Qazwini, Hassan
Posted Oct 20, 2005

Hassan Qazwini [imamqazwini@icofa.com] was born in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq in 1964. Karbala hosts the sanctified and sublime shrine of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein. Qazwini’s family is well known in Iraq and the Muslim world at large for people of scholarship, leadership and dedication to serving their Muslim community. Qazwini’s father, Ayatollah Sayid Mortadha Al-Qazwini, was among the leading scholars in spreading the word of Islam in Iraq and engaging in Islamic activism. Hassan Qazwini decided to pursue the path of his forefathers and become a scholar of Islam and religious leader. In 1980, Qazwini joined the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, which is the largest Shi’a seminary in the world today, and graduated in 1992 with a fine grasp of the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur’anic commentary. During his studies, he administered a prominent Islamic journal called Annibras, or the Eternal Light. The journal addressed many social, historical and Islamic issues. In addition, he authored two books: Meditation on Sahihain, a critique of Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim; and Prophet Mohammad: The Ethical Prospect. In 1997, he became the religious leader of the Islamic Center of America in Detroit Michigan. In 1998, Qazwini founded the Young Muslim Association (YMA). This organization, affiliated with the Islamic Center of America, is aimed at educating the Muslim American youth, fostering leadership among them, and creating an environment in which they can actively promote Islam and effectively channel their efforts. Having been invited by the White House on several occasions to represent the Muslim community, Qazwini has met with both President Clinton and President Bush to discuss issues pertaining to Muslim affairs. He has also been invited by the State Department and Defense Department for meetings. Qazwini continues to be one of the most outspoken and influential Muslim Shi’a religious leaders in the United States. In addition to appearing on CNN, NPR, BBC, and VOA, many of his commentaries were printed in the New York Times, the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, and a wide range of many other media outlets.

From: http://www.islam-democracy.org/6th_Annual_Conference__papers.asp#anisab