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Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini was born in the holy
city of Karbala, Iraq in 1964. Karbala hosts the sanctified and
sublime shrine of Prophet Muhammad’s [p] grandson, Imam Hussein [a].
Al-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. With the advent of the despotic Ba’athist regime in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the Al-Qazwini
family, along with other prominent scholars, multiplied its efforts
by educating the masses to combat the depravity brought forth by the
Ba’athists, for they gradually brainwashed the people of Iraq.
Al-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. He helped establish several Islamic
schools and institutions, and he served as the principal of Imam Assadiq Islamic School in Karbala.
After several years, Saddam Hussein perceived
the Al-Qazwini family as an ideological threat to his regime. Thus,
he started to pressure them to abandon their mission and to support
his corrupt regime. In 1980, Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini’s grandfather,
Ayatollah Sayid Mohammad Sadiq Al-Qazwini, was arrested and
imprisoned by Saddam Hussein simply because he did not support the Ba’athist regime. Amnesty International deemed him as the oldest
political prisoner in the world at the time. Since then, the
Al-Qazwini family never heard from him, and it was not until a few
weeks after the collapse of Saddam’s regime that they found
documents verifying his departure in Saddam’s prisons. Consequently,
Al-Qazwini’s family was forced to flee Iraq and seek refuge in
Kuwait.
In Kuwait, Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini decided to pursue
the path of his forefathers of becoming a scholar of Islam and
religious leader. At that time, Saddam’s thirst for blood compelled
him to penetrate and assail Kuwait. Therefore, at the inception of
the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Al-Qazwini immigrated to Iran along
with his family. In 1980, Al-Qazwini joined the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, which is the largest Shi’a seminary in the world today.
After twelve years of vigorous study and as a diligent seminarian,
Al-Qazwini 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.
Al-Qazwini’s father immigrated to the United
States in 1986, where he eventually established several Islamic
institutions and mosques. In 1994 he founded a full-time Islamic
school which enrolled students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth
grade. Realizing that there was a dire need for scholars and
religious leaders in the United States, where Islam was in the
crawling stage of development, Al-Qazwini immigrated to the United
States in late 1992 along with his family. For some time, he
directed Azzahra Islamic Center, which was founded by his father, in
Los Angeles, California. In addition, he conducted several Islamic
Fiqh and various other Islamic classes during his four year span in
Los Angeles.
In early 1993, Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini was invited by
the Islamic Center of America, in Detroit, to be the guest speaker
for the Arabic program during the upcoming holy month of Ramadhan.
Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini’s visit to Detroit’s Islamic Center of America, the
oldest Shi’a mosque in the United States, was a stepping stone for
his future in America. The community in Dearborn, Michigan quickly
found him responsive to their spiritual and religious needs, seeing
him as being able to relate to them in a unique and effective
manner. Thus, the community at large, especially the youth, became
attached to him as their religious and spiritual guide. The Islamic
Center of America asked Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini to join them the following
year as their guest speaker during the holy month of Ramadhan and
the first ten days of Muharram, commemorating the martyrdom of the
beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him and his
progeny], Imam Hussein [a].
Prior to Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini’s visit to Michigan,
but especially after, he realized that the first step in
disseminating the message of Islam in the greatest continent in the
world would be to acquire a fair grasp of their language: English.
In Michigan, he saw the greatest potential in the youth and the
younger generations, and the only way to establish a good
relationship with these groups and be able to communicate with them
was to learn their language. There had been numerous scholars and
religious leaders prior to Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini who performed a good job
in reaching out to the Arabic speaking members of the community, but
seldom did the English speaking generations find someone who was
capable of communicating with them successfully and eloquently and
cater to their needs. Thus, upon this basis, Al-Qazwini committed
and devoted himself to learning and acquiring a fair grasp of the
English language quickly.
In 1997 Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini established residence
in Dearborn, Michigan, as the Islamic Center of America asked him to
serve as scholar and religious leader. Al-Qazwini conducts Friday
Prayer every week. He delivers the first sermon in Arabic and the
second in English, as a growing number of the younger English
speaking generation is participating in religious events frequently.
On Sunday mornings, he performs an English presentation during the
Sunday service, usually aimed at addressing a sundry of current
issues that affect the local Muslim community as well as the global
community at large.
Realizing that the greatest energy and
potential rested in the youth and the younger generations,
Al-Qazwini founded the Young Muslim Association (YMA) in 1998. This
organization, affiliated with the Islamic Center of America, is
aimed at educating the Muslim American youth, fostering leadership
amongst them, and creating an environment in which they can actively
promote Islam and effectively channel their efforts. In about five
years since its establishment, the YMA has grown to be one of the
largest Muslim youth organizations in North America. The YMA
annually holds a thirty day program during Ramadhan and a ten day
commemoration of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad [p], Imam Hussein
[a]. Furthermore, the YMA conducts an annual retreat during the
summer, a Ramadhan dinner, Eid Al-Ghadeer dinner, which celebrates
the day the Prophet [p] appointed his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali
[p] as his successor, and numerous other educational activities
throughout the year.
Since the heinous attacks of September 11 when
“the faith of Islam was hijacked,” as a rabbi put it, Al-Qazwini
multiplied and accelerated his efforts to depict a genuine
representation of Islam and Muslims. He has thus far spoken at over
a hundred churches, colleges and universities about the genuine and
authentic teachings of Islam, thereby dispelling the common
misconceptions about Muslims in America. As Congressman John D.
Dingell put it at the 108th Congress session after
Al-Qazwini offered the prayer for the opening session:
"Imam
Qazwini has become a leading voice for Muslims in America. He has
spoken movingly of the need for reconciliation, for tolerance, and
for the recognition of our humanity. He has worked with leaders in
both the Christian and Jewish communities to help bridge the
differences between us and to dispel prejudice. His work has touched
Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and his devotion to our State and our
community of Dearborn has been recognized by the mayor, the
governor, and by President Bush."
Al-Qazwini has also effectively influenced
numerous political leaders in America to cater to the Muslim
communities. For instance, he has pressured the American leadership
several times to speak out publicly against infamous religious
leaders who have time and time again launched an attack against
Islam and Prophet Muhammad [p]. The White House has invited
Al-Qazwini on several occasions to represent the Muslim community.
Al-Qazwini has met with President Clinton and President Bush to
discuss issues pertaining to Muslim affairs. The State Department
and Defense Department have also invited him. Al-Qazwini continues
to be one of the most outspoken and influential Muslim Shi’a
religious leaders in the United States. He has been outspoken on
CNN, NPR, BBC, VOA, the New York Times, the Detroit News,
the Detroit Free Press, and a wide range of many other
media outlets. With the will of Allah [swt] and the efforts of His
servants, Americans will have a clear and unadulterated picture of
Islam. May the message of Islam reach every individual and may
Allah [swt] guide all people to His right path.
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