Summary
This interview is with Shakeel Rashed, an engineer and technology professional who is a co-founder of the Islamic Center of Lake Travis in Hudson Bend, TX. Shakeel shares about his upbringing in a Muslim-majority, religiously intermingled culture in Hyderabad, India. He discusses moving to the US for graduate school and compares perceptions of religious identity in the US and in India. He discusses how his experience in the US caused him to reevaluate his Muslim identity and become more involved in a Muslim community, eventually becoming part of the leadership of a new mosque in the Lake Travis area. He also describes how the Islamic Center of Lake Travis was started, the complicated process of building and rebuilding, and their vision for their community.