Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
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Islamic Knowledge in a Secular Age

July 24, 2023
Dr. Usaama al-Azami and Tom Facchine

Secularism postures itself as a neutral body, but it’s anything but. Its commitments on how religion can enter the public sphere influence the way we think about our faith, and in turn interact with our scholarship and scholars. In fact, it is one of the reasons for the erosion of trust in religious authority.

Dr. Usaama al-Azami joins Imam Tom Facchine in discussing the shifts in our understanding of religious interpretation and authority and how we can better engage with our scholarship.

Want to listen on the go? Check out Dogma Disrupted on your favorite podcast platform.

Dr. Usaama al-Azami

Dr. Usaama al-Azami

Usaama al-Azami is Departmental Lecturer in Contemporary Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford. He completed his BA in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Oxford, his seminary training at Al-Salam Institute, and his MA and PhD in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He specialises in Islamic political thought.

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Tom Facchine

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.

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