divAmman – The U.S. Embassy in Amman is hosting prominent interfaith activist Imam Mohamad/div
Bashar Arafat, President of the Islamic Affairs Council of Maryland.

During his visit to Jordan, Imam Arafat will meet with His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi bin

Talal and will address local Imams, Sharia judges and religious leaders, as well as university

students, on the importance of cultural and religious diversity in Islam, the teachings of the

Prophet Muhammad in a multicultural society, the Qur’an and the West and Islamophobia.

Imam Arafat was born and raised in Damascus, Syria. He attended Damascus University and

graduated with a degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic Language and a degree in Islamic Law.

Imam Arafat worked under the guidance and mentorship of the late Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh

Ahmad Kuftaro. Then Imam Arafat moved to the United States and became the Imam of the

Islamic Society of Baltimore, Maryland.

Imam Arafat founded An-Nur Institute for Islamic Studies and Arabic Language in Baltimore,

co-founded An-Nur Mosque in Carney, Maryland, and was the Imam there. He also served as

Campus Imam at Johns Hopkins University, Adjunct Chaplain at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and

Muslim Chaplain for the Baltimore City Police Department.

Since moving to Baltimore in 1989, he has been heavily involved with interfaith work, both

nationally and internationally, promoting better understanding between Muslims and other faith

traditions.