Overview
Shaikh Mohammad Idrissi Alcaraz, born in Córdoba (Spain), is the founder and president of the Islamic University of Spain Al-Andalusia and its Higher Institute, as well as the founder of the Center for Andalusian Studies. He is internationally recognized for his work in dawah and education, particularly among Spanish-speaking communities, and has developed comprehensive Islamic education curricula for all academic levels. A graduate of Jami‘ah Ta‘lim al-Islam with a specialization in fiqh, he holds ijazahs in Quranic Qira’at, the major Hadith collections, and other Islamic sciences. Additionally, he has completed specialized programs at institutions such as the University of Zaragoza, the Autonomous University of Madrid, and Bradford College.
Summary
Shaikh Mohammad Idrissi Alcaraz, founder and president of the Islamic University of Spain Al-Andalusia, the Higher Institute of Islamic Sciences of Spain Al-Andalusia, and founder of the Center for Andalusí Studies, is also the director of the Al-Andalusia Academy, where he develops comprehensive Islamic Education curricula for various academic levels. With over fifteen years of experience, he collaborates internationally as an advisor and instructor in dawah and education. He additionally presides over the Council for the Prevention of Violent Religious Extremism and Institutional Advisement (COPERVAI) and the International Islamic Congress of Spanish-Speaking Muslims Al-Andalusia, while leading the NGO Al-Andalusia for Humanity, dedicated to humanitarian and social work. He is the editor-in-chief of the magazine El Alminar Andalusí and creator of the Algarabiado Andalusí System. He serves as an imam at the Al-Hidaya Mosque in Seville and at the Al-Andalusia Mosque and Community Center. He is the author of several books on the reading, recitation, and practice of Islam. He is a graduate of Jami’ah Ta’lim al-Islam, specialized in Fiqh and holds ijazah in Quran Qiraat and Hadith authentic books, and other Islamic Sciences and Arabic Language, He has various specialized diplomas from different universities, like Zaragoza, Madrid and Bradford College. He speaks Spanish, English, Arabic, and Urdu.
Detailed
Shaikh Mohammad Idrissi Alcaraz is the founder and president of the new Islamic University of Spain Al-Andalusia (2025) and the Higher Institute of Islamic Sciences of Spain Al-Andalusia (2019), and founder of the Center for Andalusí Studies. He is the director of the Al-Andalusia Academy, which focuses on Islamic education for preschool, primary, and secondary levels. Furthermore, he is the founder and president of the Council for the Prevention of Violent Religious Extremism and Institutional Advisement (COPERVAI) in Spain, as well as the International Islamic Congress of Spanish-Speaking Muslims Al-Andalusia, which brings together scholars, academics, and activists from 24 countries, along with participants in Taywíd, Poetry, and Islamic Art competitions.
He is also the founder and president of the NGO Al-Andalusia for Humanity, dedicated to humanitarian and social work. In this capacity, he has collaborated on projects led by the City Council of Seville aimed at social integration and cohesion. He is the author of several books, including Al-Qurtubia (on the correct reading and recitation of the Quran), Guía esencial para un musulmán (Essential Guide for a Muslim), and Plegarias y Recuerdos (Prayers and Remembrances). He also serves as editor-in-chief of the magazine El Alminar Andalusí and is the creator of the Algarabiado Andalusí System for the Romanization of Arabic into Spanish, adopted by the institutions belonging to Al-Andalusia.
He currently serves as an imam at the Al-Hidaya Mosque in Seville and at the Al-Andalusia Mosque and Community Center.
With more than a decade and a half of experience, he focuses on developing comprehensive Islamic Education curricula for all academic levels, from primary school to university. He specializes in fiqh and dawah, particularly for the Spanish-speaking sphere, and collaborates internationally as an advisor and instructor in dawah and education with institutions such as Sapience Institute.
He was born in Córdoba and raised in Seville. He pursued his studies in Meknes, where he memorized the Quran under the tutelage of Shaij Al-Nasiri, and studied fiqh with Shayk Al-Gimawi and Shaij Muhammad Al-Hasani. He later moved to the United Kingdom to continue his education at Jami‘at Ta‘lim al-Islam, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Islamic Sciences and Arabic Language. During this period, he delved into grammar, morphology, rhetoric, logic, theology, law, legal theory, hadith, hadith sciences, exegesis, and other Islamic sciences. He also completed the study of the Ten Qira’at of the Quran and the Six Authentic Books of Hadith.
He obtained the teaching qualification (2013) from Bradford College in England; a Diploma in Religion and Law in Democratic Society (2021–2022) from the University of Zaragoza; a Diploma in the Management and Administration of Religious Organizations (2022–2023) from the Autonomous University of Madrid; and the Interuniversity Master’s Degree in Ongoing Training in Religious Pluralism, Law, and Society at the University of Zaragoza.
He has received Iyazah in the Ten Qira’at of the Quran from Shaij Imtiaz; Sahih al-Bukhari and Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi from Saykh Muslih al-Din; Sahih Muslim from Shaij Yusuf Darwan; Sunan Abi Dawood from Mufti Musa Badat; Sunan al-Nasa’i and Sunan Ibn Majah from Shaij Yusuf Sacha; Muwatta from Shaij Abu al-Qasim; Riyad al-Salihin from Shaij Muhammad Yunus al-Saharnfuri; and Musalsalat from Mufti Taqi Usmani. Currently, he is completing his training as a Mufti
He has also served as a speaker at conferences organized by the University of Seville and has been interviewed on television and radio programs, including Televisión Española and Islam Channel (UK).
He speaks Spanish, English, Arabic, and Urdu.
