Assalamu Alikum Wa Rahmatullah,
First, I would like to extend my most sincere apologies to all of you for the lack of updates. The past few months have been extremely demanding, and I fear that I have neglected this blog in the midst of all the stress surrounding my professional life. I am, however, very much honored to still be part of the Houston Team, and I intend to be much more present in the next few months as we aproach the graduation following the end of this first diploma.
As you all know, this past summer has brought us an overwhelming amount of knowledge of the Arabic language and proper Tajweed. Both courses were given by Sh. Mamdouh Mahmoud, and I must say that he did an excellent job. I have attended many Tajweed courses in my life, but never did I see such emphasis on proper pronounciation of every letter in conjunction with the well-known rules. Masha'Allah, I was personally impressed! More so because, as you may know, Sh. Mamdouh is my older brother, and I tend to hold him up to a much higher standard than that which I hold most. Alhamdullilah, he does not cease to amaze! For those of you who do not know him well, here is a biography of his studies and achievements:
Sh. Mamdouh Mahmoud
- He was born on Monday, 6th. of Rabi’ AlAwal 1393 Hijri, corresponding to April 9th 1973 CE, in Alqiratiyeen - one of the small towns of Greater Cairo-Egypt.
- He was raised in a practicing Muslim family, and he started memorizing Qura’n at the age of 4 under the supervision of his father, Shaikh Moustafa Mahmoud, who is currently serving as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, North Zone Masjid in Texas.
- He finished memorizing Qura’n when he was 10 and graduated from Al-Azhar high school in 1990 finishing his basic Islamic Studies including Fiqh (in the Mathhab of Imam Abu Hanifah) spanning almost 7 years.
- He joined Al-Azhar University in Cairo to study Arabic and English Literature, in addition to extensive Islamic Studies courses. He graduated in 1994 with a B.A. in Islamic Studies and English Literature.
- Currently, He is working on his masters degree in the fundamentals of religion from Sharia Academy.
- He moved to the United States from Egypt and served as the Imam at the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (South-East Masjid Abu Bakr Assiddique) from 1996 to 2001. He was also teaching Quran, Arabic and Islamic Studies at Darul Arqam Islam School, a subsidiary of ISGH.
- he also worked as a volunteer Muslim Chaplain in the Texas prison system (click for certificate) and as a contract Imam with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the United States Penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas.
- From 2002-2003, he worked as the Imam and Director of Galveston Islamic Center.
- From 2004-2005, he served as the Director and Assistant Imam of Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During that time, he founded and led a team establishing the MCC after School and weekend school in Bloomington, MN and helped training Rochester Islamic center weekend school teachers. He also helped founding the Building Blocks of Islam, which is a non for profit organization serving the Muslim community of Minnesota (http://www.thebuildingblocks.org/).
- From 2006-2009, he served as the full time Imam and Director of the Eden prairie Islamic community center (EPICC), also known as the Islamic Institute of Minnesota, South-West chapter in Eden Prairie, MN, and Alhamdulillah he led the effort of collecting funds to acquire a new building to serve as the community center for the Muslims which is now a reality with 16400 Sq feet 2 story building standing on a 2 .5 acres of usable land.
- He is also a founding member of the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of Minnesota (IJCM), the Quraa (Quran reciters) Association of America, and a member of the North American Imam Federation (NAIF).
- He is currently the manager of Sharia Academy of America- Houston branch which he helped founding and the Imam of masjid Al-Ansar serving the Woodlands and Conroe, TX.
- He is a lecturer at the Sharia Academy of America (online courses as well as the onsite weekend seminars around the US) which is supported by Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America.
If you'd like to know more about Sh. Mamdouh, visit his website. It is also a great source of Islamic knowledge.
