Upbringing & Education
Raised in Orlando, he began serving Muslim communities at an early age under the mentorship of his father, Shaykh Abdallah Deeb. His grandfather, Shaykh Ramadan Deeb, who passed away in December 2025, was among the most respected sage-scholars of Syria.
Alongside traditional seminary training and spiritual tutelage, Dr. Deeb holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Islamic Studies and Leadership. His master’s thesis, Re-forming Islamic Reform: Maʿlūm min al-Dīn bi’l-Ḍarūra, the Theology of Law, and the Epistemological Limits of Ijtihād, examined where theology and law meet, and sought to set out a principled framework for Muslim unity in the modern age.
He went on to earn a PhD in Community Psychology. His dissertation, Remosqued: Loneliness, Governance, and Psychological Sense of Community in the American Masjid, is to date the only empirical study of loneliness and sense of community among Muslims in the United States. His most recent book, Staying Human: A Muslim Philosophy of Belonging and Community, presents key findings from the dissertation and introduces his wider project: how Muslims can rebuild meaning, belonging, and social cohesion in their lives and community spaces today.
Professional Work
Dr. Deeb co-founded and teaches at Pillars Seminary, a structured, part-time online seminary. It gives students a rigorous and coherent Islamic education and prepares them for advanced study at established seminaries in the United States and Damascus. The first year takes on the biggest questions about Islam and the concerns Muslims raise most often, with the aim of raising the standard of religious literacy. No student is ever turned away for lack of funds.
He is also the co-founder of Itqaan Institute, which teaches the Qur’an under the leadership of his father, Shaykh Abdallah Deeb, a globally recognized authority in Tajwīd.
Dr. Deeb lives in Damascus, where he teaches at the seminary, offers remote pastoral counseling, and consults for Khalil Center. He also travels regularly to the United States to teach and to advise institutions through consulting and training partnerships in community development.
