May 1998 Islamic Weekend School

by Sheiba Waheed

The Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio’s Islamic Weekend School lies humbly on East Broad Street, its broken green sign proudly reading “Islamic Center” in clear white letters.  From the outside, the building is none too impressive: a former Boy Scouts house, the peeling paint and dusty crumbling bricks betray the fact that this structure is far past its prime.

With a hefty shove on the front door, the visitor is greeted by a musty odor, the result of perpetual plumbing difficulties.  Climbing up the staircase, one should be sure not to lean too heavily on the banister, for it has a tendency to lean itself.  While making salat, it is also wise to be aware of the ladybugs that enjoy crawling around on the floor in springtime.

However the Islamic Center is not merely a building.  The tree-lined brick pathway that runs along the side of the building still evokes an almost magical sense of complete serenity.  Emerging from its emerald canopy one finds a sizable green lawn free of weeds.  Relaxing here under the sun, it is quite easy to ruminate on the Magnificence of Allah’s Creation.

There is yet more to the Islamic Center’s merit.  This is evident in the countless dedicated members of the community who have and continue to strive to educate young Muslims.  Currently, the Islamic Center offers ten classes for individuals five to eighteen years of age, although both younger and older Muslims also attend.  At the moment, about 130 students are enrolled.  As not all of them can be comfortably and/or safely housed in the center, classrooms at East High school, across the street, have been rented for 7 of the classes.  This however, has become expensive, so alternatives are being explored at the moment.

The center follows the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio Islamic Weekend School curriculum, which was drafted by a committee of community members who labored for 6 months to produce it.  Elements from the curriculum of 5 or 6 other schools in the United States and United Kingdom were adopted, and community feedback is always helpful.

Teachers are strictly volunteers, so the qualifications are understandably fluid.  Obviously a practicing Muslim with a solid base of Islamic knowledge is necessary, and at the very least, a high school diploma is required.  Feedback from the community is also appreciated, and taken into account.  Four of the current Islamic Center teachers are native Arabic speakers, but more are always welcome.

Every Sunday from 11:00 to 1:00, students attend the Islamic Weekend School to learn an hour of Arabic, in which the basics of the language or tafsir of the Quran is taught, and an hour of religion.  This broad subject includes topics such as fiqh and seerah.  There is also a 10 minute break between during with the students can snack on food brought in by various families, or purchase food sold b the Ladies’ Auxiliary.  The proceeds from this, of course, are for the Islamic Weekend School’s various expenses.

But what about the building?  The Islamic Center’s Executive Committee is currently trying to raise enough money to buy a former church facility.  The benefit of this would help the school tremendously.  Here too, community support would be greatly appreciated.

May 1998 Neighborhood Mosque School

by Norma Tarazi

Masjid Al Islam is located at 1677 Oak Street just south of the beautiful Franklin Park.  A converted commercial building set simply among the long line of row houses of old Columbus, its single story size makes it an inviting neighborhood attraction.  It has facilities for 4 classrooms of about 15 students each.  Actually however, it has been structured in the more traditional teaching style of the one room schoolhouse rather than age stratified classes.  Three teachers usually work as a team with small multi-age groups of students.

Masjid El Islam Children’s Program is currently on break.  The program for children normally runs for 2 hours every Saturday all year round.  There is no set curriculum.  After the basic knowledge of how to pray is covered, for any student who doesn’t yet know, the Islamic Studies program is individualized, geared to the child’s interests and needs.  A large collection of reading books and study texts is available to students.  Informal discussion and projects help children find meaning in lessons.  Classes are expected to resume in May.  For more information call, Sr. Vicki Bashir at ….

April 1998 ISGC – Weekend Islamic Education

by Norma Tarazi

Part 1 – Omar Ibn El Khattab School

Omar Ibn El Khattab School has been in existence for more than 8 years.  Originally, the Arab Sisters Halaqah organized Saturday classes in Arabic and Islamic Studies for their children, and advertised the classes for anyone else who wanted to enroll their children.  Classes were very loosely organized then.  No one came on time.  There were few rules and procedures.  Each volunteer teacher decided what she would teach and how.  There was no agreed-upon curriculum.  Children were kept busy learning Quran, but there was no sense of progress, of passing one level and proceeding to the next, as a child went from one year to the next.

What a difference has come over the school slowly.  Br. Mohammed Faour became principal about 6 years ago.  He has a long history of teaching in Lebanon and has also taught in and been principal of the Khaled Ibn Waleed School, sponsored by the Saudi government here in Columbus.  With new organization and the establishment of curriculum guidelines, the school has come a long way under his guidance.

Attendance grew until it reached about 120 children.  Part of the pressure for establishing Sunrise Academy was the realization that, as the mosque could no longer hold Friday prayer in its prayer area, so too the area used for classrooms was very overcrowded.  Classes are held mostly in the woman’s side of the mosque and the house next door.  In the house, the rooms can be decorated and set up for tables and chairs, but the sister’s area, prayer room, extra room, and meeting room, have to be cleared of classroom furniture after classes, to be used for other purposes during the rest of the week.  The restrooms were overwhelmed.  The small playground behind the house is frequently in need of cleanup and repair and the house is again in sad need of restoration. 

Then Sunrise opened in 1996 and by January 1997 the Quranic Program was opened to receive children for a weekend program of Islamic Studies and Arabic.  Attendance at Omar Ibn El Khattab feel off considerably as children were enrolled in the improved facilities at Sunrise.  But the mosque school continues and fulfills an important community need.

A visit to the school today shows the difference.  Classes start on time.  The staff of three teachers is there and well prepared.  There are only about 35 students now, in 3 classes, but watching them at break time as they run around and play and snack in the men’s prayer area, one is aware that the facilities hold aobut all that they can safely and comfortably.  About a quarter of the children are not Arab speaking and the classes are carried out in both English and Arabic.  The Ottowa Islamic School Arabic Textbook series is followed now in the classes, along with the Saudi Islamic Studies curriculum.  Children have workbooks and their progress is regularly monitored.

Currently there are about 17 kindergartners, ages 4 to 5, taught by Dr. Nawal Yacoub.  The mother of 6 children, Sr. Nawal has beeninvolved with the school for years, first as a parent, and ,for the last 3 years, as a teacher.  Br. Faour has been a big help to her, giving her guidance and suggestons about how to prepare lessons and control the large class.  She thinks 2 days a week of 3 hours each would help the students learn the program better, but she realizes that would be too much of a burden on parents.  School hours are currently from 10 until 2.  With a 20 minute break for snacks at 11:20 and a final break at the end of the program to gather all of the children for Dhur prayer before they leave, she has a time keeping the young children’s attention for the full program.  Four hours of study is a lot for these small children, who seemed happy and lively during the reporter’s visit.  A teen volunteer helps with the large class.

There are 19 in a class labeled 1^st grade by the teachers, but which actually has all children at the first grade Arabic level, although they might be in 4^th or 5^th grade in school.  Sr. Sahar is teaching this challenging class for the second year.  Though her major was business, she taught Islamic Studies back home in Egypt before coming to Columbus a year and a half ago.  Full of energy, she doesn’t find her diverse group any problem at all. 

There are 5 children in a class working at the 4^th grade level in Arabic.  Sr. Nihal El Skharkawy has been teaching the class for 2 years and they are making good progress.  She feels the school is growing some because more children have joined the lower classes since the start of the year.

Br. Faour is optimistic about the future of the Omar Mosque School.  Although he is recovering from heart surgery, he is enthusiastic about continuing to offer his expertise to the community in guiding and training teachers.  He would like to utilize the facilities at Sunrise, but he feels the 4 hour program offered at the mosque, at $50/quarter (Sunrise Quranic Program is $75/quarter for 7 hours) fills a real need in the community.  And there is strong sentiment to keep this program at the mosque, centrally located and convenient for many children.

Part 2 – Sunrise Quranic Program

Sunrise Quranic Program, a children’s Saturday school for Islamic and Arabic studies, was started via a grant donated to Sunrise Academy for this purpose in January 1997.  Since that time many changes have been made as the school has sought to balance between the needs and desires of parents and students, and the stipulations of the grantor.  Much talk has circulated about the program, with many misunderstandings in information.

Currently the school operates from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturdays, with a break for lunch and salah and a sports activity period.  Recently the schedule has been adjusted to include an informal halaqah format in one period, with separate groups for older boys and girls, to allow more support for young people trying to learn to practice their faith in a non-Muslim world.

The director, Sr. Asma Al Khuraisat, has many more ideas for program improvement, but getting all the staff and parents educated about rules and procedures has been the recent priority.  Sunrise Academy has written regulations that guide and protect the institution.  There is a slow regular process for changing rules to allow for appropriate consultation and reflection.  As new programs start, particularly one as ambitious as the Quranic Program, it takes time to set up and implement all of the necessary procedures to stabilize the basic program, before curriculum upgrades can be added.  The program is following a mixture of the Saudi curriculum and the Iqra International curriculum for Arabic and Islamic Studies.  Students range in age from 4 to 12 and are divided in classes from kindergarten through 5^th. About 75% of the 75 students in the school speak Arabic at home.  The 4h and 5^th grades contain only such students at the present time.  Iqra! Interviewed a number of mothers (and a few daughters) currently involved in the program about their experiences.

All of the mothers and daughters agreed that a major attraction of the program is its setting in a real school building with appropriate facilities, compared to the mosque setting at Omar El Khattab.  Most of them wished that the school started at 10 am instead of 9, to allow more sleeping in for the weekend experience.  And many, who had younger children in the program, spoke of the long day being somewhat tiring, but no one wanted to cut back to 4 hours, like the Omar Mosque program.  Everyone was pleased with the curriculum, discipline, and the teachers.  Most parents seemed to be very involved in following lessons with their children at home.

One mother tires to give her children 30 minutes of Arabic and Islamic studies every day at home to reinforce school lessons.  Her children love to be at the school to be with their friends.  They have friends at Omar Mosque, and, if that school were to move to the Sunrise facility (close to their home) and use it n Sundays, they would enroll in it as well, for the pleasure of using their time wisely with their friends.  They were at Omar Mosque but moved for the closer improved facilities.  The mother feels the programs are both good.  Though her youngest complains a bit about the long day away from home, she feels this is temporary and not very serious.

Most of the mothers had had experience at Omar Khattab School and several had stronger reasons than improved facilities and longer hours for switching to Sunrise.  They remembered the serious overcrowding and poor organization at Omar Mosque.  They remember older curriculum policies there that had errors or lack of serious content.  They had past communication difficulties with teachers there and had concerns about the level of teacher training.  Much of this impression is out of date (see part 1 above), because of changes allowed by the reduction in student load on facilities there and changes in curriculum.  Only one mother knew a child at Omar Mosque in a comparable class to her child, who was making slower progress.  Though she understood his to indicate a superior program at Sunrise, it could also indicate that her own child was a more interested student or that she took more effort than her friend in working with her child between classes.  Non-Arab mothers seemed to have more past communication problems and had more ideas to suggest to Sunrise staff for program innovations and curriculum suggestions, which they said they were sharing with the administration at parent-school board meetings and parent-teacher discussions.

One mother was particularly eloquent in expressing her desire to support the school to become a leader in Arabic and Islamic education as long as it is flexible and positive in its attitude toward receiving a diversity of children.  She felt that all should be really grateful for the gift that the school is to the community.  “No one will help us but ourselves.”  Her son resists somewhat going to class, because sports programs are missed on Saturdays, but he is making good progress.  She has a vision of growing possibilities and opportunities to realize them by working with the administration.

Part 3 – Future Part-Time Schooling.

Just by viewing only the number of children who come to Eid prayers, perhaps 1,000 children of all ages on a week day, we know that only a handful are being served by the two ISGC programs.  There is a large school at the Islamic Center on Broad Street, with around a hundred students and about ninety children are educated in a Somali school.  Many children receive Islamic education at home.  And of course there is the full-time Islamic school program at Sunrise Academy.  But the community must realize that the majority of Muslim children are not being reached by education programs. 

Currently the ISGC has a project to remodel the house near the mosque into upstairs offices and a meeting room on the ground floor.  The organizers of the new CAIR chapter have requested office space there.  This will impact on the facilities use for the Omar Ibn Khattab School. 

Weekend programs always have some classes with few children (the older higher classes) and some which are overwhelmed.  It is hard to visualize Omar Mosque School with more than 60 students at the mosque location, using all of the rooms.  Sunrise Academy has 5 classrooms.  Theoretically each can hold 20 students and a few can fit into the library.  At present, therefore, Sunrise is about full on Saturday also.  There are plans to add a 2 story classroom wing to Sunrise, and a multipurpose room (GYM/cafeteria) but financial resources must be obtained for this project.  Technically, a duplicate program could be run on Sunday at each facility.  Any expansion would require more teachers, and teacher education is an essential aspect of any future.  It would also require more resources and administration.  Flexibility in scheduling and in program design is necessary to meet the diverse needs of a very diverse community of students.

May Allah guide our community in the expansion of our educational system.

Sept. 1994 A Spiritual Investment

During the harsh early winter months, Sister Saleemah Benzagala was planting seeds for a harvest she hopes will yield both in this life and the hereafter. "I'm making a spiritual investment that I hope will last long after I'm gone." Sometimes it is the smallest seeds that yield the greatest fruit.

On Feb. 6, 1994, Saleemah began working with a small band of Muslim boys. Her goals include strengthening the bonds of love and brotherhood among them and cultivating leadership, scholarship, research. She has developed a comprehensive program of Islamic studies that include the following - fundamentals of Islam, prophets, hajj, and Islamic manners and etiquette, with in-class practice.

Saleemah shares the instructional load with her students. Each student is responsible for preparing lessons, citing references and hadith, and presenting his work in class. The boys are guided to teach each other, nurturing a spirit of helping, compassion, and understanding between them. Current Saleemah wants to keep her small band relatively small. "I'd like to get them stronger and more able before expanding."

Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong. (3:104).

June 1994 Teachers' Appreciation Day At The Islamic Center

In an effort to recognize the dedication of our teachers, Sunday, April 24th was the annual Teachers' Appreciation Day at The Islamic Weekend School of the Islamic Center. The parents and children expressed their appreciation and thanked the teachers by giving them thank-you notes,kind words, etc. Teachers also received an appreciation certificate from the Islamic Weekend School.

Teachers, who are volunteers, play a very important role in building an Islamic personality in our children. They come to the Islamic Center every Sunday, spending their valuable time, to serve Allah SWT and to help our children learn Quran and Islam. The Teachers' Appreciation Day strengthens the bond between the parents and the teachers and enhances the learning process of the children, putting Islamic education in the right perspective.

IFCO ISLAMIC WEEKEND SCHOOL GRADUATION
SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 1994 - 11:00AM
St. STEPHEN COMMUNITY HOUSE, 1500 E. 17TH AVENUE
A CEREMONY FOR THE CHILDREN BY THE CHILDREN
Everyone is welcome to attend.
For further information, please call Br. Sohail Khan at ###-####.