Speakers
Dr. Jamal Badawi
Dr. Jamal Badawi is an Egyptian born Muslim Canadian. He is a former professor who taught at a number of schools including the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he taught in the Departments of Religious Studies and Management. He is a well-known author, activist, preacher and speaker on Islam. Dr. Badawi completed his undergraduate studies in Cairo, Egypt and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Dr. Badawi is the author of many books and articles on Islam. In addition, he researched, designed and presented a 352 segment television series on Islam, which was shown in many local TV stations in Canada, the US and as well as other countries all over the world. Audio and video copies of this series are widely available throughout the world.
Shaykh Omar Suleiman
Born and raised in New Orleans, Shaykh Omar's character has gained the love of both young and mature audiences.
Shaykh Omar has two Bachelors degree in Islamic Studies and in Accounting. He studied in the UAE under Ustadh Tariq Rajah and in Jordan under Shaykh Omar Sulayman Al Ashqar. Since 2008, Sh Omar has been under the tutelage of Dr. Salah As-Sawy and Dr. Hatem Al Haj. He teaches online with Mishkah University and a member of the ICNA Shariah Council.
Shaykh Omar worked for ICNA Relief in Hurricane Katrina and ICNA Relief Louisiana. He was also an Imam of Masjid Abu Bakr As-Siddique in New Orleans. He was awarded for "Outstanding Civic Achievement" by the Major and City Council of New Orleans in 2010.
Dr. Robert Shedinger
Dr. Shedinger is a scholar and teacher of religion at Luther College in Iowa. His 2009 book, Was Jesus a Muslim? is a timely and provocative rethinking of the very concept of religion. He calls for Christain/Muslim solidarity in the face of injustice.
Dr. Sabeel Ahmed
Dr. Sabeel Ahmed is the Director of the GainPeace Project, an outreach project of Islamic Circle of North America. GainPeace.com conducts many outreach oriented projects in Chicago and many cities in the USA to educate people about the authentic teachings of Islam. Some of these projects include advertising the message of Islam via Bus, Billboards, trains and newspapers. Dr. Sabeel had given many presentations and workshops in various cities of USA on dawah related topics. Upon completing his medical education Dr. Sabeel decided to become a full-time daee. He was born in India and moved to USA more than 15 years ago. He is married, has two kids, and resides with his family in Chicago, IL, USA.
Br. Abdul Wadud
Br.Abdul Wadud is a member of I.C.N.A Canada since 1983. He has worked on a number of outreach projects to build bridges between different faith groups in Canada. He has successfully conducted numerous inter-faith programs. He is currently the President of I.C.N.A Canada.
Jon Moscow
Jon Moscow is part of Jews Against Islamophobia (JAI) which was formed in September 2010 as a coalition of Jews Against Islamophobia, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jews Say No!, American Jews for a Just Peace, and individuals committed to challenging anti-Muslim bigotry and anti-Arab racism. It was formed in immediate response to the Islamophobic right-wing opposition to the building of Park51/Cordoba House, the proposed lower Manhattan mosque and Islamic center.
JAI is a network for the purposes of making their voices heard and offering a Jewish voice that is part of the larger community effort(s) to challenge Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism.
Dr. Iqbal Masood Nadvi
Dr. Iqbal Masood Nadvi is a well-known Muslim scholar in Canada, one of few who have the authority to give an Islamic legal ruling (fatwa). He holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Shariah (law), with specialization in jurisprudence (Fiqh) and taught the Islamic Shariah and Jurisprudence subjects in King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, for six years and dealt with various topics such as principles of jurisprudence (Usool Al-Fiqh), Islamic Culture, Islamic Political Thought, Islamic movements and Fiqh of Organization. Dr. Al-Nadvi currently serves as Director of Al-Falah Islamic School in Oakville, Ontario since 2004, prior to which he served as a Imam in Calgary Muslim Community Centre from 1998-2004. He is also the Deputy Chairperson of Canadian Council of Imams, and Muslim representative on Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy board.