Imam Khalil Abdur-Rashid was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed his bachelor degree in Social Work and worked for the state of Georgia as a social worker for several years. He pursued Islamic studies academically and traditionally which led him overseas to study for numerous years.
He pursued a Master’s Degree in Istanbul, Turkey in Islamic Law at Marmara University. He also completed advanced Islamic seminary training and received his full doctoral license (Ijaaza) in Islamic Sciences.
Khalil holds a Master of Arts in Middle East Studies as well as a Master of Philosophy in Islamic Law both from Columbia University in New York City. He has taught numerous courses on Islam and Islamic law at NYU and Columbia University and taught Arabic language at Georgia State University. He was the first paid Muslim Chaplain for Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City and served as an advisor to the NYPD Police Commissioner. He also served as Imam for several years in New York City and has lectured at Harvard, Princeton, and NYU. He served for several years as Scholar-in-Residence at the Islamic Association of Collin County. He is now an adjunct professor of Islamic Studies in the Graduate of Liberal Studies Program at SMU and serves as President and Dean of the Yaqeen Islamic Seminary in Dallas.
Stories By Sh. Khalil Abdur Rashid, Guest Contributor
