Boston Globe 10/22/16: Islamic Center opens doors to neighbors. On a rainy Saturday morning at the Islamic Center of Boston, Shaheen Akhtar spoke to strangers about the Koran — the three on the table next to her, but also about how Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had owned copies. “People think that Muslims have just come here to this country,” but an inclusive dialogue about Islam goes back to the founding fathers, including Jefferson, who advocated for the rights of practitioners of the faith, said Akhtar, an interfaith liaison who works with the center.