Speakers & Esteemed Guests:

Yaser Birjas

Shaykh Yaser started his career in Electronic Engineering in the UAE, then in Madinah where he graduated as class Valedictorian with the highest honors from the Islamic University of Madinah’s College of Shari’ah (Fiqh and Usul) in 1996. He learned from various highly respected scholars such as Shaykh Mohammed Amin Al-Shanqiti and Shaykh Al-‘Uthaymin.
In 1997, he went to work as a relief program aide to rebuild war-torn Bosnia. In 2000, he immigrated to the U.S. where he served as an Imam at The Islamic Center in El Paso, Texas and a director of English programs in Da’wah and outreach for the Orland Park Prayer Center. He is currently serving as Imam of the renowned Valley Ranch Islamic Center in Irving, Texas, rapidly establishing himself as an invaluable leader of the Texan Muslim Community.
His speciality in the subject of marriage and relations made him a highly sought marriage counsellor for the Muslim community, and with four children and much experience, his parenting classes are equally popular. With his superb all-round grasp on Islamic sciences, Shaykh Yaser is welcomed eagerly in every city he teaches whether it is his Usul, Fiqh, Financial Literacy, or Relationship classes. It is no wonder that he has taught more students than any other of our instructors at AlMaghrib!

Isra Chaker

Isra Chaker is a civil rights activist, campaigns and advocacy expert, and public speaker. She serves as the Refugee, Migration and Protection Campaign Lead at one of the leading international NGOs in the world, Oxfam; where she uses her campaigns expertise in managing this campaign that advocates for vulnerable people such as refugees, asylum seekers, temporary protected status (TPS) holders; and opposes discriminatory policies such as the Muslim Bans. Being personally impacted by the Muslim Ban and not being able to reunite with her extended family in Syria, Isra is passionate in her work for reuniting families and advocating for vulnerable people. Recently, she was a featured speaker at the national #FamiliesBelongTogether March in Washington, DC to over 40,000 people. One of her infamous projects that went viral in 2017 was bringing refugees to President Trump’s childhood home in Queens, New York to share their experiences and their “American Dream”. She has been interviewed and featured on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman, NowThis, AJ+, ABC News, Al Jazeera, CNN, the Associated Press, VICE News, the Washington Post, etc. She is an appointed Public Advocate for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency USA (UNRWA USA) for her invaluable contributions in raising awareness and funds for their projects supporting refugee assistance. In addition, Isra has consulted with major networks and shows such as Netflix and Grey’s Anatomy on the development of Muslim and Arab-American characters to ensure an authentic and accurate portrayal of the narrative. ​

Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir

After record breaking performances, her dream to play professionally quickly ended due to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rule prohibiting head gear larger than five inches. Unwilling to stray in her beliefs, Bilqis chose faith over basketball. Through an op-ed published by TIME, an open letter signed by Olympic, retired and professional athletes, high-level speaking engagements and interviews with BBC Sport – and their 55 million strong audience, Bilqis raised her voice for the next generation while her own dream was benched. In May 2017, FIBA overturned the hijab ban.

Imam Abdel Moniem
NoorAlexandria Abukaram
Abdurahman Wood
Kinza Asif
Alauddin A. Alauddin
Sarah Alauddin
Khalid Dada
Amina Basharat
Alizeh Hassan
Aghiad Daboul