Community Matters

Senate Confirms Ambassador Rashad Hussain

The Senate confirmed Rashad Hussain as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom on Dec. 16, 2021 — the first Muslim American and South Asian to hold this position. The previous officeholders were Rabbi David Saperstein (2015-17) under Obama, and attorney and Republican politician Sam Brownback (2018-21) under Trump.

Saperstein received 67 votes, Brownback received 51 and Hussain received 85 votes in favor and 5 opposed.

Congress set up this State Department position to “advance the right to freedom of religion abroad, to denounce the violation of that right, and to recommend appropriate responses by the U.S. Government when this right is violated.”

Hussain, 42, a hafiz, attorney, diplomat and professor, has served in various roles, among them senior counsel at the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, U.S. Special Envoy of President Barack Obama to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, U.S. Special Envoy for strategic counterterrorism communications, Department of Justice trial attorney and a criminal and national security prosecutor. He helped develop messaging centers in the UAE, Nigeria, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, and also helped set up the framework for the U.S. Global Engagement Center.

The Wyoming-born Hussain has a BA (University of North Carolina), MPA (John F. Kennedy School of Government), MA (Arabic and Islamic Studies, Harvard University) and JD (Yale Law School). While at Yale, he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

In January 2013, Hussain received the Distinguished Honor Award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

He has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law Center and the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. He also speaks Urdu, Arabic and Spanish. ih

Dr. Amin Madani, BS, MD, PhD, a general surgeon with Toronto’s Sprott Department of Surgery at the University Health Network. While researching the techniques and thought processes used by the most elite, highest-skilled surgeons, a group of data and computer scientists, it was suggested that he use artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic their minds. Initially, “a big skeptic,” his resulting collaboration produced a prototype that uses computer vision — an AI field that trains computers to interpret and understand images — to identify in real time areas of an organ that are either safe or dangerous to dissect.

Madani’s technology, still in its early stages, is currently only applicable to gallbladder surgeries. But as he told CBC on Dec. 29, 2021, it has the potential to improve surgery particularly in rural communities, remote areas and lower-income countries that lack surgical expertise.

The prototype was developed by feeding hundreds of hours of gallbladder surgery videos into a software program and integrating annotations from expert surgeons who identified where they would dissect. After a frame-by-frame analysis of the data, the algorithm begins to recognize patterns and develops the ability to make independent decisions.

The algorithm consistently identified “go” and “no-go” zones as well as the liver, gallbladder and hepatocystic triangle with an accuracy ranging from 93 to 95%, according to a 2020 study of 290 videos from 153 surgeons that was published in the academic journal Annals of Surgery. Madani was the lead author.

Madani is determined to find out if this software will improve the surgeons’ performance in the operating room and reduce complications.

Aliredha Walji assumed duties as the CEO of ShariaPortfolio on Jan. 1 as Naushad Virji, (founder and CEO) moved on to growing and expanding the ShariaPortfolio Canada and SP Funds.

Walji, who joined the firm in 2014, worked his way up from regional manager to managing the advisor team, which has seen a doubling in the AUM growth in the U.S. In 2018, he was appointed vice president and, the following year, assumed the additional position of chief compliance officer.

“ShariaPortfolio USA is in a strong position in the market and with the focused, experienced and knowledgeable leadership that Aliredha brings, I am sure it will become an even stronger brand and provide a higher level of quality service to clients,” commented Virji.

Aside from his ongoing contributions to the ShariaPortfolio blog, Walji has also served as U.S. correspondent at Islamic Finance News and been featured in Forbes as well as U.S. News and World Report.

Walji said, “We are being faced with many obstacles, including the global pandemic. As we navigate various market cycles, I am committed to ensuring [that] we continue to offer excellent service without compromising on values. The Halal investing industry is evolving in exciting ways. We are ready to help investors capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The Chagrin Valley Islamic Center of Solon (CVICS), Ohio, opened its doors for prayer on Nov. 19, 2021.

Mayor Eddy Kraus said he has long respected the city’s Muslim community and that opposition to the mosque may have come from “ignorance.”

The closest mosques to Solon are those in Richmond Heights, Parma and Cuyahoga Falls. But according to CVCIS finance director Masroor Malik, all of them are at least 35 minutes away. He added, “Our mosque is going to be the beacon for all faiths, not just the Muslim [faith].”

Discussions about building the mosque began approximately nine years ago at a dinner in a local home. Fundraising began five years ago, and the mosque, designed by architect Uzma Mirza of Indianapolis, was built in roughly two years at a cost of $3.1 million. This price includes site work as well as design and construction.

The mosque, which stands on a 5.2-acre lot, can hold 300 people. This two-story building has a 7,500-square-foot footprint and occupies 12,500 square feet. Inside is the main prayer room and a women-only mezzanine, as well as a quiet room, classroom, lobby, offices, kitchen and restrooms.

On Jan. 3, federal court judge Michael P. Mills ruled in favor of the Abraham House of God, a mosque in Horn Lake, Miss. — DeSoto County’s first mosque — that the city had blocked last November.

A municipal official who opposed the mosque admitted that the plan was initially blocked “because they’re Muslims.”

Mills found that the denial of the mosque’s building permit violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as well as the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. The city of Horn Lake, located about a mile south of Memphis, Tenn., also agreed to pay $25,000 to the developer for the litigation’s associated costs and other legal fees.

Heather L. Weaver, an ACLU attorney, stated, “This case should serve as a warning to local zoning officials across the country that they cannot let bigotry against a particular faith dictate their decisions. The anti-Muslim prejudice we saw in Horn Lake is all too common, and we won’t hesitate to challenge official bias of this nature wherever and whenever it may arise.” ih

ACHIEVERS

Huda Alkaff of Wisconsin Green Muslims, Milwaukee, is among the six awardees of the annual Catalyst Award.

Sponsored by Rachel’s Network, this award honors female leaders of color for their commitment to a healthy planet and provides them with a cash prize, networking opportunities and national recognition.

“We have been honored to get to know women at the forefront of the environmental movement through the Catalyst Award,” said network president Fern Shepard. “This year’s awardees and finalists demonstrate that women of color are catalyzing change across our field, from environmental justice and energy equity to marine science and health. Their leadership is transforming our world for the better.”

Alkaff, an ecologist and environmental educator, is founder and director of Wisconsin Green Muslims, a grassroots group she started in 2005 to connect faith, environmental justice and sustainability through education and service. In addition to having taught environmental studies courses at the University of Wisconsin, she is a founding member and leader of the Interfaith Earth Network and Wisconsin Interfaith Power and Light and serves on the national Interfaith Power and Light Campaigns Committee, national Greening Ramadan Task Force and the Milwaukee Environmental Consortium board of directors.

Nafeesa Syeed was appointed Los Angeles Times assistant op-ed editor on Dec. 13, 2021. Her career as a journalist has spanned the U.S., South Asia, the Middle East as well as North and East Africa.

She has reported and edited for the Associated Press in the Iowa and Washington bureaus, was a Bloomberg national security reporter and Middle East correspondent in Dubai and served as longform editor at the New Delhi-based Caravan magazine.

In addition, she has also worked as a producer for award-winning documentaries at Al Jazeera English and as a co-author for “Arab Women Rising.” Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, USA Today and Vice, among others.

Syeed (BA, Georgetown University; MA, SOAS, the University of London) is currently a visiting scholar at UCLA’s International Institute and the 2021-22 Writing in Color Fellow at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

Taiba Sultana defeated Sandra Vulcano, who had held the Easton City council seat for five consecutive terms, in last May’s Democratic primary. She took the oath of office on Jan. 4, 2021.

Taiba, who came to Pennsylvania from Pakistan in 2003, told voters, “You have elected the first woman of color to serve on the council, the first Muslim, the first Asian and the first-generation immigrant, past outward appearances and cultural and religious differences, and voted for a person.”

She also is a member of Governor Wolf’s Commission on Higher Education and a member of the College Textbook Policies Advisory for the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.

Naila Alam, a member of the Herndon (Va.) Town Council, was appointed to Governor Ralph Northam’s (R) Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism. A graduate of the political leadership program at the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute, Alam has received numerous awards for her volunteerism, including a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from former President Obama’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, recognition by former President George W. Bush’s Faith-Based and

Community Initiatives, Champion of Compassion from the Department of Labor and other federal and state recognitions. She has also been recognized by Fairfax County and Northern Virginia Family Services for assisting immigrant communities, has received the Herndon Rotary Club’s Service Above Self and Certificate of Achievement awards, as well as the Herndon mayor’s Volunteer Appreciation Award annually since 2003 and the Distinguished Volunteer Award in 2019.

During 2014-15, Alam served on Governor Terry McAuliffe’s Public Guardian and Conservator and Advisory Council.

Zainab Ali Hussein (BA, history and political science; MA, counseling) was appointed chief of staff in the City of Dearborn, Mich. — the first Arab American Muslim to hold this position — by Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

Hussein, the Michigan Department of State’s deputy chief of staff, has gained experience in many areas and at various levels. Governor Whitmer also appointed her to the statewide 2020 Census Complete Count Committee.

Bushra Amiwala (DePaul, 2020), who has used her school board seat in suburban Chicago as a beacon of reconciliation and understanding, was named among Religion News Service’s 2021 rising stars in religion. This underscores the ongoing influence religion has in every sphere of American culture.

Skokie resident Amiwala, the youngest Muslim ever to hold elected office in the U.S., and probably the state’s only hijab-wearing officeholder, told the Chicago Tribune last April, “My faith teaches me the importance of service work and getting involved in the community.”

She was profiled in an ABC/Hulu documentary, “Our America: Women Forward,” and appeared in “And She Could Be Next” on PBS and on Amazon Prime’s “RUN.” And as if that were not enough, Amiwala is a busy public speaker and works full time as a sales representative for Google. On Jan. 1, Cmdr. Issa Shahin, who has served with the Dearborn Police since 1998, became the first Muslim to lead the department. He was appointed by the city’s first Arab American and Muslim mayor, Abdullah Hammoud.

Dearborn has one of Michigan’s largest city police departments, in part because of a voter-approved city requirement that it must maintain a certain minimum level of police officers. In addition to its 110,000 residents, Dearborn, home of Ford Motor Company’s headquarters, has a daily influx of employees and shoppers that greatly increases the number of people in the city.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) appointed its first-ever Pakistani American deputy inspector by elevating precinct Commanding Officer Adeel S. Rana to the post on Dec. 22, 2021.

Last year, Rana made history when he became the first Muslim American to be appointed as precinct Commanding Officer in the force’s history.

Having joined the NYPD as an auxiliary police officer in 1995, three years later he joined the New York Army National Guard. While there, he racked up some 5,000 volunteer service hours assisting in arrests of violent offenders during robberies, assaults and murders. At that time, he also served at the World Trade Center after 9/11.

He continued his passion for community outreach even after becoming a police officer in 2004. During that year he entered the police academy, where he was selected company sergeant and assigned to the 61st Precinct.

Upon graduation, he was assigned as assistant field intelligence officer. In 2007, he was asked to join the Community Affairs Bureau in a project of Immigrant Community Outreach. He developed the NYPD Youth Soccer & Cricket program, which eventually attracted 5,000+ diverse Muslim youth from around the city.

In 2009, he was promoted to sergeant and assigned to the 72nd Precinct. The next year he was transferred to community affairs to continue helping with the youth and community programs he had developed. In 2013, Rana was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Transit District 20 as the operations coordinator. In 2014 he was back in community affairs, due to his outstanding outreach efforts, as the Immigrant Outreach Unit’s commanding officer.

In 2015, the NYPD selected him to participate in a U.S. State Department-sponsored law enforcement exchange program with Pakistan.

Abir Catovic, principal of the CISNA-accredited Noor-Ul-Iman School, Monmouth Junction, N.J., was awarded the 2021 New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards for her service to education.

She left her promising career at IBM during the early 1990s to start an Islamic school. After 28 years, it’s now one of the state’s most established Islamic schools with over 600 students.

This award, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious recognition program for volunteer/public service, is the Senate’s official recognition program. The New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Award administers this program and, through the New Jersey State Governor’s Council on Volunteerism, confers the official recognition.

Its recipients are honored for their measurable community impact and represent outstanding acts of public service, without expecting either recognition or compensation. In sum, they have demonstrated unique vision, dedication and tenacity of “heroic proportions” and serve as an inspiration for others.

The presentation was held on Sept. 12, 2021, at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, N.J.

The Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2022 includes:

Bashima Islam (BS, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology; PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), currently an assistant professor at Boston’s

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is engineering the next generation of Internet of Things Devices & Examples to operate without batteries. She is developing intermittently powered devices using solar energy and radio frequency, as well as an acoustic sensing wearable to warn pedestrians of the danger of approaching cars.

Amin Aalipour (BS, Stanford University; MD, Stanford School of Medicine, PhD, Stanford University) is a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A physician-scientist and a co-inventor on four patents for cancer-related biomarkers, he focuses on improving the early detection of cancers. One of his inventions is a magnetic wire that enters the bloodstream. In pig models, it collected up to 80 times more biomarkers than a single blood draw.

Natasha Sheybani (BS, Virginia Commonwealth University; PhD, University of Virginia), an assistant professor at the University of Virginia, is developing therapies to treat cancer using ultrasound. Her dissertation research, which combines ultrasound with chemotherapy for breast cancer, is being tested in a clinical trial. As an NIH Director Early Independence Award winner, her lab will receive nearly $2 million in funding over five years.

Yanni Barghouty, a dropout of Georgia Institute of Technology, cofounder and CEO of Cosmic Shielding Corporation, is building the next generation of radiation shielding to protect instruments, satellites and people from cosmic rays. The one-year-old company has raised $6 million in funding and is preparing to send its first radiation shield to the International Space Station next year. ih

LATE TO NOTE

Last November 29, the City of Philadelphia officially celebrated the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”

Mayor Jim Kenny was the keynote speaker

at the event, which also featured remarks by three city council members, a state senator and a state representative. Each of them spoke

It is Quran, Not Koran

Publishers Weekly updated its stylebook late January, replacing “Koran” with “Quran.”

Islamic Horizons editor Omer Bin Abdullah was one of three experts they consulted to affect this change, which helped them realize that the outdated term was disrespectful.

In 1990, Omer Bin Abdullah helped AP realize that the recommended ‘Moslem’ in their AP Stylebook — which is widely used by the media industry — was disrespectful and must be replaced with the correct usage: Muslim. ih

about the contributions that Palestinian Americans are making to the city and the country. There were Palestinian flags, music and maamoul (Middle Eastern pastries). An official city proclamation declaring solidarity with the Palestinian people was read.

CORRIGENDUM

In the ISNA Green Initiative Team article published in January-February 2022 issue (p. 51), the photo was wrongly captioned as “The Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, Ill.” It should have read “The Islamic Center of Evansville, Newburgh, Ind.”

Ashley Berner Yasir Qazi

Resiliency, Hope and Faith Islamic schools and educators on staying committed to mission

BY THE TRACK LEADERS’ COMMITTEE

The West Coast ISNA Education Forum (WCIEF), hosted by ISNA in collaboration with the Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA) and the Aldeen Foundation, held its second virtual forum in its 10th year on Jan. 15-16.

The timely theme was “Resiliency, Hope and Faith: Staying Committed to Mission.” Our schools have found creative ways to meet their students’ needs in a remote learning environment. This school leaders-led initiative caused the WCIEF committee and its chairperson Necva Ozgur, who has chaired or co-chaired it from the beginning, to choose this theme.

The conference featured four tracks: Islamic Studies, Arabic/Quran, Curriculum and Instruction, and Leadership. Each track held several sessions led by experts in their given fields and attended by educators nationwide. More than 600 participants registered for the conference. Keynote speaker Jihad Turk (doctoral candidate, University of Southern California) reviewed the evolution of learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and experientialism. He spoke of the importance of the power of faith and hope and of storytelling. He also explained how we can use these elements to build resiliency and remain committed to our mission. This year’s forum included two very engaging and beneficial general sessions: (1) Faruk Rahmnovic (professor, philosophy department, Lewis University), who offered a systematic framework for applying critical thinking in the classroom, and (2) a panel on mental health. Suzy Ismail (founding director, Cornerstone) focused on the requirements for creating mentally and emotionally healthy classroom environments, which includes employing a holistic methodology that considers spiritual psycho-socio-emotional wellness. Alaa Mohammad (The Family and Youth Institute) offered many strategies for educators’ self-care, something that has become a greater concern over the past two years.

CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION TRACK This track provided strategies, resources and tools for educators to implement in their classes. The presenters shared a wealth of expertise and experience and held the participants’ attention with thought-provoking and interactive discussions. In the first session, Susan Labadi (president, Genius School, Inc.) used her “Don’t Be the Crazy Chicken: Surviving Stress as an Educator” to address a variety of ways for educators to balance their professional and personal lives while stressing the value and importance of both. Labadi has a distinguished career in education as a classroom teacher, educator and school administrator. Her company conducts workshops to train educators, parents and other professionals in stress reduction, positive school culture, social emotional intelligence and mindfulness. All of these are key aspects for teachers and administrators to maintain excellence inside and outside the classroom.

During her session “Content-Rich Curriculum, Ashley Berner (director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Educational Policy) outlined the essential components of a content-rich curriculum as background knowledge and high-quality content. Both components are vital in enriching the curriculum and ensuring that students are making real-life connections and extensions with what they are learning. In addition, she discussed the importance of using primary and secondary sources that resonate with students and their backgrounds. She also talked about having a strong school culture that allows students to be engaged with their diverse academic classes.

Susan Douglass (K-14 Education outreach director, Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies) used her session to address “Integrating Curriculum Across the Humanities, STEM and Islamic Studies.” In addition to offering practical examples of how to integrate the curriculum from her own teaching as well as the curriculum units she has authored and produced, she emphasized that integration takes place with careful and detailed planning and preparation. In fact, the most optimal time for it to occur is while revising and enhancing the annual curriculum. Teachers often hope to adjust their daily lesson plans, but this is no more than a band-aid approach to integration. One approach is to introduce cross-curricular projects and assignments within the classroom. Another one is to have

teachers co-plan their lessons, which proves quite successful in curriculum integration.

Overall, this track’s sessions provided hands-on strategies and resources that can be used in the participants’ classrooms. Moreover, the presenters sparked the urgency and necessity for school administrators and teachers to discuss the many tools that teachers need to provide the best curriculum instruction. This process should be viewed as an ongoing conversation throughout the academic school year and revisited in professional development workshops among the key stakeholders.

Tabassum Ahmad, project manager, ISNA Convention Dept., coordinates from ISNA headquarters

ARABIC/QURAN TRACK This session opened with a presentation by Basma AlSaleem (chair, International eTurn Council for Teaching Arabic to Speakers of Other Languages, Amman, Jordan) about language assessment. In her “TASOL Standardized Test in Six Steps,” she explained the six steps teachers should use to design their assessment process, among them the importance of defining goals, paying meticulous attention when choosing every word in their directions and instructions, as well as how most tests’ question should have a clear, expected answer. The most important final step is for the teacher to be able to analyze any test results and recognize the indicators of how well the students understand the learned material.

Ustadha Marwa Thabit (instructor of the Arabic language, Orange County) devoted her session to the language and technology tools and resources that can both facilitate learning and make practicing Arabic more enjoyable by enabling the students to retain and utilize their vocabulary in a fun context.

The Sunday morning presentation, “Celebrate to Educate,” featured Ustadaha Samar Dalati (instructor, University of Redlands; Sunday School instructor/ curriculum developer, Islamic Center of Southern California), who explained how Arabic teachers can practice various Arabic language skills during Islamic or secular holidays to bring communities and families together and strengthen relationships. She emphasized how joyful times and effective methods can help increase students’ interest and engagement, which leads to vocabulary retention and language acquisition.

The last session, Dalia El-Deeb’s (director, Ahlul-Qur’an Academy and of the Bayaan Academy’s hifdh program) “Tafseer Standards: Towards a More Effective Teaching of the Holy Qur’an,” discussed the definition

SUCCESSFUL CHANGE AGENTS CLEARLY ARTICULATE THE WHY BEHIND THE CHANGE AND ENGAGE WITH THE PEOPLE THEY ARE AFFECTING ON A HUMAN LEVEL SO THEY WILL TRUST WHO THEY ARE FOLLOWING.

of tafseer, its importance and the standards needed to teach it to non-native speakers. She gave ample examples of how to select the correct vocabulary, how teaching Arabic can help Muslims understand the Quran and why Arabic should be taught in Islamic schools.

ISLAMIC STUDIES TRACK This track was a home run for many of the attendees. The first session, Fahd Tasleem’s (research fellow and instructor, Sapience Institute) presentation on why Islam should be taught as a worldview vs. a religion, was complemented by Sh. Suhaib Webb’s (founder, Ella Collins Institute of Islamic and Cultural Studies) analysis of how to help students develop an Islamic worldview. His engaging session shared many powerful ideas, one of which is nurturing the fitra.

On the conference’s second day, Yasir Qadhi (dean, The Islamic Seminary of America; resident scholar, East Plano Islamic Center) expounded on how to nurture students’ fitra to help prevent un-Islamic beliefs. Alaa Mohammad concluded the track with her critical topic: how to make Islamic studies a positive experience. LEADERSHIP TRACK The biggest takeaways from Douglas Reeves’ (founder, DouglasReeves.com and ChangeLeaders.com) session on teacher retention and burnout revolved around seven key areas. Primary discussion points were improved feedback, building collective efficacy, allowing teacher autonomy, fostering collaboration among teachers and boosting respect for the teaching profession.

Anthony Mohammed (CEO, New Frontier 21) spoke of developing a school culture for transformational leadership. In short, he contends that if we want schools to improve, we must be willing to get uncomfortable because real change happens only if we are eager to be empowered and start a movement for change. We need the skill to make a technical change and the will to change the human side of things by making a cultural change. Successful change agents clearly articulate the why behind the change and engage with the people they are affecting on a human level so they will trust who they are following. Finally, the leader must be competent and have the functional capacity to know how to make change happen.

Each leadership session concluded with a rich discussion of the topics presented. Overall, the leadership track was timely and relevant to current needs and in line with the conference’s theme.

One of the attendees said, “I enjoyed the presentations and the time allowed for questions and answers... As a new teacher, I have faced many Covid-related challenges in the classroom. The workshops have reinvigorated and reminded me why I decided to go into teaching. I was very focused on teaching the content and standards, which seemed to be the focus in California. These workshops reminded me that I can still do so while moving to a 21st-century classroom and teaching in a way that resonates with students. The workshops provided me with many resources and ideas on how to present information to my students going forward.”

Safaa Zarzour (president, ISNA; former president, CISNA) delivered the closing remarks. ih

Program Committee: Necva Ozgur (chair and educator/consultant), Sadeq Al-Hasan (board member, Consultants for Islamic Schools Excellence), Shahida AliKhan (retired principal), Sufia Azmat (executive director, Council of Islamic Schools in North America), Thouraya Boubetra (language counselor, Aldeen Foundation), Azra Naqvi (principal, Hadi School of Excellence), Fawad Yacoob (interim principal, Minaret Academy) and Maisa Youssef (principal, Orange Crescent School).