Zaid Shakir
| Zaid Shakir | |
|---|---|
Imam Zaid Shakir presides over "The Peoples Champ" Muhammad Ali memorial service in Lousiville, KY., 2016.
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| Born |
Ricky D. Mitchell May 24, 1956 Berkeley, California, United States |
| Occupation | Islamic Scholar, Author |
| Era | Modern era |
| Title | Imam |
| Website | newislamicdirections |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Residence | Northern California, United States |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Rutgers University |
Zaid Shakir (born Ricky Daryl Mitchell, May 24, 1956) is a Muslim American scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California. He teaches courses on Arabic, law, history, and Islamic spirituality.
He is co-founder and chairman of United For Change since 2009. This effort through modern discourse, is to create awareness of the broadest and most consuming topics within the Muslim and interfaith community. The aim is to leverage the diversity through cooperation and goodwill and address the obstacles that have proven to be divisive. In 2015, he signed the official Memorandum of Understanding between Zaytuna College and Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
The Chronicle of Higher Education stated, "Embodying an American story if ever there was one—including proverbial bootstraps, military service, political activism, and deep religious commitment—Zaid Shakir’s message of social justice in the face of poverty and racism he has known first hand makes him endlessly and, it often seems, effortlessly relevant. He is as approachable a man as I’ve ever met." He is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. Imam Zaid is a signatory along with religious and spiritual Leaders from around the world who presented the UN Secretary General with a declaration in support of the Paris Climate Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, marking the largest number of nations ever signing an international agreement.
Shakir was Born 1956 in Berkeley, California as Ricky Daryl Mitchell to a family descended from African, Irish and Native American roots. His formative years were spent in housing projects in New Britain Connecticut. These early experiences instilled in him a compassionate and realistic work ethic, as well as, an unshakeable desire for social change and economic justice. He converted to Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force and shortly after changed his name to Zaid Salim Shakir.
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