The Islamic Seminary of America aspires to be a lighthouse of knowledge and faith devoted to equipping American-based leaders and serving as an authoritative voice for a balanced Islam. We are committed to raise the general level of Islamic understanding within the American Muslim community and throughout American society.
TISA is a 501 (c)(3) Tax Exempt Organization.
In March 2016, three critical needs of the Muslim American community were discussed in a regular meeting of several Muslim leaders in the state of CT held in coordination with the Muslim Coalition of CT. The needs were:
Capacity- building for the education, training and development of “home-grown Muslim leadership within the USA.
Competency standards for people currently serving as Islamic leaders in a variety of capacities in entities within and outside the Muslim American Community.
Credentialing through processes that represent authentic Islamic principles and best practices for US human services delivery.
A chaplaincy sub-committee was formed out of this meeting that ultimately established the Muslim Endorsement council of CT (MECC) in March 2011 through a series of statewide consultations that included leaders of several Muslim organizations and Islamic centers. In March of 2011, MECC also organized the first annual Shura and In-service Training for imams, chaplains and other service providers to the Muslims community at Yale University.
It was in this Shura meeting of over a hundred Muslim leaders and service providers that the seeds of what became Islamic Seminary Foundation (ISF) were planted.
ISF was incorporated as a CT non-profit on September 9, 2011, with the goal of “supporting the founding of an Islamic Seminary in North America” through “raising awareness of the need for an Islamic Seminary.”
Since its inception, ISF has organized and co-sponsored numerous courses and workshops as a way of raising awareness for the need for graduate level education for Muslim American leadership.
In 2011, ISF become the land organizer of the last 7 annual Shura and In-service Training held annually at Yale University (most recently at Yale Divinity School). Plenary speakers for this conference have included:
From 2013 until 2016, ISF collaborated with MECC in developing competency standards for MECC’s endorsees. They are:
In August 2016, several members of Board of ISF traveled to Dallas TX to witness the dynamic launch of the Islamic Seminary of America under the leadership of Sh Khalil Abdur-Rashid (now serving as Harvard University’s first full-time Muslim Chaplain) with Imam Omar Suleiman as the other primary instructor. With a small budget, In its first year of operation, the seminary taught over 400 adults, 200 youth, led an umrah trip and provided a variety of family and youth oriented activities in the DFW area.
In Dallas, TX on April 3, 2017, ISF signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the original Islamic Seminary of America board that transferred the name, all assets and the ultimate authority for operating the seminary over to ISF.
In March 2018, ISF launched the open access, online (housed at Indiana U) peer-reviewed Journal of Islamic Faith and Practice (available in print edition form Amazon.com) The founding editorial board of the journal is :
On February 1, 2018, ISF named Dr. Ihsan Bagby, a veteran educator, researcher and community activist as its new TISA president. Dr. Bagby has already begun his journey to lead TISA into the future as a world – class educational institution.
Retired Director of The Fairfax Institute at International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Dr. Unus has served as President of MSA in 1975 and as Secretary General of ISNA in the 1980s. He presently serves on ISNA Board of Directors and is Director-at-Large at United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. He has received life-time service awards from CAIR and ISNA. Dr. Unus holds a PhD from Emory University.
Dr. Jones is Executive Vice President of the Islamic Seminary of America. He is a Professor Emeritus of World Religions and former Chair of both the Dept of World Religions and the African Studies Program at Manhattanville College (Purchase, NY). Dr. Jones’s research focuses on the soco cultural impact of prejudice and the intersectionality between sexism and racism. He has a DMin from Hartford Seminary (Christian- Muslim relations) and a MA in Religion from Yale Divinity School. He is President of the Malik Human Services Institute, a marriage counselor for more than two decades, and a member of the Association of Professional Chaplains.
Chaplain Shazeeda Khan has an economics degree from New York University. She began her career as a commodities accountant at a Wall Street firm. She is currently a volunteer chaplain at the United States Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT since 2005 where she serves Muslim women. She also serves as the Director of Islamic Education and teacher for the Baitul Mukarram Masjid of Greater Danbury. There she develops the Islamic Studies curriculum for the youth ages 5 to 18 and supervises a team of teachers. She also develops halaqa programs for the women. Since 2000, Chaplain Khan has served on the board of the Association of Religious Communities (ARC), an interfaith community service organization. She is currently President and one of the founding board members of the Muslim Endorsement Council of Connecticut (MECC, Inc.).
Dr. Haq is the president and founder of the first Muslim non-profit organization called A Continuous Charity (ACC) which gives non-interest based loans for higher education.
Dr. Haq is originally from Los Angeles, CA. He spend his first 23 years in Southern California receiveing a BA in Psychology from UCSD. He then moved to Des Moines, IA to obtain his Doctorate of Osteopathy in 2011. He then traveled Detroit, MI for his residency in Internal Medicine at Wayne State University. Dr. Haq brings to UTSW a strong background in general medical specifically for the underserved. He came to UTSW for the strong camaraderie amongst fellow physicians. Dr. Haq desires to serve the underserved community not only from the medical side but also education. He was three beautiful children and spends his free time with them.
Former, long-time Chair of ISNA Founders Committee. Former President of Muslim Society of Memphis. Thoracic and Cardiac Surgeon who serves multiple hospitals in Memphis.
President and CEO of United Muslim Relief. PhD International Development. In 2010, he was appointed by the US Agency for International Development to serve on its Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. He also is serving a second term on the US State Department’s Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group.
Azhar Azeez was born in Hyderabad, India. He has a bachelors degree in Finance from the prestigious Osmania University and a Master’s degree in business administration (MBA) and is currently pursuing his PhD in Islamic studies.
For 12 years he worked for major US corporations such as General Electric, American General Life and Capital One. He currently serves as the senior Vice President of Islamic Relief USA which is one of the largest Muslim charity of USA. He was elected as the vice president of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) which is the oldest Muslim organization of US & Canada in 2010 and 2012 and then was elected as its President for two terms in 2014 and in 2016
He is also the past President of the North Texas Islamic council which represents 40 plus Muslim/Islamic organizations in Dallas/Fort worth area. He is the founder and the past President of Islamic Association of Carrollton, Texas one of the large mosques in the suburbs of Dallas, TX.
In his role as the President of ISNA, he has advised two former US Presidents, President Jimmy Carter & President Barack Obama. He is nationally known public and a motivational speaker who travels regularly around US for various local, regional and national Islamic organizations and has addressed gatherings in more than 450 communities across US & Canada.
He has made several media appearances and interviewed by many local and national TV stations, newspapers & magazines. He also speaks regularly on local & national radio/ TV programs. He is married and has two kids and currently resides in Dallas, TX.
Salma Kazmi is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School (MTS) and she currently works as the Director of Operations, Digital and Connected Health at ZS, a management and consulting firm. Her impressive resume includes working as the founding Executive Director of the Boston Islamic Seminary. Salma Kazmi also serves as the chair of the Board’s Compliance Committee, which is focused on preparing TISA for accreditation.
TISA is the premier American Islamic Graduate Institution dedicated to cultivating a generation of world-class doers and thinkers who lead from an Islamic paradigm while engaging contemporary challenges and opportunities.
Keep up with TISA by following us on social media!
