Azizah Ali-Regan

Azizah Ali-Regan | Principal of Islah Academy, Los Angeles, CA

As Salaam’alikum [peace be upon you] My name is Azizah Ali, and as one of the founding board members of Islah Academy and the current principal, I’m truly excited about educating this next generation. First of all, I am definitely standing on the shoulders of pioneers such as Sister Clara Muhammad, who provided one of the earliest models for us to nurture and educate our own children, and, of course, my mother Sister Anne Ali who was my first teacher. She was so innovative despite her resources and formal training. She always made learning fun and engaging and relevant. And this was the training and schooling that I got after I came home from public school. So, making sure we are educators in the home first is so essential. While these earlier models were foundational, I feel like educating this the next generation it’s going to require some critical restructuring. I believe this next generation is really going to educate themselves, with our guidance and facilitation. At Islah Academy we have this term “Murahbi,” that we refer to our teachers as. This means a guide a mentor, a nurturer. I think this is our job we will have in this new age of providing the most conducive space for our children to: feel safe, affirmed, to encourage creativity, promote metacognitive awareness and create problem-solvers, and build their emotional intelligence, really all of this, to help them connect them to their community, their purpose in life and to help them develop a stronger relationship with their Creator, Allah. And with this, I feel like our youth will thrive. Needless to say, I am immensely excited about the future of Islamic education and this next generation.

Learn more about Islah Academy here: https://islahla.org/academy/