AIC – HEART Training
Date: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Workshop
American Islamic College in collaboration with HEART Women and Girls is providing city-wide training that will cover topics related to gender-based violence in the Muslim community. Session content includes an enhanced understanding of terminology, barriers to disclosure, Islamic Law, and how to respond appropriately to a disclosure. This training will dive deep into the nuances of Muslim survivorship with a look into gender-based violence from an Islamically-grounded lens.
To Participate
This workshop has limited seating. It is geared toward those who are in leadership roles in higher education (Title IX coordinator, chaplain, MSA), masjids (Imam, board member, teacher), community centers (coach, teacher, executive leadership), civic organizations (administrator), and other faith-based organizations. If you are interested in attending this free workshop, then please fill out the following application. If admitted, you will receive an electronic registration ticket to attend.
Speaker Bios
Navila Rashid, MSW
Navila is a trauma-informed forensic social worker, community educator, and gender-based violence consultant. She joined HEART in 2019 as the Manager of Training and Survivor Advocacy. Before HEART, Navila was consulting for public defenders, government agency staff, and nonprofits to support in creating safe(r) spaces for victims & survivors either through organizational programming or 1:1 case management. She earned her Master’s in Social Work from Long Island University-Brooklyn. To read more about Navila’s work, click here.
Kinza Khan, JD
Aisha Rahman, JD
Aisha is a family law attorney who focuses on issues related to domestic violence. After law school, Aisha launched her legal career at Legal Aid of East Tennessee serving indigent survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in family law matters. She also served as Executive Director of Family Law at KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights for six years. While there, Aisha provided pro bono legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. This experience confirmed for Aisha that not only is there a need to provide affordable legal services, but also conscientious, unbiased, culturally and religiously sensitive services. To read more about Aisha’s work, click here.
Agenda


Thank you to the HEART team for providing this important training to advance our knowledge and improve our spaces.

Virtual Open House
Learn about AIC’s degree & course offerings, student life, scholarships, and admissions requirements for our Fall 2022 semester and learn where AIC can take you.
Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Time: 6:00 PM
Platform: Virtual on Zoom
Registration in Advance: Click here
Welcoming students of all faiths and backgrounds, American Islamic College (AIC) is a Chicago-based institution of higher learning grounded in Islamic values and steeped in Islam’s rich and diverse intellectual and cultural traditions. AIC promotes appreciation for the scope and richness of Islamic history and civilization both in and beyond the classroom by means of significant research, impactful teaching, and informative public events highlighting Islam’s intellectual, artistic, and cultural expressions. Through rigorous scholarship and a commitment to social justice, the collective good, civic involvement, interfaith understanding, and intercultural engagement, AIC prepares students to become critical thinkers, visionary leaders, and responsible global citizens.

Music Workshop: Juan Carmona
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2022
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: American Islamic College Library
Free & Open to the Public; Registration Required
No Instruments Required!
Praised by the leading figures of flamenco, Juan Carmona wanders on the air ways of the duende. At the intersection between musical modernity and the oldest and liveliest flamenco traditions of Andalusia, Juan Carmona is an innovator, one of the most valiant links of his generation.
Juan Carmona
If Juan Carmona had to write his life’s story, it might be called « La Belle Histoire », after the Claude Lelouch film in which he performed the soundtrack in 1992.
The Carmona family had emigrated from North Africa to France after being exiled in the early 1960s. Juan, born in Lyon, was only ten years old when his father gave him his first guitar. His passion for the instrument grew and his virtuosity was quickly remarked by professional musicians.
Juan’s journey as a professional guitarist next took him back to the land of his ancestors, Spain, to go back to his roots and imbibe at the Source – Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia. His talent and the originality of his art were quickly recognized in this city, known as the cradle of flamenco. Read more
Building Bridges
With the support and collaboration of American Islamic College, the Old Town School of Folk Music received a grant from the “Building Bridges” program of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. This grant supports “Ojala!” (Hopeful) — a series of residencies featuring Muslim and Muslim adjacent artists from around the globe collaboratively curated and produced with a variety of community partners. Residencies include concerts, workshops, community discussions, in-school engagements, and collaborations with Chicago artists.
About the Building Bridges Program of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art
The Building Bridges Program is the grant-making arm of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, which is an extension of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The program supports national efforts, working with U.S. Muslims, to increase mutual understanding among diverse populations for the benefit of building stronger, more inclusive communities. The mission of DDFIA is to promote the study, understanding and appreciation of Muslim arts and cultures. For more information, please visit https://www.ddcf.org/


Hassan Institute


Committed to thoughtful, respectful, and socially impactful inter-religious engagement, confident that religion can be a powerful force for social good, and inspired by a shared belief in the value of transformative, relational, experiential learning, AIC is honored to announce the Dr. Shakeela and Dr. Zia Hassan Institute for Interfaith Encounter (SZHIIE). The Hassan Institute will serve and enable meaningful, life-changing inter and intra-religious encounters across the city of Chicago and beyond. The scope of the Hassan Institute’s vision and activism will include research, teaching support, faculty fellowships, student internships, public lectures and workshops, community outreach, educational trips, and public programs all for the promotion of transformative encounters between diverse believers and faith communities.
The Hassan Interfaith Fellowships will be an integral part of the new Institute’s mission and vision. Inspired by the University of Chicago’s Metcalf Fellowships, these single-semester, paid, immersive work experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students will
- create new, meaningful internship opportunities that give students a deeper dive into faith and/or interfaith-based contexts and organizations so that they can come to understand why work is being done a certain way or why initiatives are being developed and chosen;
- empower students to dream up their own intra and interfaith initiatives and receive support and guidance from both the Institute and the College as they work to bring their visions into reality;
- make bright talent available to faith and/or interfaith-based organizations and workplaces that may not be able to budget for interns;
- provide real-life, immersive work experience to students and so enhance the connectivity and relevance of their studies to the wider world;
- require student fellows to write meaningful impact statements based upon their experiences, and these essays can then be used to guide aspiring HI Fellows who are interested in similar fields or experiences.
Dr. Shakeela Hassan
Shakeela Zia Hassan is a philanthropist, poet, interfaith community organizer, caring physician, and author who has lived and promoted transformative encounters for nearly nine decades. She has also been a champion of human rights and the arts. Her work bridging traditions has been informed by a rich personal journey that originated in Hyderabad and took her to Chicago, where she met and married her husband Zia, and by her medical practice at the University of Chicago, where she served as an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care.
As a producer and fundraiser, her credits include the documentaries Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, Ties That Bind, and The Sounds of Faith. Sponsored and managed by her Harran Productions Foundation, the Sounds of Faith initiative has generated over 20 events from Chicago to New York and Doha, Qatar. As an author, Shakeela has written two books on her friendship with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Sister Clara Muhammad, including A Starry Crown: Making of a Fez (Chicago: Harran Productions Foundation, 2019).
Dr. Hassan has served as an advisor to the International Human Rights Law Institute, Catholic Theological Union, American Islamic College, Hands of Peace, Chicago Theological Seminary, Lutheran School of Theology, and the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving (IUPUI). In Chicago’s western suburbs, Dr. Shakeela and her late husband, Dr. Zia Hassan, longtime professor and dean of the Stuart School of Business (Illinois Institute of Technology), also helped to establish and lead the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park to become a cornerstone institution for the diverse Muslim community of the greater Chicago area. Founded in 1986, the Islamic Foundation School of Villa Park (IFSVP) continues to be one of the leading Muslim K-12 institutions in America.
Dr. Zia Hassan (d. 2017)
The late Zia Hassan was Professor of Management Science and Dean Emeritus at the Stuart School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), where he taught policy and quality management. His research focused on effective organizations and quality issues and was presented in numerous publications and conferences. Dr. Hassan oversaw the launch of the Stuart School’s Master of Science programs and guided its accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which is the highest accreditation standard in that field and earned by less than 5 percent of the world’s business schools. He mentored countless students and was widely admired by industry-leading alumni, who honored his legacy by establishing the M. Zia Hassan Endowed Professorship fund at IIT. He served as a consultant to numerous American and international businesses and was a fellow of the American Society for Quality. In addition, he was the founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park, where he served in that capacity for forty years, and he served as the Financial Officer of Harran Production Foundation, where he partnered with his wife Shakeela in a shared commitment to education, diversity, conflict resolution, and consensus and community-building for respectful coexistence.
For more information about the Hassan Institute, its programs, and how you can get involved, please contact Dr. Timothy J Gianotti, President, American Islamic College.

Imam W. Deen Mohammed Conference & Dinner
Imam W. Deen Mohammed Conference & Dinner
“A Way Forward: A New Mind for A New People”
A Historical Perspective on The Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Presented by American Islamic College and Study Al-Islam
Keynote & Dinner: Friday, September 23, 2022
Conference: Saturday, September 24, 2022
American Islamic College
640 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60613

“I see myself tomorrow living in you. I won’t be dead…; I will be living in you… So please give me a nice future. Yes, give me the future you know I want… after I die on the earth…, I won’t be living anywhere except in you! So please give your Imam W. Deen Mohammed a nice future! You won’t be able to talk to him…, but he will be with you…. living in your time, too. So please remember me… that I am with you!” – Imam WD Mohammed (Rahmatullah Alaihi (ra): May Allah be pleased with him).
About Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Imam W. Deen Mohammed (ra), the son of Elijah Muhammad and Clara Muhammad (ra) was born Wallace D. Muhammad, on Oct. 30, 1933, Detroit, Michigan, and transitioned September 9, 2008, Markham, Illinois.
He will long be remembered as a Muslim religious leader, a Muslim African American who was a theologian, philosopher, Muslim revivalist, and Islamic thinker who welcomed all races of Muslims into the Nation of Islam, promoted peace, and mutual understanding among all people of faith.
Imam Mohammed led a massive migration of Muslims from the Nation of Islam – an extraordinary African American Muslim movement of social reform, self-esteem, and acceptance of a restored cultural identity led by his father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (ra) – to a more mainstream understanding of Al-Islam, and he led a large delegation of Muslim Americans on Hajj, Pilgrimage to the Sacred House in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He represented Muslims at the World Parliament of Religious Leaders for the survival of the Earth, in Oxford, England. He toured China with “American Friends of China” and delivered the Keynote Address at the Muslim-Jewish Convocation, the first serious public dialogue between top leaders of Islam and Reformed Judaism, in Glencoe, Illinois. Imam W. Deen Mohammed led a delegation of Muslims to the Vatican in Rome, Italy, where he met with Pope John Paul II and, together with Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Vatican´s Chief of Staff for Interreligious Affairs, led a delegation of Muslim Americans to Jerusalem and areas under rule of the Palestinian Authority led by Palestinian leader, President Yasser Arafat, visiting Palestinian cities, government agencies, hospitals and homes throughout the West Bank. The visit culminated on Christmas Eve with a meeting in Gaza City with President Arafat. He traveled to Auschwitz, Poland, where he participated in the Conference on Religion and Peace hosted by the Center for Christian and Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University, met with Pope John Paul II with the Dalai Lama present on stage, addressed a gathering of 100,000 people at the Vatican, and presented at an Interfaith Conference for World Peace held in Israel as well as at the World Conference on Religion and Peace Assembly VII in Amman, Jordan. He was later elected as an International President in the U.S. for World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).
He encouraged Muslim Americans to register, vote and become full participants in the politics and economics of America. He signed the Williamsburg Charter at Williamsburg, VA, celebrating the First Amendment/First Freedom of the U. S. Constitution. He delivered the Invocation opening at the U. S. Senate in Washington, D.C., the first ever given by a Muslim. He toured the Pentagon and addressed Muslims in the U. S. Military and its Chaplains. He delivered an address on the floor of the Georgia State Legislature – the state of his father´s birth, the first ever given by a Muslim. Imam Mohammed participated in the Inaugural Interfaith Prayer Service for President William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton, and attended President Clinton’s re-election Inauguration, where Imam Mohammed read from the Holy Qur´an at the Presidential Inauguration Day National Prayer Service.
Keynote & Dinner: Friday, September 23, 2022
Date: Friday, September 23, 2022
Keynote Time: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Dinner (Sold Out) Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Keynote Venue: Auditorium, American Islamic College
Opening Prayer: Imam Omar Abdul Karim
Opening Remarks: Imam Dr. Mikal Ramadan
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sylviane Diouf – “Enslaved Muslims in the Americas: Faith, Community and Culture”
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Sylviane A. Diouf, an award-winning historian of the African Diaspora, is a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University. She is the author and editor of thirteen books and the curator of ten exhibitions.
Her acclaimed Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas was named Outstanding Academic Book in 1999. An updated 15th anniversary edition was released in 2013. Dr. Diouf’s Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America received prizes from the American Historical Association, the Alabama Historical Association, and the Hurston Wright Legacy Award. The author of the groundbreaking Slavery’s Exiles: The Story of the American Maroons, Dr. Diouf has contributed chapters to numerous books, lectured internationally and is the recipient of the Rosa Parks Award, the Dr. Betty Shabazz Achievement Award, the Imam Warith Deen Mohammed Humanitarian Award, and the Pen and Brush Achievement Award.
Conference: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Conference (check-in begins at 7:00 a.m.)
Venue: Auditorium, American Islamic College
Thank you to our Sponsors!

Speakers & Moderators
Imam Zaid Shakir is amongst the most respected and influential Muslim scholars in the West. Born in Berkeley, California, the second of seven children, he accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He went on to obtain a BA sigma cum laude in International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science at Rutgers University.
Dr. Edward E. Curtis IV is a publicly engaged scholar of Muslim American, African American, and Arab American history and life. His thirteen books have been called “essential,” “exemplary,” “approachable,” “groundbreaking,” “must-read,” “wonderful,” and “a model of clarity.”
Professor Ayesha K. Mustafaa has been the editor of Muslim Journal weekly newspaper since January 1989. She is a graduate of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn., with a BA Degree and Double Major in Psychology and Political Science. She has a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Columbia College of Chicago, IL. She traveled with delegations led by Imam W. Deen Mohammed to Saudi Arabia, to Jerusalem and the West Bank, and there met Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. She presented at the 3-day International Media Conference, hosted by the Focolare Movement’s NetOne Media Group held in Rome, Italy, in 2004, with 800 participants from over 20 countries. She is the third woman editor of the nearly 47-year-old newspaper and its longest tenured editor. Since moving to Jackson, she has worked as editor of The Mississippi Link weekly newspaper, now serving as one of its contributing writers. In 2015, she joined the Tougaloo College Mass Communications Department faculty as an assistant professor after two years as an adjunct professor. She is a board member of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures and advisory member of The Mississippi Free Press.
Dr. Nasir Ahmad is Resident Imam of Masjid Al Ansar Miami, Florida, Director of Schools, and was Personal Assistant to Imam W. Deen Mohammed. He is coordinator for State of Imams, Florida and Assistant Regional Imam for the Southeastern United States.
Imam Darnell Karim is a childhood friend to Imam W. Deen Mohammed and Muslim for more than seventy four years, his entire education was attained under the direction of The University of Islam/Clara Muhammad School systems. Imam Darnell began his studies in the Arabic Language and Islamic studies at the age of eleven. The most well-known of his instructors was Professor Jamil Diab for more than ten (10) years. Professor Diab, an Azhar University graduate located in Cairo Egypt. He continued his studies under the Leadership of Imam W. Deen Mohammed, and became an Instructor of Islamic Studies and Arabic language at the Clara Muhammad School from 1976 to 1987. He frequently travelled to many Masajid (Islamic Centers) throughout the United States to instruct Muslim adults in Islamic studies and the Arabic Language. Imam Karim’s recitation of the Holy Quran is considered equal to native born Arabic speakers with the highest spiritual quality.
Imam Siraj Wahhaj is currently the Imam of Masjid Al-Taqwa in Brookyn, New York. Imam Wahhaj is well known among Muslims in North America as a dynamic speaker and tireless supporter of Islamic causes. He received Imam training at Ummul Qura University of Makkah in 1978 and has gone on to become a national and international speaker on Islam. Imam Wahhaj has been Vice President of ISNA U.S. since 1997 and has served on Majlis Ash-Shura since 1987. He is a past member of ISNA’s Planning Committee and has served as a member of the Board of Advisors for NAIT from 1989-1993. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the American Muslim Council.He has appeared on several national television talk shows and interviews especially about his anti-drug campaigns. He received high praises from the media and NYPD for initiating anti-drug patrol in Brooklyn, New York in 1988. Imam Wahhaj was the first person to give an Islamic invocation to the United States Congress.
Precious Rasheeda Muhammad (a.k.a. “The History Detective”) is an independent scholar, author, lecturer, and researcher widely recognized for her original research contributions to the study of Islam’s growth and development in America. Her contributions can be found in academic journals, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, exhibits, award-winning books; on CNN.Com and NPR; at the Smithsonian; on podcasts, such as The Universal Title: Muhammad Ali’s Spiritual Journey, for which she served as an executive producer and principal writer; and more. Precious also brings decades of commitment to interfaith work, including significant roles in planning and implementing the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions program held in Melbourne, Australia. For her community-building work, in the academic community and beyond, Coe College awarded Precious an honorary doctorate in 2010. For those contributions and helping change the way that Harvard University looks at Islam, as an area of study, Precious earned the special honor of becoming a Harvard Divinity School Bicentennial Peter J. Gomes STB ‘68 Honoree in 2017. Her personal and professional motto is “Building community through history.” She lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters.
Dr. Fatimah Fanusie is a historian of 19th and 20th century American religion whose research is an evolving reappraisal of the study of African American Islam and the modern Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Fanusie is currently the Program Director of the Justice Leaders Fellowship at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Towson MD, the Lead Historian and archivist for the Howard Thurman Historical home in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Lecturer in the Islamic Studies department at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Fanusie’s publications include the article “Ahmadi, Beboppers, Veterans and Migrants: African-American Islam in Boston, 1948-1963”, ed. Ted Trost and Wilson J. Moses, The African Diaspora and the Study of Religion, 2008 and other short reference articles. Dr. Fanusie received her BA in History and Arabic from Lincoln University, her MA in American History from Tufts University, and PhD in American History from Howard University.
Imam Al-Hajj Talib’Abdur-Rashid is the Senior Imam of The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. (Harlem, NYC). He has served as a Muslim leader and teacher for more than three decades in various positions of responsibility – including the founding Deputy Ameer of MANA (the Muslim Alliance in North America), Ameer of the Majlis Ash-Shura ( Islamic Leadership Council) of New York, and currently as the chairman of The Association of African American Imams (NYC).
Aneesah Dawan serves in leadership capacities locally and nationally as Director of Government Shuraa at the Islamic Center for Human Excellence in Little Rock, Arkansas, Assistant Director of Public Affairs with the Community Wide Shuraa Conference, board member and youth facilitator for Kamp Khalil, Inc., lecturer for the Islamic Learning Institute, member of the Progressive Leadership Legacy Association, and lecturer for Study Al-Islam National Broadcast. She has a post-secondary education in the areas of Philosophy & Religious Studies from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Criminal Justice at the University of Houston-Downtown. Aneesah studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at Abu Nour University in Damascus, Syria, obtaining a 2-year Arabic language certification. Aneesah’s early Islamic and Arabic education came from the scholarships of Imam W. D. Mohammed, Imam Darnell Karim and studied Arabic and the science of tajweed came under the tutelage of Imam Qasim Ahmed. Aneesah has utilized her knowledge of Quran, the life of Muhammed the Prophet (saw), and the tafsir of Imam W. D. Mohammed to provide leadership training courses in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr. Wazir Ali is the Imam of the historic Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed and Masjid Al-Qur’an in Houston, Texas. Both communities have experienced unprecedented growth under Imam Dr. Ali’s leadership. Masjid Warithud-Deen Mohammed built a new state of the art facility in 2010 and is in the planning stages of the construction of a community center and a senior housing complex. Imam Dr. Ali is a founding member of Masjid Al-Qur’an. Under Imam Dr. Ali’s leadership, the average weekly Jum’ah attendance grew from 10 to over 500. Dr. Ali completed an eight-year mentorship program in Islamic Studies, comparative religion and Masjid administration under the guidance of Imam Qasim Ahmed. Imam Ali is also a student of the preeminent American Muslim scholar, the late Imam W. Deen Mohammed (may Allah have mercy on him). Imam Ali holds a Doctorate degree in clinical nutrition from Rutgers University, a Master of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas Pan American, and Bachelor of Science degrees in nutrition and psychology from the University of Houston.
Imam Rashad Abdul-Rahmaan studied under Imam W. Deen Mohammed “The Mosque Care Youth Dawah Program” from 2003-2007. He continued his studies in Philosophy and Comparative Religious Studies at Northern Illinois University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2007-2009 and Studied Islamic Studies at Medina Institute in 2018. From 2009-2015 he served as the Assistant Imam and Assistant Director of Education at Clara Mohammed School at Masjid Sultan Mohammed (Milwaukee, WI). From 2018-2019 he served as the Assistant Director of Education at Mohammed Schools of Atlanta (Atlanta, GA). He currently serves as the Assistant Imam of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam and is the Founder and Director of The Institute of Qur’an Study and Leadership, an institute formed for the advanced study of Al-Islam based upon the language and commentary of Imam W. Deen Mohammed (2020-present). He has recently published “The Message of Al-Islam” and “The Foundations of Al-Islam”.
Rashad N. Ali, MD, JD is one of the Principle Founders of an Islamic Community in Mississippi named New Medinah. For more than 35 years, he has worked to bring this vision into the true reality of a viable Municipality rooted on the premise of the Oneness of God, unlike any other municipality in this country. Dr. Ali continues to demonstrate his concerns for Community Development and Community Life by collaborating with various multi-racial, multi-religious, for-profit and non-profit organizations that are interested in striving to sustain clean, healthy, and wholesome living environments, “Environments that make it easy to remember the Creator.” Dr. Ali is a 16-year US Air Force Veteran and a board-certified OB-GYN Physician with additional training in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He is an attorney that examines and testifies in medical malpractice cases. Also, he has a Business Management Degree from UCLA Anderson School of Business. He frequently travels nationally and internationally seeking opportunities to improve healthcare, develop business relationships, and promote community development, as well as addressing various humanitarian issues. Dr. Ali remains enthusiastic about utilizing his education and training as dawah tools to propagate Islam as presented by his leader and teacher, Imam W. Deen Mohammed.
Imam Muhammad Abdul-Aleem has been involved with on-going Islamic projects since his early conversion to Al-Islam in 1968. In 1968, he also began the development of the five-volume concordance to the Holy Quran. This project has molded his Islamic character and provided a framework for his later work as an Imam. He attended the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University of Saudi Arabia in 1977, and spent two years studying Arabic Language, Islamic law, and Quranic studies. Afterwards, Imam Abdul-Aleem returned to Philadelphia, where he earned a graduate degree in secondary education, with concentrations in physics and environmental science.
Imam Yahya Abdullah is the Imam of Masjid Muhammad in Jacksonville, Florida founded in 2016. He was Imam of the Islamic Association of Desoto, Texas founded in 2002 and Imam of the Dallas Masjid for 18 years where he established a full-time Sister Clara Mohammed school in 1983. Imam Abdullah was a personal friend of Imam Mohammed (ra), his business partner, and they successfully imported 2,000 high quality men’s wool suits from China. He attended the Arabic language program at the Saudi Academy in Washington, DC in 1987 where he was class valedictorian. Imam Abdullah was a presenter at the annual Dawah conference held in Cairo, Egypt at the Al-Azhar University. In 1988, he co-produced a nationally aired documentary, The Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca. In the same year, he founded African American Men Against Narcotics (AAMAN), a group dedicated to drug prevention and rehabilitation and was also featured in a nationally acclaimed documentary on PBS entitled War on Drugs. The author of four books: Elements of Progressive Leadership, Dynamics of African-American Male Development – Manhood Training Curriculum Outline, Religion is the Solution to the Crime Problem in America and Developing The Human Potential. Imam Abdullah is a frequent lecturer throughout the United States and the Caribbean at colleges, universities, radio/television stations and banquets.
Imam Omar Abdul Karim believes in empowering human life through the pursuit of faith and good works. He is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center (EBCC). He majored in computer science and then returned to his roots in Al-Islam conducting community work servicing the spiritual and social needs of the Muslim community and the local community residents. He became an active member and volunteer at Masjid Al Mu’minun and then became an Islamic Studies teacher and the Dawah coordinator. As the Dawah coordinator Imam Omar Abdul Karim helped to establish Masjid Al Mu’minun’s first social justice parade called “The Walk for Moral Excellence” in 1993. As a practicing Muslim and a dedicated professional, his goal is to create programs through the EBCC that can motivate and inspire future generations.
Imam Dr. Mikal Ramadan has been a member of this community since 1962 when his family joined the Nation of Islam. He has practiced full-time emergency medicine for over 40 years. Dr. Ramadan and his family moved to Chicago in 1975 after a private meeting which he had with Imam WD Mohammed in the National House in Hyde Park. In 1975 he served as the national committee coordinator under Imam W D Mohammed. In 1977 he served as the Director of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad Memorial health facilities corporation. He served as the Resident Imam of Masjid Al-Taqwa for 14 years until deciding not to seek ratification in 2013, at which point he was succeeded by current Resident Imam, Tariq I. El-Amin. Dr. Ramadan is the co-founder of the Muslim Health Consortium (MHC) and continues to teach Al Islam as student of Imam W.D. Mohammed.
Imam Faheem Shuaibe is Resident Imam of Masjidul Waritheen in Oakland, California for 38 years. Faheem is a lifelong student Of Imam W. Deen Mohammed (ra). He is the founder of M.A.R.I.A.M. (Muslim American Research Institute Advocating Marriage), A Clear Understanding Institute and The Sacred Life Project (A public language codification project focused on the language, logic, and legacy of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (ra)). Along with other African American scholars (e.g., Asa Hilliard, Iyanla Van Zant, Dr. Na’im Akbar, et. al.) Imam Faheem Shuaibe has been inducted into the African American Intellectual Royal Family by the Institute for the Advance Study of Black Family Life and Culture. He is a frequent lecturer at Cal Berkeley’s “Holy Hill” for the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) which trains doctoral and post-doctoral students of Philosophy, Theology and Interfaith and American Baptist Seminary of the West. Faheem consults and advises large and small companies and organizations, including The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco CA, AT&T; Chiron Corporation of Emeryville CA, University of California, Yale University’s School of Law, Howard University, Fordham University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, New York University, University of Washington in St. Louis, Xavier University, Buffalo State College and many more. He is an Netreprenuer and hosts 5 weekly Blogtalk Radio broadcasts, and under his Clear Understanding Broadcasts; “Wealth Creation and Preservation, “All Things Human”; Universal Dimensions of Leadership; and The Qur’an Salat Institute. His lectures are also broadcasted 24/7 on aclearunderstanding.institute and Vimeo.com. Author of “The Clear Path to Human Development: Human Science in Scriptural Language” and “The Reality Of Our Sacred Human Nature: Our Origins and Our Destiny” which premiered as the #1 new release in Religious Philosophy on Amazon.
Laila Muhammad is an educator, advocate, storyteller and a certified reiki practitioner. She is the daughter and 1st born to Imam W. Deen Mohammed and Sister Shirley Muhammad. Laila Muhammad is a fifth generation African American Muslim. She was born in Philadelphia, PA, raised in Chicago, IL and is now living in Roselle, NJ. She graduated from the University of Islam school, now known as the Sister Clara Muhammad School System. Currently, Laila works with a team of educators on curriculum and policy for the eighty-five-year-old private education system. Laila holds a degree in Child Development
In 2008, she organized the program, “A Shared Memory,” for the purpose of bringing diverse people together into a shared freedom space, to share past, present and future collective and individual life experiences. At present, A Shared Memory is often requested with traveling historical exhibits and an annual conference that brings together like minds to reflect on and to explore the language of Imam W. Deen Mohammed. Laila has published two books of poetry, Sharing and Life is a Cup to be Filled, and has several new publications forthcoming. She invites you to visit her website.
Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef is President and Imam of the historic Masjid Muhammad, The Nation’s Mosque, in Washington, D.C. He retired from the U.S. Air Force with 30+ years of service; he has a Doctorate Degree from Global Oved Dei Seminary and University, an MBA from American Intercontinental University, a Diploma from the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, and the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and he is a student of the late Imam W.D. Mohammed. Under the high patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, Imam Shareef received the Kingdom’s highest Royal Medal and honor for his outstanding interfaith leadership. Chosen to speak, stand with, and introduce President Biden for the Eid reception at the White House representing Muslim Americans. He was also honored to sit with and be recognized for his service by President Obama at the White House. He was the first Imam with military service to open a session of the U.S. Congress with prayer. He facilitated interfaith peacebuilding, religious freedom, human rights, and preventing terrorism forums in the countries of Denmark, S. Korea, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, South America, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Germany, Philippines, Palestine, Israel, and N. Ireland.
Imam Tariq El-Amin holds a Master of Divinity focused on Islamic Chaplaincy and serves as the Resident Imam of Masjid Al-Taqwa on Chicago’s southeast side. Imam Tariq is the creator, host and producer of The Black Glue Podcast, & the former daily host/producer of Radio Islam USA on WCEV 1450am where he conducted hundreds of interviews on politics, social justice, interfaith cooperation, activism and more. Imam Tariq’s notable benedictions include Chicago Mayoral inauguration, Cook County Board meetings, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office Victims Memorial and Dr. Tim Black’s Interfaith Memorial Service. He is noted for his advice on WBEZ radio, CBS News, Chicago Tribune, and Philadelphia Tribune.
Dr. Aisha El-Amin has over twenty-five years of experience in K-12 and higher education. She’s served as a teacher, elected School Board member and senior administrator. Dr. El-Amin provides workshops around student engagement to Islamic weekend schools across the nation. As a certified mediator, Restorative Justice Circle Keeper, and Inter Group Dialogue Facilitator, Dr. El-Amin offers diversity trainings and facilitations guided by principles of Justice. Currently, she serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Equity and Belonging at Chicago’s largest public, Research 1 university. Some notable organizations that have recognized her leadership includes Operation PUSH, Muslim Women’s Alliance, Inner City Muslim Action Network, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
Imam Makram El-Amin is Imam of the historical Masjid An-Nur, he’s led a growing, culturally diverse congregation in his hometown to the forefront of interfaith dialogue and neighborhood outreach. Imam El-Amin was invited to share the stage with Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. He was a delegate to an historic interfaith event in Rome with Pope John Paul II and member of an interfaith clergy delegation to the Holy Land. An advisor to Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, on religious issues and accompany the Congressman on international trade trips. The relationship has led to The New York Times writing an article on Imam El-Amin, tagging him the ‘congressman’s imam’ and emerging voice for religious tolerance and Muslim participation in the public square.
Omar Yamini holds a master’s degree in education with a focus on youth development. As a Chicago native, Omar was raised as a second- generation Muslim in a God fearing two parent household. At age 20, Omar invited harmful influences into his life, and as a result he went to prison for 15 years under the “Theory of Accountability”. The demoralizing experience affected his spirit and soul so deeply it compelled him to write his book; “What’s Wrong With You!” (What You, Your Children, and Our Students Need To Know About My 15 Year Imprisonment From Age 20-35) in 2012. Omar serves his community in multiple ways including as a board member of Masjid Al-Tawqa and Executive Director of Determined to Be UpRight.
Keyal Pebbles-Abdullah is a third generation African American Muslim with over 20 years’ experience in corporate America. She is a business owner, entrepreneur, and a community servant-leader. Sister Keyal shares her passion and commitment to Chicago’s youth through her extensive work and historic leadership at Chicago’s CMECCA School and IDance Chicago Performing Arts Team. She is well known in the community as the go to person to get things done and the storyteller between generations.
Jumah Service
Masjid Al-Taqwa
Imam Tariq I. El-Amin
9329 S. Escanaba, Chicago, IL 60617
Jumah Prayer starts at 12:45 p.m.
Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center
Imam Omar Abdul Karim
2525 W 71 St., Chicago IL. 60620
Jumah Prayer starts at 1:00 p.m.
Hotel options near the venue:
Drake Hotel
140 E Walton Pl, Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 787-2200
For a 15% corporate discount with the Drake Hotel, please use:
https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=CHIDHHH&corporateCode=3363044
Majestic Hotel
528 W Brompton Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 404-3499
Hotel options near O’Hare Airport
Hilton Garden Inn
2930 S River Rd, Des Plaines, IL 60018
(847) 296-8900
The Westin
6100 North River Rd, Rosemont, IL 60018
1-800-937-8461
Hotel options near Midway Airport
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
2233 S Martin Luther King Dr, Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 567-1234
Hampton Inn Chicago McCormick Place
123 E Cermak Rd Suite 100, Chicago, IL 60616
Questions? Contact programs@aicusa.edu
Drivers for Hire
To arrange airport pick up /drop-off or ground transportation while in Chicago – The following Uber/Lyft Drivers can be contacted:
All arrangements, transportation fees, schedule changes and or other transportation agreements are the sole responsibility of the Passenger and the Driver – NOT AIC/SAI.
Abdul Rasheed Akbar: (312) 925-4196.
Ishmeal Shaheer: (818) 554-1460
Mohammed Shareef Abdullah: (773) 310-1153

AIC at ISNA
On Saturday, Sept. 3rd, AIC President, Dr. Timothy J. Gianotti and AIC Board of Trustee Dr. Marcia Hermansen were joined by Dr. Mahan Mirza of the Ansari Institute at The University of Notre Dame, and Dr. Adnan Aslan of Respect Graduate School to speak on, “Is Islam Secularizing?” With about 220 people in attendance, the dynamic conversation covered topics not only about secularism and religion as two distinct categories, but also about the role of religion in the Secular (an epistemic category), Secularization (a historical process), and Secularism (a worldview) and everything in between. The conversation was inspired by Jose Casanova, Peter Berger, and more recently, Sherman Jackson.

Interfaith Dialogue Luncheon
On Friday, Sept. 2nd, a group of graduate students from The Lutheran School of Theology (LSTC) visited the College during their orientation week. Students had the opportunity to observe the Muslim congregational prayer service, Jumah. Dr. Timothy J. Gianotti, President of AIC, led a fruitful discussion around the diversity of Muslims, touching upon history, tradition, and culture as contextual elements which impact the diversity of thought and practice.

AIC Jazz Collective
Date: Friday, August 26, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: In-person, Auditorium, American Islamic College
Livestream: YouTube
Registration: Eventbrite
Discuss the Muslim American roots of jazz from speaker Asad Ali Jafri followed by a live performance by the AIC Jazz Collective.
Speaker: Asad Ali Jafri
Asad Ali Jafri is a cultural producer, community organizer and interdisciplinary artist. Using a grassroots approach and global perspective, Asad connects artists and communities across imagined boundaries to create meaningful engagements and experiences. Asad has over two decades of experience honing an intentional and holistic practice that allows him to take on the role of artist and administrator, curator and producer, educator and organizer, mentor and strategist.
Asad is a co-founder and facilitator of SpaceShift, a collaborative collective of artists, creatives and change-makers experimenting with the ways in which we work, live and create. The collective is currently working on Aao Mil Baithen, a creative placemaking arts initiative on Chicago’s Devon Avenue. Asad is also the Senior Producer for the inaugural Salaam Festival, set to take place in July 2022 in Manchester UK.
From 2018 – 2020, Asad was based at Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design (part of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation) in Honolulu as Curator of Programs where he built a community-centered residency program for artists, thought leaders and creatives. As President of Sukoon Creative from 2013 – 2018, he produced cultural exchanges and programs in the UK, Malaysia, Lebanon, South Africa and a multi-year street art project in Pakistan. Prior to that, Asad was the Director of Arts & Culture at IMAN in Chicago where he directed the Takin’ It to the Streets Festival and Community Cafe series. Over the years, Asad has worked across five continents in many countries including Morocco, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Brazil, UAE, Italy and Belgium.
Asad continues to work with arts organizations in multiple roles. He directed Arts Midwest’s CaravanSerai project which toured international artists across the US and continues to advise the New England Foundation for the Arts’ Center Stage program. Asad’s curatorial work for the Greenbelt Festival in the UK won the Act of Independence Award in 2017. In 2020, he worked with Words Beats & Life to produce and direct Footsteps in the Dark – a hip hop-based stage production at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Asad recently served as a Fellow of the Pillars foundation’s Muslim Narrative Change cohort and Project Ambassador for Enrich Chicago’s Imagine Just.
Asad’s artistic practice has its roots in the Hip Hop community and its multiple disciplines, specializing in music as a DJ under the monikers Man-O-Wax and Ase Wonder. Asad has served as a collaborating artist and artistic director for international tours, hip hop theater and other staged performances including Bollywood Breaks and Turntable Dhikr. He has also created multidisciplinary installations and site specific artistic interventions. In 2018, Asad collaboratively launched Listening While Muslim, a series of listening parties that crosses continents, languages and genres exploring music at the intersection of faith, culture and politics.

President’s Welcome for the 2022 – 2023 Academic Year
August 30, 2022
As-salaamu ‘alaykum! I extend a very warm welcome to our new and returning students and offer prayers of peace and blessings to all of our friends in the wider community!
May the year ahead be filled with life-changing encounters, purposeful work, much personal growth, and many joyful awakenings!
Positive change is in the air. With new academic and community partnerships across the city of Chicago and beyond, a renewed sense of rootedness in this incredible city (where American Muslims have made and continue to make history), and with a re-energized, bold spirit to push and guide us, all of us at the American Islamic College welcome you as companions on a great journey. This quest is, at its core, a search for the knowledge that heals, awakens, transforms, ennobles, beautifies, and empowers us to become agents of positive change in the world and visionary leaders at a time when such change and such leaders are needed more than ever. So, if well-being, truth, beauty, nobility, and a thirst for a better life and a better world mean something to you, then you are with us, whether you are enrolled or stand beside us as partners, allies, and supporters.
I am so delighted that you have been called to join us on this journey, and I look forward to meeting you, getting to know you, engaging you, challenging you, and being challenged by you, in sha’ allah. May God bless your academic year, and may your light be refined and intensified by Divine grace, luminous company, and this noble pursuit.
With prayers for God’s blessings and peace,
Timothy J Gianotti, Ph.D.
President & Acting Provost

Bringing Peace to Humanity with “Sound Rhythm and Movement”
Date: Thursday, August 4, 2022
Time: 10:30 am – 11:45 am
Venue: In-person, Auditorium, American Islamic College
Registration: Eventbrite
Poem by Dr. Shakeela Hassan,
Poet, Activist, Mentor, Inspirational Blessing to Humanity
Musical Performances by
HHW Vocal Arts Touring Ensemble, Downtown and
HHW Vocal Arts Ensemble @Gallery37
HHW Vocal Arts Touring Ensemble @Gately
Summer Teen programs Sponsored by After School Matters
Join us as these gifted teen performers adapt the poetic verses of Dr. Shakeela Hassan into their music and dramatic expressions with rhythm and movement. Selected poems are “Human Rights” and “Sound Rhythm and Movement”
The HHW Teens perform music from various genres to inspire, inform, and excite the human senses.