Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed (born 1941,

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

) is the former President and former national director for the Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances for the

Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a non-profit Muslim religious organization based in the United States and serving North America. It provides a number of programs and services to North America's Muslim communities and broader societ ...

(ISNA), a national umbrella organization which has more than 300 affiliates across the United States and Canada.

Life

A naturalized American citizen, Syeed obtained his Ph.D. in sociolinguistics from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, in 1984. He was a board member of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...

, when it was founded in 1982. As president of the

Muslim Students Association The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United Sta ...

of USA and Canada (1980–83), he oversaw its transformation into the

(ISNA). From 1984-88, he was secretary general of the

International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations The International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations (IIFSO) is an international student and youth federation. IIFSO's mission is to "serve, develop, integrate, and represent the Islamic student organizations worldwide while building b ...

(IIFSO). He has also been general secretary of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), a national professional organization. One of the founders of the quarterly ''American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences'' (''AJISS''), Syeed served as its editor-in-chief from 1984 to 1994. During his tenure AJISS switched from a twice a year to a quarterly publication, published simultaneously in Washington, D.C., Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Islamabad, Pakistan, and in Turkish from Istanbul, Turkey. Syeed is also a member of the board of advisory editors for the '' Middle East Affairs Journal'', and a member of the board of advisors for the

Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

(CAIR). He was also chairman of the editorial board of '' Islamic Horizons'', the flagship magazine of ISNA, from 1982-1984 and 1994-2006. Syeed has participated in interfaith dialogues at different levels in the United States and Canada. A frequent speaker at interfaith dialogues, he has served as a member of the board of trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions. In 2000, he was invited to a dialogue in the Vatican by Pope John Paul, and in 2008, he led the American Muslim leadership delegation to meet with Pope Benedict in Washington, DC. Syeed was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by the

Graduate Theological Foundation The Graduate Theological Foundation (GTF) is an American nonprofit interreligious institution of higher learning, originally founded in Indiana but now centered in Sarasota, Florida. Unlike traditional residential theological schools, the founda ...

Donaldson, Indiana Donaldson is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in West Township, Marshall County, Indiana, United States. It is home to Ancilla College and the American motherhouse of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. History Do ...

on May 4, 2001, in recognition of his contribution to inter-religious understanding and harmony. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished service in furthering the Islamic tradition in North America and for promoting inter-religious understanding and harmony from the Cathedral Heritage Foundation,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

on November 18, 2001. On January 5, 2002,

Frank O'Bannon Frank Lewis O'Bannon (January 30, 1930 – September 13, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003. He is the most recent American state Governor to have died in office. O'Ba ...

, the

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, in his State of the State Address, recognized Syeed's "work to educate Americans about the Muslim faith in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, along with your life's work to encourage tolerance and racial healing has marked you as a great leader in Indiana". Syeed has been a contributor speaking about Muslim and Islamic issues on the national TV channels, NBC, CBS, CBN, and ABC. He was interviewed on PBS on the ''

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'', and appeared on the ''

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'', CNN's ''

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, and on the national television networks of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and

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on matters related to Islam and Islam in America. Syeed has led initiatives to promote understanding between the American Muslim community and American Jewish community. In 2007 he cosponsored the first National Summit of Imams and Rabbis, and also played a role in inviting the President of the

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

(URJ) to address the annual convention of ISNA and coordinating a delegation from ISNA to address the annual convention of URJ. Other initiatives included bringing together 100 Muslim organizations and 100 Jewish organizations to hold annual joint events condemning

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

and

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. Syeed also led an interfaith delegation to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and was part of the first group of Muslim leaders to visit the

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sites in

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. He also addressed the First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace in Brussels in 2005 and the First National Summit of Imams and Rabbis in 2007 in

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References

External links

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Sayyid Syeed Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syeed, Sayyid Living people 1947 births American Muslim activists Indiana University Bloomington alumni