Name: John Rhodus

Recipient Year: 2013|2012

Major: Islamic Studies

Description: John Franklin Rhodus Jr. began his study of Islam with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and visiting Mauritanian scholars. In 1998, Ustadh Yahya traveled to Mauritania to pursue a full-time course of study, where he learned from some of Mauritania’s greatest scholars. He also spent an interim period in Damascus, Syria where he received formal education. In 2000, Ustadh Yahya moved to Tarim, Yemen to continue his studies at the prestigious learning institute.  In the latter part of 2005, Ustadh Yahya returned to the U.S. and served as a full-time teacher at Zaytuna Institute. He subsequently returned overseas in 2007 to further his studies while he also participated in religious programs worldwide, lecturing, teaching, and translating. In 2010, Ustadh Yahya completed his Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Ustadh Yahya also completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge.

School Name: UC Berkeley

Sponsor: Muslim Community Center (MCC) of the East Bay