OUR Instructors

The Islamic Learning Foundation is pleased to present to you our faculty for the One Year Seminary. Our faculty members have a diverse background of educational and teaching experience. Our faculty members have studied at a number of prestigious Islamic academic institutions including Al-Azhar University (Egypt), Al-Madina University (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Al-Qarawiyyin University (Morocco), Karachi University (Pakistan), Hartford Seminary (United States), and others. We have no doubt the diverse background of our teaching staff will contribute to the enrichment of our students.

Imam Yusuf Rios

Islamic Learning Foundation (ILF) is the Education and Tarbiya project of Islamic Circle of North America. ILF seeks to provide a wholistic approach of Islamic personality-development through mentorship and didactics. We intend to build a movement of students of the Islamic sciences that have a strong foundation in Islamic theology, legal theory and practice as well as Quran/hadith exegesis and historical analysis. It is the community of students and scholars–with relationships of mutual growth–that shall transcend theoretics; engaging the ideological and spiritual ills of the society. It is this fusion of knowledge and activism that inspires our entire project. We will now be able to advance our efforts under the guidance and supervision of Imam Yusuf.

Imam Tariq Musleh

Shaykh Tariq Musleh is a graduate from the prestigious Madinah University where he attained his Associate degree in Arabic and Bachelors Degree from the College of Sharia. He completed his memorization of Quran at the age of 13 and went on to receive ijaza from Palestine. He studied Classical Arabic at the Fajr Center in Egypt. Shaykh Tariq has worked as a part time instructor for Islamic Learning Foundation Chicago, where he taught Quran and Arabic studies. He has served in Young Muslims (YM) for many years as a coordinator and murrabi. Shaykh Tariq has also served as the Youth Director for the Islamic Center of Naperville in Chicago and became the Youth Director and Assistant Imam of Mecca Center in Willowbrook, Illinois in July 2017.

Imam Omar Hedroug

Omar Hedroug was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan and raised in Chicago. He attended The Islamic Foundation School in Villa Park and then graduated from Benedictine University on a Pre-Med track. While in high school and college, Omar had the opportunity to study the Islamic sciences under various local scholars. While in college, Omar was accepted as a scholarship student at the Islamic University of Madinah. He completed an Associates Degree in the Arabic language and a Bachelors Degree from the College of Shariah, graduating with the highest honors from the faculty of Islamic Law. While in Madinah, he also attended classes at the Prophet’s mosque studying the various Islamic sciences. He recently moved back to Chicago where he resides with his family. He currently serves as the full time youth director at the Islamic Center of Naperville.

Imam Kaiser Aslam

Chaplain Kaiser Aslam is the Muslim Chaplain at Rutgers University. Kaiser has studied various classical Islamic sciences in his studies within the United States and abroad and holds a Masters degree in Islamic Studies & Muslim-Christian Relations from Hartford Seminary. In addition to his work at universities, Kaiser has served as the Muslim Chaplain at Hartford Hospital and as a youth director at various Islamic centers , most recently at the Farmington Valley American Muslim Center.

Dr. Asif Hirani

Dr. Asif Hirani completed his Bachelors of Business Administration in Fashion design. He completed his Masters degree in Islamic Studies (Usul-ud-din) from Karachi University and subsequently obtained his Doctorate from Al-Madina International University specializing in Tafsir & Uloom-ul-Quran. He is currently serving as the Resident Scholar of Worcester Islamic Center and teaching as an adjunct faculty at the Boston Islamic Seminary.

Dr. Arif Hussain

Dr. Arif Hussain received his training in social activism and youth development during his years as a member of Young Muslims (YM). While in YM, he served as a Neighbornet Coordinator, Chicago City Coordinator, and National Coordinator. He was also a founding member of the Islamic Learning Foundation in Chicago where he helped develop the curriculum for the faculty of Arabic studies

Shaykh Abdur Rahman Khan

Sh. Abdur Rahman Khan is a member of ICNA and the Chairman of the ICNA Shariah Council. He’s a member of the Fiqh Council of North America. He’s active in Interfaith Dialogue. He is a graduate of the Islamic University in Madinah Munawwarah, in the faculty of Shari’ah (Islamic Jurisprudence) specializing in Islamic Inheritance. He attended the university from 1982 to 1989.

Our Instructors