Dr. Irfan is a founding member of the Deen Arts Foundation and is president of its Board of Directors. He specializes in Interventional Pain Medicine, and is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and operated multiple companies in several different areas. He has been a patron of Muslim artists and supporter of the Islamic sacred arts for 20 years.
Dr. Cajee is a Harvard-trained endodontist and board member of the Deen Arts Foundation. He is a hafiz and cantillator of the Qur’an and a longtime apprentice of Mohamed Zakariya and other master artists. He brings first-hand knowledge of Islamic arts pedagogy and an intimate knowledge of the fine arts scene in Istanbul.
Dr. Ogunnaike is an assistant professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia and a board member of the Deen Arts Foundation. He teaches courses on Islam, Islamic Philosophy, Spirituality, and Art, as well as African and African Diasporic Religions. He holds a Ph.D. in African Studies and the Study of Religion from Harvard University, and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University's Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.
Ms. Sahin is a founding member and the Executive Director of the Deen Arts Foundation. A former president of Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA), she is passionate about the Islamic fine arts, is fluent in English and Turkish and can converse and read Arabic.
Farzana Razzaque is the Calligraphy Program Specialist at Deen Arts Foundation. She is an artist and calligrapher who focuses on the art of the Muslim world. Farzana holds an undergraduate degree from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a student of Calligraphy in the Ottoman tradition under Master Calligrapher Haji Noor Deen.
Nawaar Abdus-Salam is the community development manager at Deen Arts Foundation. She is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Dallas. As a manager, Nawaar will be facilitating community planning and projects, as well as supporting and enhancing students’ learning experience. Nawaar is also a student of Calligraphy and Tezhip under the master calligrapher Shahryanshah Sirajuddin and master muzehhiba Fatma Ulusoy Sirajuddin