Social Studies Curriculum Advisor, Social Studies Instructor

DR. SUSAN DOUGLASS

Susan Douglass received her PhD in history from George Mason University, and M.A. in Arab Studies from the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, where she is currently K-14 Education Outreach Coordinator, and does professional development workshops for the Bridge Initiative in the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown.

Dr.Susan Douglass served in the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations initiative, and as Affiliated Scholar with the Council on Islamic Education, reviewing commercial textbooks in development and state academic standards, and conducting the study Teaching About Religion in National and State Social Studies Standards (2000).

Her publications include social studies content for Muslim schools (IIIT/Kendall Hunt, 1994-1996); World Eras: Rise and Spread of Islam, 622-1500 (Thompson/Gale, 2002); and the children’s book Ramadan (Carolrhoda Books, 2002). She contributed to many teaching resource projects for Unity Productions Foundation films, curriculum units for the National Center for History in the Schools, and the Smithsonian Freer Gallery’s teaching guide Arts of Islam, and the online curriculum World History for Us All. She designed and researched The Indian Ocean in World History website.

ELA Curriculum Advisor, Board Member

DR. FREDA SHAMMA

Freda Shamma has a M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an Ed.D. from the University of Cincinnati, in the area of Curriculum Development. She has worked with educators from the United States, South Africa and all over the Muslim world to develop integrated curricula based on an Islamic worldview that meets the needs of modern Muslim youth.

Dr. Shamma has traveled extensively to collect relevant material from as far away as China and Uzbekistan to the Atlantic shores of Morocco. This has enabled her to publish two books which reflect the integration of her curriculum work. Ayat Jamilah: Beautiful Signs is a treasury of Muslim wisdom from all parts of the Muslim world, including China. Treasury of Muslim Literature is an anthology of biographies of and selections by famous Muslim writers who lived during the Golden Age of 750-1250 C.E. It contains more than 17 genres of writing including historical, religious, and travel writings as well as traditional ‘literary’ genres like poetry, essays, epics, and belle lettres.

Dr. Shamma is Director of F.A.D.E.L., Foundation for the Advancement and Development of Education and Learning. She is also the prime reviewer of Books Suitable for Islamic School Libraries.

Advisor of Islamic Pedagogy

DR. NADEEM MEMON

Dr. Nadeem Memon is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education (CITE) in the School of Education at UniSA. His research focuses on teacher education with particular emphasis on Islamic Pedagogy, comparative faith-based schooling, philosophy of religious education, and culturally relevant and responsive teaching. He is the co-editor of two books: Philosophies of Islamic Education: Historical Perspectives and Emerging Discourses (Routledge, 2016) and Discipline, Devotion, and Dissent: Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic Schooling in Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2013).

Prior to joining UniSA, Nadeem was the Director of Education at Razi Education, a Canadian education-consulting firm that develops professional development for educators working in Western schooling contexts with significant Muslim student populations and for educators in Muslim-majority contexts. At Razi Education, Nadeem spearheaded the design and implementation of a groundbreaking online teacher certificate program, the Islamic Teacher Education Program (ITEP), in collaboration with the University of Toronto.

In addition to the above, he has also held faculty teaching positions at Centennial College (Canada), Al Akhawayn University (Morocco), University of Toronto (Canada) and Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada).

Nadeem holds a PhD in Theory and Policy Studies in Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. His doctoral dissertation focused on the history and philosophy of Islamic schooling in North America. He also holds a M.A. in Education with a research focus on experiential education and a B.Ed of Education with specializations in teaching high school English and History from York University, in Toronto, Canada.

Science Curriculum Advisor

DR. NUR JANNAH HASSAN

Nur Jannah Hassan earned her Ph.D. in Philosophy, Ethics & Contemporary Issues, her M.Ed in Guidance and Counseling, and postgraduate Teaching Diploma in English and Mathematics from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), where she is currently the Head of the Islamisation Department at the Centre for Islamisation, IIUM. A seasoned educator, Dr. Hassan has decades of experience in teaching and administration in both secondary schools and at the university level.

Nur Jannah is the Chemistry author for a supplemental textbook series for Islamic secondary schools entitled: Natural Science from the Worldview of the Qur’an: An Introduction. Dr. Hassan has presented papers at several international conferences on the intersection of Ethics and Science and the importance of the integration of the Qur’anic worldview with the teaching of the natural sciences. Nur Jannah believes in the potency of true Islamic education and Qur’anic/Prophetic ethics, leading by example, and the impacts that a teacher (as mu’addib and murabbī) has in nurturing the next generation. Her mission is to inspire an Ummatic and civilizational awareness, a sense of responsibility and a Tawḥīdic activism that transcends national, racial and religious boundaries.

Administrative Consultant

DR. SEEMA IMAM

Dr. Seema Imam has served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of ISLA since January 2018. Prior to this, she served as a Member at Large for nearly a decade. She is a mentor of the ISLA Leadership Academy and offers Professional Development workshops to ISLA Member Schools for a discounted rate.

Dr. Imam received her Doctorate of Education in Curriculum and Social Inquiry from National Louis University in 2001. She also has a Doctorate in Islamic Theology from the Graduate Theological Foundation (2015). She has a Master of Arts in Educational Administration (1987) and Reading Specialist (1983) and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Learning Disabilities  (1975) from Northeastern University (IL). She has a host of professional certifications as well.

Dr. Imam is currently a Professor of Elementary and Middle Level Teacher Education at National Louis University where she teaches graduate and undergraduate students.

She co-founded one of the largest Islamic schools in the US and has been engaged in Islamic education for nearly three decades.

She has presented nationally and internationally on several topics, including “Finland Phenomenon,” “Principles of Islamic Pedagogy” and “Curriculum Integration Efforts in the North American Context.”

Dr. Imam has several publications. “A Paradigm Shift in Educational Practices in an Islamic School,” co-authored by Mussarut Jabeen, may be read online.

Arabic / Islamic Studies Curriculum Advisor

DR. SHARIF EL-TOBGUI

Sharif El-Tobgui holds a B.S. in Arabic Language from Georgetown University and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from McGill University and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies, and Director of the Arabic Language Program at Brandeis. He previously taught for five years at Harvard University as Preceptor of Arabic, and has also taught at the Middlebury College Summer Arabic Language School.

Prof. El-Tobgui’s scholarly expertise lies in the field of Islamic thought, with a special concentration on theology, law, and jurisprudence. He is particularly interested in questions concerning the relationship between reason and revelation in the Islamic tradition, and has published on the manifestations of this tension in the fields of classical Islamic jurisprudence and Qur’anic exegesis. He is currently completing a monograph study of Ibn Taymiyya’s (d. 1328) 10-volume work, “Refutation of Contradiction Between Reason and Revelation.” In addition to his expertise in Islamic thought, Prof. El-Tobgui has a deep love of language in general and of Classical Arabic in particular, and has enjoyed for many years exploring the intricacies of Arabic grammar, as well as classical literature and poetry with his students.

Mathematics Curriculum Advisor, Mathematics Instructor

DR. REEMA ALNIZAMI

Reema Alnizami earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from North Carolina State University (NCSU) in December 2017. Since 2012, Dr. Alnizami has taught middle school, high school, community college, and university methods courses.

She has a firm belief that differences between individuals should be celebrated, and that teachers should plan and teach lessons that are responsive to students’ backgrounds and knowledge in order to provide access to mathematical knowledge for all students. Her main interest is in teacher professional development. Particularly, she is interested in helping teachers incorporate cutting edge technology into their math pedagogy in ways that can promote access to high-quality learning experiences for all students.

Science Educational Consultant

DR. ROWHEA ELMESKY

Dr. Rowhea Elmesky has been working within the field of education for over two decades. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, masters in science education, and PhD in science education with a disciplinary emphasis in physics. Dr. Elmesky also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania where she specialized in urban science education, critical ethnography and video microanalysis. She is currently an associate professor of education and the Director of Graduate Studies for the department of education at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research is centered around creating more socially just communities. She studies the sociocultural dimensions of urban educational contexts to improve culturally/racially/economically marginalized students’ access to an education that is supportive of their overall physical, emotional, and social wellbeing as well as conducive to the development of their academic identities. Through critical and collaborative research models, she strives to highlight the voices of those traditionally silenced. For the past eight years, she has been working collaboratively with a school district utilizing research as a catalyst to build a schoolwide restorative culture of trust, respect, and shared responsibility. This work led to her nomination for the AERA 2021 Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research Award and selection as a finalist of the Inaugural Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award that elevates university faculty’s leadership in conducting impactful community research. Dr. Elmesky’s passion for education also extends to supporting Islamic institutions; she has over 10 years of experience working with Islamic schools, including time as vice chair of the Al-Salam Day School board of education in St. Louis. Dr. Elmesky is also the mother of four boys ranging from 23 to 14 years one graduating from — and another currently attending — a research-intensive institution.

Curriculum Reviewer

SH. MUSTAFA UMAR

Shaykh Mustafa Umar completed a B.S. in Information and Computer Science from UC Irvine, a B.A. in Theology & Islamic Law from the European Institute of Islamic Sciences in France, and an M.A. in Islamic Studies from the University of Gloucestershire in the UK. He also studied the Islamic sciences for a year at Nadwatul ʿUlamā’ in Lucknow, India and spent another year studying in Cairo, Egypt. He has authored several books, served the Muslim community of Southern California as an Imam and activist for over a decade, and is currently the founder and president of California Islamic University, the Director of Education and Outreach at the Islamic Institute of Orange County, and an executive member of the Fiqh Council of North America