vibrant seminary can provide the intellectual and spiritual resources necessary to deal with the contemporary intellectual, ethical, and cultural challenges that a Muslim community faces. As a community institution, the seminary’s effectiveness is directly related to the extent to which it is integrated with the community. Ideally, every Shīʿī community should have ready access to a seminary that is part of their society and that they can interact with in their own language. The Ahl al-Bayt Islamic Seminary is an organic outgrowth of a Muslim community deepening its roots and developing its ability to better develop solutions to the myriad questions and challenges in today’s United States.
Our institution aims to train Islamic scholars who are fully conversant with both traditional Islamic and modern scholarship, and who can provide effective leadership and guidance to today’s Muslim communities. It will provide its students with the traditional ḥawzah environment, which looks after their ethical and spiritual well-being in addition to their intellectual development. The enhanced curriculum will provide them a broad span of skills and character traits to draw upon to play a wide variety of roles in service of the community depending on communal needs and each student’s aptitude and inclination.
Our institution aims to train Islamic scholars who are fully conversant with both traditional Islamic and modern scholarship, and who can provide effective leadership and guidance to today’s Muslim communities.
Our location near Chicago, IL is home to a strong and diverse Shīʿī Muslim community which has built a number of important institutions; this provides our students and their families with a welcoming atmosphere for personal growth and community life. Proximity to Chicago—the third largest city in the United States—also situates our students in a setting rich with religious, cultural, and intellectual heritage and movement that provides them with ample opportunity to broaden their thinking and refine their skills of dialogue and engagement.