Dr. Tahir Wyatt, Sh. Abdullah Oduro, Imam Tom Facchine, and Imam Wesley Lebron sit down for a conversation about their first Ramadans as new Muslims. From tears of pain during Taraweeh to working 10-hour shifts in a restaurant while fasting and breaking fast on a jar of cookies in the middle of the day, this panel discussion covers it all.
Tom Facchine
Tom Facchine (pronounced fa-KEEN-ee) converted to Islam in 2010 as he was finishing his BA in Political Science. For the next few years he studied Islam and Arabic with local teachers while working with Muslim youth, founding and directing youth groups in two different communities. In 2015 he was accepted into the University of Madinah and is now close to completing a bachelor’s degree in Islamic Law. In addition to youth group activities, for the past two years Tom has directed an after school program for young Muslims called the Ramadan Academy, which operates out of the GCLEA mosque in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Tom’s academic and personal background brings a unique dual ability to relate to mainstream Western cultural norms and engage them from a traditional Islamic perspective. His unique teaching style is highly interactive and brings high-level concepts to a level that even children can understand. He is passionate about building relationships with Muslim youth and giving them the tools and confidence to live as observant, well-adjusted people of faith in our times.
Dr. Tahir Wyatt
Senior Fellow | Tahir Wyatt is a published academic, experienced interpreter, and instructor of Islamic studies and comparative religion. During his twenty-one years of studying and teaching in Saudi Arabia, he procured several degrees, including a doctorate in theology. He was also the only American ever to be appointed to teach in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, the second holiest site in the Muslim world. Dr. Wyatt currently lectures both nationally and internationally at mosques, universities, and other institutions of learning. He serves as the Executive Director of the United Muslim Masjid in Philadelphia and is the President of the Quran, Arabic, and Reflection Institute (QARI), an institute dedicated to structured, curriculum-based instruction of the Quran and Arabic Language.
Sh. Abdullah Oduro
Fellow, Head of Convert Resources | Abdullah Oduro is a first generation Ghanian native that converted to Islam in 1997. He graduated from the College of Islamic Law from the University of AlMadinah in 2007. He conducts public speeches, sermons, lectures, and workshops around the US on Islamic Law, self-improvement, and convert life. He is currently the Imam at the Islamic Center of Coppell and Lewisville in Dallas, TX. He resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and four children.
Having recently joined Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research as a Scholar, Shaykh Abdullah leads a team providing unique and comprehensive resources for new Muslim converts and institutional convert care.
