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Amina Inloes,
Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. 521 Answers
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Mahmood Abu Maryam,
Trying to make sense of it all... 48 Answers
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Mohammed Al-Hilli,
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli, originally from Iraq, has a Masters in Pharmacy from the University of London. He completed his Hawza degree from the ICAS in London under the supervision of Ayatollah Fadhil Milani, and also has an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University via the Islamic College. He is a teacher at the Hawza Programme at Islamic College in London. 8 Answers
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Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour,
Sheikh Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour is lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies, London, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Oriental Studies. He was raised in Iran and holds a BA and an MA in Sociology from Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran. He has also studied at Queen Mary College London and the London School of Economics. 15 Answers
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Zeinab Donati,
Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining to women. 25 Answers
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Saleem Bhimji,
Shaykh Saleem Bhimji was born and raised in Canada. After completing his post-secondary education at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he moved to Medina, New York, to study at the Imam al-Asr Theological Seminary. He later continued his religious studies at the Hawza of Qum. To date he has translated over 40 full-length books into English that have been printed worldwide. 15 Answers
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Abbas Jaffer,
Sheikh Abbas Jaffer is an optometrist by profession and has a Master’s degree in Islamic Sciences. He is a part time lecturer at the Islamic College in London and is currently writing his doctoral thesis on the challenges faced by educators of young Muslims in modern day Britain. He has also co-authored a book on Qur’anic sciences for the Islamic College as well as translating several works from Persian into English. 14 Answers
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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi,
Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community. 2547 Answers
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Vinay Khetia,
Shaikh Vinay Khetia has studied at various traditional Islamic seminaries in London, Iraq and Syria. He has an undergraduate degree in Religious and Near Eastern Studies from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University. He is a PhD Candidate in the department of Religious Studies at McMaster University with a focus on the intellectual history of Islam and specifically Shi'ism. 14 Answers
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Rebecca Masterton,
Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been teaching for seventeen years through different media, and has also worked in media for ten years, producing and presenting programs for several TV channels. 92 Answers
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Zoheir Ali Esmail,
Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum. 351 Answers
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Mateen Charbonneau,
Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi Howza since 2017. He has compiled and published several books, has filmed several documentaries on Islamic subjects and has also promoted Islamic propagation in US jails. 39 Answers
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Abbas Di Palma,
Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in London, Damascus and Qom and taught for different institutions in Italy and UK. 208 Answers
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Abolfazl Sabouri,
Abolfazl Sabouri is based in New Zealand and has an MA in Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. He is a graduate of Elmiyeh seminary in Qom with more than 15 years of study and research where he has also taught Tafsir, Theology and Jurisprudence. 43 Answers
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Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb,
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He is a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa Open University and has also taught Arabic conversation at Masoomieh school. 67 Answers
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Zaid Alsalami,
Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices. 478 Answers
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Seyed Ali Musawi,
Seyed Ali Musawi studied religion and history at the University of California, San Diego and subsequently he studied for more than 8 years at the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, focusing on Islamic history and jurisprudence. 11 Answers
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Seyed Ali Shobayri,
Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the Islamic College of London. He also studied at the Hawza Ilmiyya of England and continues Hawza and Islamic studies with private teachers. 135 Answers
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This may be too complicated for youth, who sometimes need things to be black and white or absolute.
As Muslims, we like to see Islamic law as fixed and perfect and absolute, an exact copy of the divine will.
However, in reality, the derivation of Islamic law is a process. Some rulings are stronger than others.
For instance, it is obvious that drinking wine is prohibited in the Qur'an. There is 100% certainty on that viewpoint.
However, it is not obvious that a marja' must be a man. This is more of a viewpoint that has been deduced based on assumptions about the ideal social role and nature of women, as well as some sideways derivations from texts. (Probably, the era and cultural environment of these discussions also had some effect.) That is, we don't have an ayah or hadith that specifically says "a woman cannot be a marja'" in the same way that the Qur'an says "do not drink wine".
However, instead of understanding the process of how rulings are made, some Muslims start at the result and go backwards. That is, they take the ruling that "a woman cannot be a marja'" and then, from it, deduce all sorts of things about the role of a man or woman in society. This is a sort of layperson's error that comes from a pious but incomplete understanding of the Islamic scholarly tradition.
So... the short answer is... yes, it is a common viewpoint that a woman may not be a marja'; however, one can also make a case that it doesn't matter if a marja' is a man or a woman. Perhaps, the dominant viewpoint on this may change in the next couple centuries.
This is all theoretical; it is unlikely, in the present day, that a woman will actually become a marja'.
As for how you wish to discuss that with the youth... that is a more challenging question. My personal approach to dealing with young people is to try to be as honest as possible; at the same time, if they are growing up as a minority, sometimes they really need the sense of solidity of everything in their faith being 100% certain and agreed upon, at least up until a certain age. Perhaps someone else may be able to advise on this.