Dr. Omar Abdelkafy
Imam Zaid Shakir
Zaid Shakir is amongst the most respected and influential Islamic scholars in the West. As an American Muslim who came of age during the civil rights struggles, he has brought both sensitivity about race and poverty issues and scholarly discipline to his faith-based work.
Born in Berkeley, California, he accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He obtained a BA with honors in International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science at Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, he led a successful campaign for disinvestment from South Africa, and co-founded a local Islamic center, Masjid al-Huda.
For seven years in Syria, and briefly in Morocco, he immersed himself in an intense study of Arabic, Islamic law, Quranic studies, and spirituality with some of the top Muslim scholars of our age. In 2001, he graduated from Syria’s prestigious Abu Noor University and returned to Connecticut, serving again as the Imam of Masjid al-Islam, and writing and speaking frequently on a host of issues. That same year, his translation from Arabic into English of The Heirs of the Prophets was published by Starlatch Press.
In 2003, he moved to Hayward, California to serve as a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at Zaytuna Institute, where he now teaches courses on Arabic, Islamic law, history, and Islamic spirituality. In 2005, Zaytuna Institute published Scattered Pictures, an anthology of diverse essays penned by Zaid Shakir.
He is a frequent speaker at local and national Muslim events and has emerged as one of the nation’s top Islamic scholars and a voice of conscience for American Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah is an American Muslim; originally born to a Protestant family. He embraced Islam while studying at Cornell University during his tenure as a Woodrow Wilson Honorary Fellow. He subsequently attended the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD with honors in 1978 for a dissertation pertaining to the origins of Islamic Law. He went on to teach at the Universities of Windsor (Ontario), Temple University and University of Michigan from 1977 until 1982, when he left America to teach Arabic in Granada, Spain. In 1984, Dr. Abd-Allah was appointed to the Department of Islamic Studies at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah and taught Islamic Studies and Comparative Religions at the university until 2000. After returning to Chicago, Dr. Abd-Allah went on to work as General Director of the newly-founded Nawawi Foundation and, now teaching and conducting research in Islamic studies and related fields.
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi
Yasir Qadhi was born in Houston, Texas and completed his primary and secondary education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, after which he was accepted as a student at the Islamic University of Madinah. After completing a diploma in Arabic, he graduated with a B.A. from the College of Hadith and Islamic Sciences. Thereafter, he completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology from the College of Dawah.
Yasir Qadhi is currently pursuing his doctorate, in Religious Studies, at Yale University in New Haven, CT. At AlMaghrib Instiute he teaches the Light of Guidance and the Light Upon Light seminars, which focus on aqeedah.
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Faraz Rabbani was born in Karachi, Pakistan and raised in Toronto, Canada. He entered the University of Toronto with a full scholarship and completed his Bachelor’s in Economics & Commerce in May 1997. While in Canada, Shaykh Faraz was involved with various organizations and projects, including founding and running the monthly The Muslim Voice and acting as the Vice-President of the University of Toronto Muslim Students’ Association from 1994-1996. While in Toronto, he was involved in various Islamic study circles and educational programs, including those of Shaykh Ahmad Talal al-Ahdab, Shaykh Faisal Abd al-Razzaq, and Shaykh Muhammad Zahid Abu Ghudda.
In the Summer of 2000, he moved to Amman, Jordan. Upon moving to Jordan, his teachers advised him to focus on teaching of what he had covered, for which they gave him encouragement and permission, and to continue his personal research and study. In 2007, he spent some time in Karachi, Pakistan, learning from the scholars there. In the Summer of 2007, he returned to Toronto, where he settled with his wife and three children. In Toronto, he is teaching through SeekersGuidance, both online and on-the-ground.
Dr. Jamal Badawi
Dr. Jamal Badawi is “Professor Emeritus” at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where he served as Professor of both Management and Religious Studies. During its May, 2008 Convocation, Saint Mary’s University granted him an Honorary Doctorate of Civil law in recognition of his promotion of “ a better understanding of Islam” and contribution “ to civil society around the world” He completed his undergraduate studies in Cairo, Egypt and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Dr. Badawi is the author of several works on Islam, including books, chapters in books and articles. In addition to his participation in lectures, seminars and interfaith dialogues in North America, Dr. Badawi has been frequently invited as guest speaker on Islam in nearly 38 other countries. He is a member of the Islamic Juridical [Fiqh] Council of North America, The European Council of Fatwa and Research and the International Union of Muslim Scholars. He has been serving as a volunteer Imam of the local Muslim community in the Halifax Regional Municipality since 1970.
Dr. Mohamed Beshir
Mohamed Rida Beshir is an engineer by profession, working with Nortel Networks in Ottawa Canada. He has over 25 years of experience in Da’wa work in North America and has held various positions with MSA and ISNA on both national and local levels. Currently, he is a board member of Human Concern International. He is a member of the training and development department of the Muslim American Society (MAS). He is a regular speaker in ISNA, ICNA, MSA and MAYA English programs. He is actively developing and delivering training programs to various Muslim communities in North America as well as in South America in the areas of Time Management from an Islamic perspective, strategic planning, tarbiya programs, etc. He has traveled extensively all over the world, participating in various Islamic workshops and programs.
Dr. Zainab Alwani
Zainab Alwani is a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies. Her research interests have focused on Islamic studies (Fiqh & Usul al fiqh), and Family and Women’s issues. She has developed Quranic models through various courses toward building “Quranic family structure”. A few of her publications include: Al Qazali and his Methodology in Fiqh legislation, Aisha’s Commentaries and Their Methodological Premises in Hadith Sciences, What Islam Says about Domestic Violence: A Guide for Helping Muslim Families, and others. Currently, she teaches Islamic and Arabic Studies along with the Culture of Middle East at Northern Virginia Community College NOVA and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She has developed courses in Arabic Studies examining the link between Islamic Philosophy, language and the culture at previous institutes. Ms. Alwani also teaches Women and Family in Quran at GSISS. She is a Board Member on different academic, educational, and social organizations.
Shaykh Navaid Aziz
Navaid Aziz is one of the latest additions to AlMaghrib’s instructor line-up as well as one of the youngest. From Montreal, Quebec, where he was born in 1981, he obtained a degree in Economics and Social Science from Champlain College. After that he went to the Islamic University of Madinah where he spent three years attaining a diploma in Arabic before attaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Shari’ah. His main areas of interest include: Aqeedah, Hadeeth, Qawaa’id fiqhiyah and Maqaasid ash-Shari’ah. Sh Navaid plans to pursue his Master’s degree in either Arabic or Religious Studies. With his zeal and passion for the community, Navaid Aziz will continues his work in the community as a marriage and youth counselor. As part of his aspirations in benefitting the Ummah, Navaid Aziz plans to author books that would be relevent to the English speaking Ummah. Navaid Aziz has studied under many prominent scholars in Saudi Arabia including: Sh. Ahmad Rashid Ar-Ruhaily, Sh. Salih As-Sindhee, Sh. Salih Al-’Aqeel, Sh. Ahmad Al-Ghunaymaan, Sh. Mohammad Mukhtar Ash-Shinqueetee, Sh. Abdul-Muhsin Al-’Abbad. Sh. Abdur-Razzaq Al-’Abbad, just to name a few.
Shaykh Salam Elminyawi
Imam Salam Elmenyawi is the President of the Muslim Council of Montreal, Muslim Chaplain at McGill, and at Concordia University. He leads Friday prayers at both universities and at a number of mosques in the Montreal area. He also teaches Islamic theology courses at Concordia University. Imam Elmenyawi obtained his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Alexandria University, Egypt in 1971, and completed his degree in Islamic Studies at the High Institute of Islamic Study, under the supervision of Azhar University, Cairo Egypt. Following his arrival to Canada, and while working, he continued to study for the Master of Engineering at McGill University, Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Elmenyawi was born in Egypt and has been in Canada for the last 35 years. He is married and has two sons. Over the last 15 years, he has worked actively to bring together people of different faiths, to advance harmony, defend rights, and to fight hatred. He has also served the Muslim community with dedication. In his capacity as Muslim Chaplain and head of the Muslim Council of Montreal, Imam Elmenyawi has most recently contributed instrumentally to discussions on reasonable accommodation for Muslims in the Montreal community.
Dr. Yasir Fazaga
Yassir Fazaga is an inspiring, multi-lingual speaker sought-after from USA through Canada to the Middle and Far East. He was born in Eritrea in Northeast Africa and moved to the United States at the age of 15; has a Bachelors Degree in Islamic Studies from the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in Virginia; has completed all coursework for his Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from the California State University of Long Beach; is currently undertaking his Masters in Theology at Loyola Marymount University. He serves as the Religious Leader of the Orange County Islamic Foundation (OCIF) in Mission Viejo, California. He is involved as a therapist at FACES, where he helps families with different challenges in life which include: domestic violence issues, communication problems, marital matters, generational gap, difficult teens, some mental and personality disorders, divorce, grief, and single parenting, among others. Yassir Fazaga has taught the Arabic language and Islamic Sciences for the past 8 years and has taught Islamic courses on Scriptural Exegesis, and Islamic financial contracts for American Open University. Yassir leads the OCIF youth group in many of their educational, spiritual and recreational activities and participates on behalf of the Orange County Islamic Foundation in many outreach and interfaith events. Sheikh Yassir Fazaga has done numerous interviews about Islam on television news stations and radio stations around the globe. He speaks on Islam and related topics for conferences, churches, high schools, colleges and universities. He serves on the Advisory board of the Islamic Studies program at Claremont Graduate School; is listed on “Who is Who among America’s Teachers” where the best students choose their best teachers and was recently featured on the Today Show on “spirituality in America”. Will be Co-Hosting weekly WISELIVING TV program. Sheikh Yassir Fazaga has this charismatic ability to instantly connect with audiences, through his lucid wit and profound wisdom, his timely humor and the warmth that his presence exudes.
Shaykh Abdalla Idris Ali
Abdalla Idris Ali is a well-known American Muslim public speaker, successful fund-raiser and served as ISNA’s President from 1992-1997. Additionally, Sheikh Abdalla co-organized the Canadian Islamic Banking Conferences for 1996 and 1997. He also serves as a member on the Board of Trustees for the Islamic Teaching Center (ITC) and North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). Additionally, he is also on the Board of Advisors of the American Muslim Council (AMC) and past-Board member of the Council of Islamic Schools in North America. As an ISNA School principal, he developed and implemented Islamic and Arabic Studies curricula for elementary and junior high students. He has written various articles in Islamic Horizons and is a member of the ATP Editorial Board. His expertise is in the area of Islamic education in North America.
Dr. Tariq Ramadan
Named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century, Tariq Ramadan occupies a unique place among leading Islamic thinkers. Representing a new generation of Islamic reformers, Dr. Ramadan advocates the exploration and application of Islamic traditions and values within a modern pluralistic context, calling on Western Muslims to embrace Western culture rather than reject it. A Swiss national, he is a well-respected professor of philosophy at the College of Geneva and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg. In fall 2004 Ramadan was appointed Henry R. Luce Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA.
Ramadan has written more than twenty books exploring the difficult issues of reinterpretation and reform within Islam itself and between the Islamic world and its neighbors around the globe. His books include Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2003), Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity (The Islamic Foundation, 2000), To Be a European Muslim (The Islamic Foundation, 1998), and Jihad, Violence, War and Peace in Islam (in French only, Tawhid, 2002). He has also published a total of 700 contributions or articles in collective books, academic reviews, and magazines.
Ramadan serves as an expert in various commissions linked to the Brussels Parliament, and is a member of several working parties concerned with Islam in the world and on the continent: Deutsches Orient Institute, British Council, Vienna Peace Summit, The Parliament of the World’s Religions 2004 in Barcelona, and the “Laïcité et Islam” commission of the French Educational League.
Dr. Mohammad Chraibi
Sister Rabia Khedr
Rabia S. Khedr is the spokesperson for the Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities (CAMD. As a student, she was a leader for Change Alumni Member, the Maytree Foundation whilst obtaining her BA in Participatory Research, Diversity and Disability Awareness. Rabi served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Women’s Health Network, Member of the City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committee, Past Diversity Advisor to the Canadian Association for Community Living, Trained Facilitator for violence against women with disabilities,writer and coordinator of the “ advisor and participant in the documentary, “Three Lives: A Journey Out Of Darkness”, aired by Vision TV, Summer 2002. As an active researcher, Rabia has been affiliated with Parenting with a Disability: Diversity, Barriers and Requirements, DiversityWorx, Building Bridges for Muslim Caregivers and Care Receivers: A Community Consultation, Providence Health Care and Breaking Down Barriers For Women With Disabilities Research, Canadian Council on Social Development amongst a long list of others. She has delievered workshops on “Knowing Our Diverse Communities (Culture and Intellectual Disability, Disability Awareness Workshops” to major Canadian banks, local governments and “How to Serve Immigrants and Refugees with Disabilities”, to state a few. From the University of Toronto Rabia Khedr obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Industrial Relations and Political Science and a Minor in Professional Writing, is the mother of four young children and a person with disability.