Luqman al-Maliki an-Naqshbandi (born Lucas Crowley, 1989) is an American Muslim student and educator committed to both secular and Islamic scholarship. He was born in Maryland to a Hungarian Jewish mother and an Irish Catholic father, both lifelong educators, and grew up in a household that valued learning and intellectual curiosity. He earned an Associate of Arts in General Studies from Prince George’s College, with honors, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at the University of Maryland.Alongside his university studies, he has been accepted into Usul Academy’s Bachelor’s program in Comparative Islamic Studies and is completing its intensive Arabic preparation year. Since embracing Islam in 2019, he has pursued a neo-traditionalist approach to Islamic learning, with a specialization in the Mālikī school of jurisprudence and a commitment to classical scholarly methods.His current research explores how Islamic metaphysics, especially the concepts of tawḥīd, adab, fitrah, and the formative role of the murabbī, can strengthen and complete secular critical pedagogy. His aim is to articulate an educational framework that sustains intellectual liberation with metaphysical grounding, ethical formation, and spiritual purpose.He currently serves as Director of the Muhtadeen Department at the Diyanet Center of America, where he leads a growing program supporting over 200 Muslim converts through structured courses in ʿaqīdah, fiqh, and Arabic, ongoing support groups, and the distribution of essential Islamic resources. His work focuses on building strong foundations for new Muslims while fostering community engagement and principled interfaith understanding.

 
Research

Why Liberation Isn’t Enough: A Comparative Study of Critical Pedagogy and Islamic Metaphysical Purpose

 
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