Jamal Badawi


Jamal A. Badawi is an Egyptian-born Muslim Canadian former professor in the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is an author, preacher and speaker on Islam.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. He left for the US in the 1960s and completed his Masters and doctorate, both in the department of Business Administration, at Indiana University Bloomington. He has been serving as a volunteer imam of the local Muslim community in the Halifax Regional Municipality since 1970. He cites Hassan al-Banna and Muslim Brotherhood as his source for inspiration.
In addition to his participation in lectures, seminars and interfaith dialogues in North America, Badawi was invited as a guest speaker in various functions throughout the world. He is also active in several Islamic organizations, including the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Fiqh Council of North America, the Muslim American Society, and the European Council for Fatwa and Research. He is also a member of the Islamic Society of North America and the founder and chairman of the Islamic Information Foundation, a non-profit foundation seeking to promote a better understanding of Islam and Muslims towards non-Muslims. He has lectured extensively in North America and abroad, and speaks on a variety of topics including Islam and Christianity and is a guest scholar at The American Learning Institute for Muslims. In 1997, he debated Christian apologist William Lane Craig over the concept of God in Christianity and Islam.
According to a 26 September 2005 diplomatic cable from the American Embassy in Ottawa, Canada's capital, Jamal Badawi is someone who has "broad influence among Muslim youth" and is "involved in countering extremism" and "promoting tolerance." According to Gofran Sawalha of Middle East Eye he is among "the best contributors to Islamic knowledge in America".
Badawi has authored several books and articles on Islam. He also researched, designed and presented a 352-segment television series on Islam, aired in Canada, the US and other countries. Audio and video copies of this series are widely available.
Badawi is married and the father of 5 children, and grandfather of 23.

Publications