FEATURED PROFILE: Tahara Akmal, MA, BCC
By Helen McNeal, Senior Advisor to the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab
When you meet Tahara Akmal it’s evident that she is compassionate, vibrant and a wise human being. It is equally obvious that you are in the presence of a leader. Little surprise, then, that these attributes, plus her drive and commitment to sharing others’ spiritual journey, have led Tahara to become the first woman Muslim Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Certified Educator in the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education’s (ACPE) history.
Today as CPE Manager at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC, she provides leadership and oversight to a team of CPE residents, CPE interns and a CPE Certified Educator Candidate. In addition to her work with the team, she also provides direct spiritual care to the Hospital Center’s patients and is a resource to Hospital Center staff. Whether it is to support a patient or colleague who is struggling or doing the opening prayer at a meeting, Tahara has made it her calling to be present whenever and wherever needed.
More than a Muslim chaplain
Given her accomplishment of being the first woman Muslim CPE Certified Educator, it would be easy to typecast Tahara as “simply a Muslim chaplain”. That would be a mistake. Raised in an interfaith family, with a mom who was Christian during Tahara’s developing years (her mom became Muslim later in life) and a Muslim dad, she has always seen herself as a bridge, turning spiritual differences into points of connection.
Her interest in both Islamic and interfaith cooperation arose also out of her early work as an anchor for the Islamic Information Service (IIS) in Altadena, California and as a segment producer for IIS’s nationally broadcast television program American Muslim Hour. At the same time, she hosted a southern California radio program, Islamic Perspectives, and did freelance writing for the Muslim Journal based in Chicago. Through this work, she not only engaged the Muslim community but also had the opportunity to interview clergy and visit the services of other religions. These experiences lit the spark of chaplaincy and Tahara’s commitment not only to her own religion but to being present to others regardless of their faith.
Battling for interfaith service
While an interfaith focus may seem intuitive to many in the chaplaincy world, Tahara’s commitment goes deeper and was forged in the fire of her experience. After completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she completed a master’s degree in Islamic studies and pastoral counseling at Claremont School of Theology. While completing her master’s degree she completed a summer CPE internship at a midwestern hospital. Almost immediately after she began her time at the hospital, a letter was sent by a group of staff saying that a Muslim chaplain shouldn’t be allowed to visit with patients who weren’t Muslim. Her CPE supervisor’s message to her was simple: “I am not going to defend you; I am going to defend chaplaincy, which is rooted in serving others regardless of their denomination and regardless of the endorsing body of the chaplain.” The issue went all the way to hospital leadership but chaplaincy (and thus Tahara) won out. The episode reinforced Tahara’s dedication to being true to the interfaith role of chaplaincy and serving those in need of all faiths.
Instead of allowing herself to become discouraged, she found her role models and mentors among women of other religious traditions.
This was not the only challenge that Tahara weathered. As the first woman Muslim seeking to be a CPE Certified Educator, she constantly broke new ground without role models to follow or to support her. Tahara adopted a mantra from the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Esther: “And who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this?” It was lonely, but once again she found her support in an interfaith community. Instead of allowing herself to become discouraged, she found her role models and mentors among women of other religious traditions, from Sikh to Christian, who were CPE Certified Educators. With their support, she flourished and has herself become a model for others to follow.
On her own journey, Tahara also encountered the challenge of articulating her beliefs and Islamic theology within the theories of personality and human development, psychology, pastoral care, counseling and adult education that are part of the process to become a CPE Certified Educator. Tackling challenges head-on, prior to training to become a CPE educator, Tahara conducted her final seminary research project entitled Islamic Law and Medical Ethics: Organ Transplant, Defining Death and Life Sustaining Devices. The project is but one example of the way her work has opened a path of greater understanding from which others can benefit.
Service to the Muslim community
As her work illustrates, along with her commitment to interfaith ministry, Tahara has maintained an equally strong commitment to playing a leadership role within the Islamic community. In 2012, she was invited by the Saudi Health Ministry to present on CPE as part of a conference on Health Spiritual Care Initiatives and Experiences, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Along with the visit to Riyadh came a cherished opportunity to visit Mecca. Tahara has also spoken on Islam and participated in interfaith dialogues not only across the U.S but also in Italy, Israel, and Japan.
In 2016, Tahara received the Muslim American Chaplain’s Association Lifetime Achievement Award. This honor is given annually to an individual whose life and work demonstrated excellence in service to humanity. While there is no question that Tahara deserves this very special award, it’s equally clear that her lifetime achievements are far from over.
Hard at work in many fields
Today, in addition to her work at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center, Tahara is an Adjunct Professor of Chaplaincy at Moravian Theological Seminary, Visiting Faculty in the Islamic Chaplaincy Program at Bayan Claremont and is working on a PhD at Alvernia University. When asked about her ideas for the future, Tahara is clear that she wants to help other women become chaplains. She also looks forward to the day when she has her first Muslim CPE intern, resident or candidate for educator. But above all, she is committed to her role as educator: “I love hearing my students’ stories — understanding their strengths, their fears and being with them on the journey as they (and I) learn how their stories play out in their ministry.” She also seeks to find ways to bring chaplaincy closer to the Islamic community in Washington and to find ways to integrate chaplains more closely into the work of mosques and Islamic centers. (To hear Tahara talk more about this, listen to CIL’s webinar on Muslim Chaplaincy.)
And what will her upcoming dissertation address? While the exact topic is still under discussion, the subject area is clear. It will be about educating chaplains and building their leadership. Not a surprising choice from a chaplain who is already a leader.
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Learn more about this article’s author, Helen McNeal, here.
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