Imam Shaher Sayed

Trying to blend and lose your identity is not the solution

Imam Shaher Sayed was raised in Palestine in a multi-faith yet Muslim majority culture, where he found an early passion for learning. Wanting to obtain higher education, Sayed moved to the U.S. to attend graduate school. Upon finding no Islamic center in Burlington, Sayed helped raise funds to buy and convert an old Christian church into a mosque for the Muslim community to pray and gather together. Some people in the area did not take well to this and Sayed and the Burlington Masjid received many threats.

In response, Sayed decided that they would do what the Holy Quran tells them to do: respond to evil with good and positivity. Sayed and his mosque hosted a gathering for the wider community to come together and interact, therefore lessening the hate and building the bridge of understanding between them.