سم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Bismillā hir Rahmā nir Rahīm
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
As-Salāmu `Alaykum (السلام عليكم):
When time permits listen to the entire lecture. Very enlightening.
Imam Zaid Shakir: Social Justice in Islam - In Commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 Jan 2011.
http://www.islamicity.com/islamitv/?ref=10330
Imam Zaid Shakir bio:
Born in Berkeley, California, he accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He obtained a BA with honors in International Relations at
American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science at
Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, he led a successful campaign for divestment from South Africa, and co-founded
New Brunswick Islamic Center formerly Masjid al-Huda.
After a year of studying Arabic in Cairo, Egypt, he settled in New Haven, Connecticut and continued his community activism, co-founding
Masjid Al-Islam, the Tri-State Muslim Education Initiative, and the Connecticut Muslim Coordinating Committee. As Imam of Masjid Al-Islam from 1988 to 1994 he spear-headed a community renewal and grassroots anti-drug effort, and also taught political science and Arabic at
Southern Connecticut State University. He served as an interfaith council Chaplain at
Yale Universityand developed the Chaplaincy Sensitivity Training for physicians at
Yale New Haven Hospital. He then left for Syria to pursue his studies in the traditional Islamic sciences.
For seven years in Syria, and briefly in Morocco, he immersed himself in an intense study of Arabic, Islamic law, Quranic studies, and spirituality with some of the top Muslim scholars of our age. In 2001, he graduated from Syria’s prestigious Abu Noor University and returned to Connecticut, serving again as the Imam of
Masjid al-Islam, and writing and speaking frequently on a host of issues. That same year, his translation from Arabic into English of
The Heirs of the Prophets was published by Starlatch Press.
In 2003, he moved to Hayward, California to serve as a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at
Zaytuna Institute, where he now teaches courses on Arabic, Islamic law, history, and Islamic spirituality. Imam Zaid has also authored numerous articles on a wide range of topics. In 2005, Zaytuna Institute published,
Scattered Pictures: Reflections of An American Muslim„ an anthology of diverse essays penned by Zaid Shakir. In 2008, he authored an award-winning text,
Treatise for the Seekers of Guidance, a translation and commentary on Imam Harith al-Muhasibi’s work,
Risala al-Mustarshideen. He also co-founded
Zaytuna College this same year.