Scholars & Instructors
Imam Atir Rashid
Scholar/Instructor
Atir Rashid is the Imam at the Islamic Center of Lexington Park in Southern Maryland and serves as a state-wide chaplain for the Delaware Department of Corrections. He also oversees and teaches at the after-school Maktab program at the Islamic Society of Central Delaware and serves as a part-time instructor for Riwaq Institute.
Imam Atir's Islamic education began at a young age, when he memorized the entire Quran by the age of 13. He then traveled to Egypt to study Arabic and earned an ijāzah in the Hafs recitation. Upon returning, he completed a rigorous six-year 'Alimiyyah program at Darul Uloom al-Madania, studying the traditional Dars-i Nizāmī curriculum. During this time, Imam Atir received ijāzāt in the six canonical works of hadith.
Following his traditional Islamic studies, Imam Atir pursued a Master’s in Islamic Banking and Finance at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. His research focused on innovative alternatives to conventional mortgages.
Sheikh Abdelhadi Shehata
Scholar/Instructor
Sheikh Hadi Shehata completed his pre-college education in the Azhar school system while living in Egypt. He is a graduate of the famous Al-Azhar University in Egypt, from which he received a bachelors degree in Islamic Law. He is a Hafiz (memorized the entire Noble Quran by heart). He has served as the full time Imam of the Islamic Society of Delaware since 2006. He also serves as the head of the Islamic Studies Department at the private Islamic school, Islamic Academy of Delaware (IAD).
Imam Habiburrehman Haji
Scholar/Instructor
Habiburrehman Haji currently holds the role of Imam and serves as the religious director at the Islamic Society of Delmarva.
His journey in Islamic education commenced in Chicago, where he committed the Holy Qur'an to memory. He then embarked on a quest for Islamic knowledge in South Africa. His educational journey led him to India, where he dedicated seven years to in-depth studies. During this time, he was authorized in various Islamic fields, including Qira'at (the canonical readings of the Qur'an) and Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). Alongside his pursuit of a B.S. degree in Computer Science, he actively engages in serving the Muslim community in Salisbury, MD.
Imam Morshad Hossain
Scholar/Instructor
Morshad Saami Hossain is a graduate of Madrasah Arabia in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he studied in Arabic, Fiqh, Aqeedah, Tafseer, and Hadith.
From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Imam and religious director at the Muslim American Community Association (MACA) in Voorhees, NJ. In 2016, he transitioned to a career in real estate, evolving from a solo agent to leading a team that includes two employees and over ten sales agents. He is now a broker, team manager, and certified real estate mentor, all by the help of Allah.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Morshad delivers Khutbahs at various masjids across South Jersey and teaches weekly at local masjids in Burlington. He is dedicated to personal development, productivity, and finding a balance between spirituality and career in today's hyper-materialistic world.
He lives in South Jersey with his wife and three children. His hobbies include weightlifting, shooting, and reading.
Mufti Niaz Hannan
Scholar/Instructor
Mufti Niaz Hannan is the Imam and Religious Director at ICSJ (Islamic Center of South Jersey). Born in Brooklyn, made in Montgomeryville, and educated in England, Mufti Niaz began his journey in studying Islam from the blessed lap of his mother and late grandfather, Shaykh Maulana Raihanul Haque رحمه الله . He started memorizing the Holy Qur’ān at North Penn Mosque in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He continued his Qur’ānic education at Darul Uloom Al-Madania before completing his Ḥifẓ (complete memorization of the Holy Qur’ān) in the spring of 2004.
For the next nine years, Mufti Niaz would pursue his Islamic Studies in the UK, qualifying as an ‘Ālim in the Sacred Sciences (Tafsīr, Ḥadīth, Fiqh, etc.) in 2011 from Jamiatul Ilm Wal Huda. The following year, he hit two birds with one stone by completing his training as a Muftī (issuer of Muslim legal responses) and by completing an MA in Islamic Studies from the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (MIHE). His last stop in the UK was at Cambridge Muslim College, where he obtained a Diploma in Contextual Islamic Studies & Leadership.
For the last ten years, Mufti Niaz has been volunteering and teaching in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey region, and most recently been serving ICSJ full-time since spring of 2014. In addition to his duties in South Jersey, he is also the Muslim Chaplain at Drexel University in Philadelphia, as well as a part-time instructor for Safina Society based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, IQRA Institute in Greater Philadelphia, and Imam Ghazali Institute in New York.
Sheikh Amir Abdul Wali
SCHOLAR/INSTRUCTOR
Amir Abdul Wali is a scholar of Islam trained at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Born in the US, he moved to Egypt at a young age to pursue sacred knowledge. He is a hafidh of the Qur'an and a skilled instructor in the fields of Qur'anic studies, hadith, jurisprudence, and Arabic. He currently serves at a full time religious instructor with the Muslim Society of the Delaware Valley, and its subsidiaries, MYCP and ICCWG.
Sheikh Arqum Rashid
Scholar/Instructor
Arqum Rashid is the Resident Scholar and Imam at the Islamic Society of Central Delaware and a Special Assistant United States Attorney. He also serves as the director of Riwaq Institute. Arqum holds a degree in Shariah (Islamic law) from Al-Azhar University, a Juris Doctor from Delaware Law School, and a Master’s degree in Interreligious Studies from Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, where he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. His doctoral research explores the relationship between human dignity in Islamic law and human rights. Previously, Arqum served as a Deputy Attorney General in Delaware and an Assistant State’s Attorney in Maryland.
Born in Pennsylvania, Arqum memorized the entire Quran and has led tarawih for over 15 years. Following high school, Arqum traveled to Egypt to pursue advanced studies in Arabic and Islamic sciences. There, he completed an intensive Arabic language program and studied Islamic law at Al-Azhar University. He also pursued traditional Islamic studies with scholars in Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey, receiving various ijazat (scholarly authorizations) in Islamic disciplines. While in Cairo, Arqum hosted live television programs on Huda TV that were broadcast internationally.
Through his scholarship, legal work, and community leadership, Arqum continues to engage with questions of community building, Islamic thought, and the relationship between religious tradition and contemporary society, while delivering lectures, khutbahs, and educational programs.