Ingrid Mattson
Encyclopedia
Ingrid Mattson 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,; 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.
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..
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. 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.
of The University of Western Ontario announced that it's Anglican theology department will appoint Mattson as the Chair of the Islamic Studies Program. Two million dollars in funding was provided by the Muslim Association of Canada
(MAC) and International Institute on Islamic Thought (IIT). 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
. 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". 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. 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.
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.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
convert
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and activist and a former president of the Islamic Society of North America
Islamic Society of North America
The Islamic Society of North America , based in Plainfield, Indiana, USA, is a Muslim umbrella group. It has been described in the media as the largest Muslim organization in North America.-History:...
(ISNA).
She was born and raised in Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and fine arts at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Raised as a Catholic, she ultimately abandoned religion "for good" during her teenage years,; in her senior year of college, she went to Paris and befriended several Muslim Senegalese, and in a year converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and began to wear the hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
. She had initially studied art, but later came to accept non-visual representation of individuals.
In 1987 she travelled to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
where she worked with Afghan refugees for a year. There, she met and married a fellow volunteer Aamer Atek, an Egyptian engineer..
She earned her Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Islamic studies
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
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
Hartford Seminary
Hartford Seminary is a theological college in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.-History:Seminaries in the city of Hartford date back to 1833. In 1913, the current Hartford Seminary came into existence through the combination of three Hartford-based schools affiliated with the city's Congregationalist...
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
Islamic Society of North America
The Islamic Society of North America , based in Plainfield, Indiana, USA, is a Muslim umbrella group. It has been described in the media as the largest Muslim organization in North America.-History:...
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. Dr. Mattson is the first convert to lead the Islamic Society of North America
Islamic Society of North America
The Islamic Society of North America , based in Plainfield, Indiana, USA, is a Muslim umbrella group. It has been described in the media as the largest Muslim organization in North America.-History:...
(ISNA).
Mattson was an advisor to the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of the Prophet is a PBS documentary film about the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad based on historical records and on the stories of living American Muslims who call Muhammad the Messenger of God...
(2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
Huron University College Controversy
In 2011, Huron University CollegeHuron University College
Huron University College, referred to locally as Huron College is one of the affiliated colleges of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario....
of The University of Western Ontario announced that it's Anglican theology department will appoint Mattson as the Chair of the Islamic Studies Program. Two million dollars in funding was provided by the Muslim Association of Canada
Muslim Association of Canada
The Muslim Association of Canada is a non-profit organization which provides religious and educational services for the Muslim community in Canada.A national, grassroots organization, MAC currently operates in 11 Canadian cities...
(MAC) and International Institute on Islamic Thought (IIT). 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
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
. 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". 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. 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.
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.
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 FaithSpeaking of FaithOn Being is a weekly public radio program about "religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas", produced by American Public Media...