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Mobin Tawakkul is on a mission to teach health professionals about the importance of disability needs and awareness. As a science professional and Muslim who happens to be deaf, Mobin’s mission reflects the words of the Quran that say all people are equal in the eyes of God, whether they are in good health, or disabled or sick.
Mobin was born in Lahore, Pakistan, in the dry, arid Punjab province known as the "land of five rivers," in 1978. His family, originally Indian, had moved to Pakistan during the 1947 partition of India.
In 1980, Mobin and his family made the journey to the United States and settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
With a history of medicine in his family, Mobin was naturally drawn to the sciences. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2002 and his master’s degree in pharmaceutical engineering in 2003, both from the University of Michigan. Today, he spends his days researching drug product quality issues at the Food and Drug Administration in metropolitan Washington, D.C.
As a deaf person, Mobin has had to overcome many obstacles, yet he credits the diverse and welcoming community in Ann Arbor as an aid to his success. The city’s special education program allowed Mobin to excel as a student alongside his non-deaf peers and eventually earn his master's.
"It was both the family and communal support from a plethora of backgrounds, such as the awesome special education Ann Arbor public school teachers and health professionals, that allowed me to succeed in this egalitarian-based city," Mobin says.
Looking to give back, Mobin now actively advocates for people with disabilities in his own Muslim community. As a national board member of the Association for Muslim Health Professionals and its charitable entity, AMHP Foundation, Mobin has been able to create the Disability Needs & Awareness Working Group, where he hopes to encourage his community to help those with special needs.
Mobin has worked on various projects with the Disability Needs & Awareness Working Group that reflect on American Muslims and disability. One such project, titled "Disability in Islam," contextualizes the Islamic view of illness and disability by looking at them through the lens of the primary sources of Islamic tradition: the Quran and Hadiths.
Participation with the AMHP and the support from his childhood community has allowed Mobin to truly believe and practice the important themes that the Islamic faith teaches: peace and tolerance.
"Growing up as a Muslim in Ann Arbor has given me a glimpse that this country is amazing in terms of diversity," says Mobin. "It’s a place where interfaith and intercultural groups work together to promote ideals of respect, tolerance and compassion for one another."
Posted May 22, 2008
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