by Lekan Oguntoyinbo

Dr. Hatem Bazian, Hamza Yusuf, and Zaid Shakir founders of the college, which is scheduled to open in Berkeley, Calif., this fall, say Zaytuna will be a Muslim liberal arts college in the same tradition as other sectarian liberal arts colleges that operate in this country.

For more info: http://diverseeducation.com/article/13814/america-s-first-muslim-college-to-open-this-fall.html

Introducing SalaamHearts

Salaamhearts.com is a unique and effective matrimonial service that is dedicated to helping single Muslims in the US and around the world find highly compatible matches for marriage. Our uniqueness comes from the fact that more than 25+ years of experience in psychology and counseling are at the backbone of our “matching” methodology. Our goal insha’Allah is to provide an effective and powerful tool to help our single brothers and sisters find a spouse who is a lifelong partner, friend, and soul mate.

The Story
SalaamHearts was founded by brother Kamal Shaarawy, a Muslim psychologist, author and workshop trainer who has been providing counseling and coaching services in Muslim communities for more than 25 years. In working with countless married couples over the years, Br. Kamal found striking patterns that correlate with the success or failure of marriage. Those patterns were researched and refined into eight dimensions - emotional, intellectual, spiritual, reflection and self-examination, attitudes towards change, culture and values, finances, and vision of marriage. Further studies and validation of those eight dimensions compelled Br. Kamal to create an in-depth compatibility questionnaire that is the foundation for the SalaamHearts proprietary system of online matching.

What Makes SalaamHearts Different

Our matching system is supported by expertise in psychology and years of experience in counseling
Matching is done via an intelligent algorithm that measures degrees of compatibility in eight dimensions of personality and values that are important to Muslims
High integrity is of utmost importance to preserve our Muslim values. The site is not designed for casual relationships or behaviors that jeopardize the privacy and dignity of our members
SalaamHearts is holistic. provides pre-marital education to help the singles prepare themselves for marriage both emotionally and spiritually. In addition it provides powerful online tools such as “Intelligent Guidance” which offers customized valuable advice for self-development and growth
Pre-marital coaching: appointments with Br. Kamal are offered via phone through our sister website livingeman.com for prospective couples who are serious about preparing themselves for marriage

A Cross-Community Effort
SalaamHearts realizes that the challenge of Muslim communities in helping their singles find the right partner is a challenge that spans all communities.  An effective solution is best created as a collaborative effort among our communities, enabling singles to find one another in an effective, scalable and confidential manner. For this reason, SalaamHearts created an “Affiliate” program to partner in this cause with Islamic Centers and Muslim organizations.  This Affiliate program enables SalaamHearts to reach out to singles through the help of advertising/announcement mechanisms by their affiliated Muslim organizations. Major Islamic Centers like the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, CA are already on board, and SalaamHearts extends its hand to all other Muslim Communities to partner with us and enable a high degree of collaboration in this meaningful effort. Down the road when SalaamHearts institutes a paid membership, affiliate organizations can benefit financially when their singles use them as a referral during the sign-up process. 

A Call To Action
We would like to invite your organization to participate in our affiliate program through visiting http://www.salaamhearts.com, and clicking on “Affiliates” and filling the short application. We thank you for your time in considering SalaamHearts and we hope insha’Allah that we can work together successfully in helping out single brothers and sisters in their quest to fulfilling “half of their deen.”

For more information please visit http://www.salaamhearts.com and http://www.livingeman.com or contact:

Edgard Sammour
SalaamHearts Community Relations
408-605-8513 | edgard@salaamhearts.com

New Islamic Directions is a Salaam Hearts Affiliate

A 200 page report entitled, “The 500 Most Influential Muslims”  edited by noted professors John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin was published this month by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (Jordan) and the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (Georgetown University) describes Imam Zaid Shakir as “one of America’s most influential scholars.”
Read More At:
http://acommonword.com/index.php?lang=en&page=signatories.
Download the report at:
http://cmcu.georgetown.edu/