Source: McCormick Foundation

Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo

Sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo is considered the leading authority on Shariah finance in the United States and one of the half-dozen best-known Shariah advisors internationally. Although he has carefully avoided making public statements in support of Jihad, his religious background, professional affiliations, his high praise of fellow Shariah authorities such as Usmani, and his experience prove beyond much doubt that he subscribes fully to the Islamist agenda.

Background DeLorenzo was born in 1948 in Northfield, Massachusetts. Sheikh Talal DeLorenzo is the grandson of Italian immigrants from Sicily. He currently resides in Ashburn, Northern Virginia with his Pakistani wife and three children.

Education

DeLorenzo attended the secular Northfield-Mount Hernon Preparatory School in Northfield, Massachusetts. He then enrolled in the undergraduate program at Cornell University but dropped out. He studied Islamic sciences under prominent Deobandi scholars at madrassa Jamia Uloom Islamia, Binori Town, Karachi, Pakistan (see details below). DeLorenzo completed three years of doctoral studies on the Legal Rulingsof the Quran at Bahawalpur University, Pakistan, and allegedly studied in Egypt. DeLorenzo‟s professional experience and affiliations include teaching courses on “The Principles of Islamic Investment,” Dow Jones University. He is also the Director for the Master‟s Program for Imams, Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GSISS), Leesburg, Virginia. He has served as Director of Education for the Islamic Saudi Academy, Fairfax, Virginia, as Guest Scholar at the American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM), Canton, Michigan and as an Advisor on Islamic affairs and education to the President of Pakistan, 1981-1984.

DeLorenzo has many affiliations with Islamist Organizations: