Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
Legal name: Yaqeen Research Institute Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 812822877
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Irving, TX, USA
- Phone
- 2142960908
- Rating
- 58
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Civil Rights
- Affiliation
- Islam
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $11,963,433
- Expenses
- $7,972,201
- Assets
- $8,714,621
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- OMAR SULEIMAN (PRESIDENT/CEO, DIRECTOR)
- ALTAF HUSAIN (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SALAHODEEN S ABDUL-KAFI (VP OF PRODUCT): $281,454 total reported compensation
- JULIO C RIVERA (PRODUCT MANAGER): $206,651 total reported compensation
- EL HADJI M NDIAYE (SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER): $184,509 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Yaqeen Institute seeks to pioneer and share Islamic research and scholarship through contemporary formats, emphasizing scholarly rigor (accuracy/truth, continuous improvement, and responsibility to Allah, readers, and supporters). Yaqeen Institute aims to defend and promote Islamic orthodoxy and provide insight into the views that fall within the scope of valid differences of opinion. (See more) Maintaining scholarly rigor is an indispensable part of this work. In the pursuit of truth, one of the most critical elements is to revise and improve content. Consequently, articles on our website will be updated or archived from time-to-time in order to feature new content, add references, correct errors, and offer further explanations when needed. In doing this, we can provide readers with the most up-to-date and rigorous scholarship on a particular topic, vetted by a panel of scholars and...
What it reported doing in 2024
Identifying potential supporters of yaqeen's mission, developing meaningful connections and building long-term relationships with a diverse range of individuals, foundations, charities and other organizations to secure financial resources to sustain and grow yaqeen. Maintaining relationships with donors through regular communication, stewardship activities, awareness events, and personalized outreach for continued alignment with yaqeen's mission and to encourage continued and increased giving.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
MIXED - Most filed governance safeguards are in place and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 56
- Transparency & Controls: 45
- Accountability: 67
- Sustainability: 66
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 52.5%; rating input score 53
- Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 42.9%; rating input score 43; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 33.4%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 52.5% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported · 0 of 6 affiliation controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $6.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $281K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 43/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.