Mission and Objectives

ILDC is dedicated to building leadership capacity among American Muslims by setting standards for leadership excellence, conducting educational and training programs to help community leaders meet those standards, and preparing and publishing guides, manuals, handbooks, and other material for enhancing leadership awareness and performance.

ILDC functions as a nucleus of leadership development for the Muslim American community and offers a fully equipped facility to conduct occasional and regular programs to train chaplains, imams, youth, and community leaders. The center activities will include:

Setting standards for imams and chaplains, and organizing training programs to them meet these standards.
Granting certification and providing endorsement to Muslim chaplains.
Conducting conferences, seminars, workshops, continuing education and other programs for the purpose of developing a new caliber of imams and community leaders.
Preparing and publishing guides, manuals, handbooks, and other material for training purposes.
Developing and distributing training aids including audio and videotapes, charts, kits and packages.
Making and promoting training plans, motivate and help trainers, and carry out other activities to enhance the training dimension in human performance.
Organizing joint programs with various universities and colleges in North America .

Guiding Principles

The directors, staff, and consultants of ILDC embrace, in all their activities and undertakings, the following principles:

To respect the human and fundamental rights of all peoples, regardless of cultural, religious, national, or gender distinctions.
To work for enhancing the well being and welfare of all members of society, while opposing abusive and degrading social practices.
To strengthen the institutions of civil society by supporting civic organizations and grass roots movements, both morally and logistically.
To cooperate with organizations and groups committed to fighting bigotry and prejudice, and to oppose those involved in distortion, abuse, and injustice.
To develop a culture of enterprise, creative and positive thinking, and mutual help and assistance.
To nurture and project an attitude of hope, empathy, and trust, and to struggle for more equitable future for humanity.
To promote participatory and responsible governance, and to encourage participation in projects aimed at promoting public good.

ILDC Board of Directors

Muhammad Nur Abdullah
President of ISNA Imam of Islamic Foundation, St.Louis, Missouri

Ingrid Mattson
President of ISNA, Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary, CT

Syed Imtiaz Ahmed
Vice President of ISNA, Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University, MI

Muzammil Siddiqi
Chairman, Fiqh Council of North America

Muneer Fareed
Secretary General of ISNA

Ihsan Bagby
Professor,University of Kentucky

Abdul Rashid Muhammad
Chaplain Maj. US ARMY

Louay Safi
ExecutiveDirector of ILDC