Imam Zaid Shakir is amongst the most respected and influential Muslim scholars in the West and former member of the U.S. Air Force. He obtained a BA summa cum laude in International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science and International Relations  at Rutgers University. From 1988 to 1994 he taught as an Adjunct Professor of Political Science and Arabic at Southern Connecticut State University. For seven years in Syria and briefly in Morocco, he immersed himself in an intense study of Arabic, Islamic law, Quranic Studies, and Islamic spirituality with some of the top Muslim scholars of our age. In 2001, he graduated from Syria's prestigious Abu Nur University. Currently, as a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at Zaytuna Institute, he teaches regular courses on Arabic, Islamic Law, History, and Islamic Spirituality. Amongst several works that he has translated from Arabic into English, is his translation of "Scholars Are The Heirs of the Prophets" in 2001. His latest work in 2005 is entitled, "Scattered Pictures: Reflections of An American Muslim." For more information concerning Imam Zaid. Please visit www.zaidshakir.com.