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Islamic education is concerned with the protection of the fitrah.
The founding director of the Islamic Society for Wholistic* Education is Mary El-Khatib, an Irish American who was drawn to the compassion, ease and beauty of Islam while living and teaching in Jerusalem. After returning to the USA she attended the educational conference entitled, "Beyond Schooling" featuring speakers Hamza Yusuf and John Tayor Gatto. It was at that time she became convinced that the current educational system was working against the true nature of the child. Determined to do her part to promote a more wholistic approach to education, Mary established a small Islamic Montessori program that has grown into what is now Medina Montessori. In 2016, Mary founded the Islamic Montessori Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Islamic Montessori education by providing scholarships for Muslim teachers to take Montessori training, provide student tuition scholarships and support Muslim Montessori schools.
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In 2019 the scope of the society was expanded to include wholistic education, sustainable living and the fine arts and was renamed the Islamic Society for Wholistic* Education.
*Wholistic is spelled intentionally with a "w" to make the word more meaningful as it applies to the whole person. We prefer this spelling to the current common spelling "holistic" which implies emptiness as in a "hole." This unique spelling was first suggested by Dr. Jeanette Hablullah, a Naturopathic Doctor a trusted advisor who as offered several workshops for our community.
We believe that the purpose of a wholistic education is assist in the emergence of a whole person.
The mission of the Islamic Society for Wholistic Education is to promote educational programs that encourage and support the child’s “Fitrah” as a source of divine guidance by following the perfect guidance found in the Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
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We believe that the purpose of a wholistic education is assist in the emergence of a whole person. A whole person is one whose heart, mind and body are in harmony and act in unity with the divine guidance of the spirit (fitrah).
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**the spelling of the word "Wholistic", originally coined by, naturopathic practitioner Dr. Jeanette Hablullah is based on the word "Whole" which implies completeness, and unity as opposed to the current popularly used spelling "holistic", reminiscent of the word "hole" which implies emptiness, or a lack of fullness.
We believe that each human being is endowed with a perfect inner guidance at birth called the “fitrah.” The main goal of a wholistic education is to preserve and protect the child’s connection with the “fitrah.”
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We believe that the best way to preserve the connection with the 'fitrah" is to follow the divine guidance that has been sent in the form of the Quran, the final message to mankind, and the perfect example (Sunnah) of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
Dr. Maria Montessori described what she called "The Secret of Childhood" as the natural tendency of the child to be in a state of inner harmony with the self, others and the environment. We believe that what she discovered is what is referred to in Islam as the "Fitrah" and that the techniques, protocols and even the materials that she developed can be valuable tools for the adults around the child to acquire in order to preserve and protect the child’s connection to the “fitrah.”
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"Our goal is not so much the imparting of knowledge as the unveiling and developing of spiritual energy." (Child in the Family: vol. 8, p. 53).
The main goal of a wholistic education is to preserve and protect the child’s connection with the “fitrah”.
Teachers and children share an excitement for exploration, experimentation and enduring relationships that mark a devotion to lifelong intellectual pursuit.
Teachers and children share an excitement for exploration, experimentation and enduring relationships that mark a devotion to lifelong intellectual pursuit.
Teachers and children share an excitement for exploration, experimentation and enduring relationships that mark a devotion to lifelong intellectual pursuit.
Imam Fode Drame
Born in the early 70’s in the interior of Gambia, Imam Fode Drame was the second surviving child of Oummou Sylla and Al-Hadj Ousman Drame. Oummou, a young and protective mother, was not only known for her striking beauty but also for her exceptional devotion.
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Al-Hadj Ousman was an esteemed scholar and healer whom countless individuals from diverse regions of West Africa flocked towards throughout the year. By the age of two, Oummou was called back to her Creator and young Imam Fode prematurely parted from the tenderness of his mother’s arms and watchful sight. Having the role of both mother and father, in addition to his teaching and leadership duties, Al-Hadj unconventionally brought his son to accompany him while he taught. Little by little, the spirited boy had not only memorized his father’s Islamic teachings, but the entire Quran. As a surprise to many, young Imam Fode soon surpassed his father’s own students and could no longer study with his age mates.
A Budding ScholarYoung Imam Fode’s love of learning soon took him away from his father’s wing and brought him to Dakar where his maternal uncle, Shaykh Soubki Sylla, a notable scholar, arranged for him private schooling to prepare him for university. There, he mastered French and English, and also took it upon himself to study Hebrew, Latin, Greek and German, and perhaps most importantly, ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
By his early 20s, he was no longer under the aegis of his father or uncle, but in a world completely different to that which he knew: Montreal. By his third year of university, however, God had different plan for him. He was offered an imam position in a small suburban mosque, and despite his initial reason for coming to Canada, he took on the position.
Being of a different cultural background and unusually younger than most of the mosque’s congregants, Imam Fode’s deep insight of the Quran and good nature won him over to the hearts of the community. His mother’s saintly devotion and his father’s spiritual training had now come to life in a different context three thousand miles away, and had produced profound realizations which would not only shape his teachings, but change the lives of those around him.
The Far WestImam Fode's new trajectory soon brought him the far West -- British Columbia -- and by 2005, he founded his own non-profit organization, Zawiyah Foundation. This charity not only grew into a school and full-fledge platform to distribute his knowledge, but as an international community. By 2015, his lectures began to be aired live; and today they are viewed in all continents on a weekly basis.
One cannot help but notice that the study of linguistics is what brought Imam Fode to Canada; yet it was also language which God first taught Adam. Clearly, as being the first instrument taught to the First Man, language is more than a mere tool of communication, but a profound way to move and reform people and to connect individuals not only to others, but to their inner selves and essentially, to their Creator. And that is the core of Imam’s work: he teaches, unites, heals, and writes through the knowledge that God has granted from the language of the Quran.
Susan Douglass
Susan Douglass received her PhD in history from George Mason University in 2016. She holds an M.A. in Arab Studies from the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and a B.A. in History from the University of Rochester.
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She conducts teacher workshops locally and nationwide for the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and the Alwaleed Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, where she serves as K-14 Education Outreach Director.She has served with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, and was an Affiliated Scholar with the Council on Islamic Education for a decade, reviewing commercial textbooks in development, researching and contributing to state curricula and standards, and developing instructional resources. Publications include World Eras: Rise and Spread of Islam, 622-1500 (Thompson/Gale, 2002), teaching resources for the Council on Islamic Education and the National Center for History in the Schools, a children’s book, Ramadan (Carolrhoda Books, 2002), and many articles and book chapters on pedagogical and policy issues.She has contributed to online teaching resources for Unity Productions Foundation, including the website and teaching resources for the documentary film Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, Cities of Light (islamicspain.tv), The Sultan and the Saint (http://sultanandthesaintfilm.com), as well as print and online projects such as the Smithsonian Freer Gallery teaching guide Arts of Islam, Children and Youth in History (http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh) at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and the San Diego State University curriculum project World History for Us All (http://worldhistoryforusall.ss.ucla.edu/). She designed and developed the online resource The Indian Ocean in World History (http://indianoceanhistory.org/). She also wrote the Supplementary Social Studies Units K-6 for Muslim schools for the International Institute of Islamic Thougtht, 1996).As researcher and author of the study Teaching About Religion in National and State Social Studies Standards (Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and Council on Islamic Education, 2000), she continues to follow changes in national and state standards. Dr. Douglass teaches in the Bayan Islamic Graduate School at the Claremont School of Theology, and at the secondary level with Legacy International Online High School program, where she is on the curriculum development team.
Jeanette L’amour Hablullah, ND
Sara Jane Ibrahim is a supporter of wholistic education, and has completed the Medina Montessori Toddler Teacher Training Program. She is a public policy advocate and speaker on international human rights, refugee rights, and immigrant rights with over 10 years of experience at the nation's leading nonprofit organizations.
Read more
Sara teaches women her proven strategies to advance in their careers and personal growth. Sara earned her J.D. from American University Washington College Law and graduate diploma in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo. She received her B.A. from The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.
Teachers and children share an excitement for exploration, experimentation and enduring relationships that mark a devotion to lifelong intellectual pursuit.
Born in the early 70’s in the interior of Gambia, Imam Fode Drame was the second surviving child of Oummou Sylla and Al-Hadj Ousman Drame. Oummou, a young and protective mother, was not only known for her striking beauty but also for her exceptional devotion.
Read more
Al-Hadj Ousman was an esteemed scholar and healer whom countless individuals from diverse regions of West Africa flocked towards throughout the year. By the age of two, Oummou was called back to her Creator and young Imam Fode prematurely parted from the tenderness of his mother’s arms and watchful sight. Having the role of both mother and father, in addition to his teaching and leadership duties, Al-Hadj unconventionally brought his son to accompany him while he taught. Little by little, the spirited boy had not only memorized his father’s Islamic teachings, but the entire Quran. As a surprise to many, young Imam Fode soon surpassed his father’s own students and could no longer study with his age mates.
A Budding Scholar
Young Imam Fode’s love of learning soon took him away from his father’s wing and brought him to Dakar where his maternal uncle, Shaykh Soubki Sylla, a notable scholar, arranged for him private schooling to prepare him for university. There, he mastered French and English, and also took it upon himself to study Hebrew, Latin, Greek and German, and perhaps most importantly, ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
By his early 20s, he was no longer under the aegis of his father or uncle, but in a world completely different to that which he knew: Montreal. By his third year of university, however, God had different plan for him. He was offered an imam position in a small suburban mosque, and despite his initial reason for coming to Canada, he took on the position.
Being of a different cultural background and unusually younger than most of the mosque’s congregants, Imam Fode’s deep insight of the Quran and good nature won him over to the hearts of the community. His mother’s saintly devotion and his father’s spiritual training had now come to life in a different context three thousand miles away, and had produced profound realizations which would not only shape his teachings, but change the lives of those around him.
The Far West
Imam Fode's new trajectory soon brought him the far West -- British Columbia -- and by 2005, he founded his own non-profit organization, Zawiyah Foundation. This charity not only grew into a school and full-fledge platform to distribute his knowledge, but as an international community. By 2015, his lectures began to be aired live; and today they are viewed in all continents on a weekly basis.
One cannot help but notice that the study of linguistics is what brought Imam Fode to Canada; yet it was also language which God first taught Adam. Clearly, as being the first instrument taught to the First Man, language is more than a mere tool of communication, but a profound way to move and reform people and to connect individuals not only to others, but to their inner selves and essentially, to their Creator. And that is the core of Imam’s work: he teaches, unites, heals, and writes through the knowledge that God has granted from the language of the Quran.
Susan Douglass received her PhD in history from George Mason University in 2016. She holds an M.A. in Arab Studies from the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and a B.A. in History from the University of Rochester.
Read more
She conducts teacher workshops locally and nationwide for the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and the Alwaleed Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, where she serves as K-14 Education Outreach Director.
She has served with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, and was an Affiliated Scholar with the Council on Islamic Education for a decade, reviewing commercial textbooks in development, researching and contributing to state curricula and standards, and developing instructional resources. Publications include World Eras: Rise and Spread of Islam, 622-1500 (Thompson/Gale, 2002), teaching resources for the Council on Islamic Education and the National Center for History in the Schools, a children’s book, Ramadan (Carolrhoda Books, 2002), and many articles and book chapters on pedagogical and policy issues.
She has contributed to online teaching resources for Unity Productions Foundation, including the website and teaching resources for the documentary film Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, Cities of Light (islamicspain.tv), The Sultan and the Saint (http://sultanandthesaintfilm.com), as well as print and online projects such as the Smithsonian Freer Gallery teaching guide Arts of Islam, Children and Youth in History (http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh) at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and the San Diego State University curriculum project World History for Us All (http://worldhistoryforusall.ss.ucla.edu/). She designed and developed the online resource The Indian Ocean in World History (http://indianoceanhistory.org/). She also wrote the Supplementary Social Studies Units K-6 for Muslim schools for the International Institute of Islamic Thougtht, 1996).
As researcher and author of the study Teaching About Religion in National and State Social Studies Standards (Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and Council on Islamic Education, 2000), she continues to follow changes in national and state standards. Dr. Douglass teaches in the Bayan Islamic Graduate School at the Claremont School of Theology, and at the secondary level with Legacy International Online High School program, where she is on the curriculum development team.
Sara Jane Ibrahim is a supporter of wholistic education, and has completed the Medina Montessori Toddler Teacher Training Program. She is a public policy advocate and speaker on international human rights, refugee rights, and immigrant rights with over 10 years of experience at the nation's leading nonprofit organizations.
Read more
Sara teaches women her proven strategies to advance in their careers and personal growth. Sara earned her J.D. from American University Washington College Law and graduate diploma in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo. She received her B.A. from The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.
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