About Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani is a scholar and Sufi shaykh from the Middle East. He graduated from the American University of Beirut in Chemistry. From there he went to Belgium, to continue his Medical Degree in Louvain. Then he received his Islamic Law Degree from Damascus. From his childhood, he accompanied Shaykh 'Abdullah ad-Daghestani and Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, the grandshaikhs of the Most Distinguished Naqshbandi Order in this time. He traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe, and the Far East in the company of his shaykh.

In 1991 he moved to America and there established the foundation of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order of America.

Since that time, he has opened thirteen Sufi centers in Canada and the United States. He has lectured in many universities, including Oxford, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Howard, McGill, Concordia, Dawson College, as well as in many spiritual and religious centers throughout North America, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East.

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani's work wherever he goes is to spread the Sufi teachings of the brotherhood of mankind and the Unity of belief in God that is present in all religions and spiritual paths. His efforts are directed at bringing the diverse spectrum of religions and spiritual paths into harmony and concord, in recognition of mankind's responsibility as caretaker of this fragile planet and of one another.

Shaykh Hisham, as a Sufi shaykh, has been given the authority and permission to guide his followers to the Love of God and to the stations to which they have been destined by their Creator. His arduous spiritual training of 40 years at the hands of his grandshaykh and his shaykh, has endowed him with the sublime qualities of wisdom, light, intellect, and compassion necessary for a true Master on the Path.

Shaykh Hisham's outreach mission in the Americas is his unique contribution to the Endeavor of Humankind in reaching for its highest destiny--nearness to God. His endeavors to bring unity of hearts in their movement towards the Divine Essence is what may be his greatest legacy to the West.

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.

Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil concerning Shaykh Hisham Kabbani

CURRENT POSITIONS HELD

• 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 in America.
• Advisor, Human Rights Council, U.S.A. for supporting the establishment of human rights and freedom in all nations.
• Advisor, American Islamic Association of Mental Health Providers.

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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	Advisor to numerous government agencies on issues of national security as related to radical religious insurgents both domestically and abroad
May 2001	Hosted ISCA's Asian Tour to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Japan April 2001 Official guest of the President of Uzbekistan that included a hundred member delegation of the Republic
January 2001	Guest of Honor, Annual Meeting of the National Committee of American Foreign Policy October 2000 Met with the President of Indonesia as well as various ministers on a recent tour
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 Foreign Minister of Cyprus.
January 2000	Met with US President Bill Clinton at a White House event in honor of Ramadan
January 2000	Invited by the Government of Uzbekistan to monitor and observe the second democratic elections of the Republic
January 2000	Invited by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to first State Department dinner 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 24 - 26, 1999
January 22, 1999	Commissioned by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Washington, DC, to translate and categorize thousands of precious manuscripts in Uzbeki mosques and libraries.
January 7, 1999	Keynote Speaker - "Islamic Extremism" Open Forum at the U.S. Department of State
January 6, 1999	Keynote Speaker - forum on "The Evolution of Wahhabism" at Johns Hopkins University, Central Asia - Caucasus Institute
January 1, 1999	Muslim Magazine appointed to the Newsmakers Committee of the National Press Club, Washington, DC
August 7 - 9, 1998	Chairman of the 2nd International Islamic Unity Conference

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

Accomplishments in America

 

• Founded twenty-three Islamic study and meeting centers in the US and Canada.
  
• Founded an Islamic retreat and healing center on a 200-acre farm 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.
  
• Advisor and speaker, Northern California Interfaith Conference, San Francisco.
  
• Established As-Sunnah Foundation of America for developing, publishing and organizing conferences to provide classical Islamic education.
  
• Chairman of ISCA, whose relief arm is working to help the indigent, orphans and refugees in America and throughout the world.
  
• Founder of the Muslim Magazine, top-rated EngIish-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: islamicsupremecouncil.org, as-siddiq.org, muslimmag.org, sunnah.org, kamilat.org, naqshbandi.org, naqshbandi.net, isn1.net, mawlid.net,

  Accomplishments in Europe, the Far East and the Middle East

• Works intimately 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, and the third of which is scheduled for London, England, 2000.
  
• Co-developer and and former General Manager of the Jeddah Medical Center in Saudi Arabia.
  
• Shaykh Hisham was recently invited by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to attend the opening of his first healing clinic in October 1998. He had been Maharishi's guest in Holland at an interreligious event held in December 1997.
  
• Shaykh Hisham is proud and honored to have had a private meeting 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.
  

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

Recent Appearances

• The Today Show (NBC) with Katie Couric - 9/17/01
  "This was an not only an attack on America or the West, this was an attack on Islam, the Quran and on every Muslim inside and outside the United States."
  
• WDIV Detroit (NBC) News at 5 - 9/17/01
  "Islam doesn't teach terrorism, nor allow you to kill anyone. Islam tells you to toss a flower on your enemy in order to bring him to your side, not to fight with him."
  
• WXYZ Detroit (ABC) Special Panel on Profiling and Hate Crimes - 9/17/01
  Answering a question about radical religious movements:
  "They came against Uzbekistan because [government officials] were stopping those extremists from
  coming into their country, as in Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Algeria. If the Muslim scholars are not condemning these [radical] teachings and ideology, they will face a lot of problems in the future."
  
  

  September 2001	In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Shaykh Kabbani has conducted interviews with NBC's Today Show, Fox News Live, CNN Headline News, USNews and World Report, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the LA Times and many others.
  Summer 2001	South East Asian media - Shaykh Kabbani's efforts to promote traditional Islam in South East Asia were featured in several newspapers throughout Malaysia and Indonesia.
  September 2000	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - "Fighting Fundamentalism with Sufism." Paul Goble reports on how the Uzbek government is adopting an Islamic approach to tackling the problem of militant "Islamist" infiltration of the nation.
  April 2000	The Washington Times - report on how radical Muslims and extremist elements overshadow peace-loving, tolerant Muslims of the world.
  May 2000	Newsweek - featured 2-page spread of Shaykh Hisham as the sole consult on Islamic perspective of miracles and healing as viewed by Muslims, Jews and Christians
  May 1999	San Jose Mercury News - Religion & Ethics cover story on political differences and their implications within US Muslim community
  March 1999	Los Angeles Times - cover story on the struggle to establish traditionally moderate Islamic leadership in the US
  February 1999	BBC - interviewed for a London-based news program on extremist movements in the Western world
  August 1998	National Press Club - Keynote Speaker at a Morning Newsmaker on Islamic Extremism, Member of the Newsmakers Committee, through The Muslim Magazine
  August 1998	Discovery Channel - Interviewed in depth and served as a source on the mystical aspect of Islam for a one-hour documentary on Islam.
  August 1998	Odyssey Channel - Interviewed as a main source for a half-hour special aired worldwide on the bombing of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

• 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
  
• Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine and Beliefs - 5 years under research and writing, this 7-volume, 1500 page set describes the beliefs of Islam according to the classical approach of the major schools of jurisprudence and doctrine
  
• The Naqshbandi Sufi Way
  and many others…

ARTICLES

• Terrorist Threat in America: Extremist Wave Threatens to Engulf Muslim Americans
  
• Bin Laden's Nuclear Weapons
  
• Usama Bin Laden: A Legend Gone Wrong
  
• Radicalism: Its Wahhabi Roots and Current Representation
  
• Jihad: A Misunderstood Concept from Islam

OFFICE

Fenton, MI 17195 Silver Parkway, #201 Fenton, MI 48430 Tel: (888) 278-66243 Fax: (810) 222-2885 Email: ishaq@sunnah.org Contact: Ishaq Bojelian

source :
http://www.naqshbandi.org/about/biohmk.htm