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Jihad Turk is the founding President and Dean of Bayan Islamic Graduate School, a preeminent Muslim institution of higher education offering accredited Master’s degrees in the fields of Islamic Studies, Leadership, Education, and Chaplaincy.

Jihad previously served as the Imam/Director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, LA’s oldest and largest mosque. In light of his experience, he is a sought after national speaker on issues related Islam, Muslims in America, Muslim Reform Movements, Ethical Leadership, and Spiritual and Identity Formation of Youth.

Having been born to a Muslim-Palestinian father and a Christian-American mother in Phoenix Arizona, Jihad spent his college years traveling the Muslim world and exploring his roots and the Islamic tradition. He spent time in both the Islamic University of Medina where he studied Arabic and Islamic Studies, and in Iran where he studied Farsi at the University of Tehran and in Qum. He completed his undergraduate study at the University of California, Berkeley where he received his B.A. degree in History and Arabic. Jihad completed his Master’s degree at the University of Texas, Austin in Arabic and Islamic law and jurisprudence. In 1999, Jihad began pursuing doctoral studies in Islamic Law at the University of California, Los Angeles. He taught as adjunct faculty for many years at UCLA and at Southwestern School of Law. Most recently, Jihad earned his Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Southern California. 

For the past 15 years, Jihad has dedicated himself to improving relations between the Muslim and Christian communities of Southern California. Jihad co-founded the Muslim-Christian Consultative Group comprised of major SoCal Muslim leaders and representatives of mainline protestant denominations as well as the Catholic archdiocese. This group pairs up mosques and churches nationally.

He also co-founded the Greater Los Angeles Muslim Jewish Forum, which brings together major leaders of both faiths to improve relations and to address issues of common concern. Jihad is a founding board member of a Muslim-Jewish peace organization, ReGeneration, which is developing a model for education that nurtures understanding and peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. Additionally, Jihad has committed himself to building bridges across faith communities to collaboratively address issues of homelessness and poverty.

Jihad has been consulted by the White House and has traveled around the world (Indonesia, Morocco, Qatar, and France) for the US State Department to speak to Muslim communities abroad and represent the American Muslim Community. Jihad is a member of the USINDO, an NGO that aims to strengthen ties between the US and Indonesia.

Jihad has been profiled on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, regularly appears on NPR and other news outlets, has appeared numerous times on the History Channel and was featured in a documentary produced by the Annenberg Foundation’s www.explore.org about the Abrahamic faiths, entitled “Traveling with Jihad.”



Jihad has received awards for his religious leadership by Congresswoman Jane Harmon, the Valley Interfaith Council, and the South Coast Interfaith Council, has been acknowledged as a Local Hero in 2008 by the World Festival of Sacred Music and was recently recognized as one of the 500 Most Influential people in Los Angeles by the LA Business Journal.

Community Service & Interfaith Activity

Education

President

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Munir Shaikh is Vice President of Operations and Academic Affairs at Bayan Islamic Graduate School. He holds an M.A. in Islamic Studies from UCLA. He has participated in programs for advanced study of Arabic in Morocco and Egypt, and specializes in the history of Islamic Spain and the Mediterranean region. He has taught university courses in World History, the Middle East, and Islam at colleges and universities in Southern California. He has participated in numerous public education projects related to Islam and Muslim culture and history, is a reviewer of K-12 world history textbooks, and has provided professional development workshops to thousands of K-12 educators over the course of his career. He regularly provides public lectures addressing medieval Islamic civilization, art, and literature, as well as contemporary inter-religious issues.

Vice President

Fouad Elgohari is a faculty member and the Director of Research and Media at Bayan Islamic Graduate School. As a student of fifteen years in the classical Islamic sciences with a specialization in systematic theology (kalām), Fouad has served as an instructor, academic consultant, and research fellow on various international councils, institutes, and educational programs. He received a Bachelor’s degree in the Liberal Arts, and went on to pursue Islamic Studies in Egypt from numerous institutes and under the supervision of senior-scholars of Al-Azhar where he received advanced traditional licenses (‘ijāzāt khāṣṣah) to teach credal theology, Sunni legal theory, Malikī Legal Rulings, Arabic language, taṣawwuf, Ḥadith, and the Qur’anic sciences. He went on to further specialize in systematic theology (kalām) and legal theory (uṣūl). In 2018 he graduated from Claremont School of Theology with an M.A. in Islamic Studies. His current research is in post-classical (13-18th century) Islamic intellectual history, with a focus on the rational sciences (kalām, usūl, philosophy). He is currently a regular weekly instructor at The Majlis, a local initiative in Southern California founded on offering traditional learning in the American context, while developing an intentional community rooted in love and service.

Fouad is also a graduate of Bayan Islamic Graduate School, earning his Master's Degree in Islamic Studies in 2019.

Senior Director of Academic Affairs 

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Basmah Salam is the Director of Development at Bayan. She manages and operationalizes strategic plans for Bayan to fulfill its mission through financial sustainability and community support.She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, followed by her Master’s in Public Administration with a specialization in nonprofit management. She is now working on her second Master’s degree in Islamic Leadership from Bayan Islamic Graduate School. Basmah volunteers with her local Houston nonprofits that focus on Islamic education, special needs, and public service in the community. She is an advocate for addressing mental health and violence against women. She is a proud Texan, an avid reader and writer, and an aunt of three powerful unicorns (otherwise referred to as nieces).

Director of Advancement 

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At Bayan, Abdullah al Mamun is the Senior Director of Advancement, a role in which he works on organizational development, fundraising, and student recruitment. He is an activist, public speaker, entrepreneur, advisor to boards, and is a nationally recognized director with experience in professional leadership and management experience in both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. This includes his work in broadcast television and corporate America for over eight years, then he ran his own marketing consulting firm for four years. He later served as the Deputy Executive Director for a nationally recognized Muslim nonprofit for eight years prior to joining Bayan in January 2021. Abdullah has completed his undergraduate studies at Fordham University and then completed his graduate studies from New York University. He now lives in Dallas, TX with his wife and their three sons.

Senior Director of Advancement

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César Domínguez works in Administration and Student Services at Bayan Islamic Graduate School, where he obtained his Master’s Degree in Islamic Studies and Leadership in 2015. He studied classical Arabic at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. He is a Mexican convert to Islam, born in California, and currently serves as imam and teacher for LALMA, the Los Angeles Latino Muslim Association and is also co-chair of the Christian-Muslim Consultative Group. Since 2006, he has been actively involved in the Muslim community of Southern California through his work with local mosques and several Muslim organizations, taking part in interreligious activities and text-study groups and leading sessions on Islam at churches and schools to foster understanding between people of different faiths and to promote an unbiased and honest image of Muslims in North America, especially within the Spanish-speaking population. He is a Spanish-language translator of Islamic books and a stage actor.

Student Services

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Faria has been involved in numerous philanthropic and community outreach efforts. She currently serves on the board of Women for Women International, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and the Interfaith Center of New York. She is also a member of the Shoulder to Shoulder Consultative Council and NYU President’s Global Council. 
 
In the years prior, she has served as a board member of Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, Medina Clinic, Duke Islamic Studies Center, and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. She has also served as Board President of the Princeton Girlchoir and the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom. Faria co-founded the Mizaan Retreat, hosted annually by Princeton University’s Muslim Life program. 
 
Faria holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University. She lives in the DC area with her husband and three children.

Bayan Tours Experience Specialist 

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Dr. Hall is a proven C-level executive of multiple for-profit corporations, post-secondary institutions, and non-profit organizations. Dr. Hall founded a public company that was a category leader in the higher education student lifecycle management category. He successfully founded and sold enterprises as well as having a strong-record serving as a trusted director and hands-on strategic advisor to technology companies, C-level executives, post-secondary institutions, university presidents, governmental agencies, institutional investors, and major non-profit organizations. 
 
In higher education, Dr. Hall’s areas of expertise include strategy, finance, enrollment management, advancement, strategic turnaround management, corporate governance, school combinations, and accreditation. Since 1997, Dr. Hall has been directly involved in the strategic execution of projects that have generated over $ 300 million in tuition revenue for colleges and universities as well as the raising of nearly $ 1.5 billion in public and corporate contributions to major 501(c) organizations and post-secondary institutions. Dr. Hall also serves on the Board of Trustees of Chicago-based Roosevelt University, where he chairs the Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Committee of the Board and is a member of the Board’s Executive Committee. Dr Hall was also appointed by former California Governor Jerry Brown to serve as a member of the State of California Interagency Coordinating Council, between 2014 and 2018. 
 
At Bayan, Dr. Hall oversees finance, business affairs, technology, talent management, and strategic projects. He also supports strategic guidance for Bayan's Development, Enrollment Management, and Alumni Affairs efforts. 
 
Dr. Hall earned his B.A. in Political Science and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Pepperdine University as well as his Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Southern California.

Chief Business Officer

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Ayman Taleb is passionate about the advancement and betterment of the condition of his Muslim American community, and inviting people to support that cause. 

He was born in Dallas, TX, where he was raised in a family of activists and serves his community in various ways. In addition to volunteering as a youth mentor, Ayman also served as a Youth Director in North Texas and as a Mosque Director in Southern California. He regularly delivers Friday sermons, presentations, and short talks around the USA to different audiences including interfaith and the youth, speaking about modern challenges and relevant issues facing the American Muslim community. 

Ayman made history when he wrote, produced, and directed a trilogy play called "Mercy to Mankind," the 1st theatrical production of the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in English, and this was accomplished with an all-youth Muslim cast. He has released 2 singles and is working on his first studio album that is reflective of his Muslim American Texan experience. 

He is married with 2 daughters, 2 sons, a daughter waiting for him at the gates of Paradise, and 3 cats.  

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Staff