EDITORIAL
Strivers in their Own Class
T
his issue of Islamic Horizons includes an account of the weekend schools that form the bedrock of the Muslim American community empowering future generations. SoundVision estimates that the weekend Islamic school is the place where the largest number of Muslim children in America learn about Islam. It adds that there are about half a million students in these schools as compared to about 15,000 in full-time Islamic schools. The author, Tasneema Ghazi, wears many hats when it comes to pioneering Islamic education. She is the co-founder, with her husband, the inimitable Abidullah Ghazi, of IQRA International Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization that creates Islamic studies textbooks and educational materials, primarily for children. There are many who strived and are striving to enrich the future generation with a sound education for the head and the heart. There are glowing examples like Dr. Abdul-Sahib Hashim, an active and energetic Iraqi pediatrician who started his Islamic activities at the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C. Every Sunday, he drove 262 miles round-trip from Cumberland, Maryland, to 2551 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., to help his children obtain an Islamic education. That was the only choice available in the region then. It was here that he saw the need and developed textbooks for Islamic schools. Others may have made lesser commutes but examples abound of Muslim parents investing their hard-earned weekends and communities giving time and support to ensure that they transmit the gift of faith to the next generation. It was a real jihad. From 1968 to 1985, Hashim wrote 20 books forming the series of “Islamic Books for Beginners,” which were initially printed in MSA’s own printing press. These were the standard textbooks used in most weekend schools — the early
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Islamic school textbooks originated in North America. The press was another pioneering effort headed by two engineers, the late Abdul-Mateen Chida and Mohammad Fazil Khan. It is through the efforts of such dedicated people that Islamic education continues to flourish, offering Muslim parents an option that is a wish of many faith communities. Ever since it’s founding, the MSA (now MSA-National) has focused on education — raising generations of American/ Canadian Muslims. The focus since 1965 has shifted from going “back home” to being Muslims within the social fabric of the American/Canadian society. ISNA Elementary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, was a pioneer full-time Islamic school in North America, founded in 1983. In 1989, ISNA published a booklet, “In-Depth Study of Full-Time Islamic Schools in North America: Results and Data Analysis,” that reported there were 50 such schools. With a major focus on infrastructure, such as building mosques, full-time schools also received due attention. Karen Keyworth, co-founder and executive director of the Islamic Schools League of America, said her organization serves roughly 270 fulltime Islamic schools in the U.S. ISNA has been in the forefront of supporting Islamic schools and educators. The ISNA Education Forum was launched 16 years ago, and has grown stronger. Since its start in 2010, the West Coast ISNA Education Forum also has been growing. The countless volunteers who became teachers and administrators need to be kept in mind. The community owes them for the work they have done and what they are doing as even today every community cannot afford to run a full-time Islamic school. Despite the challenges, the toil and tears have and continue to bear results. Everyone involved with founding, running and teaching at weekend schools deserves our gratitude.
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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2015
PUBLISHER The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) PRE SID ENT Azhar Azeez SECRE TA RY GENER A L Hazem Bata EDITO R Omer Bin Abdullah D EPA RTMENT S EDITO R Aisha Kishta EDITO RIA L BOA RD Sohaib Sultan (Chair), Julie Belz, Iqbal Unus, Ingrid Mattson, Hazem Bata, Edgar Hopida. ISL A MIC H O RIZO NS is a bimonthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Copyright @2015 All rights reserved Reproduction, in whole or in part, of this material in mechanical or electronic form without written permission is strictly prohibited. Islamic Horizons magazine is available electronically on ProQuest’s Ethnic NewsWatch, LexisNexis, and EBSCO Discovery Service, and is indexed by Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. Please see your librarian for access. The name “Islamic Horizons” is protected through trademark registration ISSN 8756‑2367 P O STM A STER Send address changes to Islamic Horizons, P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 SUB S CRIP TIO NS Annual, domestic – $24 Canada – US$30 Overseas airmail – US$60 TO SUB S CRIBE Contact Islamic Horizons at (317) 839‑8157 / (317) 839‑1811 Fax (317) 839‑1840 E-mail: membership@isna.net A DV ERTISIN G For rates contact Islamic Horizons at (703) 742‑8108, horizons@isna.net, ww.isna.net Canada Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 0666300 C O RRE SP O ND EN CE Send all correspondence and/or Letters to the Editor at: Islamic Horizons P.O. Box 38 • Plainfield, IN 46168‑0038 Email: horizons@isna.net