Hakim Ouansafi

Isle advocate for Muslims praises Hawaii’s aloha spirit for encouraging tolerance and diversity

By Vicki Viotti

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 16, 2011

~~<p>Everything, said Hakim Ouansafi, seems to happen for a purpose. Ouansafi is now 47 and very settled, both in his work as a hotel and condominium development consultant and in the role in which he is best known, as president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii. But it took some wild winds to get him here, and now he’s in the habit of going with the flow.</p>
<p>He went from his Moroccan homeland to Rhode Island for a college degree, but a side venture into math tutoring led him to his American wife and ultimately to his American citizenship.</p>
~~

Everything, said Hakim Ouansafi, seems to happen for a purpose. Ouansafi is now 47 and very settled, both in his work as a hotel and condominium development consultant and in the role in which he is best known, as president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii. But it took some wild winds to get him here, and now he’s in the habit of going with the flow.

He went from his Moroccan homeland to Rhode Island for a college degree, but a side venture into math tutoring led him to his American wife and ultimately to his American citizenship. Login for more...