By: Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans
Scholar-in-Residence, ALIM

As a signifier of commitment to progressive values, the terms “diversity and inclusion” are nearly ubiquitous. The past decade or so has witnessed “diversity and inclusion” move from the Affirmative Action inspired charters of schools and businesses to a vibrant part of our media, art, and vernacular cultures. Put differently, we no longer only expect diversity and inclusion where we work or study; it’s something we’ve come to seek more broadly. Taken at face value, this shift toward plurality should inspire American Muslims with great satisfaction. Our faith affords inter- religious/cultural exchange and ultimately familiarity, spiritual value. The Qur’ān proclaims:

“O humanity! We created you from a single pair, a male and female and made you into nations and tribes in order that you might come to know one another! Truly the most honorable of you (in the sight of God) is the most God-conscious. Verily, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware” [49:13] 
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It’s worth noting that this verse contains a rare Qur’ānic reference. There are very few places the Qur’ān mentions something as an underlying purpose for the creation of humanity. We have been created to worship God. Women and men have been created to find sakīna (tranquility) in one another. We have been created to cultivate (ta’mīr) the Earth and serve as its stewards. We have been created to know one another.
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Correspondingly, whenever I ask any students who have completed the American Learning Institute for Muslims ALIM Summer Program (SP), many of them cite the program’s diverse faculty and student body as one of its strengths. Yes, while all of the instructors and students are Muslims, they normally boast an impressive array of backgrounds, life experiences, and perhaps most importantly, ideas and opinions. The ability to voluntarily form community and camaraderie with people who fundamentally think differently than oneself is rare. It should not be overlooked. In fact, of much of the diversity and inclusion celebrated in the current cultural moment, one commentator mentioned: “We celebrate the fact that we all look different, have different sexual preferences, gender identities, maybe even worship (or not) differently, but we all think the same.” When everyone’s right to live their “truth” is affirmed, what results is certainly a kind of diversity, but not a very challenging or deep one.

Since then, he has studied at Chicagoland’s Institute of Islamic Education (IIE), in Tarim, Yemen, and Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he is the first African-American to graduate from its Shari’a program. Ustadh Ubaydullah also instructs with the Ta’leef Collective and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) at times.

As the ALIM Scholar-in-Residence, Ustadh Ubaydullah is a core instructor at the ALIM Summer Program. He teaches History of Islamic Law, Shama'il, and Aphorisims of Ibn Ata'illah along with other courses.