Masjid Al-Noor
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Our Students + Your Sadaqa = Leaders of Tommorow
Meet our Graduates
Imam Yusef Rios
Born in the heart of the US in Philadelphia, Imam Rios was born into a devout Christian family. When he embraced Islam, his thirst for knowledge grew, and he knew that the Islamic American University would be able to facilitate it.
We flew Imam Rios to Al-Azhar University in Egypt to continue his studies, and upon his return, he became a renowned scholar in the Latino Muslim community, especially as the Latino community is the fastest-growing minority accepting Islam.
We are proud and honored to have such an esteemed sheikh graduate from our program.
Imam Ammar Ibn Yasir
Imam Ammar Ibn Yasser hails from the Dearborn, MI area, and has visited our community on multiple occasions. He previously served as the Imam at MACE Islamic Center in Richmond Heights, OH. Imam Ammar holds a Certificate in Islamic Science, which includes Usol Al-Tafsir, Usol Al-Fiqh, Arabic Nahw, Aqidah, and Hadith. Moreover, he has Ijazat in Hadith and Arabic, among many others.
What excites us most about Imam Ammar is his youth, passion, and ideas. Along with his profound Islamic knowledge and memorization of the Quran, he has proven to be proficient in both Arabic and English. He has several plans in mind for our Community, particularly our Youth, and we are thrilled to see his innovative ideas come to fruition. We are honored to have him as part of our community.
Imam John Ederer
Imam John Ederer embraced Islam in 1998 after reading a translation of the Quran. He embarked on a seven-year journey to seek the sacred sciences of Islam, studying at the Islamic American University in Michigan and the Diwan center in Egypt, where he attained a degree of mastery in Arabic. He spent five years studying classical texts with prominent scholars in Egypt and Kuwait, and was blessed to attain a license in the memorization and recitation of the Quran while in Kuwait.
Since returning to the United States in 2009, Imam John has worked tirelessly to serve the Muslim community. He has been an Imam at the Islamic Foundation of South Florida and is currently serving as the Imam of the Muslim Community Center of Charlotte. He has also written extensively for virtualmosque.com and is a dynamic preacher who advocates for revivalist reform in the Muslim community.
Imam John Ederer is an inspiring figure who has dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge and service to the Muslim community. He believes that the principles and objectives of Islamic theology can help overcome cultural stagnancy and decadence in the Muslim world. He advocates for a moral alliance of common good among people of scriptural morality to address widespread social and political corruption. We are proud to have contributed to his education and grateful for his continued work to spread the message of Islam.
Imam ShemsAdeen Ben-Masaud
ShemsAdeen Ben-Masaud, a Denver, Colorado native, earned his Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems and International Business from the CU Business School. Despite his successful corporate career, he remained highly engaged in the Muslim community as a youth director, MSA president, volunteer, activist, and speaker. In 2010, ShemsAdeen traveled overseas to pursue formal Islamic studies at Qasid Arabic Institute and World Islamic Sciences and Education University in Amman, Jordan, where we, as Islamic American University, sent him to further his education. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in the faculty of Islamic Jurisprudence and its Foundations.
ShemsAdeen served as Imam and Religious Director at The Metropolitan Denver North Islamic Center (Masjid Ikhlas) in Northglenn Colorado from 2015-2019. He currently serves as the Director of Student Affairs & Community Engagement at Crescent View Academy and the Director of Tarbiyah and Personal Development at MAS Colorado. ShemsAdeen remains highly engaged in interfaith, outreach, and bridge-building efforts between the Muslim community and other faith traditions, public officials, and community law enforcement. He speaks regularly at churches, universities, and other public forums.
ShemsAdeen’s dedication to serving the Muslim community has not gone unnoticed. In January 2016, he was among fifteen Muslim leaders nationally to attend the final State of the Union address of President Barack Obama as the honored guest of Representative Diana DeGette. He was also presented with the 2017 Islamic Relief “Community Leader Award” in recognition of his commitment to positive change and contributions to the local, national, and international community. We are proud to have contributed to his education and grateful for his continued efforts to serve and better the community.
Imam John Graff
Meet John Graff, a Muslim revert and an Azhari student who is passionate about making Arabic and Quran education accessible to everyone who wants it. With years of experience in teaching the Arabic language, Quran, and Islamic Studies, John has developed an online program that offers private tutoring to those who seek to learn more about Islam.
John’s goal is to bring the knowledge he acquired through his studies overseas back to the West to benefit American Muslims. He believes that every Muslim should have access to quality Islamic education, regardless of their background or location. John’s dedication to making Islamic education accessible has been further strengthened by his studies at Al Azhar University, which was made possible by Islamic American University.
Imam Jimal Diwan
Shaykh Jamaal Diwan was born and raised in Southern California to parents from Newfoundland, Canada and Pakistan. He grew up playing basketball and listening to Hip Hop before accepting Islam in 2003 while at University of California San Diego. After completing his degree in Third World Studies from UCSD, he moved to Egypt with his wife to study Arabic and Islamic Studies, which was made possible by Islamic American University. He completed his undergraduate degree in Sharia from Al-Azhar University and two years of graduate work in Islamic Studies from the American University in Cairo. He has also obtained ijazat (traditional licenses to transmit and teach) in various branches of Islamic Studies such as aqidah, fiqh, tazkiyah, and hadith.
Upon returning from Egypt in 2011, Shaykh Jamaal served as a religious teacher and instructor in Southern California and later served as the Resident Scholar at the Islamic Center of Irvine from 2012-2014. In 2014, both the OC Register and OC Weekly included him in their lists of most influential people in Orange County.
In 2015, Shaykh Jamaal helped start the IOK Chaplaincy program which began at UCLA and USC and eventually grew to cover seven college campuses in Southern California. He directly served student bodies at UCLA, USC, and UCI. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a teacher of Islamic Studies at New Horizon Irvine while also working on The Majlis which he co-founded with his wife in 2017.
Through his extensive knowledge of Islamic Studies and dedication to serving the Muslim community, Shaykh Jamaal has made a significant impact on the Southern California Muslim community. He continues to inspire and educate Muslims around the world and is a valuable asset to the Islamic community.
muslema purmul
Muslema Purmul is a young Muslim scholar who grew up in America and studied Arabic and Islamic Studies in Egypt for seven years, thanks to the support of Islamic American University. During her studies, she earned her law degree in Sharia from al-Azhar University in Cairo, which has enabled her to become a regular speaker at local universities on issues pertaining to Islam and Muslims in America.
In 2014, Muslema was a panelist at the “Origins of Islamic Law and its Modern Day Implications” panel hosted by the Fowler School of Law’s Muslim Law Students Association (MuLSA). Alongside Shaykh Jamaal Diwan, the couple addressed questions posed by MuLSA and provided initial background on the Shari’ah, framing the discussion around common misapprehensions. Despite misconceptions that the Shari’ah is against human rights and the treatment of women in modern Muslim societies, Muslema and Shaykh Jamaal disagreed with these notions and emphasized the need for more thoughtful interpretation of Shari’ah law.
As an advocate for education and networking for Muslim students, Muslema has contributed to the Muslim community by sharing her knowledge and promoting a better understanding of Islam and its practices. Her dedication to the Islamic faith, coupled with her studies at Al-Azhar University and the support of Islamic American University, has enabled her to make a significant impact on the Muslim community and beyond.
