Imam Zaid

Posted under american muslim, thinkers by rahma

In honor of black history month, Beliefnet created a who’s who of Blackamerican religious leaders.  Alhamdulilah, my reason number 3 to move to San Franciso (after 1. Zaytuna and 2. Sh. Hamza) is on the list.

Imam Zaid Shakir is an internationally respected Islamic scholar, author, and speaker. A lecturer at the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California, he has become a national voice for moderate American Muslims. While many imams in the U.S. are foreign-born, Shakir is an American-born convert who served in the Air Force, graduated from American University and Rutgers, and pursued his Islamic studies in Syria. He helped found Masjid Al-Islam in New Haven, Conn., and served as imam there for six years. He now teaches courses on Arabic, Islamic law, and history. Shakir is the author of several books, including “Scattered Pictures: Reflections of an American Muslim.”

If you haven’t done so already, bookmark and  browse Imam Zaid’s webpage.  There’s a new audio up every month or so, as well quite a few excellent and timely articles.