the usuli institute
tackling today's most pressing human issues
from an islamic intellectual, moral and ethical perspective.
WEEKLY VIRTUAL FRIDAY PRAYERS WITH
DR. KHALED ABOU EL FADL!
This Friday, 18 September 2020
at 1:15 p.m. Los Angeles, CA Time
Live on our YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/c/TheUsuliInstitute
NEXT VIRTUAL HALAQA:
Saturday, 10 October 2020
at 4 p.m. Los Angeles, CA Time
All khutbahs will be recorded and posted online afterwards.
PROJECT ILLUMINE: THE LIGHT OF THE QURAN
The New Quran "Pilot" Halaqa on Surah al Hadid
27 June 2020
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LEARNED SOMETHING NEW ABOUT THE QURAN?
This is most revolutionary research on the Quran in our time - mining and understanding the deeper meaning of each individual chapter of the Quran as a unique, stand-alone part of a whole. To extract and preserve this goldmine of knowledge and transform our relationship with the Quran, we need some brave, forward-thinking, visionary souls...
watch our latest events:
LATEST FRIDAY KHUTBAHS (SERMON)
"ON DEMOCRACY, VOTING AND DEFENDING DICTATORS
4 September 2020
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl delivers the Friday khutbah and jumu'a prayer at The Usuli Institute. Addressing the persistent misperception that voting is not allowed in Islam, Dr. Abou El Fadl walks the audience through the rise of this misperception, which intensified after the Arab Spring. He explains why autocrats and dictatorial Muslim governments pushed for this conception, how it is counter to Islamic principles, and how scholars who gain benefit are complicit in this narrative. He walks through the convoluted arguments put forward to undermine notions of democracy or other means for holding Muslim leadership accountable for their injustices.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ON SOUNDCLOUD!
"ALL LIVES V. BLACK LIVES AND THE SIN OF HOLY RHETORIC"
28 August 2020
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl delivers the Friday khutbah and jumu'a prayer at The Usuli Institute. Dr. Abou El Fadl blasts the use of the phrase, "All Lives Matter," as a means of using a divine ideal to deny the reality on the ground that Black Lives are not equal to that of others; using rhetoric to undermine principle. He further elaborates on the recent controversies over the UAE - Israel normalization accords and its backing by prominent American Muslim figures of leadership.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ON SOUNDCLOUD!
USULI CONVERSATION SERIES:
RAMY YOUSSEF AND THE SHAYKH
A Beautiful Engagement Between Artist and Scholar
RAMY YOUSSEF AND THE SHAYKH
A Beautiful Engagement Between Artist and Scholar
14 September 2019
As part of The Usuli Institute Conversation Series, we were honored to host Ramy Youssef in conversation with Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl and Grace Song about the challenges and opportunities for artistic expression in advancing faith, understanding, and the human side of being Muslim. Ramy Youssef is best known for making TV's first Muslim American sitcom, Hulu's millennial comedy series entitled, "Ramy." He also recently released his HBO Original stand-up comedy special entitled, "Feelings." Both shows jump headlong into uncharted on-screen territory when it comes to the challenges confronting Muslim millennials attempting to navigate the grey areas of faith and religion, society and culture, expectation and acceptance, and ultimately, humanity in all of its forms. An honest, raw and fascinating discussion. Hosted at the Usuli Institute, 14 September 2019.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ON SOUNDCLOUD!
Latest Circle of Learning (Halaqa):
Surah 89: Al FAJR (Conclusion)
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl concludes his line-by-line original commentary (tafsir) on Surah 89 Al Fajr. After a brief review, he continues from Verse 17. In the introduction, Executive Director Grace Song gives an update on the New Quran Project (https://www.usuli.org/new-quran-project/) and shares reflections on the topic of the Signs of God raised in the New Quran Halaqa on Surah al Jathiya through two events in her life in the past week. Part 2 is Q&A.
SHARING THE LOVE
love to our friends in australia!
We are so grateful to receive beautiful messages and pictures from our friends around the world! This heartwarming picture features a reading group in Australia that has been discussing Dr. Abou El Fadl's book, Reasoning with God: Reclaiming Shari'ah in the Modern Age. If you have pictures you would like to share, email us! Love to our friends in Australia!
on reclaiming truth through intellectual activism
"...To win this very real war that has done inestimable damage to so many Muslims and to the truth of the Islamic faith, it is absolutely imperative that moderates declare a counter-jihad against the puritan heresy. This is not a call for the shedding of blood; it is a call for matching the zeal of puritans through unrelenting intellectual activism. This is a counter-jihad to reclaim the truth about the Islamic faith and win the hearts and minds of Muslims and non-Muslims all around the world..."
Khaled Abou El Fadl, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists