Meet the Speakers

Our lineup of speakers features renowned scholars, community leaders, and experts who have been guiding and inspiring audiences for years. Join us to gain valuable insights, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and strengthen your understanding of faith and society.

Sh. Waleed Basyouni

Senior Scholar, President Al-Maghrib Institute

Sami Hamdi

Managing Director, The International Interest

Shawn King

Co-Founder, Real Justice and The Action PAC

Imam Siraj Wahaj

Senior Scholar, Imam of Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, New York

Sh. Suleiman Hani

Director of Academic Affairs, Al-Maghrib Institute

Sh. Junaid Bhaiyat

Director Religious Affairs at Int. Muslim Organization (IMO)

Sh Saad Tasleem

Muslim youth Coach, Al-Maghrib Institute

Dr. Ovamir Anjum

Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy, University of Toledo

Imam Abu Taleb

Senior Fellow at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research

Imam Tahir Anwar

Chairman, the NISA, North-American Islamic Shelter for the Abused

Sh. Abdool Rehman Khan

Chairman of the Shari’ah Council of ICNA

Imam Jawad Ahmed

Imam of Islamic Society of North Jersey. National Director WhyIslam.

Imam Khalid Griggs

 Imam of The Community Mosque of Winston-Salem in North Carolina. Executive Director, ICNA Council for Social Justice

Ustadha Sumaira Afzal

President of ICNA Sisters

Ustadha Farhana Mateen

Director of ICNA Relief New Jersey

Ustadha Hena Syed

ICNA Sisters’ English track

Sh. Mokhtar Maghraoui

Sh. Mokhtar Maghraoui is thoroughly versed in the Islamic sciences and holds a doctorate joined between the fields of physics and engineering.

Ustadha Zaynab Ansari

Ustadha Zaynab Ansari serves as an adjunct instructor at Boston Islamic Seminary and a full-time instructor at Tayseer Seminary

Dr. Carl El Tabougi

Carl Sharif El-Tobgui holds a B.S. in Arabic Language from Georgetown University and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from McGill University

Mufti Azeemuddin

Director of Masjid DarusSalam

Br. Saad Kazmi

Current President of ICNA. A pharmacist by profession, resides in Murphy, TX, deeply commited to ICNA’s mission of building a society grounded in morality and God-consciousness. 

Deana Helmy

Deana Helmy

A Licensed Marriage and Family Counseling Therapist who strives to improve the emotional and social strength of Muslim families in Riverside, California. Director of Counseling Services at ICNA Relief’s Crescent Counseling Center in Anaheim. 

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Rehan Hameed

Edge AI Innovator & Tech Entrepreneur
Silicon Valley Technologist
PhD, Stanford | Co-Founder, Kinara Inc.

Deana Helmy

Deana Helmy

A Licensed Marriage and Family Counseling Therapist who strives to improve the emotional and social strength of Muslim families in Riverside, California. Director of Counseling Services at ICNA Relief’s Crescent Counseling Center in Anaheim. 

Zainab joyo

Zainab Asif Joyo is the co-founder of elaichi co., a rapidly growing brand redefining café culture by blending South Asian heritage with modern experiences.

 

A graduate of UC Berkeley, she began her career in consulting at KPMG and boutique strategy firms before transitioning to marketing strategy at Meta, and then product growth at an emerging robotics startup.

 

Now fully dedicated to elaichi co., she spearheads marketing, strategic partnerships, CPG, and overall business growth, driving the brand’s expansion beyond the cafe. With a vision to create a category-defining brand, she is dedicated to scaling elaichi co. while championing South Asian culture and storytelling on a global stage.

Senan Khawaja

Senan Khawaja is Co-Founder and CEO of Kollegio, an AI-powered platform that revolutionizes college counseling for students globally. With a background in econometrics and development from Stanford, he leads efforts to make educational guidance more accessible and equitable.

Yasin Ehsan

Yasin is founder and CEO of Headstarter. Headstarter is the a platform where engineers build real startup projects and get hired into top 1% software companies.

 

Headstarter has placed 2,000 engineers into OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, and grown a 115K+ developer community with 40+ startups partners. Yasin previously built ML infrastructure at Capital One where he filed AWS patents.

 

Headstarter is backed by Wahed Ventures and Linkedin executives.

Umair Khan

Umair Khan is Founding Partner at Mentors Fund; Visiting Professor (teaching Entrepreneurship) at UC Berkeley; Founder of Folio3, a global software services company; and co-owner of the hugely popular Zareen’s Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

He is also the founder of OPEN Silicon Valley, the organization of Pakistani entrepreneurs. He is the author of “College Application Hacked”, a book on college admissions, and co-author of “Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen” (Penguin Randomhouse, March 2025). He has a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Computer Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Nabila Elassar

Nabila Elassar is an entrepreneur, educator, and leadership coach with over a decade of cross-sector experience at the intersection of education, business, technology, and sustainable global development.

 

As Academic Director of the AI for Good Institute, she leads curriculum design for AI innovators building scalable, impact-driven, venture-ready startups

 

– [Source: https://www.impactgenius.ai/about]

Muyesser Taqi-Eddin

Muyesser Taqi-Eddin is the only female co-founder of TechWadi, the largest Arab tech network, and the founder of Hikayatna, a platform sharing stories of Arab innovators. She co-founded SYNC, aiming to create 25,000 tech jobs in Syria. As founder of ici-sv, she leads mentorship and training programs across MENA and Silicon Valley, impacting thousands. Her marketing career spans global campaigns for Apple, HP, Coca-Cola, and Disney in over 135 countries.

Dr. Amr Mohsen

Dr. Amr Mohsen is a tech entrepreneur and innovator, CEO of HopeAI.org, and chairman of the Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Club, leveraging AI and mentorship to empower underserved communities.

Wajahat Qadeer

Wajahat Qadeer is Co-Founder and Chief Architect at Kinara, Inc., where he has played a central role in shaping the architecture of the company’s AI processor chips and software stack. He earned a PhD in Computer Architecture from Stanford University, with research focused on energy-efficient processor design, including the development of the ACM-recognized Convolution Engine Architecture.

 

Qadeer has contributed to patents in low-power programmable image processing and has experience in computer vision, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. His leadership in technical architecture has supported Kinara’s growth, culminating in the company’s acquisition by NXP Semiconductors in 2025 for $307 million, with the deal expected to close in the first half of the year pending regulatory approvals.

Gulrez

Gulrez is an award-winning author and works as a Data Science Leader in his day job. He has almost two decades of experience under his belt and has a knack for turning boring numbers into captivating stories. When he’s not busy working, you can find him passing on his skills to the next generation in the hopes of creating a world of data literate children. He also leverages his data skills to support causes rooted in his faith, encouraging others to explore similar intersections of purpose and profession.

Alia Dada

Sr Alia Dada is a beloved voice of spiritual reflection and mindfulness

Hosai Mojaddidi

Hosai Mojaddidi is an organizer, teacher, spiritual counselor, mentor, and mental health advocate.

 

 

Zaid Syed

Zaid Syed is a Computer Scientist Focused in Machine Learning.

Ali Khani

Ali Khani is a Founder, Muslim Tech Collaborative, Co-Founder, Bloom, Organizer and Muslim Tech Fest SF

Noah Seifullah

Noah Seifullah Serves as the Head of Embrace Southern California, suggesting he leads or coordinates regional activities for the nonprofit group Embrace.

 

He is a dedicated student of knowledge, currently pursuing his studies at Bayan university. He studied at California Islamic University, where he deepens his understanding of Islamic teachings and principles. With a background in Communications from the prestigious Howard University,
Noah combines his passion for storytelling and education to impact various communities.

 

In his leadership role as the head of Embrace Southern California, an organization focused on supporting and empowering Muslim converts, he is committed to fostering a strong sense of community and belonging.

 

Alongside his community work, Noah is also a professional filmmaker and video producer, utilizing his creative skills to tell compelling stories that inspire and educate. Driven by his faith and expertise in media, Noah aims to make a meaningful contribution to both his local and global communities.

Dr. Zahid Bukhari

Zahid Bukhari is executive director of the Center for Islam and Public Policy. His research focuses on Islam in the West, Muslim public opinion, and interfaith relations in the United States.

 

He previously served as director of the American Muslim Studies Program at the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.

Dr. Asif Hirani

Dr. Asif Hirani is a renowned Islamic scholar with a Ph.D. in Tafsir and Uloom-ul-Qur’an. He has served as a Resident Scholar in the U.S. and is actively involved in community education.

 

He completed his Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Fashion design before switching gears to the pursuit of Islamic studies. He has completed his Master’s in Islamic Studies (Usul-ud-din) from Karachi University and obtained his PhD from Al-Madina International University in Tafsir and Uloom-ul-Qur’an. He is currently serving as a Resident Scholar of Worcester Islamic Center in Massachusetts.

Dr. Suzy Ismail

Dr. Suzy Ismail is the Founding Director of Cornerstone, a nonprofit, faith-based communication intervention organization with several locations around the world that focus on youth, family, marriage, identity, socioemotional wellness, and relationship rebuilding. She is the author of many books including “Modern Muslim Marriage,” “9 to 5,” “When Muslim Marriage Fails,” and several other works. She specializes in educating and empowering women, youth, and vulnerable populations by presenting a range of workshops, lectures, programs, diversity seminars, and corporate training both nationally and internationally. As a Visiting Professor for over a decade in the Communication Departments of Rutgers University and DeVry University, Dr. Ismail has researched, written, and presented extensively on the intersectionality of education, faith, communication, and culture. She has also served for many years as a student adviser, teacher, and board member of a local private school. Dr. Ismail has been interviewed on numerous media outlets and is often featured on talk shows, radio and television broadcasts and podcasts regarding her work. She has presented on the topics of marriage, family, parenting, identity, and teens at many public and private universities around the world and at the World Meeting of Families during Pope Francis’ first visit to the US. She has traveled to the border of Syria to work with refugee women, families, and orphans and continues her work with resettlement and relief agencies providing integration intervention. For many years, Dr. Ismail has served as an executive officer and director on several nonprofit boards, commissions, and organizations. Her humanitarian work has been recognized with numerous awards including the Ambassador for Peace Award and the Visionary Muslim Award. She holds a Master of Arts in Communication, a Master of Philosophy in Human Services, and a PhD in Human Services focusing on Family Studies & Intervention Strategies. 

Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Azeemuddin Ahmed serves as director of Masjid DarusSalam. He was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. At a tender age, he memorized the Holy Qurʾān. Thereafter, he traveled to South Africa where he studied a rigorous eight-year ʿālimiyyah and iftāʾ course. During his studies, he was blessed with the opportunity to spend extensive time in the company of one of the world’s elite jurists and scholars. After graduating with top honors from South Africa, he went on to earn a BA in Psychology from Elmhurst College. He served as the director of AIA Masjid in Frankfort, Illinois from 2006 to 2012.

 

Azeemuddin’s dedication and passion for Islāmic education is unparalleled. He is continuously in the service of both scholars and students. An individual with sincere love for scholarship, he strives to ensure that everyone at the institute is well and benefiting from the program. His love and enthusiasm bring the classes he teaches to life, every class conveys priceless points that enrich and benefit those in attendance. As well, he serves as an associate Imām at Masjid DarusSalam.

Dr. Ali Ataie

Dr. Ali Ataie is a scholar of biblical hermeneutics with field specialties in Sacred Languages, Comparative Theology, and Comparative Literature. At Zaytuna College, Dr. Ataie has taught Arabic, Creedal Theology, Comparative Theology, Sciences of the Quran, Introduction to the Qur’an, and Seminal Ancient Texts.

 

He received his BS in accounting from Cal Poly State University in 2000. In 2011, he received his MA in Biblical Studies from Pacific School of Religion, and in 2016, his PhD in Cultural and Historical Studies in Religion from the Graduate Theological Union.

 

Dr. Ataie’s PhD thesis, titled “Authenticating the Johannine Injil: Muslim ‘Polemirenic’ Interpretive Approaches to the Gospel of John,” is a faith-based hermeneutic of the Gospel of John in which the entire text is authenticated as being the true Gospel of Jesus Christ mentioned in the Qur’an.

 

Dr. Ataie is a native Persian speaker. He can read and write Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek.

Naila Farooqui

Naila Farooqui is an accomplished computer scientist and software engineer with expertise in compilers, architecture, and machine learning. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology, focusing on software execution environments for heterogeneous GPU platforms. Naila has held key roles at prominent tech companies, including Apple, NVIDIA, Intel and HP Labs. Presently, as a co-founder of a stealth startup, she is designing scalable training frameworks and optimized inference stacks for large language models. Outside of her professional life, Naila is a dedicated mother to three children: two teenagers and a 7-year-old. When she’s not immersed in cutting-edge technology, she channels her passion for innovation into running a competitive high school robotics team from her garage, fostering the next generation of engineers and problem-solvers.

Br. Saad Kazmi

Saad Kazmi is the current President of ICNA.
Saad Kazmi, a pharmacist by profession, resides in Murphy, TX, and is a proud father of four. His leadership journey is rooted in a deep commitment to ICNA’s mission of building a society grounded in morality and God-consciousness. His election comes after a fair and transparent voting process conducted through an electronic voting system, ensuring broad participation and representation across ICNA’s diverse membership.

Mufti Azeemuddin

Azeemuddin Ahmed serves as director of Masjid DarusSalam. He was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. At a tender age, he memorized the Holy Qurʾān. Thereafter, he traveled to South Africa where he studied a rigorous eight-year ʿālimiyyah and iftāʾ course. During his studies, he was blessed with the opportunity to spend extensive time in the company of one of the world’s elite jurists and scholars. After graduating with top honors from South Africa, he went on to earn a BA in Psychology from Elmhurst College. He served as the director of AIA Masjid in Frankfort, Illinois from 2006 to 2012.

Dr. Carl El Tabougi

Carl Sharif El-Tobgui holds a B.S. in Arabic Language from Georgetown University and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from McGill University and currently serves as Associate Professor Arabic & Islamic Studies and Director of the Arabic Language Program at Brandeis. He previously taught for five years at Harvard University as Preceptor of Arabic, and has also taught at the Middlebury College Summer Arabic Language School. Prof. El-Tobgui’s scholarly expertise lies in the field of Islamic thought, with a concentration on theology, law, and jurisprudence. He is particularly interested in questions concerning the relationship between reason and revelation in the Islamic tradition and has published on the manifestations of this tension in the fields of classical Islamic jurisprudence and Qur’anic exegesis. His first monograph is an extensive study of Ibn Taymiyya’s (d. 1328) 10-volume magnum opus, “Refutation of Contradiction Between Reason and Revelation” (published Open Access by E.J. Brill, 2020). In addition to his expertise in Islamic thought, Prof. El-Tobgui has a deep love of language in general and of Classical Arabic in particular and has enjoyed for many years exploring the intricacies of Arabic grammar as well as classical literature and poetry with his students.

Ustadha Zaynab Ansari

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. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Zaynab Ansari was based in Atlanta, where she was active in interfaith dialogue and bridge-building through the award-winning Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta.

SHAYKH MIKAEEL SMITH

Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith (Michael V Smith) is an instructor at Qalam. He is a faculty member at the Qalam Seminary where he teaches Tafsir, Seerah, Aqeedah, and Hadith. He gives lectures and conducts various classes for the community.

Shaykh Mikaeel previously served as a resident scholar at the Islamic Society of Annapolis and the Islamic Society of Baltimore. He grew up in a deeply spiritual Christian home in Buffalo, NY. At the age of 18, he embraced Islam after reading the Qur’an and the Autobiography of Malcolm X, and then completed his memorization of the Qur’an. He continued his studies in Jami’a Abu Noor in Damascus, Syria.

In 2012, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Studies at the Dar ul-Uloom Canada in Chatham, Ontario. He is the author of With the Heart in Mind, a book exploring the moral and emotional intelligence of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He currently resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and three children.

 

Ustadha Hena Syed

ICNA Sisters’ English track

Ustadha Farhana Mateen

Director of ICNA Relief New Jersey

Ustadha Sumaira Afzal

President of ICNA Sisters

Imam Khalid Griggs

 Imam of The Community Mosque of Winston-Salem in North Carolina. Executive Director, ICNA Council for Social Justice

Imam Jawad Ahmed

Imam Jawad Ahmed is a well-respected scholar and community leader with degrees in Islamic Sciences and Physical Sciences. He studied at the International Islamic University in Islamabad and the University of Maryland, and is certified by Al-Azhar University to teach Arabic and Islamic Studies.

 

With over 20 years of service, he has held leadership roles in several New Jersey masajid and served as Director of Religious Studies at Al-Ghazaly Islamic High School. He is a founding member of 1-877-WhyIslam, managing its national hotline and guiding over 200 individuals to Islam.

 

Imam Jawad is highly regarded among youth and has been active with ICNA’s Young Muslims since 2001. He currently serves as Religious Director at both the Muslim Community of New Jersey (Fords) and Masjid Wali (Edison), where he continues to give khutbahs and lectures.

Sh. Abdool Rehman Khan

Chairman of the Shari’ah Council of ICNA

Imam Tahir Anwar

Chairman, the NISA, North-American Islamic Shelter for the Abused

Imam Abu Taleb

Senior Fellow at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research

Dr. Ovamir Anjum

Chair of Islamic Studies at the Department of Philosophy, University of Toledo

Sh Saad Tasleem

Muslim youth Coach, Al-Maghrib Institute

Sh. Junaid Bhaiyat

Director Religious Affairs at Int. Muslim Organization (IMO)

Sh. Suleiman Hani

Director of Academic Affairs, Al-Maghrib Institute

Imam Siraj Wahaj

Senior Scholar, Imam of Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, New York

Shaun King

Co-Founder, Real Justice and The Action PAC

Mateen Syed

Co-Founder Bizhance

Mateen is a strategy and partnerships leader with over 20 years of entrepreneurial and professional connectivity in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. He advises, mentors and speaks on innovation, leadership, entrepreneurship and networking platforms.

Mateen is the Co-Founder & CEO of Bizhance, a Silicon Valley strategy firm focused on adding value to scalable businesses through structure, strategy and connectivity. It works with corporations, entrepreneurial organizations and government agencies establish partnerships through conducive policies to build innovation and entrepreneurial vibrant hubs across domains.

Areas of Expertise include – Business Strategy, Market Growth, Advisory Boards, Innovation Hubs, Cross Border Relationships, Operations and Resource Management.

Mateen had Co-Founded Ann Arbor Group, an international business advisory firm leveraging the economic opportunities of local regions and build partnerships with global businesses.

Mateen is recognized for his organizational and leadership skills running tech and entrepreneurial conferences. He actively engages with TiE, an organization renowned for fostering entrepreneurship globally. For over 15 years he lead leadership roles in TiEcon – one of the largest entrepreneurial conferences, and chaired its many programs including Global Connect, TiE 50 Awards, Visionary Circle, Startup Bootcamp, Media, Entertainment and Operations. He was the Global Connectivity Chair of TiE Detroit, and was the founding chair of TiE 20 Startup Awards program.

He had leadership roles in Global Entrepreneurship Program hosted by the Hoover Institute, Stanford University & the US State Department. And at the IIT Alumni Global Leadership Conferences in the US, and TiE’s Global Conferences in India. He is the Global Strategy Advisor of the Business Chambers of the Indian State of Telangana, and serves as the Chairman of the Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Mateen has contributed to entrepreneurial research works for WEF, Stanford, UC Berkeley. He has interviewed more than 700 prominent World Leaders, Policy Makers, Academicians, Entrepreneurs, Global CXOs and VCs. Some of the notable names being: Elon Musk, Jack Welch, Steve Wozniak, Steve Case, Mike Moritz, John Chambers, Marissa Mayer, George Schultz, Condoleezza Rice, Shaukat Aziz, Vicente Fox, Muhammad Yunus, Amartya Sen, Sal Khan, Shahid Khan, Vinod Khosla, Romesh Wadhwani, Vinod Dham, Manoj Bhargava, Anand Mahindra, Narayana Murthy and more.

Prof. Naeem Zafar

Naeem is a seasoned executive who has led several high-tech businesses as the CEO and guided dozens as a Board member or an advisor. Naeem has taught entrepreneurship and innovation at several leading universities in the world. He is an entrepreneur, a teacher, an investor, and a mentor. Having co-founded or worked at seven startup companies, he is steeped in the Silicon Valley culture and promotes the lessons of Silicon Valley to organizations and entrepreneurs all over the world.

Naeem’s specialties include raising capital for startups, corporate strategy, product positioning, marketing, business development as well as M&A.

Naeem has been teaching entrepreneurship as a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley since 2005 as a part of the Haas Business School MBA program, as well as in the College of Engineering to graduate and undergraduate students. He has consistently been one of the highest ranked professors in entrepreneurship and strategy. He has written five books on topics related to entrepreneurship, some of which are now being used as curriculum textbooks at various universities. These books can be found at www.FiveMountainPress.com.

Naeem has served on the Board of Directors of several companies and as the Board Chair of OPEN Silicon Valley. He is also the Founding President of Brown University Club of Silicon Valley.