Yaser Birjas
Yaser Birjas (also known as 'Shaykh Yaser Birjas') is a Muslim lecturer and teacher who is based in the United States. He has authored many articles on various aspects of Islam, especially Muslim marriage in the West and Islamic jurisprudence. His seminars on the topic of love and marriage in Islam are extremely popular in North America.
Background
Yaser Issa Birjas was born to Palestinian parents in Kuwait in 1970. He emigrated to the USA in 2000, where he presently resides in El Paso, Texas with his wife and three children. His mother tongue is Arabic, and he is also fluent in Bosnian and Serbo Croatian which he learnt in Bosnia, as well as English which he learnt in the USA, using a digital dictionary.
Education
Yaser Birjas completed high school in 1988, after which he moved to Ajman in the United Arab Emirates, where he enrolled in studies in Electronic Engineering at the Ajman University of Science and Technology.
His desire to be part of a better and more challenging educational system, took him back to Kuwait in 1990, where he intended to apply for a visa which would enable him to continue with his studies in the USA. Whilst in Kuwait he began taking a class in management and business administration.
However, his studies and aspirations to go to the USA came to a halt when Iraq invaded Kuwait in the same year, forcing him to move to Jordan where he studied various branches of Islamic sciences under some of the well known Islamic scholars of that region.
Whilst in Jordan he was faced with making a choice between continuing his studies in Electronic Engineering at a German university and embarking on a career in Islamic Studies by enrolling at the International Islamic University of Madinah, and he chose the latter.
He excelled in his studies at this famous institute, and graduated as Class Valedictorian with the highest honors from its College of Sharee’ah (Islamic Jurisprudence) in 1996. He was also awarded the 'Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Award' for excellent and distinct academic achievement.
During his time in Saudi Arabia, he also studied under well-known contemporary Muslim scholars like Shaykh Ash-Shanqitee in Madinah, and the late Shaykh Al-Uthaimeen in Unaizah.
Past Activities
As a teenager Yaser Birjas led several youth activities and was involved in various other community-related programs. After completing his studies in Madinah he travelled to a post-war Bosnia (1997), where he spent four years serving as a young counselor and relief program aide for ICVA, the international umbrella of relief agencies and organizations working in the region.
He emigrated to the USA in the year 2000, joining his family who had lived there since the mid 1980’s.
He held the position of Imam at The Islamic Center in El Paso, Texas until late 2007, playing a significant role in building and nurturing the town’s growing Muslim community, particularly in the post-9/11 era, when he led and became involved in many initiatives, aimed at building bridges with other communities.
He also led his community during the period which saw the completion of a 1.3 million dollar new facility for the Islamic Center of El Paso.
Present Activities
Yaser Birjas is regularly invited to speak at various Islamic conferences and conventions in the USA.
He is also an instructor for AlMaghrib Institute, an Islamic organization which provides double-weekend seminars leading its students towards a bachelor's degree in Islamic Studies.
He presently serves as the VP for EmanRush Press, which is the publishing wing of AlMaghrib Institute.
He regularly writes articles for http://MuslimMatters.org and http://themarriagerevolution.com, and also works as a counselor, counseling people on a wide range of issues, especially marriage.
He is a founding member and supervisor of Practimate, a program aimed at providing pre-marital training and matching for Muslim singles living in the West.
Resources
List of AlMaghrib Seminars (to date)
The Code Evolved: Evolution of Fiqh
Fiqh of Love: Marriage and Family in Islam
The Code of Scholars: Usool Al-Fiqh
Love Notes: The Spirit of Marriage in Islam
Heavenly Hues: Thematic Tafseer
Divine Link: Fiqh of Salah
Online Articles
http://muslimmatters.org/author/yaser-birjas
http://themarriagerevolution.com
Official Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yaser-Birjas/42942426280
Audio Lectures Available for Sale
http://www.ilmquest.org/c-101-yasir-birjas.aspx
Video Lectures Available Online
http://www.halaltube.com/category/yaser-birjas
http://www.youtube.com (search for 'Yaser Birjas')
Notes
1. http://muslimmatters.org/author/yaser-birjas
2. http://themarriagerevolution.com
3. http://forums.almaghrib.org/showthread.php?t=17443
4. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
5. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
6. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
7. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
8. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
9. http://www.almadinah-award.org
10. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
11. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
12. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
13. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
14. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
15. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
16. http://www.almaghrib.org/instructor_YB.php
17. http://www.almaghrib.org
18. Interview with Practimate.com (unpublished)
19. http://www.Practimate.com
20. http://www.almaghrib.org/instructor_YB.php