Dr. Arif is the founder and president of the Hawaiʻi Straight Path Institute and president of MUNA Hawaii, and has conducted and offered 13 community events to the Oahu Muslims in the 2025-2026 academic year. He works to create opportunities that support families, youth, and community members in their religious, social, and personal growth. He offers volunteer chaplaincy services in Hawaiʻi’s correctional facilities, leads various social and educational services through Hawaii Straight Path Institute, teaches in Sunday school, and leads STEM-Based youth activities. He is a recipient of the Farooq and Sayeeda Selod Family Foundation Scholarship.
“My personal vision is to please Allah by helping strengthen the Muslim community through education, mentorship, and meaningful service. As the founder and president of Hawaiʻi Straight Path Institute, I work to create opportunities that support families, youth, and community members in their religious, social, and personal growth. I also teach in Sunday school at our local mosque, where I hope to nurture faith, character, and a love of learning in the next generation. As a professor of engineering at Hawaiʻi Pacific University and through STEM activities such as alternative energy projects and model rocket launches, I aim to inspire curiosity, discipline, and excellence in youth. My mission is to combine faith, knowledge, and practical skills to empower others while also continuing my own growth in leadership and service. I hope to build a stronger, more confident, and more connected community that benefits both this generation and the next. I also participated in the ERLI 2026 interfaith event.
The Islamic Seminary of America is helping me become a better leader by grounding my service in traditional Qur’anic and Prophetic scholarship while training me to think critically within the contemporary American context. Its structured curriculum and mentoring give me the tools to approach complex questions from Muslim youth, incarcerated Muslims, and the wider community with clarity, wisdom, and intellectual humility. As I offer volunteer chaplaincy services in Hawaiʻi’s correctional facilities, lead various social and educational services through Hawaii Straight Path Institute, teach in Sunday school, and lead STEM-based youth activities, TISA helps align all of this work with a coherent prophetic model of leadership rooted in mercy, justice, and ihsan. Through TISA, I am steadily moving closer to my goal of developing the skills and education needed to offer prophetic-principled help, education, and training to the community and youth in ways that nurture both their faith and their full human potential.” – Dr. Arif Rahman
Here is the link to the events and flyers: https://www.hawaiistraightpath.org/calendar-1.
