Imam Ali Library & Research Center Holds Official Launch

Called a "natural outgrowth" of a chair dedicated to Shia Studies, the Imam Ali Library & Research Center in Mahopac, N.Y., had its official opening on June 22.

Supporters came together to tour the library and research center, which is located at the home of the Auliya Council of North America. Dr. Mehdi Kazmi founded the Auliya Council in a former Methodist church about four years ago to have a dedicated space for Sufi study and activities. The building also houses a community center and a mosque that has interfaith and intrafaith goals. The original sanctuary still has wooden pews and stained-glass windows and serves a number of faith communities from the Mahopac area. Traditional Islamic calligraphy decorates the mosque but also the front wall of the sanctuary, giving it a deliberately interfaith character. 

It was Dr. Kazmi who spearheaded the creation of a library and research center along with Dr. Hossein Kamaly, who holds the Imam Ali Chair for Shia Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools at HIU.

In remarks at the June 22 event, Dr. Kamaly said the Imam Ali Library & Research Center will "serve all Muslims and all humans." He called it a "center for scholarship and not in any way a sectarian place." He called the opening of the research center, for which he serves as Executive Director, a "moment of immense pride."

Dr. Deena Grant, HIU's academic dean and VP of Academic Affairs, said, "On behalf of everyone at HIU, I celebrate the launch of the Imam Ali Center." She pointed out that since 2015, when the Imam Ali Chair was first established, the study of Shia Islam become a bigger part of HIU's curriculum. HIU held the first International Ghadir conference in 2024 and soon plans to name a post-doctoral fellow with support from Dr. Kazmi and the Imam Ali Library and Research Center.

The library has a thousand print books with a goal of 10,000, as well as an extensive digital library and online access to the catalogue for HIU's 80,000 volume library.

HIU's Director of Library Services Karla Grafton said she was inspired by the dedication and persistence shown by those launching the library. It will help students and the general public with access to Urdu and Persian materials and offer a place for study. "I'm very excited for the opportunity to work together to share resources," she said.

Down the road, Dr. Kazmi has plans to build a four-story building on the same property as the Auliyah Council with the intention of hosting an expanded library, a conference center, offices, and a recording studio for traditional Sufi music called Qawwali.