Imam Dr. Al-Hajj Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid has been the religious and spiritual leader (Imam) of The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. since November 1989. The mosque , located in Harlem, New York City, is the fifty-three-year-old lineal descendant of the Muslim Mosque Inc. founded by the late El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) in 1964. Imam ‘Abdur-Rashid is also a former Ameer (President) of the Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of Metropolitan New York. Currently he is its Special Assistant for Restorative Justice, Civil and Human Rights. Nationally, the imam currently serves as the Deputy Amir (Vice President) of The Muslim Alliance in North America.

Imam Talib is the author of A Muslim Manifesto on Darfur (2006) and Healing Indigenous Muslim Families in America (2007). His published essay entitled “African and African American Muslims in Early New York” ( 2010) is an oft-referenced writing for researchers on the subject, and he is an expert lecturer on the history of Muslim Americans of African descent.

The imam’s critique of Dr. Manning Marable’s Pulitzer-prize winning book Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, appears in Malcolm X: Real Not Reinvented (2012), along with essays by renown African American scholars, activists, and writers. The imam’s paper entitled “Souls on Fire: Christian and Muslim Insurrectionists in 19th Century America” was presented at the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race, held at Birkbeck, University of London (2012).

In 2015 the New York Observer cited Imam Talib as One of New York’s Most Influential Religious Leaders. In 2016 The Institute for the Black World 21st Century honored him with its Legacy Award for his consistent work throughout the years on behalf of people of the African diaspora. In 2017 Imam Talib was awarded a doctorate (Honoris Causa) in Islamic Leadership, by the National Institute of Muslim Human Service Practitioners.

Imam Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid’s religiously inspired community activist work has earned him accolades from community organizations and city government alike. He is the recipient of several NY City Council Citations, as well as congressional recognition, for his work and contributions as a New Yorker. He has received awards including: the Bridge Building Award for Leadership in Community Relations; the Micah Justice Award of The Micah Institute at New York Theological Seminary, and the Citizen of the City award of The Police Reform Organizing Project.

A founding member in 1992 of the still extant interfaith organization A Partnership of Faith in New York City, additionally Imam Talib is currently a member of CORL - the NYC Commission of Religious Leaders, with Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders from throughout the city. Additionally, in 2018 he served as a member of the National Steering Committee for The Poor Peoples Campaign in the U.S. In 2019 the imam was the recipient of the Shaykh Hassan Cisse Peace Builders Award.

This year, Imam Talib made history by delivering a Sunday worship service sermon at Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – the first time in the history of that 152 year-old institution that an imam had done so. Imam Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid further designed an interfaith worship service commemorating the 400 year memorial anniversary of the enslavement of African people in America. It was held at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, in Harlem NYC. The imam delivered a widely-received homily during the service.

The imam’s book Islamic Fundamentals of Faith: The Human and The Unseen, And Essays on Contemporary Issues Impacting Muslims is scheduled for print in 2020, with two other books - Social Justice Writings of an African American Muslim, and The Qur’an, The Sunnah, and The Non-Violent Jihad against HIV/AIDS to follow.

He is the father of a daughter Hawwa, and a son Adam, with one son Ismail deceased from heart disease at the age of 22. He is the grandfather of six children. Sanaa Abdul-Halim, his wife of 12 years, died of cancer in December 2014.

Peter J. Rubinstein is Director of Jewish Community and the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at the 92nd Street Y since 2014. In this capacity, he oversees Jewish content and programming within the Bronfman Center, collaborates with staff throughout the institution on innovative programs related to Jewish themes, and forges new collaborations with faith leaders both within and beyond the Jewish community.

He is also the Rabbi Emeritus of Central Synagogue where he served as the Senior Rabbi for 23 years. Prior to his position at Central Synagogue, Rabbi Rubinstein served as the Rabbi of Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York and Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, California.

He is the immediate past Chair of the Partnership of Faith in New York City, which includes the senior clergy of the city’s major congregations and was co-president of the US Board of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. He is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City and is on the Board of the New York Region of the American Jewish Committee and Co-Chair of its Rabbinic Round Table. He is presently the director of the Be Wise Fellowship in Jewish Entrepreneurialism at the HUC-JIR in New York City. He was the long-time rabbinic Chair of the NCRCR.

Rabbi Rubinstein is a founder of the Rabbinic Council of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and was long time Rabbinic Chair of the NCRCR. He was ranked number three in Newsweek’s 2012 list of “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis” and was named one of the 28 “2014 America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis” by The Jewish Daily Forward.

Rabbi Rubinstein graduated from Amherst College and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Amherst College in 2017. His essay "A Search for Truth: A Touchstone of our Judgement" is included in JFK The Last Speech (2018). He co-authored “Innovation in All Generation” which appeared in the Winter 2017 edition of the The Reform Jewish Quarterly.