Khalil Abu Asmaa (Christopher Moore)

KHALIL ABU ASMAA (CHRISTOPHER MOORE) was born and raised in America into a practicing Christian family. While on the path to becoming a professional musician, he went through a deep spiritual and emotional journey that led to his conversion to Islam in the summer of 1994 at the age of nineteen.

He later traveled to the Muslim world in search of sacred knowledge and a balanced understanding of the prophetic legacy. He has studied in the blessed city of Madinah (1996 to 1999), the deserts of West Africa, the Atlas Mountains of Southern Morocco, and the Hadramawt Valley of Yemen.

He holds a B.A. in English, with a minor in Religious Studies, from George Mason University (2001) and a M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland (2007). He has also studied Arabic-English translating and interpreting at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

• He works as a Translator / Lecturer / Writer / Researcher / Editor
• Read about his conversion to Islam here
• A Washington Post story about him can be found here
• Information about his formal education, study abroad, technical training, publications & translations, and language competencies can be found below

Education

St. John's College, Annapolis, MD (USA)
Master of Arts in Liberal Arts (M.A.L.A.), August 2007

• "Great Books” program of study in Philosophy, Theology, Literature, Politics, and History, consisting of over 440 hours of classroom discussion
• Partial list of authors read: Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Rousseau, Kant, Locke, Hobbes, Hegel, Nietzsche, Tocqueville, Gibbon, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plutarch, Herodotus, Thucydides, and others (a detailed description of the curriculum can be found here)

American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• Completed one full semester of study towards an M.A. in Translation and Interpreting (Dec. 2005)
• Topics studied included: Academic writing and research methods, and the skills, techniques, and theories concerned with both liaison and consecutive interpreting

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA (USA)
Bachelor of Arts - English, May 2001

• Major concentration in nonfiction writing and editing
• Minor in Religious Studies, with a focus on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia (KSA)

• Graduated from a four-semester, intensive Arabic and Islamic studies course (Sept. 1996 - May 1998)
• Completed two semesters towards a B.A. in Islamic Law (Sept. 1998 - May 1999)
• Topics studied included: Quranic Exegesis, Prophetic Traditions and Terminology, Jurisprudence, Research Methodologies, Juridical Principles, Arabic Grammar and Morphology, History of Legislation, and Political Law

Study Abroad

• Morocco: Studied classical texts in Maliki jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, and devotional poetry (Oct. 1999)
• Mauritainia: Studied classical texts in Islamic theology, Maliki jurisprudence, and Arabic poetry, grammar, and morphology with renowned and respected scholars Murabit al-Hajj and Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin (Oct. - Nov. 1999)
• Yemen: Spent a total of eight months in the Hadramawt Valley studying classical texts in Islamic theology and spirituality, Shafi’i jurisprudence, and Arabic grammar (Aug. 2000, Feb. 2002 - Jul. 2002)
• Egypt: Visited religious sites and the historic Al-Azhar University and Mosque (Dec. 2004)
• United Arab Emirates (UAE): Studied Arabic grammar and morphology, as well as Islamic theology and spirituality with Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin (son of the aforementioned Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin of Mauritania) (2005-2006)

Technical Training

AmeriTrain, McLean, VA (USA)

• Completed an intensive training course in PC maintenance and networking (Nov. 2001 - Jan. 2002)

EEI Communications, Silver Spring, MD (USA)

• Participated in an intensive training course covering Macromedia multimedia design software (Dec. 2001)

Academic Translations & Publications

• Translated and edited The Creed of al-Sanusi, by Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Sanusi, d. 795 Hijrah / 1392 CE (Found on this site).
• Edited a translation of a religious verdict on Taqlid (following scholarly legal opinion) by West African scholar Murabit al-Hajj (Published 2001).
• Translated and edited two religious verdicts by the Arabian scholar ‘Alawi ibn ‘Abbas al-Maliki and the Committee of Leading Scholars in Saudi Arabia on the issues of Taqlid, divergent legal opinions, and intolerance (Published 2001).
• Translated and edited a brief commentary of the Opening Chapter (al-Fatihah) of the Quran, by Habib Umar bin Hafiz (Published by Guidance Media, 2003).
• Edited “The Sunnah and Health” by Hamza Yusuf Hanson (Published by Guidance Media, 2003).
• Translated and edited 40 pages of a 60-page religious verdict on music in Islam by West African scholar Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Wazzani (Unpublished 2005).
• Translated and edited an informational pamphlet for publication by the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs (UAE) entitled, “Do the Deceased Benefit from the Recitation of the Quran?” (Found on this site, 2005).

Language Competencies

• Native speaker of English
• Read, write, and speak Arabic at an advanced level
• Experienced Arabic-English translator with some practice as a live interpreter