Salaam Alaikum rahmat ta allah barakatu, my name is yahya and I currently live in the los angeles, area, I was wondering if anybody knew of any shuyukh, or ulama in the area who are sound in aqeedah, hadith, fiqh, arabic grammar, etc, who teach or offer even private lessons that I am prepaired to pay for. While learning islam on the internet is a valid option I always prefered to learn face to face so I can read a text, and be corrected when I make mistakes on the text at hand, and also I believe that having a teacher with you,if he is of good chracter that will insha allah rub off on you. I am not trying to bash anybody with this next part, but it seems as if ever place I have looked for sound ilm, that most places have been influetrated by the understanding of the religion how ibn tayimiyah, al albani, and muhammad ibn abdul wahab understood it, While I am not saying the way they understood it is wrong, I am saying they understood it in a way that I really would rather not understand it in. While united states, is a beautiful country, and has opertunties, and gives certain freedoms many of our own countries don't give. However while secular knowledge and provisions are lovely, and needed knowledge of deen is a very serious matter. Islam is the deen of balance, and I hope by me striving for balance this is not a bad thing. If I cannot find sound teachers, I may have to leave back to my lands of origin in west africa to sound teachers who are more or less in rural areas. If anybody knows of any in southern california or the surrounding areas please contact me insha allah.