Obituary: Imam Vehbi Ismail of Albanian Muslims of North America dies

TIRANA, May 18 – Imam Vehbi Ismail, the leader of Albanian Muslims in North America, has passed away. He was 89.
Imam Vehbi Ismail was born on November 25, 1919 in Shkoder, Albania. He pursued his studies at the Islamic Seminary in Tirana, the capital of Albania and in 1937 moved to Egypt to further his studies at Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
His father, who was a Mufti, advised him not to return to communist Albania. During his stay in Egypt, he became a prolific writer on Islamic topics and translated many literary works from Albanian into Arabic.
In 1949, Imam Vehbi moved to the United States to take his place as the religious leader of the Albanian Muslim Community in Detroit, Michigan. There he established the first Albanian Mosque and Islamic Center in the United States and became the editor of two quarterly Islamic journals, “The Albanian Muslim Life” and, “The Muslim Life”. The latter is the organ of The Federation of Islamic Associations in the USA and Canada. During those years, he wrote and translated more than twenty-five books, which are printed in Albanian, including, “Muhammed: the Last Prophet”. In 1993, Imam Vehbi was chosen as President of The Albanian Muslim Communities of the USA and Canada, an organization that comprises twelve Albanian Islamic Centers in North America. (Tirana Times Staff)