," said Nashashibi, stressing that IMAN was founded to mobilize the large Muslim community to work with other organizations, Muslim and non-Muslim ones, on some of the key issues.
Much of IMAN's work delivers social services and cultivates the arts in urban communities, as well as focuses on social justice and local activism engagement in inner cities.
"Volunteerism and civic engagement is fundamentally part of my experience as an American Muslim, so I am here to give Muslims of this part of the world — as I have been to Afghanistan too — an insight into the lives and work of Muslim Americans," said Nashashibi, referring to his visit to the Kingdom.
According to Nahsashibi, going back to the essence of Islam is more important than losing sight of it in the rush for deferent rules and Fiqh. “We do not advocate going out of Islam or its tradition. On the contrary, we say we should not lose sight; and, although Fiqh is important, what is more important is the spirit of Islam, which animates those things,” said Nashashbi. He added that giving back to the community and sacrificing one's self with a larger purpose in mind is what Islam is all about.
He believes that applying the broader message of Prophet Mohammad, which is “mercy for all of humanity,” to our societies directly and connecting with one another is what removes barriers between nations and individuals.
Although IMAN has been around several years before 9/11, Nashashibi believes that the unfortunate event made his nonprofit organization have the opportunity to challenge some of the larger Muslim communities who until that time were not so domestically focused to support individual donations, time and efforts.
"The question we were faced with after 9/11 is: ‘What are we Muslims doing here in America?’” said Nashashibi, pointing out that more people saw the value of IMAN and the work it is doing in serving the larger community regardless of background, race, religion and gender.
He indicated that there were moments of intolerance after 9/11 in different sectors, but not in the inner city where he lives. "Yet, around one of the Mosques next to our center, a group from the church formed a circle during a Juma'a prayer to show their support," he said. He added that its is an opportunity for him through the lectures he is asked to give to help people better understand Islam, the Muslim community and the world to help Muslims become more engaged in their community.
Nashashibi thus conveys a message to young Muslims in the Kingdom and other Muslim countries: To found more forums and vehicles, be more on the web to articulate their messages and be more deliberate about connections.
“We are part of a global conversation and how Islam is shaped in America affects the way Islam is shaped and understood across the world. How Muslims live in Saudi Arabia affects us in America,” he said, pointing out that the examples he saw in the Kingdom showed activity, involvement and conversations among both males and females. That showed him how extraordinary active, articulate and passionate people are about Islam, which defied so many of the stereotypes.
Nashashibi clarified that many have developed as Muslims through this work, have become more involved and engaged in the community and have learnt about Islam through the process even through messages included in different forms of art.
“In the global world we live in all youth listen to the same music and standup comedy and know the big artists. For example, when Dave Chappelle, the Muslim American comedian, or Lupe Fiasco Muslim, the American rapper, use a word that is related to Islam, it makes youth stop and think from a different angle that Islam is relevant and I can connect to it.”
He believes that converts bring an opportunity to broaden and challenge Muslims who sometimes feel like they are "the gate keepers of Islam."
He points out that getting accustomed to the ritualistic aspect of spirituality may be good, but it could be more powerful to be among those who experience Islam for the first time with that passion and love.
Nashashibi has lectured across the US and Europe on a range of topics related to American Muslim identity, community activism and social justice issues. He is a recipient of several prestigious community service and organizing honors, including the Norman R. Bobins Fellowship, which was presented at the most recent Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards. Nashashibi and his work with IMAN have been featured in many national and international media outlets including the BBC, PBS and a front-page story in the Chicago Tribune. In 2007, Islamica Magazine profiled him as being among the “10 Young Muslim Visionaries Shaping Islam in America,” and most recently, Chicago Public Radio has selected Nashashibi as one of the city’s Top Ten Chicago Global Visionaries. He was also invited by the governor of Illinois to serve on the Commission for the Elimination of Poverty.
Calling IMAN a Muslim Organization was important from the very beginning; it was a Muslim-led community organization that is committed to working with the larger public.
