Shaykh Fawzi al-Battahi
His Eminence Shaykh Fawzi al-Battahi was born in Baghdad, Iraq, into a religious and pious family. He grew up in Baghdad and graduated from the University of Baghdad with a BA in Economics during the very hard times of the Baath regime’s oppression which put him in prison for several years for religious reasons.
Immediately after his release, Shaykh Fawzi al-Battahi left Iraq and settled in Qom, Iran, for a few years. He joined the Islamic seminary in Qom where he completed his introductory (muqaddimat) classes, and at the same time he continued his academic studies in Philosophy earning his MA from Azad University. Later, Shaykh al-Battahi moved to Syria and continued his religious studies in the Sayyida Zaynab suburb of Damascus, Syria. He passed all the intermediate (sutuh) and advanced (bahth kharij) classes under numerous scholars such as His Excellency Sayyid Nooriddine al-Ashkuri, Sayyid Yusuf al-Tabatabaie, Sayyid Abdulmunim al-Hakim, Sayyid Hassan al-Nouri, Sayyid Abdullah Nidam, and Shaykh Nabil Halbawi.
Shaykh al-Battahi is an activist, and a dynamic and motivated scholar who never limits himself to seminary studies. He had many accomplishments during his preaching journey to different countries. For example, in Syria, he founded the Academy of Husseini Elocution and was one of the founders of the Al-Wilayah Islamic Seminary, the Islamic Tabligh Institute, and the Institute of Prisoners for the Freedom of Speech. In addition, he was an educator, teaching different Islamic sciences in many seminaries.
Finally, Shaykh Fawzi immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Atlanta, Georgia. As an active and responsible religious scholar, he began by offering his religious services to the American Shia Muslim community in Atlanta at large through lecturing, establishing classes, camps, funeral services, marriage and divorce services, counseling, and many more activities. He also founded an Islamic Seminary in Atlanta, where he taught and prepared native clergy and preachers. Shaykh Fawzi led the successful Preaching Program in downtown Atlanta which resulted in giving the true, correct picture of Islam in an Islamophobic environment.
Furthermore, Shaykh al-Battahi is a researcher and author. He wrote many articles, research papers, and books such as Philosophy of Ethics in Ahl al-Bayt School of Thoughts, and The Specialization in Islam, the University of Imam al-Sadiq as an Example.
Shaykh al-Battahi has been the resident scholar (Imam) of the al-Rasoul Center in Atlanta for over two decades, and he extends his religious services to other local Shia Muslim institutions and oversees the Shia Muslim community in the greater Atlanta area.
Shaykh Fawzi al-Battahi is a Board member of the Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya (I.M.A.M.), a member of the Consultative Committee of the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars of North America, the Religious Director in the City of Knowledge Islamic School of Atlanta, and a religious representative of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid al-Sistani and Ayatullah Sayyid Saeed al-Hakim.