Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D., is president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute. Born at sea as his mother fled Irgun terrorism in her homeland of Palestine, Dr. Ahmad was raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1970 and in 1975 obtained a Ph. D. in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Arizona. He is an educator who currently teaches honors courses in “Religion and Progress” and on “Religion, Science, and Freedom” at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. He is also an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies where he has taught a course in Islam and Development.

Dr. Ahmad is a frequent guest lecturer on Islam at the Foreign Services Institute. He has been active with the International Property Rights Working Group’s effort to restore private property rights in Iraq and is currently President of the Minaret of Freedom Institute, an Islamic think-tank in the Washington, DC area. He is an internationally sought-after speaker on matters relating to Islam and Muslims. He is author of Signs in the Heavens: A Muslim Astronomer’s Perspective on Religion and Science, co-editor of Islam and the West: A Dialog, and co-author of Islam and the Discovery of Freedom. His essay “An Islamic Perspective on the Wealth of Nations” appears in the International Library of Critical Writings on Economics series #129 The Economics of Property Rights.

Dr. Ahmad is the recipient the “Star Cup for Outstanding Public Service” award from the Montgomery County Civic Federation, the “Champion of Democracy Award” from Marylanders for Democracy, the “Samuel P. Chase Freedom Award” from the Libertarian Party of Maryland, and the “Sentinel Award” from the Montgomery County Civic Federation.