Imam Talal Eid

Imam Talal Y. Eid is Founder and Executive/Religious Director of the Islamic Institute of Boston. He is also the Muslim chaplain at Brandeis University and at the Massachusetts General Hospital. A native of Lebanon, he served as Imam at Al-Naaser Mosque in Tripoli for six years and as Imam and Religious Director of the Islamic Center of New England (MA) for 23 years.

Imam Eid earned a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) in 1991 from Harvard Divinity School, where he also earned his Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) in Comparative Religion in 2005. He wrote his thesis on "Marriage, Divorce, and Child Custody as Experienced by American Muslims: Religious, Social, and Legal Considerations." Imam Eid also holds a degree in Islamic Law (sharia), which he received in 1974 from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

Imam Eid is a well-known Muslim scholar, activist, and lecturer on Islam and Muslims, and on Christian, Jewish, and Muslim relations in North America. He promotes the knowledge of Islam through local and national radio and television programs, and through articles published in local and national magazines. He is a marital and family therapist and acts as an expert consultant on Islamic law, including on issues of marital dispute, marital violence, divorce, and child custody.

Imam Eid has served for a period of 20 years as the Chairman of Majlis Ash-Shura (Committee on Islamic Consultation) of the Islamic Council of New England in Massachusetts. He is also a member of the Quincy and Boston Clergy associations. He co-chaired the Archives for Historical Documentation of Boston, Massachusetts. He has received recognition awards from many local and national institutions, including the Massachusetts State Senate; the office of the District Attorney of Norfolk, Massachusetts; the Quincy (MA) City Council; the Quincy Human Rights Commission, Partners in Excellence Award (MGH); and Toastmasters International.

Commissioner Eid was appointed by President George W. Bush in May 2007.