Oral history interview with Taysir Al-khatib

Oral history interview with Taysir Al-khatib

Taysir Al-khatib describes his personal experiences and the operations of the Islamic Society of Vermont during the COVID-19 pandemic. He speaks about the Society's efforts to protect its members' health, including limiting the number of people who could attend services, setting up a clinic in the mosque for members to get vaccinated, and other preventive measures recommended by the CDC. He also discusses how the pandemic impacted gatherings, indicating there were few funerals and no weddings; one funeral with attendance limited to only immediate family is described as an example.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taysir Al-khatib of Essex Junction, Vermont, served as the chairman of the trustees and a lay imam at the Islamic Society of Vermont. Originally from Jordan, he worked at IBM for thirty years, retiring shortly before the pandemic. He had just retired and was working at Lowe's Home Improvement when the pandemic started.

The Islamic Society of Vermont was founded in 1999 in Colchester, Vermont, but has origins dating several years earlier to 1995. At the time of this interview, the group had a mosque in South Burlington, Vermont, and held a major service on Fridays.

Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-​251676-​OMS-​22.

2024-03-06

Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project

AudioFileCOVID-002

MP3

WAV

Audio file

Permission to publish material from the Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project may be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.

Johnson, Mark

Al-khatib, Taysir, 1953-

49 min., 19 sec.

Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4210