Imam Khalil A. Akbar has served as Resident Imam of Masjid Ash Shaheed in the city of Charlotte. NC since 1988. Having embraced the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Mohammad in 1968, he accepted the new direction initiated by Imam W. D. Mohammed in 1975. He has diligently served in the role of Imam since 1977, including ten years as the Resident Imam of the Harrisburg Masjid, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

In 1984, Imam Khalil enrolled in the Lincoln University of Pennsylvania Masters of Human Services Program. He completed this program and received a Master’s of Human Services Degree in 1986.Through Harrisburg Masjid’s Prison Services Program Khalil developed an interest in Prison Chaplaincy. As a Contract Chaplain, he completed a unit (400 hours of supervision) of Clinical Pastoral at the State Correctional at Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. According to Chaplain Fred Widmann, this was the first time a Muslim Imam had participated in and completed the training provided through this program. The Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. certified this training.

In pursuit of a career in correctional chaplaincy, Imam Akbar applied for and was selected to the position of Clinical Chaplain 11- Coordinator of Islamic Services in the Western half of North Carolina. Because of this appointment he resigned as Resident Imam of Harrisburg Masjid in December of 1987 and moved with his family to Charlotte, N.C.

In 2013, he retired from the position of Regional Chaplain in the Western Half of the state of North Carolina, a position in which he assisted the Director of Chaplaincy, and provided supervision of 25 chaplains (career, part-time and volunteer) in the Western/Piedmont Region facilities. He screened applications for persons seeking careers as chaplains and frequently assisted with interviewing such candidates. He was a member of the Division Prisons Steering Committee and the Religious Practices Committee. He coordinated New Chaplains Training and travels extensively throughout the region to fulfill the duties of that position.

From 2014 until 2016, Imam Akbar served as a Chaplain at Johnson C. Smith University.

In 1988, Imam Akbar began working with several Muslim families in Charlotte who identified with the Association of Imam Wallace D. Mohammed. These Muslim families sought Imam Akbar’s assistance to establish a place of worship that would belong to the Association of Mosques that supported Imam Mohammed’s leadership. Through a collective effort Charlotte Masjid of Al-Islam was established (later changed to Ash-Shaheed Islamic Center) in 1989. Imam Akbar was officially elected as the Resident Imam in 1990 and has served in that capacity until now. In 2007, under Imam Akbar’s leadership, a new Masjid (Masjid Ash Shaheed) was constructed from the ground up on 8 acres of land where plans are being developed to build a Model Islamic Community.

Imam Akbar is sought after by civic and community groups to hold dialogues on Al-Islam. He has addressed numerous audiences in Mosques, Churches, and Synagogues. A highlight of this activity is when he joined Rabbi Judy Schindler of Temple Beth El, and Rev. Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker of Providence Baptist Church at Temple Beth El to address the issues of Anti- Semitism and Islamophobia. He served on the Board of Directors for Mecklenburg Ministers for 6 years and currently is a member of that organization’s Clergy Board. He served briefly on the Board of NCCJ and was a member of Charlotte’s Community Building Taskforce, an initiative that was a local response to the national efforts of President Bill Clinton to improve Race relations in this country.

Imam Akbar received the Golden Staff Member Award from Little Rock AME Church in 2000. In 2010 he received Mecklenburg Ministries’ Bridge Building Award, and he received the W. Deen Mohammed Distinguished Citizen Award from Muslim Journal in 2011.

He is married to Sister Darlene A. Akbar, his devoted wife and partner since 1968. They are the proud and grateful parents of 7 daughters, 16 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren.