Dr. Shaykh Yahya Suufi

Executive Director and Resident Scholar

Dr. Yahya Suufi was born in Somalia, where he began his journey in Islamic Studies from a young age. As a teenager, his family immigrated to the United States, after the eruption of a destructive civil war in Somalia. The family settled in Tacoma, Washington, where Dr. Suufi attended high school and later became Imam of the Islamic Center of Tacoma. 

He pursued higher education in Islamic Studies, starting at the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences (IIASA) in Fairfax, Virginia (a campus of the Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). This course was the beginning of an 11-year journey of higher education in Islamic Studies in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Suufi graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah with an Associate Degree in Advanced Arabic Sciences and proceeded to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Islamic Law, with high honors from the Faculty of Sharia.

Furthering his education, Dr. Suufi earned a Master’s Degree in Islamic Jurisprudence, with the Master’s Thesis entitled, “The Effects of Legal Maxims on Muslim Minority Law” with a recognition of high distinction from the Faculty of Sharia.

Upon returning to the United States, Dr. Suufi completed a PhD from Graduate Theological Foundation (GTF) in Indiana, with his dissertation entitled, “Legal Hermeneutical Principles and their Application to Rulings Pertinent to New Muslims”.

Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Yahya Suufi functioned as Imam of Masjid Al-Ansar in Houston, Texas for approximately two years after which he was obligated to returned to Seattle to address the needs of the youth in his community. Currently, he is the Resident Scholar of Masjid Tawhid in West Seattle. He is also the President of Washington Dugsi Association (WDA) an umbrella of a non-profit organization for Quranic Madrassa, and the Executive Director of the Muslim American Youth Foundation (MAYF), which is a non-profit organization that is geared to create an accessible refuge to address the needs of the Muslim youth residing in the greater Seattle area and beyond.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TEAM

  • Yusuf Hassan

    Development Director

  • Abdirahman Omar

    Outreach & Advocacy Director

  • Mohamed Dineh

    Events & Programs Coordinator

  • Mohamed Fouz

    Media Advisor

MAYF ACADEMY LEADERSHIP TEAM

  • Neima Maruf

    MAYF Academy Principal

  • Goran Stefanovic

    Operations Director

  • Raqia Assini

    Administration Coordinator

  • Feyruz Ali

    Safety & Facilities Coordinator