Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
17195 Silver Parkway #401
Fenton, MI 48430
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A prominent scholar of mainstream, traditional Islam, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani has spent his life spreading the teachings of peace, tolerance, respect and love that are the message of Islam throughout the world. Here in the United States for the last eleven years, Shaykh Kabbani has continued to disseminate the light and peace of Islam’s spiritual dimension to people of every background, ethnicity, race, and belief. |
Education
§ Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
§ Medical studies in Louvain, Belgium.
§ Degree in Islamic Divine Law, Damascus, Syria.
§ License to teach, guide and counsel students in Islamic spirituality from the renowned Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil, authority of the Hanafi school of Islamic law in the Middle East and world leader of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order.
Current Positions Held
| § Co-Chair, Council of Muslim Leadership§ Chairman, Islamic Supreme Council of America
§ President, The Muslim Magazine § U.S. Leader, Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order § Chairman, As-Sunnah Foundation of America § Chairman, Kamilat Muslim women’s organization § Advisor, UnityOne, an organization devoted to ending gang violence. § Advisor, Human Rights Council, U.S.A. for supporting the establishment of human rights and freedom in all nations. |
Recent accomplishments
- March 2010 Conducted a tour of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Kenya to meet with clerics and community leaders about the preservation of traditional Muslim culture; and met with Ivory Coast president, His Excellency Laurent Gbagbo, and Kenyan Prime Minister, His Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga to discuss the rise of Islamist radicalism in Africa and the concurrent destruction of ancient Muslim culture.
February 2010 Founder of new registered UK charity which hosted HRH Prince of Wales for its launch event “Spirituality in Action”
June 2009 Met with opposition leader of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, and other government officials.
May 2009 Celebration of Prophet Muhammad Birthday attended by the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono along with 250,000 members of the public at Masjid Istiqlal, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.
April 2009 Celebrated Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday at the House of Commons. attended by Rt. Hon. Hazel Anne Blears, UK Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith, UK Home Secretary.
November 2008 Met with His Excellency Rathnasiri Wickramanayake, the Prime minister of Sri Lanka to discuss on how and what help is needed by the Muslims pertaining to the current situation in Sri Lanka.
November 2008 Met with His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse, the President of Sri Lanka to present views on Terrorism and how can peace be brought to Sri Lanka.
March 2008 Guest of Honor for the first interfaith house of worship in Los Angeles, California
March 2008 Host of the 2nd Preventing Extremism Road Show across the UK
December 2007 Host of the 1st Preventing Extremism Road Show across the UK
August 2007 Personally guest of Colonel Qaddafi of Libya to discuss curtailing the threat of Islamist radicalism
June 2006 Met with His Royal Highness Princes Charles of England to discuss the importance of Sufism in Islam and to promote universal spirituality amongst all people.
March 2006 Briefed the staff of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on suggestions for its public diplomacy outreach to the Muslim community.
February 2006 Met personally with U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney to present his views on the cures of Islamist radicalism.
February 2006 Met with Ms. Fran Townshend, Assistant to the U.S. President for Homeland Security, and her deputy, Mr. Juan Zarate, to also discuss the cures for Islamist radicalism and responses to the “cartoon controversy”.
July 2005 & Jan 2006 Held private meetings with President Susilo Bambang Yudiyono of Indonesia and Vice President Yusuf Kalla to strengthen ongoing joint projects on “Jihadi rehabilation” for Indonesian youth.
April 2005 Met with England’s Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to discuss current situation of Islam in Europe.
March 2005 Attended White House Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Leadership Conference and met with President Bush at a round table on the initiative.
December 2004 Chief guest and speaker “Global Challenges in Islam” Seminar, Singapore. Over three days spoke in three different religious forums. Met with Singapore’s Minister of Council of Islamic Affairs (MUIS), State Minister of Foreign Affairs and the State Minister for Education. Met with Rohan Gunaratna, Head of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, to discuss methods for promoting traditional Islam and assisting “recovering” terrorists.
December 2004 Principal keynote speaker and host, International Conference of Scholars and Activists, Jakarta, Indonesia under the theme “Islam & Civil Society in the 21st Century: A Path to Transformation” addressing the topic “Principles of Leadership in War & Peace” detailing the illegitimacy of terrorism and the prohibition of suicide as a means of combat in Islam. Addressed the Friday sermon at two of Jakarta’s largest mosques and hosted during the conference, HRH Prince Raja Muda Nazrin Azlan Shah, Pro-Chancellor, University of Malaya and Crown Prince of Malaysia’s state of Perak, Dato Hishammudin Tun Hussein, Malaysia’s Minister of Education, Dato Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Malaysia’s Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Shaykh Hazyim Muzadi, Head of Indonesia’s largest NGO, Nahdatul Ulama, US Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe and other dignitaries at the conference.
December 2004 Met with Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla at his home in Jakarta to discuss issues of state.
November 2004 Guest at the White House for the President Bush Annual Ramadan Dinner.
August 2004 Attended Sidi Shekir Conference on “Importance of Spirituality in Human Affairs,” in Marrakech, Morocco, under the patronage HRM King Mohamad VI and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
June 2004 Keynote speaker at the northern California-based Islamic Educational and Cultural Research Center (IECRC) second annual conference.
June 2004 Met with His Excellency Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan and presented him with an invitation to Islamic leaders’ conference, Indonesia, winter 2004.
May 2004 Keynote speaker at Universal Muslim Association of America in Washington, DC. Topic: “Extremism is inconsistent with Islam.”
May 2004 Keynote speaker at Islamic Studies and Research of Association in Columbia, SC. Topic: “Classical Islam: religion of mercy.”
May 2004 Keynote speaker at international religious conference in Indonesia. Met with Indonesia’s vice presidential candidates. In Malaysia met with Minister of Education His Excellency Tun Hishamuddin Hussein and with Crown Prince of Perak, HRH Raja Muda bin Azlan Shah.
April 2004 Keynote speaker at conference, “Beyond Radical Islam?” held by LeFrak Forum and Symposium on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy at Michigan State University and the Ethics and Public Policy Center of Washington, DC.
February 2004 Led an international delegation to Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. In Thailand presented a paper at the Thailand Leadership Forum, toured Buddhist shrines and met religious leaders; Performed Celebration of Remembrance with 140,000 students in Indonesia’s Istiklal Mosque; met privately with Malaysian Prime Minister His Excellency Dato Seri Abdallah Badawi.
January 2004 Met with His Excellency Recep Tayyib Erdogan Prime Minister of Turkey to discuss building interfaith dialogue between US academics and scholars and their Turkish counterparts.
January 2004 Keynote speech to annual board meeting of the American Foreign Policy Council.
December 2003 Represented US Muslims at 3-day interfaith conference of international religious leaders held in Spain.
October 2003 Joined President George W. Bush for Iftar at the White House. Gave the keynote address at the Nixon Center conference on Sufism and US Policy.
July and October 2003 Led two international delegation to Indonesia and Malaysia to meet with government and religious leaders as part of a campaign against religious extremism; addressed more than 100,000 Muslims in Indonesia’s Mosque Istiklal, calling for religious tolerance, and opened a new institute dedicated to teaching classical Islam.
May 2003 Spoke at Conference on Islam and America, sponsored by the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC.
May 2003 Addressed conference of federal prison chaplains sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in Ann Arbor, Michigan; warned of danger posed by extremists within federal corrections system.
January-February 2003 Traveled across the U.S. to convene grassroots coalition meetings and community watch groups to prevent the rise of religious extremism and to promote traditional Islam.
November 2002 Met with President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, respectively, at White House and State Department events for Ramadan.
September 2002 Met with President George W. Bush for his official Proclamation of the Days of Remembrance and Prayers September 6-9, 2002.
August 2002 Invited as a guest of the President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, to visit the republic and explore issues of religious educational development.
July 2002 Presented a paper entitled “Understanding Sharia” at the Freedom House conference in Washington, DC, as well as a paper on “Islam and Democracy” for the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
March 2002 Met with His Excellency President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan during his first official visit to the U.S. and discussed future plans for mutual cooperation.
March 2002 Met with Asst. Secretary of Defense, Mr. Paul Wolfowitz and his staff to introduce the activities of ISCA and its promotion of moderate Islam throughout the world.
March 2002 Guest speaker at the American Society for Industrial Security on the topic of “Traditional Islam in the U.S.”
February 2002 Signed Memorandum of Understanding with State Minister of Indonesia on the building of civil society infrastructure and the promotion of traditional Islam.
February 2002 Met with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Youth for Malaysia to discuss issues facing the Muslim world after 9-11.
September 2001 Advised numerous government agencies on issues of national security as it relates to radical religious insurgents, both domestically and abroad.
May 2001 Led the ISCA Asian Tour to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Japan.
April 2001 Led a hundred-member delegation to the Republic of Uzbekistan as a guest of the President of Uzbekistan.
January 2001 Guest of Honor, Annual Meeting of the National Committee of American Foreign Policy.
October 2000 Met with various ministers and the President of Indonesia.
September 2000 Delegate to the UNESCO conference on inter-religious dialogue in Uzbekistan.
August 2000 Met with His Excellency President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan.
April 2000 Keynote speaker at Central Asia–Caucasus Institute (CACI) of Johns Hopkins University conference on The Emergence of Religious Extremism in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
March 2000 Met with His Excellency President Denktash and the foreign minister of Cyprus.
January 2000 Met with U.S. President Bill Clinton at a White House event in honor of Ramadan.
November 1999 Joined U.S. Congressional representatives in generating nationwide support for an official stamp recognizing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
February 1999 Hosted by President Aslan Maskhadov of Chechnya on three week
fact-finding mission to Grozny and surrounding war-torn areas; shared findings with various government agencies and political analysts.
February 1, 1999 Appointed representative of the Muslim faith for Vice President Al Gore’s conference on “Corruption in Government,” February, 1999.
January 7, 1999 Keynote speaker at “Islamic Extremism” Open Forum at the U.S. Department of State.
January 6, 1999 Keynote Speaker at forum on “The Evolution of Wahhabism” at Johns Hopkins University, Central Asia – Caucasus Institute.
August 7 – 9, 1998 Chaired the 2nd International Islamic Unity Conference in Washington, DC.
Major Achievements
Accomplishments in North America
§ Founded 23 Islamic study and meeting centers in the U.S. and Canada.
§ Founded an Islamic retreat and healing center in Michigan.
§ Founded the Islamic Supreme Council of America, an educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of informative material on Islam and the presentation of an authentic, scholarly Islamic viewpoint on world affairs.
§ Established the American branch of the Haqqani Educational Foundation, dedicated to promoting the fundamental teachings of Islamic belief, including tolerance, respect and peace.
§ Served as advisor and speaker, Northern California Interfaith Conference, San Francisco.
§ Established As-Sunna Foundation of America for developing, publishing and organizing conferences to provide classical Islamic education.
§ Chairman of American Muslim Assistance relief organization, working to help the indigent, orphans and refugees in America and throughout the world.
§ Founder of the Muslim Magazine, top-rated English-language Islamic newsmagazine with a truly moderate approach.
§ Founder of Kamilat, international Muslim women’s organization.
§ Co-Founder of Alliance for Islamic Culture and Arts.
§ Founder of top-rated websites: haqqanisoul.com, sunnah.org, islamicsupremecouncil.org, naqshbandi.org, naqshbandi.net, sufilive.com,
Accomplishments in Europe, the Far East and the Middle East
§ Works closely with the government and people of Uzbekistan to restore traditional Islamic practices and prevent the increase of religious radicals in the region.
§ Co-founder of the Haqqani Worldwide Educational Foundation center for teaching Islamic Divine Law and spirituality in London, England, which houses over 800 students each year and more than 2,000 students per year who attend seminars, workshops and retreats for learning about the essentials of Islam.
§ Speaker and advisor, Inter-Religious Organization, Singapore.
§ Working at the highest political levels to support relief efforts in Bosnia, Kosova, Afghanistan, Iraq, his native Lebanon and Somalia.
§ Supporting peace initiatives in the Middle East, Bosnia, Kashmir, Afghanistan and Kosova.
§ Working to free political prisoners and prisoners of conscience the world-over.
§ Working with international organizations to establish the International Day of the Orphan as a globally-observed day for highlighting the plight of orphans, foster children and child victims of abuse.
§ Chairman of the highly successful International Islamic Unity Conference, whose second conference took place in Washington, DC from August 7-9, 1998.
§ Co-developer and former General Manager of the Islamic Jeddah Medical Center in Saudi Arabia.
§ Was invited by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to attend the opening of his first healing clinic in October 1998.
§ Met with Devi Gowda, former PM of India, and C.M. Ibrahim, at that time Aviation Minister of India, when they were all guests at the 7th annual conference of the IMRC in San Jose, 1997.
Publications
BOOKS
§ Classical Islam and the Naqshbandi Sufi Way, 840 pp. detailing Naqshbandi Sufi tradition of classical Islam.
§ The Approach to Armageddon? An Islamic Perspective, 294 pp. details Islam’s perspectives on science and technology and prophecies regarding end times and Judgment Day.
§ Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine and Beliefs – 5 years in research and writing, 1500 pp. 7-volume, set describes Islamic beliefs according to the classical approach of the major schools of jurisprudence and doctrine.
§ The Naqshbandi Sufi Way: History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain
§ Encyclopedia of Muhammad’s Women Companions.
§ Angels Unveiled – a modern view of a traditional subject.
§ Pearls & Coral, Volumes I and II, classical Islamic teachings couched in an easy-to-read informal format.
and many others…
ARTICLES (available through www.islamicsupremecouncil.org)
· Understanding Sharia – Islamic Law from the classical Islamic perspective
· Islam & Democracy
· Terrorist Threat in America: Extremist Wave Threatens to Engulf Muslim Americans
· Radicalism: Its Wahhabi Roots and Current Representation
· Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam
