SeekersGuidance founder a “vanguard of effectively utilizing the latest web technologies and services to teach Islam in the West”
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani once again features in the WORLD’S 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS (pdf) list for his ground-breaking work, including the founding and leadership of SeekersGuidance.
Shaykh Faraz has been described as having “continuously been at the vanguard of effectively utilizing the latest web technologies and services to teach Islam in the West for over a decade.”
The Muslims 500 is the annual publication by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre based in Amman, Jordan. The aim of the publication is to highlight the influences some Muslims have on the global Muslim ummah or community. There are 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today which makes it 23% of the world population. That’s one-fifth of mankind. The Muslims 500 defines influence as “any person who has the power to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim world.” It is indeed an honour for us here in SeekersGuidance to see our teachers fitting in the bill as two of the most influential Muslims in the world today.
A Passion for Knowledge
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani founded SeekersGuidance Global and through it, any Muslim from any part of the world can gain access to traditional Islamic knowledge from renowned scholars from all over the world, as long as one has internet connection and understands the English language. SeekersGuidance’s online academy offers university quality online Islamic courses which range from Arabic to Aqeedah, to Fiqh and Tassawuf – for free.
Ideally, knowledge seeking process is best done at the feet of scholars but SeekersGuidance’s online academy has been instrumental in helping isolated Muslims in far flung corners of the globe – the single Mexican sister who converted to Islam and became the only Muslim in her village, the Malaysian brother working offshore on the rig on some choppy ocean, the small Swedish Muslim community where the nearest mosque could be a good three-hour drive away, and the Icelandic brother battling the cold. No one is deprived of authentic Islamic education as long as they can get themselves connected to the internet.
Along with Shaykh Faraz, many of our teachers, mentors and friends have been included on the list, such as
- Habib Umar bin Hafiz,
- Habib Ali Zain Al-Abideen Al-Jifri,
- Shaykh Nuh Keller,
- Dr Ingrid Mattson
- Professor Timothy Winter (Shaykh AbdalHakim Murad)
- Shaykh Seraj Hendricks
- Dr Umar Faruq Abdullah
- Shaykh Hamid Slimi
- Imam Zaid Shakir
May Allah keep our teachers in His Mercy and may their influence continue to benefit others in many more years to come. Ameen.
With additional reporting from Lina Abdul Wahab.
