Islamic Education with Purpose
By Bareerah Zafar
On Jan. 16 and 17, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) hosted its 14th Annual West Coast Education Forum in Costa Mesa, Calif. Over 300 attendees and over 25 speakers gathered at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa to embrace this year’s theme of “Educating with Purpose to Inspire and Transform.”
The forum serves to promote excellence in education for full-time and weekend Islamic schools and provides opportunities for professional development, networking, community leadership, and more. “This forum, for me, [is] a dream come true,” ISNA Program Committee Chair Necva Ozgur said during the opening ceremony. “ISNA [works hard] to answer the needs of the [Muslim] community.”
Program Highlights
The event kicked off with two parallel workshops led by respected educators. “One Language, Two Goals: Linking Quran and Arabic in the Weekend Classroom,” conducted in Arabic, discussed the integration of Quranic studies and Arabic learning. Teachers Amal Sakr Elhoseiny, PhD, of ICSC Sunday School, and Samar Dalmati Ghannoum, PhD, of the University of Redlands gave an engaging presentation on enhancing linguistic skills, improving pronunciation, increasing comprehension, and more.
During the workshop “Uncovering the Hidden Curriculum through 5D Thinking,” Islamic educator Abir Catovic discussed revolutionizing the classroom to nurture insight, not just information. She emphasized the importance of using Quranic teachings to understand the world while also helping students reconnect the Creator with His creation. She utilized Surah Al-Kahf and other lessons from the Quran to break the 5D Thinking method into five steps: explore, compare, question, connect, and appreciate. “There is a divine reason behind everything that happens,” Catovic said. “There is nothing but good that comes from Allah.”
After the opening ceremony and Jummah prayer featuring a khutbah by Imam Mohammed Faqih, attendees attended various sessions presented by industry leaders that continued into Saturday. The sessions were broken into six tracks: Arabic, Islamic Studies, Weekend Schools, Administration and Leadership, Quranic Studies, and Curriculum and Instruction.
One highlight included an interactive session titled “AI Across the Curriculum: Math, Science, and History in Action” presented by Orange Crescent School educators Rana Alshurafa, Nadin Abdulhamid, and Sahar Muhareb. This session explored utilizing Artificial Intelligence tools such as Alayna (Math), Notebook LM (Science), and Magic School (History) to assist teachers in the classroom and deepen student understanding and engagement. “As an educator, I know that AI is not replacing me, it’s just taking my [lessons] to a whole new level,” said Muhareb.
Another notable session was “Beyond Compliance: Building a Faith-Based Safeguarding Framework for Islamic Schools” presented by Islamic Schools League of America Board Member Qur’an Shakir. During the session, Shakir, a certified mandated reporter, equipped educators with faith-aligned, evidence-based tools to prevent, recognize, and respond to child sexual abuse. “Harm occurs in trusted spaces,” Shakir said. “We don’t want to. . . Pretend it doesn’t happen in Muslim spaces.”
Celebrating Muslim Excellence
Night one of the forum culminated with a Celebration Banquet that opened with a beautiful Quran recitation by Minaret Academy eighth grader Ayah Hajjar and featured a performance by students from the school. ISNA also honored Dr. Dina Eletreby, an educator with over three decades of experience, by presenting her with the Lifetime Service Award for her dedication to transforming education and creating opportunities for students to thrive. The evening concluded with speeches from educator, author, and youth activist Habeeb Quadri and ISNA CEO Azhar Azeez.
Support From Sponsors
ISNA’s 14th Annual West Coast Education Forum received support from seven sponsors including Amana Funds, Sunrise USA, the Aldeen Foundation, the Council of Islamic Schools based in North America, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, Minaret Academy, and Weekend Islamic Schools Educational Resources. Each sponsor conveyed a shared commitment to educational empowerment.
The forum concluded with a seminar led by Catovic who provided the congregation with an opportunity to reflect on what they learned over the two days and use the information to create a plan for their “dream schools.”
Bareerah Zafar is the assistant editor of Islamic Horizons.
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