Imam Djafer Sebkhaoui, the Muslim chaplain at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), came to Rensselaer from Algeria as a graduate student in the field of psychology. He obtained his Masters in Psychology. Imam Sebkhaoui was part of Muslim Student Association (MSA) at RPI, which eventually became the Muslim Community of Troy (MCT). He was a cofounder of the Muslim Community of Troy as well as Masjid Al-Hidaya, the first Mosque in Troy.