Mufti Aasim Rashid is a distinguished Muslim scholar, speaker and educator (the title ‘Mufti’ indicates his expertise and authority in Islamic law). He is devoted to the study and explanation of Islamic sacred texts and their relation to the modern context. His lectures, delivered at conferences and institutions around the world, are known to be inspiring and pertinent to the issues and pressing questions of the day. Mufti Aasim is the founder of the Al-Ihsan Educational Foundation, which has initiated the ‘Islam Unravelled’ project.

Shaykh Abdullah Waheed was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. He commenced his studies at the age of ten in Toronto, Canada, where he went to memorize the Quran. He completed the memorization of the Holy Quran by the tender age of thirteen and then went on to study in the seven-year extensive Shariah program in Toronto, Canada. Shaykh Abdullah specialized in the Tafseer of the Quran. Shaykh Abdullah spent years studying the details and beauty of our Holy book since understanding and mastering the language of the Holy Quran was always the primary goal. Shaykh Abdullah is a co-founder and instructor at Miftaah Institute and is also the Director of Islamic Affairs at Flint Islamic Center.

Mufti Hussain Kamani was born and raised in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. His journey to pursue sacred Islamic knowledge began at age 6. By the age of 9, he completed the memorization of the Holy Quran. To further advance his studies in the Islamic Sciences, he traveled to the United Kingdom and pursued formal Islamic authorizations (ijazahs). For 7 years, Mufti Kamani studied a rigorous curriculum covering the Arabic language and literature, Islamic jurisprudence, Tafseer of the Holy Qur’an, Hadith, Islamic Philosophy, and Aqeedah. Afterwards, he was selected for a post-graduate level course in Islamic Law and Legal Verdicts, which he completed within two years. He later earned his graduate degree in Business Management from the University of Coventry in the UK.

Imam Mikaeel Ahmed Smith is an instructor at Qalam Seminary in Dallas, Texas and has a Degree in Islamic Studies from Dar ul-Uloom Canada in Chatham, Ontario. He is passionate about meeting the needs of Muslim converts, building Islamic literacy among youth, and striving for social justice. He recently published his first book, a translation of a classical Arabic text on Islamic pedagogy. He currently lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and three young children.

Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI. He began Islamic studies at Jaamiah al-Uloom al-Islamiyyah in Canada where he became a Hafiz at the age of 11. He started his 7-year Shariah program in Toronto, Canada, and went even further to pursue higher education of Hadith in Karachi, Pakistan. Throughout his travels, Mufti Abdul Wahab addresses communities across the United States on a wide range of Islamic topics and Inshallah, continues to do so with the Tawfiq of Allah SWT. Mufti Abdul Wahab is a Co-founder at Miftaah Institute and also is a Co-Founder and Director at Michigan Islamic Institute.

Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans is ALIM’s first Scholar-in-Residence. He converted to Islam while in high school. Upon conversion, Ustadh Ubaydullah began studying some of the foundational books of Islam under the private tutelage of local scholars. Since then he has studied at Chicagoland’s Institute of Islamic Education (IIE), in Tarim, Yemen, and Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he is the first African-American to graduate from its Shari’a program. Ustadh Ubaydullah also instructs with the Ta’leef Collective and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN).

Dr. Sharif El-Tobgui holds a BS in Arabic Language from Georgetown University, a Master’s and PhD in Islamic Studies from McGill University and currently serves as Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies and Director of the Arabic Language Program at Brandeis University.