Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmathullahi wa Brakathuhu,

38th Annual ICNA – MAS Convention

Scholars and Community Leaders Recognition Luncheon

ICNA cordially invites you to honor the life-long
commitment of our scholars and community leaders.

Sunday, May 26th, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Rooms 12-13 Hartford Convention Center
100 Columbus Blvd, Hartford CT 06103

RSVP:
Dr. Mahmood Aijazi, Vice President, ICNA (703) 864-3020
Hamid Siddiqui, Convention Chair (516)-852-8555

Ticket price: $50

Click below to buy your tickets now:

The President of Islamic Circle of North America, Mr. Baig previously served as Secretary General of ICNA for three terms and on the Majlis Ash-Shura from 2010-2012. He is currently the ICNA Vice President for Public Affairs and the Executive Director of the ICNA Council for Social Justice. He is also the Chairman of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) and the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT), an umbrella body of 10 national American Muslim organizations.

He currently serves on the board of Interfaith Workers Justice and co-chairs the National Muslim-Christian Initiative. He is also a member of the Taskforce on Global Initiative on Faith, Health and Development. He additionally worked as a consultant on the “Study on Christian-Muslim Relations,” sponsored by the Department of Interfaith Relations of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Zaid Shakir is chairman of the board, co-founder, and senior faculty member at Zaytuna College. He is also the chair of Zaytuna’s Student Affairs Committee, which looks after student residential life and co-curricular activities. In 2003, Zaid Shakir moved to Hayward, California to serve as a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at Zaytuna Institute. In 2009, he co-founded Zaytuna College, where he now teaches Islamic law and history. Known to the world as Imam Zaid, he has authored numerous articles on a wide range of topics, becoming a voice of conscience for American Muslims and non-Muslims alike. As an activist, he has inspired communities from New Jersey to Connecticut to mobilize for social justice.

Nouman is the founder and CEO of Bayyinah, as well as the lead instructor for a number of Bayyinah courses including the ‘Fundamentals of Classical Arabic’ and ‘Divine Speech’. His first exposure to Arabic study was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he completed his elementary education. He continued Arabic grammar study in Pakistan, where he received a scholarship for ranking among the top 10 scores in the national Arabic studies board examinations in 1993. But his serious training in Arabic began in the United States in 1999 under Dr. Abdus-Samie, founder and formal principal of Quran College, Faisalabad, Pakistan who happened to be touring the US for intensive lectures in Tafsir and Arabic studies. Under Dr. Abdus-Samie, Nouman developed a keen methodical understanding of Arabic grammar. He further benefited from Dr. Abdus-Samie by internalizing his unique teaching methods and later translating his work into English for the benefit of his own students. Nouman served as professor of Arabic at Nassau Community College until `06 and has taught Modern Standard and Classical Arabic at various venues for nearly 7 years with over 10,000 students nationwide. Currently he has dedicated himself to a seven-year-long project, of conducting a linguistic & literary focus Qur’anic Tafseer series in English. Recordings of sessions conducted so far can be downloaded at www.bayyinah.com/dream.

Suhaib Webb is an American Muslim Imam,thought leader and educator. After his conversion to Islam, Webb left a career in the music industry and pursued his passion in education. He enrolled at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree Imam Webb studied privately with a renowned Muslim Scholar of Senegalese descent. After intense private training in various Islamic sciences Imam Webb was hired as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, where he not only provided Khutbas (Sermons) and religious classes but also counseled families and young people. After serving as Imam, Imam Webb decided to further his education and training in Islamic Law and various other Islamic sciences. He enrolled at the worldrenowned Islamic educational institution Al-Azhar University in the College of Shari ʿah. There he also studied privately with leading Islamic thinkers of Islam. After years of study in the Arabic language he was appointed head of the English translation Department at Dar al-Ifta al-Masriyah as a Mufti (Jurist).

He completed his memorization of Qur’an there as well. Imam Webb strongly advocates for an authentic articulation of the American Muslim identity. He is a proponent of understanding the various challenges facing the American Muslim community and finding solutions based on an Authentic American Muslim experience. In 2009 his website www.suhaibwebb.com won the Brass Crescent’s best “Blog of the Year” award. Recently he was part of a delegation that visited Auschwitz to develop better understanding between Muslim and Jewish Americans. He was named by the British Government as a “Moderate Muslim leader” and was named one of the top 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center 2010-2012. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, where he serves as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center and is the founder and an instructor at Ella Collins Institute of Islamic and Cultural studies. Ella Collins Institute aims to provide intellectually, spiritually and socially stimulating courses that will develop a culture of civic engagement and empowerment by collaborating a classical understanding of Islam with modern scholarship.

Dr. Mokhtar Maghraoui is one of the most well renowned scholars in North America. Originally from Algeria, he is thoroughly versed in the Islamic sciences and holds a doctorate joined between the fields of physics and engineering from Syracuse University. His expertise includes the disciplines of Tazkiyah and Fiqh, and he is best known for his enlightening retreats and seminars empowering Muslims on their spiritual quest.

Sh. Yaser Birjas is the Head of our Islamic Law and Theory Department. Often described as the fatherly figure by students, Shaykh Yaser exudes a calm, gentle and caring demeanour that welcomes students to ask questions with awe and respect.

Shaykh Yaser started his career in Electronic Engineering in the UAE, then in Madinah where he graduated as class Valedictorian with the highest honors from The Islamic University of Madinah’s College of Shariah (Fiqh and Usool) in 1996. He learned from various highly respected scholars such as Shaikh Ash-Shanqitee and Shaikh Al-Uthaimeen (rahimahu Allah).

Born on 9th July, 1932 at Formalee, District-Atak, he received his primary education in Bareilly. He was educated in Islamic Studies initially from Mazaherul Oloom, Saharanpur District and Higher studies and Fazeelat from Madarsatul-Islah, Sarai Mir. He memorized Quran and also learnt Tajweed. After passing high school, his father Sheikhul Hadith Maulana Abdul Qadeem khan sent him to Madrasa Mazahirul Uloom, Saharanpur, Later he joined Madarsatul Islah, Sarai Mir, Azamgarh, He spent four years under the guidance of Maulana Akhtar Ahsan Islahi and received Sanad Fazilat with distinction. He has been editing the popular magazine “Zikra Jadeed” for the last 35 years. He has authored and published more than 60 books on various aspects of Islam. Among them : Aadab e Zindagi (Etiquettes of Life in Islam) , Asan Fiqh (Everyday Fiqh), Quraani Taleemat, Sura-e-Yaseen, Sura-e-Saff, Tafhimul Hadith, Guldasta-e-Hadith, Islami Muashrah, Husne Muashrat, Dai -e-Azam, Roshan Sitare and others. Many of his books are translated and published in English, Hindi and other languages. He became a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind at the age of 25 years and has been entrusted with various key posts. He is a member of Markazi Majlis Shura (Central Advisory Committee) for the last five terms. He is also guiding many educational and welfare institutions. He is the Nazim (President) of Jameatus Salehat, Rampur, a unique and very well known institution for higher Arabic and Islamic education for girls. Markazi Darsgahe Islami, Rampur is also running under his guidance for the last few years. Several other educational and welfare institutions also seek advice and guidance from him. He spends a few months every year in the United States of America for the cause of Da’wah. A large number of Muslims and Islamic Center benefit from his knowledge and experience which he shares through his speeches and advices.

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.

His published works include Riya’a: The Hidden Shirk, Du’aa: The Weapon of the Believer, and An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur’an.
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.

Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari is the former National President of Islamic Circle of North America. He is also Director of the American Muslim Studies Program and Fellow at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Previously, he served as Director of Pew Project entitled “Muslims in American Public Square.” Dr. Bukhari has a Masters in Economics from the University of Karachi and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut. His research interests have focused on religion and public policy in the United States. He has vast experience in all aspects of survey research. During 1993-1995, he participated in a national study of the Islamic centers/mosques across North America conducted by the Islamic Resource Institute, Los Angles, CA. He has published and presented papers on Islam and development, Muslim public opinion in the US and other related topics in national and international forums. Dr. Bukhari has an extensive experience of working with various Islamic organizations and also with other religious groups of USA. He was one of the founders of the National Islamic Shura Council, a representative body of the American Muslims consisting of four national Islamic organizations. Dr. Bukhari also worked as Secretary General of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and chairman of ICNA Relief, a not-for-profit relief organization. Dr.Bukhari is married and has two sons and two daughters.

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. Some of his works are available also on the internet including Gender Equity in Islam available on www.google.com/ and a 352-segment television series on Islam, now available [in audio format] at http://www.islamonline.net/ under “Reading Islam”, sub-link “Islam in 176Hours”. Other interviews and articles on topics such as “Apostasy”, “Muslim/Non-Muslim Relations” and Muslim Contribution to Civilization are also available at the Islamonline site.

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 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. Badawi is father of 5 children and grandfather of 17.

Sh. Abdool Rahman Khan is a graduate of the Islamic University faculty of Shari’ah (Islamic Jurisprudence) specializing in Islamic Inheritance. He is a former Principal of the Guyana Islamic Institute and also of Al-Rahmah School, Baltimore Maryland. Now he is the Resident Scholar and Khateeb (lecturer) at Islamic Foundation, Villa Park, Chicago, Illinois and is actively involved in the field of Religious Dialog and Social issues. He is also the chairman of the Shari’ah Council of Islamic Circle of North America and a member of the Fiqh Council of North America.

Imam Omar Suleiman is the kind-hearted, friendly giant from New Orleans, Louisiana. Born and raised in America, Imam Omar’s character has gained the love of both young and mature audiences. Imam Omar has two Bachelors degree in Islamic Studies and in Accounting. He studied in the UAE under Ustadh Tariq Rajah and in Jordan under Shaykh Omar Sulayman Al Ashqar. Since 2008, Sh Omar has been under the tutelage of Dr. Salah As-Sawy and Dr. Hatem Al Haj. He teaches online with Mishkah University and a member of the ICNA Shariah Council. Imam Omar worked for ICNA Relief in Hurricane Katrina and ICNA Relief Louisiana. He was also an Imam of Masjid Abu Bakr As-Siddique in New Orleans. He was awarded for “Outstanding Civic Achievement” by the Major and City Council of New Orleans in 2010. He is currently teaching and in his Masters program of Islamic Finance with the Institute of Islamic Finance in the UK, and will be pursuing his PhD in Islamic Studies from Malaysia in the Fall of this year, insha Allah.

Abdul Nasir Jangda is the founder and director of Qalam Institute. He was born and raised in the Dallas area. At the age of 10 he went to Karachi, Pakistan to memorize the Quran. He excelled in his memorization and committed the entire Quran to memory in less than 1 year. He then returned home and continued his school education. After graduating from High School, he went back to Karachi to study the Alim Course at Jamia Binoria. He graduated from the rigorous 7 year program in 2002 at the top of his class and with numerous Ijaazaat (Licenses) in various Islamic Sciences. Along with the Alim Course he concurrently completed a B.A. and M.A. in Arabic from Karachi University. He also obtained a Masters in Islamic Studies from the University of Sindh. He taught Arabic at the University of Texas at Arlington from 2005 to 2007. He has served as an instructor and curriculum advisor to various Islamic schools and Islamic studies programs. He served as the Imam at the Colleyville Masjid in the Dallas area for 3 years. He is a founding member and chairman of Mansfield Islamic Center. Abdul Nasir is an instructor with Bayyinah Institute, where his class “Meaningful Prayer” has traveled the country. His latest projects include Quran Intensive (a summer program focusing on Arabic grammar and Tafsir), Quranic analysis lectures, Khateeb Training, chronicling of the Prophetic Biography at www.qalaminstitute.org, and personally mentoring and teaching his students.

Wisam Sharieff was born and raised on the east coast. He spent his early years at the Islamic Center of Long Island (ICLI) and completed his elementary studies at Crescent School. His Islamic studies journey began at the Islamic Institute of Education (IIE) under Mufti Abdullah Saleem in Elgin, Illinois. At IIE, Sharieff completed his memorization of the Qur’an and excelled in his early studies of seerah (biography/way of life of Prophet Muhammad PBUH), tajweed (science of Qur’anic recitation), and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). After three years of study at the institute, Sharieff founded the first after school Qur’anic studies program at his local masjid, ICLI. Once the program was established and in trustworthy hands, Sharieff traveled to Cairo, Egypt to study linguistics and recitation under Sheikh Ahmad Wafa. After completing a rigorous seven-hour a day schedule, Sharieff returned to New York to complete high school. With Allah’s tremendous mercy, his high school graduation was completed with honors in just 20 months. Sharieff enrolled in college while rejoining the after school Qur’anic studies program that he initiated before leaving for Egypt. Setting his sights on more than Qur’anic reading, a part-time tahfeez ul Qur’an (memorization of the Qur’an) program was started at the school. Students benefitted from Sharieff’s traditional knowledge and fresh approach of Qur’anic sciences. As students settled into their routines, Sharieff realized he wanted to advance his own studies and offer more to his students. With this motivation, he traveled to Lahore, Pakistan where he was selected from 33 students internationally to attend the Qur’an Academy. The Qur’an Academy was a branch of the Qur’an College started by Dr. Israr Ahmad, whose campus was just minutes away. Quran Academy students roomed with Dr. Israr and studied sciences directly from teachers. A joint relationship between the Qur’an Academy and Jamia al Ashrafiya, located on the adjacent street, allowed for intercollegiate study, exposing students to classical sciences like usul ul Hadith (principals of Hadith), usul ul fiqh (principals of Islamic jurisprudence), and munthick (logic). After completing his Bachelors in Arabic grammar with a minor in Islamic literature from the Qura’an Academy, Sharieff returned to the United States. Upon his return, Sharieff started weekly halaqaat (study circles) and gave khutub (sermons) for the NYC community. The tahfeez ul Qur’an class that Sharieff started before leaving for Lahore was flourishing, and Sharieff took the reins once again to launch the Circle of Excellence, the first full-time Qur’anic memorization and educational institute. The Circle of Excellence fused Islamic studies with state mandated educational requirements. Nine students completed high school and memorization of the Qur’an. All the while, Sharieff was completing classes as a requirement for acceptance into St. Vincent’s Medical Academy. After acceptance into the radiological sciences program, Sharieff taught and attended classes until his rotations took him to Las Vegas, Nevada. Soon after, Bayyinah, a nationally traveling Arabic Institute, employed Sharieff to bring Qur’anic study state-to-state and person-to-person. After completing his four-year degree as a radiology assistant and seeing over 5,000 people benefit from his teaching techniques with Bayyinah traveling classes, Sharieff took his studies back to the Middle East. In 2007, he was privileged to study in Makkah with Sheikh Zahid Rashid, a member of the acceptance committee at Umul Qura University. In a short period, Sharieff was able to study in small groups with some of Makkah’s most prominent scholars, including studying kitaab ut tawheed (book on the Oneness of Allah) from Sheikh Fawzan, the author of the most widely used English commentary on the text on theology. During Sharieff’s time there, he was blessed to recite directly to many scholars of the Qur’an, including the youngest imam of the Grand Mosque. Sharieff’s summer in Makkah proved to be intense, yet he was looking to sit under the shade of a teacher and learn. His travel brought him back to Egypt, but this time to Alexandria. After twice requesting to sit and learn from Sheikh Muhammad Helmi, he was denied. Sheikh Helmi openly asked Sharieff how someone from the west could have the ability, and moreover the etiquette, to learn from him for an extended time. Sharieff explained of his travels and mentioned his accomplishments, especially in such short time frames. Sheikh Muhammad Helmi accepted Sharieff and began in depth study of tafseer (commentary), iraab (morphology) and grammar. Along with the expertise of Sheikh Ali Anwar in recitation and tafseer, Sharieff expanded his horizons in uloom ul Qur’an (sciences of the Quran). After a year abroad, Sharieff returned to pursue his passion of the varying recitations of the Quran with Sheikh Uthman Khan in Mississauga, Canada. His studies with Sheikh Uthman are still continuing.

Altaf Husain holds a doctoral degree from the Howard University School of Social Work in Washington D.C. His research interests include the integration of immigrant and refugee families, and especially Muslim adolescents, in the United States. He serves as Executive Assistant for Academic Affairs in the Office of the Provost at Howard University and is a double alumnus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Altaf is a former two-term national president of the Muslim Students Association, a current executive committee member of the Muslim Alliance in North America, and a board member of the Peaceful Families Project. He is married and has two sons.

Amaney Jamal is an associate professor of politics at Princeton University and director of the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice. Her interests include the study of Muslim and Arab Americans and the pathways that structure their patterns of civic engagement in the U.S. The focus of her current research is democratization and the politics of civic engagement in the Arab world. Jamal’s books include Barriers to Democracy, which explores the role of civic associations in promoting democratic effects in the Arab world (winner 2008 APSA Best Book Award in comparative democratization); and, as coauthor, Race and Arab Americans Before and After 9/11: From Invisible Citizens to Visible Subjects (2007) and Citizenship and Crisis: Arab Detroit after 9/11 (2009). Her new book Of Empires and Citizens ) was just published by Princeton University Press, Fall 2012.. In addition to her role as director of Princeton’s Workshop on Arab Political Development, Jamal is a codirector of Princeton’s Luce Project on Migration, Participation, and Democratic Governance in the U.S., Europe, and the Muslim World; principal investigator of theArab Barometer Project, winner of the Best Dataset in the Field of Comparative Politics( Lijphart/Przeworski/Verba Dataset Award 2010); co-PI of the Detroit Arab American Study, a sister survey to the Detroit Area Study; and senior advisor on the Pew Research Center projects focusing on Islam in America (2006) and Global Islam (2010). Ph.D. University of Michigan. In 2005, Jamal was named a Carnegie Scholar.

Sh. Yusuf Islahi | Register Today for ICNA-MAS Convention 2013