Muneer Goolam Fareed (born 1956) is a Muslim scholar and the former secretary general of ISNA (
Islamic Society of North America
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a nonprofit organization based in Plainfield, Indiana. It provides a number of programs and services to the Muslim community and broader society. ISNA holds an annual convention which is generally re ...
).
Biography
Muneer Fareed is a
South African citizen of Indian descent.
He studied Arabic language and literature at
King Abdulaziz University
King Abdulaziz University (KAU) ( ar, جامعة الملك عبد العزيز) is a public university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. With over 117,096 students in 2022, it is the largest university in the country. Located in south Jeddah, the univ ...
,
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
and got a theological license in Islamic studies (
Ijazah
An ''ijazah'' ( ar, الإِجازَة, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such au ...
) from the
Darul Uloom Deoband
The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...
, India.
Fareed moved to the U.S. in 1989 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1994 from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, with his dissertation entitled, "''Legal Reform in the Muslim world: The anatomy of a scholarly dispute in the 19th and the early 20th centuries on the usage of
Ijtihad
''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...
as a legal tool.''"
He worked as an
imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
of the
Islamic Association of Greater Detroit from 1989 to 2000 and was an associate professor of Islamic studies at
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
until 2006.
He succeeded
Sayyid Syeed as the new secretary general of the
Islamic Society of North America
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a nonprofit organization based in Plainfield, Indiana. It provides a number of programs and services to the Muslim community and broader society. ISNA holds an annual convention which is generally re ...
in late 2006.
Fareed is also a member of the
Fiqh Council of North America
The Fiqh Council of North America (originally known as ISNA Fiqh Committee) is an association of Muslims who interpret Islamic law on the North American continent. The FCNA was founded in 1986 with the goal of developing legal methodologies for ado ...
.
External links
Muneer Fareed ResumePortrait at the American Learning Institute for MuslimsMuneer Fareed former ISNA Secretary General (2007-2008)Interview of Diffused Congruence podcast, 7 February 2014
1956 births
University of Michigan alumni
Wayne State University faculty
Living people
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