To establish a center of excellence in Islamic and academic learning, integrating the humanities and sciences, that preserves and advances the Islamic tradition’s service to humanity.
Faculty
Shaykh Dr Mohammad Omar Hussaini
Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Omar Hussaini memorized the Quran at Ma’had Ta’lim ul-Islam. He holds a BA in Psychology (2000) and MD degree. In 2006, he received degrees in both Shari’ah studies from Darul Uloom Zakariyyah, South Africa and Medicine from the University of Illinois. From 2007 to 2013, Shaykh Omar completed his medical residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and fellowships in Hematopathology and Molecular Genetic Pathology at Washington University in St. Louis. During this time, he was also received formal authorization in the Islamic science of spiritual purification. Shaykh Omar is currently Director of Molecular Hematopathology at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Oncological Sciences at the University of South Florida in Tampa where he resides. Shaykh Omar lectures at retreats, I’tikaaf programs, universities, local and national conferences, and mosques throughout the United States and abroad on various Islamic topics. He also teaches weekly classes in Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence, and spirituality.
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed was born and raised in Manhattan where his father served as an Under-Secretary General at the United Nations for twenty years. While at college at the University of Chicago, he turned to religion and in 1999 he left America and spent almost twenty years abroad studying to become a Shariah ‘Alim and then serving as a teacher and guide to university students and professionals in Pakistan, England, and South Africa. From 2005-2016, he was a professor at the top elite universities in Pakistan, including LUMS, AKU, and KSBL. In 2017, he returned to academia to pursue a PhD in Islamic Intellectual History at the University of Oxford. From 2020-2023, he held research fellowships in Islamic philosophy at Princeton University and Yale University. Since 2023, he has been working at a leading nonprofit in the Princeton area.
Maulana Yousuf Ghouse
Maulana Yousuf Ghouse was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. He completed his memorization of the Quran at the Institute of Islamic Education in Elgin, IL. After graduating from UIC with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Economics, he pursued Islamic studies full time – initially at DarusSalam and later in Johannesburg, South Africa at Darul Uloom Zakariyya. He completed their rigorous 7-year Alimiyyah program in 2017 and completed a post-graduate specialization in hadith in South Africa. Maulana Yousuf currently oversees the operations of Brighter Futures (a global service non-profit he founded) alongside teaching at DarusSalam Seminary in Lombard, IL.
Maulana Mohammed Ali Ismail
Maulana Mohammed Ali Ismail was raised in Pembroke Pines, FL, before moving to Tampa to attend the University of South Florida (USF). During his time at USF, he served as the president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and became an active member of the community, regularly delivering khutbahs and talks at local masajid. Toward the end of his undergraduate studies, Maulana Ali began his journey into Islamic knowledge and spirituality. While pursuing medical school and completing his Radiology residency and an additional focused year in Abdominal Radiology at the Ohio State University, he simultaneously studied the traditional Dars-e-Nizami curriculum through the Sacred Learning Program, Makkiyyah Institute, and various Mashaikh. For the final year of his Alimiyyah studies, Maulana Ali enrolled at Jamia Falah Darayn in Dayton, OH, and graduated in the summer of 2024. He is now an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University and serves as an Abdominal Radiologist and the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.