Dr. Jamaluddin Husain

Jamal grew up in Bangladesh, arriving in Edgewater as a student at Northwestern University in 1984. He joined an Edgewater Muslim faith community and discovered that many people there shared his core belief in helping others. With Jamal’s encouragement they expanded their projects all around Edgewater. In 1991 he was asked to join the Edgewater Community Religious Association (E.C.R.A.) as a representative of the Muslim religion. He is currently the longest serving member of E.C.R.A. He has fostered Jewish-Muslim-Christian speakers to address interfaith communality. He is a moving force in the Ismali Center for inter religious understanding sponsoring the annual E.C.R.A. Thanksgiving service as well as the Sacred Seeds series.

Jamal’s interest in helping others goes far beyond interfaith development. He has helped immigrants assimilate by identifying employment opportunities and feeling comfortable with the new culture. During the COVID pandemic he encouraged car drop-offs of needed toiletries and supplies to benefit Care for Real. Because of his background in entrepreneurship, he has been supported by the Coleman Foundation at Purdue University. He has also established a charitable foundation to promote entrepreneurship.

Dr. Jamaluddin Husain

“The purpose of life is to go back, but you leave the
world a better place.”

Click here for the interview transcript and a short video.