Wayland Town Crier 12/2/10: Friends mourn Wayland scholar hit by train. Nearly 1,000 people from across the country yesterday mourned Omar Khalidi, a Muslim scholar whom friends remembered as an intelligent, charming man who loved music and poetry and promoted tolerance. Known internationally as an expert on Islamic architecture and the plight of Muslims in India, Khalidi was recalled by friends at the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland as a "wonderful human being." The 57-year-old Wayland resident was killed by a Red Line train at the Kendall Square MBTA station in Cambridge on Monday morning. His wife, Nigar, told the Times of India that her husband suffered from diabetes and insomnia and died when he fainted and fell in front of the train. His funeral was held yesterday at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury.