The Arizona Muslim Voice www.azmuslimvoice.com
MONTHLY NEWSPAPER
JANUARY, 2016
VOL.21 ISSUE NO. 233
CREDIT: ACA
ACA cuts ribbon to open new wing, looks to future
Annual women’s night promotes businesses, sisterhood By Aysha Mairel
More than 300 women gathered for the second annual The Night Unveiled on January 2, 2016, at the Phoenix Airport Marriott. “Events like this are important to create an environment to meet new people, strengthen their bonds, and give them a way to party in an environment that is halal and more acceptable,” said Asma Hegazy, Chandler, 26. The Night Unveiled is a women-only event held by Maya Event Co. to showcase Muslim businesses founded and run by women, “so that the businesses can know about each other and support each other,” said Sumaya Abdul-Quadir, event organizer and president and founder of Maya Event Co. The event consists of vendors who have the
ACA holds ribbon cutting ceremony
By M egan Smith
The Arizona Cultural Academy (ACA) held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of a new wing on December 19, 2015. The school has expanded to more than 350 students over the past few years. The newest addition to the school is Phase 4 of their overall building plan and is comprised of five classrooms and a dual computer
and library room. The expansion allows ACA to split its kindergarten through fifth grade into A and B classes. The growth of the school is steady and the administration expects to fill the rooms within the next three years. The total cost of the project was estimated to be around $900,000. The last of the funding was secured in July 2015. The next chal-
lenge for the ACA is furnishing the new rooms as well as landscaping the soccer field. The ribbon cutting was a private ceremony. The administration hosted around 100 people from the Phoenix community. Local politicians and members of the Phoenix Muslim community were in attendance. The evening was filled with music and speech-
Tutoring program seeks more aid for Somali refugee kids, families in Chandler By M aham H aq
Somali families in Chandler are just a handful of the millions that have been displaced from their homes in the global refugee crisis. One area program is working on providing them a place to connect with each other and hard-working individuals in their community, and is seeking the aid of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in hopes of attaining funding to reach that goal. R.I.S.E. (Refugee Integration, Stability, and Education) was founded in the summer of 2013 by Dr. Lubna Ahmad in fulfill-
ment of the mission of the American Muslim Women’s Association (AMWA) to assist and empower local refugee populations. Ahmad recruited Maryam Waris and Aman Aberra as tutors at the time of its conception along with about five other individuals who were each assigned a student to work with on a bi-weekly basis. Three of the tutors, Waris, Arhem Barkatullah and Farhan Khera, will be traveling to the University of California, Berkeley, in April to present the commitment of R.I.S.E. to CGI U in hopes of attaining funding.
es. Dr. Shabib Alhadheri recited a short prayer. This was followed by the official ribbon cutting, which was done by an ACA sixth- grader and Councilwoman Kate Gallego. Next came a tour of the new facility, followed by a recitation from the Holy Qur’an by student Hafiz Farhan Alam. Speeches by ACA Board Chairman Dr. Salaheddine Tomeh, Gal-
In this issue NEWS
Noor Academy nears key accreditation................................................. 02
BROTHER OF THE BOOK
True faith does not separate us, but brings us together.................................06
THE TEACHER’S DESK
Let the dog eat your kids’ homework. Preschool and elementary students don’t need it .................................................06
NADIR NOTES
A smart way to achieve New Year’s resolutions.................................................... 07 Abdi Dimbil shows work at tutoring session (Maham Haq)
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NEWS
JANUARY 2016
Tutoring program seeks more aid for Somali refugee kids, families in Chandler
Students make ice cream as R.I.S.E. activity (Maham Haq) Continued from p. 1
CGI U, founded by former President Bill Clinton, has awarded more than $2 million to over 5,500 commitments since 2008. “At the end of the summer, Aman and I took over the program, reformatting, redesigning, and improving it as time went on,” said Waris, of Ahwatukee. Today, R.I.S.E. has a dedicated group of 12 tutors and about 15 consistently attending students who range from kindergarten to 12th grade, all of whom are part of the Somali refugees residing in Chandler. “This program is immensely important for these kids because not only do we work to advance their education, but we also play an integral role in getting them
to stably and steadily integrate into the American society,” said Waris. “We have also created a much-needed social environment for them to get to know other refugees in their area, make friends, and really form a strong community with the people living in their complex. This program has the power to achieve a lot more than just education advancement – and that is what I hope will be the fruit of our labor.” Waris hopes that not only will R.I.S.E. empower young refugees through education, but also facilitate the development of lasting friendships, leadership skills, and ambitious goals that will allow these kids to ultimately achieve social mobility.
“What we do at R.I.S.E. is really for the kids and seeing them learn, develop, and grow week by week. [It] is undoubtedly the best part of being in this organization,” said Waris. The students in the program have formed a bond with the tutors. Abdi Dimbil, 7, of Chandler said, “I love coming here because it’s so fun. I also learn a lot. [R.I.S.E.] is my favorite part of the week.” Dimbil’s older brother, Abdi Kamal, said the work he does at R.I.S.E. has really helped him in school. He wants the program to grow and get funding to allow for a better, more decorative classroom. “It would be nice to have a whiteboard that actually erases and more colors on the walls,” said Kamal, 12. In his free time, Kamal likes to play video games and exercise. The tutors of R.I.S.E. are hoping to extend their program to provide more resources for their students. In the meantime, R.I.S.E. will continue to tutor as much of the Somali refugee population in Chandler as they can accommodate. R.I.S.E., operating under the local nonprofit AMWA, is aimed at empowering young refugees in Arizona through tutoring and community involvement to cultivate their professional, academic and social development in hopes of creating a stable environment for the displaced individuals and families. Editor’s note: T he writer of this piece is a tutor with R.I.S.E.
The Arizona Muslim Voice PUBLISHED MONTHLY by UNUS, LLC OWNER / PUBLISHER Wafa Unus wafa@azmuslimvoice.com FOUNDED BY Marwan Ahmad
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Megan Smith • Maham Haq Aysha Mairel • Megan smith Ian Punnett • Omaira Alam Aneesah Nadir ADVERTISEMENTS ads@azmuslimvoice.com Deadlines for submission of letters is the 24th of every month, and for advertisements by the 25th. Only letters and articles submitted on electronically or by email will be accepted for review. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse any letters, articles or advertisement or any other material. The Publisher will not be liable for more than the advertisement cost in case of an error. The Muslim Voice is not responsible for the contents of advertisements or articles nor endorses them in any way or form.
Noor Academy reaches accreditation milestone By: Megan smith
Noor Academy, an Islamic school in Tempe, has been recommended for full accreditation by an external accreditation body, AdvancED. AdvancED is a nonprofit organization that partners with private schools in order to ensure quality education. This organization is well-known and respected. Currently, AdvancED works with over 32,000 schools across the globe. Noor Academy is a small school that started out as the Phoenix Metro Islamic School (MIS) in 1998. In 2012, MIS moved to a brand-new facility in Tempe and became Noor Academy. The school boasts around 75 students and is continuing to grow. They teach pre-l through eighth grade. Noor Academy Principal Fuad Alnatsheh said, “The process has been going the past two years.” To start the partnership with AdvancED, the school had to first apply. AdvancED then looked at the performance of the students. This was followed by surveys from parents, students and faculty. AdvancED also assesses how the families feel about the current level of education their children receive. After carefully looking over the education plans AdvancED creates an improvement plan. At the end of the final review an Index Evaluation Quality or IEQ is accumulated. That is when the school is eligible to start on track for full accreditation. For the academy, this is a very important step, particularly for the students. As the school continues to grow, Alnatsheh said, they hope to expand to high school students in the next five years. Another positive outcome of the partnership is support from AdvancED. The material that AdvancED can provide helps reach the school’s goal of quality education, by helping the teachers as well. The website offers conference series, workshops and videos geared towards educators. Teachers can learn from other educators and collaborate on new projects by learning new methods. By having AdvancED as a partner, teachers will get support to help them fully educate students.
NEWS
JANUARY 2016
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CREDIT:ACA
CREDIT: ACA
ACA cuts ribbon to open new wing, looks to future
Ribbon cutting at ACA expansion
community and their project in times when some other politicians are thriving on a campaign of fear, hatred, Islamophobia and discrimination.” The Phoenix community has come together to support the school as well. The police have
assisted with security needs and neighbors of the ACA facility voted in support of the school being built. The Muslim community has consistently shown support for the academy. The school, in turn, is concerned for “how to plan for the future expansion and growth
for a school that serves all Muslim families in the community, those who can afford private education and the ones who cannot, in an era when the cost of education is spiraling out of control, in both public and private sectors,” according to Tomeh.
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lego and ACA Council President Irfan Choudhery wrapped up the ceremony.ACA officials were particularly encouraged by Gallego’s appearance and support. Tomeh said, “It was assuring to have the councilwoman’s unconditional support of the Muslim
ACA building expansion
Office: 602–973–0200
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NEWS
JANUARY 2016
Annual women’s night promotes businesses, sisterhood Continued from p. 1
opportunity to publicize their businesses as well as dancing, and performances for the event participants. Over 300 tickets were sold. About 200 were sold online, the rest at the door. “I like the fact that everyone showed up and that this event is tailored to women, it is empowering. We need to unite, all get to know each other, and have fun,” said Tara Ijai, 42, of Phoenix. While the goal of the event was to ultimately bring businesses together, it wasn’t all work. The room was set up for a combination of work and play. Vendor displays were set up against the outer walls of the room and in the middle was a dance floor. Just above hung strings of lights and a couple disco balls. There were a total of 14 ven-
dors. A few of the prominent vendors were Love Glasses Revolution, Krispy Krunchy Chicken, Modest Muslimah, Envirofarm Ranch and Sloppy Brush Art. Among the performances were an a cappella version of an Arabic song and a Chinese classical dance as well as the honoring of the organizers Sumaya and Anisa Abdul-Quadir. “A lot of Muslim girls don’t have time to express themselves and have fun. Because they live in an area where they can’t do that, this is a great way to communicate with one another,” said Raneem Muraweh, 18, of Chandler. “We got to interact socially and network with one another. It’s good for Muslim women to support each other in their businesses and other endeavors they might have,” said Jameela Pugh, 69, of San Tan Valley.
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JANUARY 2016
OP-ED
True faith does not separate us, but brings us together
Ian Punnett Two, separate interfaith conversations intersected in my email last month when two different friends sent me links to stories about Christians and Muslims. I thought I would share the nexus of these inquiries. One was the report of how Kenyan Muslims protected Kenyan Christians during a recent terrorist bus attack outside the northeastern Kenyan city of El Wak. The other was about a Christian professor at an evangelical Christian college who was suspended for saying on her Facebook page that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In the first news story, witnesses reported that al-Shabab Somali militants stopped the bus and demanded that everybody get off and form two groups: Muslims and non-Muslims. Everybody knew what this would mean because al-Shabab had done it before. As
soon as the Muslims were separated, all the non-Muslims would be executed unceremoniously. But only two people were killed and the plan was thwarted when the Muslims on the bus refused to cooperate. “These Muslims sent a very important message of the unity of purpose, that we are all Kenyans and that we are not separated by religion,” Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said. Indeed they did. Were that always true. In the second story, an editor I know who runs a website that deals in religious issues asked for my response to the Christian professor’s claim that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. I thought the question was preposterous. I told him, “I’m a monotheist, so there is only one God. If I were a polytheist, I could accept the proposition that there are other gods to worship. So, there is only one Divine—no controversy for me—but
Let the dog eat your kids’ homework Preschool and elementary students don’t need it
Omaira Alam Often, I come across parents who express joy at the thought that their kindergartener came home with homework, and more often than not, this is the case starting from the first day of school. While visiting family in Toronto, Canada, we all thought it was so cute that my then two-and-a-half-year-old son would do “homework” mimicking his much older cousins. Homework is being given at younger and younger ages. This is definitely the case with Islamic schools which have started giving homework at even the preschool level as way of competing with other private and public schools. It has become a marker of a “good” school. However, education expert Alfie Kohn states: “First, no research has ever
found a benefit to assigning homework (of any kind or in any amount) in elementary school. In fact, there isn’t even a positive correlation between, on the one hand, having younger children do some homework (vs. none), or more (vs. less), and, on the other hand, any measure of achievement. If we’re making 12-year-olds, much less five-year-olds, do homework, it’s either because we’re misinformed about what the evidence says or because we think kids ought to have to do homework despite what the evidence says.” As a teacher, and specifically, a teacher of special education, I’ve always wondered about the benefits of homework and, in particular, what purpose does it serve for children at the elementary level. Considering there is no research to back up the practice,
one God that gets worshipped in different ways. Abrahamic faiths are all ‘People of the Book,’ the expressions are just different.” In fact, so great is God, so mysterious is the Divine, I believe, that no religion has a symmetrical understanding of what God is—only glimpses. We call those glimpses religions and denominations and sects. I have faith in Jesus’ words, “My Father’s house has many rooms” (John 14:2). We can only do our feeble best to be worthy of one of those rooms. That’s why theology means, “words about God.” Not being Divine ourselves, that’s all any of us are capable of, “words about God.” But this editor friend was shocked and he seemed to accuse me of not standing up for religious orthodoxy that says there is only one way into heaven. I replied, “I’m suspicious of faith when it is used as a power claim. Prophets come to reverse the table order, to warn the people that believed they would be the first into heaven that they would be last and encourage those that were told they were last that they shall be first. If I, as a person of faith, am telling somebody else that I am further up the line to get into heaven than they are, where does that put me? In the back of the line. I’ve got enough problems as it is.”
what about the practical level: does doling out piles of homework benefit elementary students? Taking the example of Finland, the most successful education system in the world, no homework is given till students are 13-14 years old. This can be compared with the U.S. where students as young as ten years old have at least an hour of homework every night. I am a firm believer against homework or having homework with no purpose besides completing what you already know. If it adds to the learning, I’m all for it in an age-appropriate way. But if it serves simply to appease the parents – “Yes, my child’s school is excellent; homework from the first day” – then it makes me wonder, who really is benefitting from all this busy work? For such a young age it seems to take away from the learning at home that can enrich and enhance the learning done at school. I also believe there needs to be a period where children are allowed to let what they’ve learned simmer. Give them opportunities to reflect
Brother Of The
Book Deacon Ian Punnett @deaconpunnett
Rev. Ian Punnett is a PhD student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication/ASU in Phoenix, a seminary–trained deacon in The Episcopal Church, a former nationally syndicated broadcaster and author of “How to Pray When You’re Pissed at God.”
They never replied to that explanation. But I will. Every day I try to walk the line between being proud of my Prophet and humble in my service to him. I try to love my enemies, avoid legalistic thinking, and never forget that God has dominion over the Earth, I don’t. As witnessed by the terrorist bus attack, there is a big difference between taking a bullet in the name of faith, and shooting a bullet in the name of faith. And in the case of the Christian professor suspended indefinitely for believing there is only one God for us all, the New Year’s lesson is that militant Muslims are not the only ones trying to separate us.
The Teacher’s
Desk
Omaira Alam Omaira Alam is the Program Director of the
Islamic Teacher Education Program (islamicteachereducation.com). She spent the last year serving as the Education Director on the Noor Academy of Arizona School Board. She holds a master’s degree in special education with a focus on students with emotional and learning disabilities. With almost 20 years of experience in teaching and teacher training, she has presented on topics related to Islamic education in the United States and Canada. Her blog, Black Board, White Chalk (blackboardwhitechalk. wordpress.com), explores traditional and contemporary issues in education. She lives in the greater Phoenix area with her husband, Josh, and their two children who are homeschooled.
on their learning, rather than moving them to the next item on the list. Islamic schools, instead of following public school trends, should follow research-based, and evidence-based practices and become the trendsetters particularly for students in the elementary grades. Ditch the homework, give it to the dog and let the children play!
OP-ED
A smart way to achieve New Year’s resolutions
Dr. Aneesah Nadir
Happy New Year! It’s 2016! It’s time to consider ways our family life, career, business, financial, health and spiritual life will be different this year. Often we make resolutions to lose weight, get back in the gym, start a savings plan or organize the office. But by the end of February the treadmill has become a clothes hanger, the savings plan is dried up and the office is no better organized. How can we improve our situation and make 2016 more successful than last year? The first step to a more successful 2016 is to ponder and review 2015. Determine where you were in key areas of your personal, family, business and spiritual life last year. Decide which areas you want to improve and focus on this year. One thing we know is if we keep doing the same things we’ve done in the past we will get the same results. Decide that with
the help of Allah you will make a change in the coming year. Pray to Allah for help, courage, focus as you begin to take strategic action to improve your condition. Allah reminds us that He will not change our condition unless we first work to change it ourselves. It is also important to surround
JANUARY 2016
If we really want to make changes we have to move our resolutions to a plan with SMART goals that are specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time bound. A written plan, with goals and action steps, is much more likely to be achieved than those we ponder but never write down. Once we write down our goals we have to monitor and track our progress to see how close we are to achieving our goals. “My goal is to lose 20 pounds by May 30, 2016” is a good example of a SMART goal. It is specific. You can measure your success along
One thing we know is if we keep doing the same things we’ve done in the past we will get the same results. yourself with people who believe you can make a difference in your situation. You want to be around people who will encourage you, help you stay accountable to your goals and plans for the new year and give you hope along the way. Making changes is not easy but it is possible.
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the way and it can be achieved if with realistic action steps. You can also monitor and track how close you are to taking off the unwanted pounds. Another is example is “my goal is to finish reading the Qur’an once by the end of 2016.” Steps to accomplish this goal may be “I will read five pages
Nadir
Notes
Dr. Aneesah Nadir Dr. Aneesah Nadir is a social worker, published author, speaker, retired social work professor and entrepreneur. She serves as the president of the Islamic Social Services Association-USA headquartered in Arizona. She is an independent associate with LegalShield. For more information contact Dr. Nadir at 480233-6547 or pnadir@legalshieldassociate.com
per day to accomplish this goal.” Not only individuals and businesses need to set goals. Families also need to work to outline family goals and plans for 2016. What are our financial goals? What family trips do we want to take? How do we want to improve our relationship with Allah and each other? What steps will we take to accomplish this? Work together on your family goals and action steps and post so all family members will see your progress. InshaAllah 2016 will be a successful year for you personally, professionally and as a family!
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