Global Conversations

Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr is a world renown scholar on Islam and is currently a University Professor at GW. He has published over fifty books and hundreds of articles in numerous languages and translations. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics. He went on to Harvard University where he studied Geology and Geophysics, and then completed a PhD in the History of Science and Philosophy.

Shaykh Muhammad bin Yahya al-Ninowy is the Founder and Director of Madina Institute, an Islamic seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, with campuses in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sudan, and Malaysia. Dr. Al-Ninowy is considered to be a Muhaddith; a scholar of Hadith sciences. He has authored books in Usul, Creed, Hadith, and Sufi sciences. Al-Ninowy traces his lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad. He has been a pioneer working on grass root levels to bring back unconditional compassion and love as the central themes of religion and has been the forerunner promoting non-violence among all people and religions worldwide. Al-Ninowy also holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Illinois, and a doctor of medicine degree.

Ustadha Zaynab Ansari serves as an adjunct instructor at Boston Islamic Seminary and a full-time instructor at Tayseer Seminary, where she teaches classes on Islamic law, Qur’an & Hadith studies, Prophetic biography, American Muslim history, and women in Islam. She also serves on the boards of the Tayseer Foundation and the Muslim Community of Knoxville.