Ustadha Zaynab Ansari spent a decade studying Farsi, Arabic and traditional Islam in the Middle East; graduating from a seminary in Damascus; and spending time in the land of her ancestors. She also took degrees in history and Middle Eastern Studies at Georgia State University, where she collected oral histories from Atlanta’s historic African-American Muslim community for her research.
Ustadaha Ansari have several years studying the core Islamic sciences, including Arabic, jurisprudence, Qur’anic recitation & commentary, Hadith, and Prophetic biography in Damascus, Syria at Abu Nour Masjid’s college preparatory program. Upon her return to the United States, she continued her Islamic studies privately with Shaykh Khalil Abdur-Rashid, Imam of New York’s Iqra Masjid, Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Educational Director of SeekersHub Global Islamic Seminary, Shaykh Jamal Ud-Deen Hysaw, and Dr. Fareeha Khan, Assistant Professor of Religion & Anthropology at Willamette University.
Ustdaha Ansari serves as an instructor, board member and scholar-in-residence at Tayseer Seminary, where she teaches classes on Islamic law, Qur’anic studies, Prophetic biography, American Muslim history and women in Islam. She is a contributor to various Islamic educational portals, including Seekers Guidance and Rabata, the latter a pioneering online resource for women’s theological training.