The establishment of functioning families is a critical component of a healthy and flourishing society. Islam sets to establish families as morally guided, virtuous and healthy functioning units; leading to a high level of moral awareness, and a strong commitment to purposive orientation of all human behavior.
When Islam was revealed to mankind it paid a great deal of attention to the establishment of strong families and protecting them from things that could harm them, and preserving family ties whilst giving each member of the family an important role in life.
Join the 25,000+ Muslims this year insh’allah at the annual ICNA convention as we come together to shine light the essence of family, faith and future.
We offer a variety of programs for every age group. Multiple sessions to choose from on a wide range of topics that correlate to the theme.
YM Conference is a gathering to reignite our faith and find inspiration while establishing brotherhood & sisterhood with others who share similar struggles.
MCNA (Muslim Childrwn of North America), YMj (YM juniors)
Challenge yourself amongst Muslims from all over the US in our biggest Quran Competition of the year.
MYDT (Muslim Youth Debate Tournament) is pleased to host a national parliamentary-style debate tournament for middle and high schoolers.
An exclusive matchmaking service program by ICNA.
Hack-a-thon, Tech Talks, Robotics & Virtual Reality
The MOVE Venture Challenge invites entrepreneurs to seek funding from a panel of renowned Muslim investors.
You won’t want to skip our indoor amusement park for some family packed fun.
Parent(s) can leave their child(ren) with our dedicated staff and enjoy the sessions throughout the day.
ICNACON 2023 is in partnership with Malaika Foundation to provide basic services for children and individuals with special needs.
The opinions expressed by the ICNA Convention speakers are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) or the Muslim American Society (MAS).
Yasir Qadhi is the Resident Scholar of the East Plano Islamic Center. He is also the Dean of The Islamic Seminary of America. He is one of the few people who has combined a traditional Eastern Islamic seminary education with Western academic training in the study of Islam.
Yasir 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 and then completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology from the College of Dawah. He then returned to America and completed a PhD in Religious Studies from Yale University.
He has authored several books, published academic articles, and appeared on numerous satellite and TV stations around the globe. His online videos are of the most popular and highly-watched Islamic videos in English.
Joram van Klaveren is a former Dutch politician. As a member of the Party for Freedom he was an MP from 17 June 2010 until 21 March 2014. He subsequently was an independent until his term in office ended on 23 March 2017.
He focused on matters of desegregation, employment-to-population ratio, egalitarianism, and emancipation. Before he went to parliament he was a City Councilor (March 2006 – July 2009) and worked as a Social Affairs and Education Policy officer.
From March 24th, 2011 until June 11th, 2014 he also was a member of the States-Provincial of Flevoland. He became well-known for anti-Muslim comments. In October 2018, he converted to Islam halfway through writing an anti-Islam book. After becoming a Muslim, he decided to rededicate his book to his search for religiosity and the subsequent conversion to Islam.
He recently founded the Anthony Janszoon Association. This organization tries to restore the often incorrect image of Islam in the West.
He is currently the CEO of Helping Hand USA and the former President of ICNA. He's an engineer by profession, Javaid holds a Master's degree in electrical engineering.
As a resident of Lexington, KY he is a regular Khateeb in his area masaajid.
Dr. Zahid H. Bukhari serves as Executive Director of the ICNA Council for Social Justice (ICNA CSJ). Since 2004, he has also been serving as Executive Director of the Center for Islam and Public Policy (CIPP), Washington, DC. Previously, he worked as Director, American Muslim Studies Program (AMSP) at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim- Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. From 1999-2004, he also worked as Director, Project MAPS: Muslims in American Public Square, which examined the role and contribution of the Muslim community to the American public life.
Dr. Bukhari’s research interests focused on Islam in the West; Muslims in America; religion and politics; and religion, humanitarian aid and development. He is also editor of the Project MAPS volume: Muslims’ Place in the American Public Square: Fears, Hopes and Aspirations; and the CIPP volume: Observing the Observer: The State of Islamic Studies in American Universities.
From 2009-2012, Dr. Bukhari also served as National President of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). Dr. Bukhari has a Masters in Economics from the University of Karachi, Pakistan and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, USA."
Oussama Jammal is the Secretary General of the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), an umbrella organization of national, regional, and local Muslim organizations. Mr. Jammal served in different capacities including former president and chairman of the Board of the Mosque Foundation, Bridgeview, Illinois; Interfaith Advisory Board of the Department of Homeland Security – Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS-FEMA)- Cook County, Illinois; member of the strategy board of the Metro-Industrial Areas Foundation (Metro-IAF), one of the largest community organizing in the United States; the National Director of MAS-PACE, the Public A/airs and Civic Engagement Division of the Muslim American Society; former President of Fox Valley Muslim Community Center, Illinois; former president of the Council of Arab Organizations; and former chairman of the Steering Committee for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Annual Convention.
Zaynab Ansari spent a decade studying Farsi, Arabic, and traditional Islam, sitting with male and female scholars in seminaries in the Middle East, including traditional scholars in Damascus in the 1990s. Upon her return to the United States, she earned degrees in history and Middle Eastern Studies from Georgia State University.
Since 2014, Zaynab Ansari has served as a scholar-in-residence for Tayseer Foundation, offering enrichment courses and halaqahs to women and youth in the Muslim Community of Knoxville, and working on interfaith dialogue. She is currently an instructor at Tayseer Seminary, which features a one-year intensive in Islamic Studies, drawing students from Tennessee and all regions of the United States.
Ustadh Majed completed a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Windsor, a Bachelor’s in Islamic Studies in Islamic Jurisprudence and Legal Theory from Al-Madinah International University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Wayne State University.
As he travels worldwide lecturing about different aspects of Islam, Majed works full-time as a mechanical engineer and teaches with Al-Maghrib Institute.
He currently lives in Michigan with his wife and children.
Imam Suleiman Hani is the Director of Academic Affairs at AlMaghrib Institute, a research scholar for Yaqeen Institute, and a resident scholar and adjunct lecturer in Michigan. At the age of 14, Suleiman completed a 10-month Qur’an memorization program and began his intensive studies under numerous scholars, earning dozens of traditional religious certifications in the process.
He later earned a master’s degree from the University of Jordan’s College of Shari’ah, ranking first in his class, and a master’s degree from Harvard University, where he studied religions, philosophy, political science, and psychology. Over the past decade, he has served as an Imam and community leader in Michigan, lectured in dozens of countries, published a number of books and articles, and was featured on the largest Islamic TV stations worldwide.
Dr. Suzy Ismail is the Founding Director of Cornerstone, a nonprofit, faith-based communication intervention organization with several locations around the world that focus on youth, family, marriage, identity, socioemotional wellness, and relationship rebuilding.
She is the author of many books including "Modern Muslim Marriage," "9 to 5," "When Muslim Marriage Fails," and several other works. She specializes in educating and empowering women, youth, and vulnerable populations by presenting a range of workshops, lectures, programs, diversity seminars, and corporate trainings both nationally and internationally.
As a Visiting Professor for over a decade in the Communication Departments of Rutgers University and DeVry University, Dr. Ismail has researched, written, and presented extensively on the intersectionality of education, faith, communication, and culture.
She has also served for many years as a student adviser, teacher, and board member of a local private school. Dr. Ismail has been interviewed on numerous media outlets and is often featured on talk shows, radio and television broadcasts and podcasts regarding her work. She has presented on the topics of marriage, family, parenting, identity, and teens at many public and private universities around the world such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, NYU and many more, as well as at the World Meeting of Families during Pope Francis’ first visit to the US. She has traveled to the border of Syria to work in refugee camps with women, families, and orphans and continues her work with resettlement and relief agencies providing integration intervention.
For many years, Dr. Ismail has served as an executive officer and director on several nonprofit boards, commissions, and organizations. Her humanitarian work has been recognized with numerous awards including the Ambassador for Peace Award and the Visionary Muslim Award. She holds an MA in Communication and in Human Services and a PhD in Family Studies & Intervention Strategies. Dr. Ismail currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband and three children.
Dalia Mogahed is the Director of Research at ISPU where she develops, leads and executes ISPU’s community-focused research strategy.
Mogahed is former Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, where she led the analysis of surveys of Muslim communities worldwide.
With John L. Esposito, she coauthored the book Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think. President Barack Obama appointed Mogahed to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in 2009.
Abdullah Oduro is a first generation Ghanian native that converted to Islam in 1997. He graduated from the College of Islamic Law from the University of AlMadinah in 2007. He conducts public speeches, sermons, lectures, and workshops around the US on Islamic Law, self-improvement, and convert life. He is currently the Imam at the Islamic Center of Coppell and Lewisville in Dallas, TX.
He resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and four children. Having recently joined Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research as a Scholar, Shaykh Abdullah leads a team providing unique and comprehensive resources for new Muslim converts and institutional convert care
Mobeen Vaid is a Muslim public intellectual and writer. A contributing writer for muslimmatters.org, his writings center on how traditional Islamic norms and frames of thinking intersect the modern world. In recent years, he has focused on Islamic sexual and gender norms.
Vaid also serves as an advisor to Muslim college students, and is a campus minister for the Muslim community at George Mason University. He has reviewed The Study Qur’an for the Journal of Islamic Sciences and published “Can Islam Accommodate Homosexual Acts? Qur'anic Revisionism and the Case of Scott Kugle” for the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS).
Zahra Billoo serves as the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) office, the oldest CAIR chapter office. Since joining in 2009, Zahra has led the organization through a period of six-fold growth. Today, she manages one of the largest CAIR offices in the country with a team of civil rights and social justice advocates dedicated to the empowerment of American Muslims through legal services, legislative advocacy, and community organizing.
Under Zahra’s leadership, CAIR-SFBA has filed lawsuits against the United States Department of Justice, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Southwest Airlines, representing American Muslims facing discriminatory treatment. CAIR-SFBA has also significantly expanded its capabilities to provide know-your-rights sessions on a nearly weekly basis to mosques and community members in the San Francisco Bay Area, while also providing direct legal representation to Bay Area residents facing numerous civil rights violations, including FBI interviews, employment discrimination, airport harassment, school bullying, and hate crimes.
Zahra’s advocacy has included media appearances in local and national media, including MSNBC, NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, and even FOX News. Among her awards, she received the 2017 Human Rights Award from the Society of American Law Teachers and the 2018 Community Builder Award from People Acting in Community Together (PACT). She was also listed by the San Jose Mercury News as a “Woman to Watch” in March 2017 for Women’s History Month, as well as by the Chronicle of Philanthropy in their January 2018 cover story on millennials who lead.
She is currently a fellow with Levi Strauss Foundation Pioneers in Justice, a senior fellow with the American Leadership Forum’s Silicon Valley Chapter, and an alumna of Rockwood’s Fellowship for a New California, Leader Spring’s Executive Directors Fellowship, and USC’s American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute. Zahra earned her undergraduate degrees from the California State University, Long Beach, and her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings. She is licensed to practice law in California.
Outside of her work with CAIR, Zahra bakes birthday cakes for foster children through Cake4Kids and is a coordinator for Project Feed, a monthly homeless feeding effort in downtown San Francisco. She lives in Milpitas with her two cats, Justice and Peace.
Carl Sharif El-Tobgui holds a B.S. in Arabic Language from Georgetown University and a Master's and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from McGill University and currently serves as Associate Professor Arabic & Islamic Studies and Director of the Arabic Language Program at Brandeis.
He previously taught for five years at Harvard University as Preceptor of Arabic, and has also taught at the Middlebury College Summer Arabic Language School. Prof. El-Tobgui's scholarly expertise lies in the field of Islamic thought, with a concentration on theology, law, and jurisprudence.
He is particularly interested in questions concerning the relationship between reason and revelation in the Islamic tradition and has published on the manifestations of this tension in the fields of classical Islamic jurisprudence and Qur'anic exegesis. His first monograph is an extensive study of Ibn Taymiyya's (d. 1328) 10-volume magnum opus, "Refutation of Contradiction Between Reason and Revelation" (published Open Access by E.J. Brill, 2020).
In addition to his expertise in Islamic thought, Prof. El-Tobgui has a deep love of language in general and of Classical Arabic in particular and has enjoyed for many years exploring the intricacies of Arabic grammar as well as classical literature and poetry with his students.
Saadia Z. Yunus, MA, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist, motivational speaker, and community leader. She has extensive experience helping individuals, couples, families, and groups, is trained in trauma and gives presentations and workshops throughout the country.
She is a graduate of the Institute of Islamic Sciences, a teacher of the Quran, and a mental health columnist. She owns a private practice in Deer Park, NY, and is the co-founder of Muslimahs of Long Island. She is on the advisory board of Dolan Family Health Center in Huntington, NY. Born and raised in Bonifay, Florida, Saadia Z. Yunus now resides on Long Island, NY with her husband and four children.
She has an active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and can be contacted via her website: www.saadiazyunus.com
Altaf Husain is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and lives currently in Northern Virginia with his wife and children. He serves as Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Howard University in Washington DC.
His research interests include the mental health and integration of immigrant and refugee families, and especially Muslim adolescents, in the United States.
He serves as Vice President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and an advisory board member of the Peaceful Families Project -dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence.
He feels honored to have spoken at ICNA conventions since 1998.
Dr. Ovamir Anjum is the Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Toledo.
His work focuses on the nexus of theology, ethics, politics and law in Islam, with comparative interest in Western Thought. Trained as a historian, his work is essentially interdisciplinary, drawing on the fields of classical Islamic studies, political philosophy, and cultural anthropology.
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 demeanor 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).
Afia received her B.A. degrees in Criminal Justice and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and earned her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law with a Certificate in Public Interest Law.
She is the founder of Yunus Law P.C., an immigration law practice with offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, and NJ. She represents clients around the country and abroad in family-based and employment-based immigration and removal defense.
As a passionate immigrant justice advocate, Afia is a Board Member of the One America Movement, a South Jersey Leader for Faith in New Jersey, a Member of the Cherry Hill Human Relations Commission, a Board Member of the Cherry Hill Mosque, serves as legal counsel for ICNA’s Center for Social Justice hotline, and hosts regular workshops, seminars, and Facebook LIVE webinars to advance and enhance the rights of immigrants nationwide.
Saadia Z. Yunus, MA, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist, motivational speaker, and community leader. She has extensive experience helping individuals, couples, families, and groups, is trained in trauma and gives presentations and workshops throughout the country.
She is a graduate of the Institute of Islamic Sciences, a teacher of the Quran, and a mental health columnist. She owns a private practice in Deer Park, NY, and is the co-founder of Muslimahs of Long Island. She is on the advisory board of Dolan Family Health Center in Huntington, NY. Born and raised in Bonifay, Florida, Saadia Z. Yunus now resides on Long Island, NY with her husband and four children.
She has an active social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and can be contacted via her website: www.saadiazyunus.com
Sh. Abdool Rahman Khan is a graduate of the Islamic University faculty of Shari’ah (Islamic Jurisprudence).
He is currently the chairman of the Shari’ah Council of ICNA and a member of the Fiqh Council of North America.
He also is the Director of Programs in the Tarbiyah Department of ICNA.
Hatem Bazian is a co-founder and Professor of Islamic Law and Theology at Zaytuna College, the 1st Accredited Muslim Liberal Arts College in the United States. In addition, Prof. Bazian is a lecturer in the Departments of Near Eastern and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
In addition to academic work, Dr, Bazian is a weekly columnist for the Turkish Daily Sabah Newspaper and Turkey Agenda online magazine. Dr. Bazian is founder and national Chair of American Muslims for Palestine, board member of the Islamic Scholarship Fund, Muslim Legal Fund of America, President of Dollar for Deen Charity, and Chair of Northern California Islamic Council."
Graduated from Al-Azhar University, with an Ijaza for Specialization in the Qur’anic Sciences and the ten recitations.
Many Ijazaat with connected Sanad - Chain of Knowledge - for reciting the Holy Qur’an and teaching it according to the narration of Hafs from `Asim and the authentic ten recitation styles.
Used to oversee and teach in several Qur’an programs in different Masjid and Islamic Centers in Egypt, UK and Ireland.
Leading Traweeh prayer at masjid Al-Birr, London UK for 7 years before coming to United states in 2012.
Work as a Director of Tarteel Academy at MCGP.
Sh. Haroon Baqai has been teaching the Quran and Tajweed for many years. He has an Ijazah in the mode of Hafs an Asim, which he received in Saudi Arabia after studying under Sh. Muhammad Ali Haqqan.
Sh. Haroon is the Principal of a full-time school, Al Huda, in College Park, Maryland. He has also produced two CDs on Quran recitation, “The Healer of Hearts,” which is a recitation of the 29th and 30th Juzz; and “Ahlul Quran Gear”, a guide to memorizing short surahs.
Sh. Haroon has also written a book titled “Let’s Beautify Our Recitation: A Complete Handbook of Tajweed.”
Quickly becoming one of New York’s prominent Islamic figures, Sheikh Qari Nazrul Islam graduated as an Alim from Madrasah Taleemuddin of the Islamic University of Isipingo Beach, South Africa in 2012.
Sheikh Qari Nazrul Islam is expected to graduate as a Mufti from Darul Ilm, Birmingham, UK in the summer of 2023.
Shiekh Qari Nazrul Islam is also one of the most distinguished students of Qari Ismail Essack in Quran recitation.
Shiekh Qari Nazrul Islam has mastered the 7 and the 10 Qiraat of the Qur’an Al Kareem and has received multiple Ijazahs and Sanads.
Heavily involved in Dawah work and education, he has played a key role in starting multiple educational institutions and organizations.
He continues to serve the community as the Imam and resident scholar of Shelter Rock Islamic Center in Long Island, NY.
Maryam Masud is an American Muslim social media influencer, studying in 11th grade and living in New Jersey, USA. She is the President of a newly formed Climate and Environment protection organization “Nourish Our Earth”, and recipient of a special US Congressional Award in 2022. She has memorized the entire Holy Qur’an at the tender age of 9. She is the host of a very popular kids program “Quran With Maryam” with her young sister Hafiza.
Fatima Masud [7 yrs] on her social media platforms of 5 million followers. Maryam has participated in various national and international competitions, a lot of which she has won.
She has collaborated with many different multi-national organizations and TV channels and produced programs in order to motivate the young generation to love the Holy Qur’an and get involved with Social and Humanitarian activities. Maryam is working with the Australian-based One4Kids channel (Zaky TV) as well as the Malaysian-based streaming platform Durioo+.
Maryam is working with many Charitable Organizations in USA to help the Orphan children of the world. Most recently she raised 50 thousand US dollars for the Orphan children of Syria and Yemen through Facebook and LaunchGood pages for MuslimAid USA. Maryam is involved with many interfaith humanitarian activities.
Established on September 1st, 1968, the Islamic Circle of North America was a response to the growing need for a supportive Muslim community in North America.
The organization initially focused on educating its growing membership about Islam, the goal being to adhere to Islamic values amongst a religiously diverse community.
In the early 70s, ICNA members, the majority of whom were of South Asian descent, focused their efforts on education and personal/spiritual development.