Leavenworth residents with questions about the Islamic faith will get a chance to ask a local man on Nov. 30
Hanif Khalil, a member of the board of the Al-Inshirah Islamic Center in Kansas City, Mo., has arranged a public forum on the religion at 1:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Leavenworth Public Library.
Khalil, who recently moved to Leavenworth, works at the U.S. Penitentiary and the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks on Fort Leavenworth as part of the “Life Connections” program, helping prisoners re-enter life outside their cells.
Before that, he said he was a salesman, selling advertising space in newspapers in Missouri and Kansas. Khalil said he enjoyed meeting people through his work, but knew there was something else he should be doing with his life.
“Deep within, I think my greater calling is what I’m doing now,” he said.
According to Khalil, “Life Connections” is an interfaith program that hosts weekend classes for inmates.
He said “teaching and preaching” runs in his family, and both his father and his grandfather served as pastors of Christian churches. One of his sons runs a youth camp in Florida and he has a daughter who teaches violin in Colorado.
“I consider myself more of a teacher than a preacher,” he said. “Because to me the word ‘preacher’ has another element, but I like to educate.”
In 1970, after serving in the military, Khalil said he was introduced to Islam.
“Right away I knew I wanted to be a part of what that teaching offered,” he said.
Khalil said he has been a practicing Muslim since 1975. In 1984, he met a Muslim man stationed at Fort Leavenworth who traveled to Al-Inshirah to worship. From that man, he said he learned that there was an interest in Leavenworth in the Islamic faith.
Khalil said people hold a number of misconceptions about Islam. He said that he hopes by hosting the forums he can give people a basic overview of the religion and its principles. But Khalil said he is not trying to convert people at the meetings.
“We don’t make it a point to try to change people’s religion,” he said.
However, he said people of all religious backgrounds are welcome to the forum.
Khalil said he is an optimist, adding that “goodness is on the rise” in the U.S. By helping to open up an interfaith dialog, he said he hopes to make it even better.
“I think once we as Americans come to understand other people’s way of life, then it’s going to be a much greater country,” he said.
This week, Khalil said he will be walking around Leavenworth, meeting people and spreading the word on the forums.
In addition to the event in November, Khalil said he has also scheduled a forum for December.
In the future, Khalil said he would like to bring other parts of his faith to Leavenworth, including a possible Islamic center.
Leavenworth, Kan. —
