The American Muslim Podcast · El-Amin Communications

From Philly to Global Leadership: Imam Idris Abdul-Zahir

·56 min·3 clips

He says difficulty is "par for the course" when a leader is doing what Allah set for them.

1. The American Muslim Podcast episode centers on Imam Idris Abdul-Zahir and his path from Philadelphia to leadership across mosque, civic, and professional spaces. 2. Host Imam Tariq Al-Amin interviews Idris Abdul-Zahir, who serves as resident imam of Masjidullah in Philadelphia and as deputy CIO for the City of Philadelphia. 3. The episode asks what kind of formation produces a leader who can move between Masjidullah, Temple University, and the Obama Foundation. 4. Idris says his parents, Imam Murad Abdul-Zahir and Justifatima Abdul-Zahir, were already active in the community before he understood it. 5. He says his father served as assistant imam at Masjid-e-Lah, later led the Association of Muslim Families, and later became imam of Masjid Freehaven in South Jersey. 6. He says that upbringing embedded community consciousness even though he did not want to become an imam. 7. Idris says he became more serious about religion around age 15 after a summer meeting with Dr. Tahir Wyatt at Masjid Mecca. 8. He says that friendship helped push him into reading on his own, learning more seriously, and organizing a Muslim Students Association at Central High School. 9. He says Central High School adjusted classes so he and other Muslims could leave for Jumu'ah and make prayer during the day. 10. He says the same pattern continued at Temple University, where he became president of the Muslim Students Association and worked with the Muslim Youth Association. 11. He says people later began asking him to give khutbahs, but he said no for years until 2016. 12. He says Iman Mikel Shabazz asked him to give his first khutbah, which he thought would just be a brief talk. 13. He says he then went back to school, tightened up his Arabic, and studied more seriously after that first khutbah. 14. Idris says his leadership education also came from reading autobiographies and biographies of Black men such as Reginald Lewis, Spike Lee, and Johnny Cochran. 15. He says his IT work as a business analyst taught him to gather requirements, translate between technical builders and users, and understand human nature. 16. He says that same translation skill helps him teach Islam in a way that is "as natural as breathing" and grounded in examples from Surah Yusuf. 17. Idris says the Obama Foundation leadership cohort mattered less for content than for network, strategy, and being around peers at a similar level. 18. He says the cohort gave him an international network across Africa, Europe, and Asia while reinforcing that leadership can be codified and repeated. 19. The conversation is reflective, practical, and interview-driven, with Idris moving between autobiography, Quranic examples, leadership advice, and institutional history. 20. People interested in Muslim leadership, Philadelphia civic life, and mosque community-building would likely appreciate this episode, while listeners wanting entertainment-first pacing may skip it.

As heard by us

A patient portrait of faith, service, and leadership shaped by hard-won experience.

Idris Abdul-Zahir's story moves through Muslim leadership, public service, and community history with steady focus on how trial, study, and responsibility shape a person.

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Why you'd press play

If you want Muslim leadership, civic service, and a life shaped by real responsibility, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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