On Sabbath, Jan. 28, Loma Linda University had an inaugural event at their new William Johnsson Center for Understanding World Religions with a focus on the faith of Islam.
Nahidh Hasaniya offered a recitation from the Quran, followed with a translation by Shamel Abd-Allah, MD, professor in the School of Medicine.
A special guest from Claremont School of Theology, Jihad Turk, MA, offered a talk titled “Why I Am a Muslim.” Turk is president of Bayan Claremont, a seminary to educate Muslim scholars and religious leaders.
Two more LLU professors, Mahmoud Torabinejad, DMD, PhD, MSD, of the School of Dentistry, and Eba Hathout, MD, of the School of Medicine, discussed “What It’s Like to Be a Muslim at LLU.”
Gerald Winslow, PhD, director of the LLU Center for Christian Bioethics, spoke about Seventh-day Adventism and Islam.
A panel discussion followed, including Winslow, Hathout, Turk, and Torabinejad, as well as student Sara Haddad Tabrizi, LLU School of Public Health, and Khwaja Arsalaan Ahmed, radiology resident at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
The choice of Islam as the first program’s focus reflects part of the impetus to start such a center at Loma Linda University Health.