Ihsan Bagby

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and became Muslims there in 1969 at Masjid al-Mumin and the Darul Islam Movement.Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky from 2002 to 2022. Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan (1985) where he studied under Dr. Umar Farooq Abdallah; his dissertation focused on Islamic legal theory and the issue of change in Islamic Law. Retired from U of Kentucky in 2022.His research for the past 30 years has focused on the Muslim community in America, the American mosque and the African American Muslim community. He has conducted three comprehensive studies of mosques in America in 2000, 2010, and 2020. The first two surveys resulted in four monographs and seven articles or chapters in edited volumes. Two monographs were produced for the 2020 Survey. He served as lead researcher for ISPU’s Remaking Muslim Spaces which led to the monograph “Creating the Welcoming, Inclusive, and Dynamic Mosque.” Recently he has produced four articles in referred journals on giving in mosques, mosque governance, African American Muslim philanthropy, and approaches to interpreting Quran and sunnah. Also he has produced two Oxford encyclopedia articles: one on mosques in North American and one on Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA).Dr. Ihsan has been an activist through all his years of being a Muslim. He is a Board member with Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), he is a member of the Fiqh Council of North America, Chair of the SHARE Center in Lexington, KY, Board member of Masjid Bilal, Lexington.In the past, he served as General Secretary of MANA from 2006-2010, Imam of Masjid Bilal (Lexington) from 2003-2008, Director of Masjid Development at ISNA from 2015-2017, Board member of CAIR National from 1993-2018, and Director of Islamic Teaching Center at ISNA from 1985-1991. He also taught at Shaw University (a HBCU) from 1994-2002.