The following committed individuals support our efforts to care for college students and Muslim communities in the Baltimore-Washington area:
Tarif Shraim
Tarif Shraim is the Muslim chaplain at the University of Maryland, College Park. Over the past two decades, Tarif has provided mentorship, pastoral care and coaching to Muslim college students and community members throughout Maryland. He frequently lectures on theology, spirituality, and emotional development and has special interest in the intersection between spirituality and positive psychology.
Tarif is the co-founder and executive director of the Center for Muslim Life at Maryland, which seeks to foster the spiritual and emotional development of Muslim college students on campuses in the Baltimore-Washington region. Tarif also serves as the Imam of the Islamic Community Center of Potomac and is one of the Imams at the Diyanet Center of America.
Muneer Zuhurudeen
Muneer Zuhurudeen is proud to be a Prince George’s County native and an alumnus of the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2013, he graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and started work at an automotive safety firm doing data analytics. Driven by a desire for grounding in the Islamic sciences, he left his job after two years to study classical Arabic full time at Bayyinah Institute in Dallas, TX.
After successfully graduating from the Bayyinah Dream program, he spent a year at Qalam Institute under the tutelage of Shaykh Abdulnasir Jangda and Mufti Hussain Kamani studying foundational Islamic academic disciplines and community development. He has experience in giving khutbahs in the local community, leading halaqas, teaching Arabic and Quranic studies, as well as providing mentorship and general counseling.
He has worked in various volunteer capacities in the past with organizations including UMD MSA, DC MIST, the UMD Muslim Alumni of Maryland Association and CMLMD. He’s passionate about working with young Muslims to help them discover their full potential.
Muneer is currently a new Associate Chaplain and mentor for the Center for Muslim Life at Maryland. He is deeply passionate about working with Muslim youth and hopes to apply his knowledge, experience and religious training in his new role at CML. His primary role will be to provide mentorship to Muslim students in local college campuses and mosques and to lead educational classes and programs that can help foster their spiritual, religious and emotional development.
Zainab Jackson
Zainab Jackson is co-founder and psychotherapist of Jackson Wellness Group LLC. She is currently a licensed mental health therapist and a psychiatric rehabilitation specialist in the state of Maryland. Zainab received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. Zainab uses a variety of evidence-based therapy techniques and is trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Zainab has always been passionate about helping others heal, recover, and reach their full potential. She is an advocate for mental health and wellness in underserved communities. She has had extensive experience providing therapy for children, adults, and families. Zainab is also a visual artist and incorporates art therapy and mindfulness techniques and in her practice. To schedule a confidential therapy session, please visit JWGTherapy.com.
In her role with CMLMD, Zainab will provide us with thought leadership in the areas of mental and emotional health in addition to holding sessions with our beneficiaries in the same areas, God willing.
Sharif Braxton
Sharif Braxton is a Philadelphia native currently residing in Baltimore. Sharif began his work with Muslim youth as a weekend and summer school instructor in Philadelphia. He also provided mentorship to male youth as a leader of the Jawala Muslim boy scouts group and President of the Muslim Youth Association of Philadelphia.
After moving to Baltimore for college, he served as a board member at the Johns Hopkins University Muslim Association (JHUMA). He was first Internal Community Relations Chair, working to address the social and spiritual needs of the Muslim students and then served as President the following year. Sharif offered a great deal of mentorship and support to students during this time.
After graduation, he began working in the area of social and behavioral health, providing education and public health counseling services as well as motivational interviewing practices. He later held a position providing training, counseling and services in the area of suicide and domestic violence.
For the last 3 years Sharif has served as the President of the Johns Hopkins Graduate Muslim Students Association in East Baltimore, continuing to work with and serve young adults in their development and growth.
Sharif is currently a new Associate Chaplain and mentor for the Center for Muslim Life at Maryland, where he hopes to help institutionalize the process of youth cultivation in the Muslim community.