Muslim residents and students in the Bryan-College Station area have a new leader in Imam Islam Mossaad.
Mossaad is the new full-time Imam, a prayer leader in a mosque, for the Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station (ICBCS), the local Muslim community center. In his short time in the area so far, Mossaad has already had many interactions with local religious leaders in efforts to bolster inter-faith dialogue.
Mossaad said he felt his life led to this moment of leading the ICBCS.
“I was born in Arlington, Virginia; my parents came from Egypt,” Mossaad said. “I was [in Austin] since I was two years old, so pretty much my whole life. And I graduated from UT, so I have to keep a low profile here with my Longhorn paraphernalia. [I came to Bryan College Station] about a month ago, so toward the beginning of January.”                   
So far in his tenure at the ICBCS, Mossaad has attempted to humanize the Muslim community and educate the public on the true nature of the Islamic faith.                   
“[On Feb. 22] we did a presentation called the ‘Myth of Radical Islam,’” Mossaad said. “So trying to clarify that extremism and radicalism do not have a place in Islam; it was in Rudder. We opened up an event for the whole community called ‘Meet your Muslim Neighbor;’ that was a couple of weeks ago. Basically it was a way to … talk to people, to get to know them, but also we gave a presentation on what Islam is. It was really successful, we had about 250 people come.”                   
Mossaad said he has been welcomed warmly by other local religious leaders and his arrival has sparked many new efforts in inter-faith relations. He recently spoke at the Hillel Center.                
“That was good [speaking at Hillel],” Mossaad said. “I spoke on the Five Pillars of Islam. Just a basic introduction to what Islam was, so they were very gracious and hospitable. I’m working with Rabbi Matt [Rosenberg] and Pastor Dan De Leon from the Friends Church. Church. We’ve met with each other and we’re trying to be on the same page with a lot of things and coordinate.”                       
Rabbi Matt Rosenberg of the Hillel Center and president of the Campus Ministry Association, mentioned the need for more Muslim representation in campus ministry relations.                       
“My main goal as the president of the CMA is inter-faith,” Rosenberg said. “When I arrived three and half years ago … I realized there was no Muslim representation on the CMA. I heard [Mossaad] was in town and made arrangements to have lunch with him around two weeks ago, along with Reverend Dan De Leon. And so I invited Imam Islam to come to Hillel.”        
Reverend Dan De Leon, pastor of Friends Congregational Church in College Station, mentioned the friendship between him, Rosenberg and Mossaad, and the importance of maintaining good inter-faith relations.
“One of the students on the Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station board who’s a friend of mine and Rabbi Matt’s arranged for us to have lunch with Imam Islam,” De Leon said. “And the three of us got together for lunch. That, being the first time we were able to officially get together as friends, helped me to realize how important it is for us to be doing inter-faith relationship building. Not just between the three of us as individuals, but between the three of our respective faith communities.”