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Who We Are

Carrie York Al-Karam, PhD

Shaykh Walead Mosaad, MBA, PhD

Farah Lodi, MA

Sarah Albani

Nelly Elmenshawy

Rabia Malik, PhD

Abdallah Rothman, LPC

Sarmad Ahmad, MBA

Amber Haque, PhD

Wahbie Long, PhD

Paul Kaplick, MSc

Afshana Haque, PhD

Fyeqa Sheikh, PsyD

Khalid Elzamzamy, MD

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Copyright ©2019 The Alkaram Institute. All Rights Reserved

Dr. Carrie York Al-Karam

Founder and President

Dr. Carrie York Al-Karam is president of the Alkaram Institute. Her areas of interest include Islamic psychology, spiritually integrated psychotherapy, and virtue/character development from an Islamic perspective. She is an associate editor for a number of peer-reviewed journals including APA’s Spirituality in Clinical Practice as well as the Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology. Her edited books are Mental Health and Psychological Practice in the United Arab Emirates (2015), Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy: Uniting Faith and Professional Practice (2018), a children’s character development book called Maya and the Seven Limbs (2020), and a forthcoming textbook on Islamic psychology. Having lived outside her native United States for nearly 17 years in various countries, she and her family are now setting down roots in Roanoke, Virginia. In her free time she enjoys jogging, traveling, and spending time with loved ones.

Shaykh Walead Mosaad, MBA, PhD

Board of Directors and Research Scholar

Dr. Walead Mosaad is an internationally recognized scholar in Islamic studies and human development. His academic and traditional training has accorded him the opportunity to work with communities worldwide as a teacher and project driver. He is currently the Chair and Scholar-in-Residence of Sabeel Community, a community-oriented service organization focused on cultivating and nurturing Muslim communities worldwide. Additionally, he is the director of Muslim student life at Lehigh University. He has also worked for the Tabah Foundation, where he managed educational projects in Belgium, Denmark, and Kenya. He has completed degrees from Rutgers University, Fath Islamic Seminary in Damascus, Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the University of Liverpool, and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK.

Farah Lodi, MA

Board of Directors and Research Scholar

Farah Lodi is the owner and CEO of Moving Forward, a consulting service in Dubai, where she has lived for 14 years. Prior to that she lived in the US for over thirty years. Farah has a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and is a Professional Certified Counselor with the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association where she has been a regularly featured writer for their online publication “Counseling Connect”. She is also an adjunct instructor of psychology at Zayed University in Dubai where she supervises psychology student interns. Additionally, she has created an online support group, www.supportseekers.info where professional psychological advice is offered as a free community service. Her most recent publications are a chapter in Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy: Uniting Faith and Professional Practice (Templeton Press, July 2018), as well as a chapter in a children’s psycho-spiritual development book called Maya and the Seven Limbs (Fons Vitae, 2019).

Sarah Albani

Board of Directors and Research Associate

Sarah Albani is a neuroscience researcher with a diverse background in clinical, translational and basic science sectors. A significant focus of her work has concentrated on investigating the physiological and behavioral bases of neural injury and plasticity, among other subjects. She has also worked abroad on international development projects in various countries with refugees and underserved populations in addition to community building efforts locally in the Washington, D.C. area. In addition to her studies in traditional and contemporary Islamic sciences and thought, Sarah has completed certifications in permaculture as well as holistic and natural medicine. A thread that ties her work together is the passion to develop effective systems-level frameworks that promote the development of strong and resilient societies through the cultivation of empowered individuals. She is currently pursuing research and studies in the field of Islamic psychology, with a focus on trauma. Sarah also serves as a research associate and a member of the Board of the Directors for the AlKaram Institute.

Nelly Elmenshawy

Board of Directors and Research Associate

Nelly Elmenshawy graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Middle Eastern Studies and a BS in Public Health. She lived in the Muslim world for fifteen years, during which time her focus was on raising her children and teaching. Since returning to her native United States, she has shifted her focus to working with teens and writing children’s books. Nelly serves as an advisor to the Sabeel Community, a service organization whose main objectives include religious literacy, spiritual self-development and the building of positive relationships. Her focus is on local and international programming for the organization.

Rabia Malik, PhD

Advisor

Dr. Rabia Malik is a consultant systemic therapist. She currently works at the Tavistock Centre teaching post graduate systemic research doctorate students and also runs a private clinical practice working mainly with Muslim clients. She has over 20 years of experience working with Muslim clients and communities on complex cases, including de-radicalisation. She co-lead an NHS specialist mental health service in London, the Marlborough Cultural Therapy Centre for ten years, serving ethnic minority children, adolescents and families. She runs courses on working with religious, spiritual and cultural beliefs for mental health practitioners in mainstream and community organisations and has presented her work nationally and internationally at conferences. She has taught Islamic counselling modules and supervised Islamic counselling trainees. She has written several papers in peer reviewed journals and books on the mental health of Muslims. She obtained her doctorate from University College London on  the cultural construction of depression amongst Pakistanis. She has also been a senior lecturer at the University of East London, teaching a course on ‘Race, Culture and Psychology’. She has served as the first Chairwoman of the City Circle in London, which is a Muslim open discussion forum, as well as been a Trustee of the Muslim Youth Helpline, where she lead a research project on the need for faith sensitive mental health services for young British Muslims.

Abdallah Rothman

Advisor

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Abdallah Rothman obtained his M.A. in Psychology from Antioch University and is a PhD candidate in Psychology at Kingston University London. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC) with 15 years experience as a practicing counseling psychologist. Abdallah was an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University and he established Shifaa Integrative Counseling, a private practice offering Islamically integrated psychotherapy to the Muslim community in Washington DC. He is Visiting Professor of Islamic Psychology at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan and Al-Neelain University in Khartoum, Sudan. Abdallah’s clinical practice as well as his academic research focus on approaching counseling from within an Islamic paradigm and establishing an indigenous Islamic theoretical orientation to human psychology that is grounded in the knowledge of the soul from the Islamic tradition. His research in this area contributes to the theoretical foundations of the education and training programs at the International Association of Islamic Psychology where he is the Executive Director.

Sarmad Ahmad, MBA

Advisor

Sarmad Ahmad has extensive experience in business strategy and implementation. After 10+ years with one of the world’s largest Corporations (Proctor & Gamble), he founded the mental health platform Saaya Health, an organization that uses technology to enable mental health access and traction across the Middle East and Asia. He is also an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship at IE Business School in Madrid, one of Europe’s leading business schools.

Amber Haque, PhD

Advisor – Curriculum Development

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Dr. Amber Haque earned his PhD in Psychology from Western Michigan University and Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University. He worked as a psychologist for various mental health institutions in the US (Michigan and NY State) for over 12 years and then switched to academia in 1996. Dr. Haque taught in the Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) for eight years and Department of Psychology, UAE University (UAEU), UAE for 14 years. He also served as Visiting Professor at National University of Malaysia (UKM), International University of Sarajevo (Bosnia) and Visiting Scholar at Cornell University (Ithaca) and University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). Dr. Haque has served in various administrative roles including Department Chair in Malaysia and Director of Clinical Psychology Program at UAEU. He has published numerous articles in the areas of mental health and indigenous psychology in international refereed journals, edited four books and served as board member on four journals. He served as a reviewer for more than 30 international journals. Dr. Haque is currently Professor in Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychology and Social Work, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar. Website: https://dohainstitute.academia.edu/AmberHaque

Wahbie Long, PhD

Advisor – Curriculum Development

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Wahbie Long is an associate professor and clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychology, and the director of the Child Guidance Clinic, at the University of Cape Town. With a Y1 rating from the National Research Foundation of South Africa, his work focuses on the history and theory of psychology, indigenous psychology and Islamic psychology. He has held research fellowships at Harvard and Durham, and has received several local and international awards for his work, including the 2016 Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for the History of Psychology.

Paul Kaplick, MSc

Advisor – Virtual Library and Research Associate

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Paul has a background in clinical psychology (B.Sc.), cognitive neuroscience (M.Sc.), and behavioural neuropharmacology. He is currently training as a clinical neuropsychologist in a Phase B neurological rehabilitation facility in the Rhine-Main area of Germany. He has co-authored various papers on preclinical models of stress-related disorders in behavioural neuroscience and believes that translational and interdisciplinary training is pivotal for state-of-the-art patient care that integrates cutting-edge research on brain-behaviour relationships. In his leisure time, Paul enjoys blending cognitive psychology and neuroscience with concepts, theories, and methods that have emerged in cultural and intellectual traditions other than the West to study the basic organisational principles of our cognitive system. He heads the Islam and Psychology research group at the Islamic Association of Social and Educational Professions in Germany and consults for the Alkaram Institute on the Islamic psychology Virtual Library project. When off work, Paul loves walking the Rheingau hillsides with his wife and son.

Afshana Haque, PhD

Research Scholar

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Afshana Haque, PhD, LMFT-S is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor with a specialization in Neurofeedback, and an Assistant Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. Dr. Haque earned her Ph.D. from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX. In 2008, she received extensive training in cultural competency as a fellow in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Minority Fellowship Program. Her research interests include the socio-political influence on the mental health and well-being of Muslim families, validating relational assessments for use with Muslim populations, and creating therapy models that are palatable to clients from minority and collectivistic cultures. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals in her field; additionally, she is a contributing author for Muslim Matters’ ‘What’s the Matter?’ forum and Stones to Bridges’ ‘Dear Fatima’ column. Dr. Haque helped establish and served as a board member for the Center of Refugee Services in San Antonio, TX. She has conducted parenting and mental health workshops in the Greater Houston and Austin areas, and has presented in both national and international professional conferences. She has also presented in Islamic conferences including, ISNA: Islam in America, Texas Dawa Convention, and CAIR. Dr. Haque has been a practicing therapist for about 10 years and is the Director of her private practice, AfshanaHaqueTherapy.com, where she conducts face-to-face and online therapy. She provides hope and relief to clients who present with relational issues around marriage, sex, trauma, addiction, parenting, adolescence, anxiety, depression, spiritual crisis, decreased self-esteem, multi-cultural relationships, pre-marital therapy, divorce, and discernment therapy. Dr. Haque takes a collaborative and solution-focused approach when working with her clients.

Fyeqa Sheikh, Psy.D.

Research Scholar

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Dr. Fyeqa Sheikh is a licensed clinical psychologist practicing at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, IL. She completed her doctorate in psychology (Psy.D.) from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2012 and specialized in child and adolescent psychology. Dr. Sheikh’s clinical and research interests include South Asian mental health, Islamic psychology, multicultural psychology, utilizing cognitive-behavioral techniques to treat depression and anxiety, as well as trauma-informed treatment. She was afforded the opportunity to participate in the Minority Fellowship Program through the American Psychological Association for her research with Pakistani-American women. Additionally, she served on the executive board of the Division on South Asian Americans (DoSAA) within the Asian American Psychological Association. She continues to participate in the DoSAA mentorship program. She has a strong interest in integrating Islamic principles into psychotherapy and strives to erase the stigma associated with mental health in the Muslim community. In efforts to further this interest, she has contributed to book chapters in edited books on Islamic healing approaches and integrating Islamic principles into psychotherapy. She also presented clinical applications of Islamic psychology through her psychotherapy experiences with Muslim clients at the 9th annual Muslim Mental Health Conference. Dr. Sheikh is involved in her community mosque where she delivers psychologically oriented presentations to parents and the community at large. In addition to her clinical practice and community engagement, she serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Clinical Counseling program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Khalid Elzamzamy, MD​

Advisor and Research Fellow

Khalid Elzamzamy, MD is a psychiatry resident at Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar. He is also currently completing his Master’s degree in Islamic Ethics at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, also in Qatar. Having received his medical degree from Ain Shams University, Egypt, he is an active researcher and scholar, previously serving as a research assistant at Yale University, and currently as a Research Fellow at the Family and Youth Institute and the Alkaram Institute.

Dr. Elzamzamy’s interests include investigating the history and current practice of mental health in Arab, Muslim and migrant communities, as well as the interplay between mental health, culture, spirituality, and religiosity.

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