Dr. Sharifa Alkhateeb (1946-2004)

By Delinda C. Hanley


Writer, scholar and activist Dr. Sharifa Alkhateeb was a leading spokesperson for American Muslim concerns (photo courtesy FaithTrust Institute).

DR. SHARIFA ALKHATEEB'S smile and her voice, bubbling with optimism and determination, are now gone. But her memory will remain with everyone who knew her for a very long time to come. Alkhateeb died Oct. 21 of pancreatic cancer in Ashburn, VA. After a lifetime spent working to help the disadvantaged and the vulnerable in her community, and educating Americans about Islam, Alkhateeb can rest assured she made a difference.

Born in Philadelphia, the daughter of a Yemeni father and a Czech mother, she grew up as the only Muslim in a Christian and Jewish neighborhood. By the age of 16 she began attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she joined the Muslim Student Association and began to wear a headscarf. Growing up in the feminist movement of the 1960s, she blended the best of both Islamic and American ways, and became a strong voice for herself and other Muslim women.

She and her Iraqi-born husband, Mejdi Alkhateeb, lived in Saudi Arabia from 1978 to 1987, where she taught and worked as a journalist for the English-language newspaper, the Saudi Gazette.

When she moved to Northern Virginia in 1988, Alkhateeb dedicated her life to working against domestic violence and to helping families heal. She was the creator and director of the Peaceful Families Project, a nationwide survey of domestic violence within the Muslim community, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.

While she valiantly fought for women’s rights from within the Muslim community, Alkhateeb struggled for a greater Muslim role in the wider political debate. She was widely recognized as a leading spokesperson on Muslim women in the United States.

As an activist, speaker, writer, and organizer, Alkhateeb’s contributions to the American Muslim community were phenomenal. She was president of the North American Council for Muslim Women, as well as of the Muslim Educational Council, a Mid-Atlantic non-profit organization educating public school staff and administrators about Middle Eastern culture, Muslims, and Islam. She held an M.A. in Comparative Religion, edited the Marmaduke Pickthall Translation of the Qur’an, and co-authored the Arab World Notebook (available from the AET Book Club), used in public school history classrooms nationwide.

From 1993 to 1997, Alkhateeb produced, wrote and hosted a monthly television program for Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) called “Middle Eastern Parenting.” A diversity trainer for FCPS for five years, she was a key figure in building a serious working relationship between her county’s school system and the Arab- and Muslim-American communities.

In addition to her work with the schools and her grassroots organizing, she was a member of the Muslim women’s delegation to the Beijing conference on women.

Despite the challenges that Muslim organizations face, especially women’s organizations, she never hesitated to move forward, her friend and fellow scholar Dr. Azizah al-Hibri said. Until recently, Alkhateeb was planning a women’s conference, which she had to cancel for health reasons. The letter she sent was heart-wrenching, explaining her difficulties. Her coworkers waited for news of her recovery, but that was not to be.

Dr. al-Hibri, a professor of law at the University of Richmond in Virginia, served with Alkhateeb on the board of KARAMAH, the Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. KARAMAH is founded upon the idea that education, dialogue and action can counter the dangerous and destructive effects of ignorance, silence and prejudice.

“I always thought she soon would be back on her feet serving her community,” said al-Hibri, who spoke to her friend several times before she died. “I never expected to not see her dear face again. She had a twinkle in her eyes, even as the going got rough. She had ways of expressing her views that commanded attention and respect. If Alkhateeb was in the room, you would know it for sure. She was a natural self-made leader.” (The full text of al-Hibri’s remembrance can be found on the KARAMAH Web site, <www.karamah.org>.)

“Several years ago, at the American Assembly on Religion in Public Life, her comments were not only incredibly valuable, but they were also humorous and served to humanize the Muslim participants in that exclusive gathering. She was the star of her group.” the co-chair of that assembly, Dr. al-Hibri said, adding that she was quite relieved and proud to have her there.

Alkhateeb’s life embodied that principle as she worked to educate and build bridges between Muslims and their neighbors. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, she worked even harder, if possible, and helped to organize an interfaith consortium of synagogues, churches and mosques to facilitate dialogues and understanding.

Sharifa Alkhateeb is survived by her husband of 35 years, Mejdi Alkhateeb, and their three daughters, Layla, Maha and Nasreen. She will be missed as a friend, an outstanding Muslim woman leader, and a role model for Americans of every religion.

Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.