Shaykh Kabbani is an international scholar, publisher, scientist and spiritual guide who holds degrees in Chemistry (Lebanon), Medical Studies (Belgium), Islamic Divine Law (Damascus) and Sufism from Shaykh Muhammad Nazim, authority of the Hanafi school of Islamic law. He is the Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, a well-established organization that advises the US government and international countries on the questions of Islamic ideology. He is one of the most prominent Islamic scholars of the world and was selected by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center as one of the 500 most influential Muslims of the world in 2010. He serves as guide and teacher to millions of Muslims throughout the world including the current President of Indonesia and the Prince of Malaysia.
A prominent scholar of moderate Islam, Shaykh Kabbani has spent his life spreading the teachings of peace, tolerance, respect and love throughout the world. He has lectured in the most prestigious universities including Oxford, Columbia University, McGill and the American University.
Shaykh Kabbani is the founder of 25 spiritual centers located in the USA, the Alliance for Islamic Culture and Arts, a top-rated English-language Islamic news magazine, the London-based Haqqani Educational Foundation and SufiLive TV, the second most viewed online TV channel of the United States.
Shaykh Kabbani’s advices on the questions of world peace and spirituality are continuously sought by heads of states, the US media and celebrity figures such as boxing legend Muhammad Ali, activist Jesse Jackson, entertainer turned Minister MC Hammer, pop singer Cat Stevens and the Sultan of Brunei. Shaykh Kabbani is known for drawing record crowds of millions of attendants during his speech appearances in South East Asia. As a Good Will Ambassador of the United Nations, a UNESCO delegate and a scholarly advisor, he has appeared on NBC (The Today Show), ABC, BBC, Fox News, CNN and the Discovery Channel. He has been numerously featured in print media such as The Washington Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and NPR.
In recent years, he was the guest of President Bill Clinton and then of President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Collin Powell during the presidential Ramadan events at the White House. He has met with His Royal Highness Princes Charles of England to discuss the importance of Sufism in Islam and to promote universal spirituality amongst all people; with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to brief him on suggestions for its public diplomacy outreach to the Muslim community; with Ms. Fran Towshend, Assistant to the U.S. President for Homeland Security to discuss the cures of Islamist radicalism ; with U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney to present his views on the cures of Islamic radicalism; with Susilo Bambang Yudyono, President of Indonesia, to foster moderate Islam and to establish programs including deradicalization programs, spirituality workshop, interfaith events and sacred music sessions.
Shaykh Kabbani has an extensive and lasting relationship with Africa. In the 1970’s, Senegalese Islamic Scholar Baye Ibrahim Niasse, who was one of the most renowned religious leader of Africa, traveled to Lebanon to meet with spiritual leaders and to stay at his house where they discussed several topics related to religious unity and Islamic spirituality. In 2009, he was the guest of honor of Laurent Gbagbo, President of Ivory Coast who helped arrange his first visit to his country as a way to bring peace and unity to the torn nation. The same year, he received presidential invitations from Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal and Shaykh Muhammad Lamine Bara Mbacke, the General Khalifa of the Muridiya, the largest Sufi brotherhood of Senegal. Shaykh Kabbani is fluent in English, French and Arabic.