The Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research is an independent American research institute and think tank founded in 2016, mainly interested in the advanced study of modernity, Islam and Muslim societies.[1] It works to aggregate complex Islamic topics for audiences outside of the field of Islamic academia.[2][3][4] The institute had a revenue of nearly $9 million in 2023 and has $5 million in assets; it spends nearly $1 million per year publishing academic and peer-reviewed research papers.[5]
Yaqeen Institute was founded by American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman and is based in Irving, Texas.[6] In the past, its published works have covered a variety of topics at the intersection of Islam, including perennialism, international politics, parenting, and historical preservation of Islamic texts.[7] It works to "pioneer Islamic research in cutting-edge, creative formats."[6]
In 2021, Yaqeen Institute launched Yaqeen Curriculum, a researched, trademarked curriculum project for North American Islamic schools.[8][9] The institute's "scholars, senior fellows [and] staff come from a diverse range of positions within Islamic orthodoxy."[10]
Work
Yaqeen Institute publishes three primary categories of content: research articles, infographics, and videos. Investing considerable resources into its video development, the institute has more than 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube and has received more than 270 million views.[11][12] Yaqeen also has a two-volume research journal and has published ten books.[13]
The institute's videos, webinars, and livestreams include khutbahs, interviews, Ramadan video series, exegetical analyses of the Quran, and brief explanations.[14] The videos regularly include guest academics and scholars.[15] In the past, Yaqeen Institute has worked on various projects alongside the Stanford University School of Medicine, NYU, the Harvard University Divinity School, and other higher education institutions.[16][17][18]
A prominent element of the organization's work includes 'combatting the Islamophobia network'.[19] Yaqeen Institute has held in-person events across the United States and Canada since its inception, including its flagship annual event, the Yaqeen/MAS Academic Conference, held annual in Chicago in coordination with the Muslim American Society.[20] In 2019, the institute's president, Omar Suleiman, delivered an invocation in the U.S. House of Representatives as a guest chaplain.[21]
After the Gaza Genocide began, the institute published an array of resources covering Islam, Palestine, and international politics from a 'Qur'anic lens'.[22][23][24] It has also published pieces on Uyghurs and other groups in the past.[25] In early 2024, the institute's Canada branch launched IMIRT, an app aimed at accelerating the reporting of Islamophobic incidents in the country. Yaqeen Institute also awards multiple $2,000 Malcolm X Vanguards of Justice scholarships annually.[26]
See also
Omar Suleiman - American Islamic scholar and civil rights activist, Yaqeen Institute President