A Quest for Sacred Knowledge

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, brothers and sisters in Islam! My name is Brett Cooper. I am a student at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS and I am from the the Kansas City, Kansas area. I am asking you, my generous brothers and sisters, to help me achieve my dream of studying the Language of the Qur'an overseas at Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman, Jordan.

Alhamdulillah, since I accepted Islam in 2010 at the age of 16, I have had several experiences with the Arabic language including a summer at Fawakih Institute in Herndon, VA, one year of college Arabic, an online course with Qasid Arabic Institute, as well as private tutoring sessions with an Arabic teacher from the local Kansas City Muslim community. I have also had the honor of learning to read Qur'an with tajweed at the hands of a local Azhari imam in Overland Park, KS and have already memorized almost one-fifth of the Qur'an, walhamdulillah.

While all of these experiences have been truly gratifying for me as a student of knowledge, one thing I have not yet had the honor of doing is traveling to the Muslim world to study this great language and tradition full-time. In shaa Allah, with your help, I will be able to attend Qasid Arabic Institute this summer to study Classical Arabic and this dream of mine will become a reality! It is my hope, in shaa Allah, that this experience will be another step toward me being able to spend several years studying Islam full-time, both abroad and in the United States, with the goal of becoming an imam and serving the Muslim community of America. 

The Path to Qasid

In shaa Allah, with your help, I will be able to spend this summer in Amman, Jordan studying with some of the foremost scholars of the Arabic language in the world. After Qasid, I hope to return to Kansas City and serve my community by teaching what I have learned to children and anyone else who wants to learn Arabic. 

In just one more year, in shaa Allah, I will be graduating from KU with a degree in secondary education. From there, my plan is to attend an Islamic studies seminary program in the United States such as Qalam Institute or Tayseer Seminary. If Allah wills and my knowledge reaches a high enough level, I then hope to travel overseas to places like Morocco, Egypt, and Turkey to study Islam at a deeper level so that I could one day serve my community back home as an imam and teacher. It is with this lofty goal that I am asking for your help in shaa Allah.

How You Can Help

All I am asking from you, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, is, first of all, for your humble du'a. Please ask Allah (SWT) that He grant me success in my pursuit of knowledge, and ask Him to make me a source of good for the Ummah today. After that, if you are able to donate toward this cause of me seeking knowledge at Qasid Arabic Institute, I would very much appreciate it. In shaa Allah, for every penny that you spend to help me study you will be receiving a reward from Allah (SWT) that is beyond measure. This is, of course, better than anything money can buy. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and anything that you can provide will be greatly appreciated. May Allah reward all of you.

Expenses

Feel free to message me on Facebook if you have any questions. Also feel free to check out the links below to an article about me, an endorsement of my trip, and a couple recordings of me making the adhan and reciting Qur'an!