Embedded Files
Ms. Nadia: Art Teacher
I have learned about myself ever since I was a really little girl. I would always stand up to people who were unjust to others. So normally and even now sometimes I’m very quiet in settings where I don’t know a lot of people. In class, I was usually the quiet girl and just drawing and doodling while listening to whatever we were doing in class but I kept to myself a lot. The times I would speak up is when I saw another student in class were getting bullied or not able to stand up for themselves. That’s when my voice would get louder because I felt like it’s my responsibility to stand up for them. And I realized that that started at a very young age, but it turned into a much larger scale thing.
As I got older, if I would see injustice in the world, not just with my friends or individuals that were around me, I felt the need to speak up and say something. And not just talk about it but actually take action to our words. And that’s something I taught my kids growing up. Like you never ever let something slide, like if you see something going on. And you should always speak up if you see injustice in the world. And as a muslim it is our duty first to take action. And if you can’t take action, you speak it. And if you can't speak it, then at least with your intention that you want to change the injustice that you see in the world. That has stuck with me in my mind and instilled it into my children as well.
So as I got older, I would go to these protests, take signatures and petitions, to hopefully make the world a better place. Larger, more horrific things would happen in the world and that’s why I wanted to do something more than just talk and show up at protests. I came up with my husband on this website called Disoccupied.com. And this was a more actionable way for people to make a difference where they saw that something was going on. A lot of us were feeling hopeless and this website was a way to keep our money away from the people who are causing the injustice. Even though we couldn't physically be there to help the people that are under occupation or being put into situations that are absolutely horrific, we couldn’t be there to pick them up or heal them. This is something that we can do on our end, and was something that was very important to me.
As an art teacher, I try to implement that in my class and in what I do because art is also a tool of change. And also making people aware of what is going on in the world. And it is also a tool for changing what’s in our self. If we are feeling something bad it’s a way to let it out and express it. And I really believe in the power of art to also make change and that is why I also went into a more specialized field of art therapy. So these are all things that I strive for moving forward to help better the world. And I feel that everyone should think of a way that they particularly could help make a positive change to help the world Inshallah.
As told to Rayyan R.
Ms. Aminata -
Programs & Facilities Manager
When I was younger, I always traveled by myself. By the age of four, they would put me on the plane with the flight attendant. We would go around with these little baggies and passports on our necks. I would travel with my little brother and go between the U.S. and Liberia. I stayed in the U.S., and my dad lived in Liberia.
One year, we were traveling as usual and were supposed to connect through Brussels. We lived in New Jersey and would fly to Brussels in Europe, then fly to Liberia. Whatever happened that time, I was probably six or seven and we missed our connecting flight. So my brother and I were stuck in Brussels.
We thought nothing of it; they handled it very well and took us to a foster family that helped kids who missed their flights. They were a lovely family, and it was funny—we didn’t even know where we were in the world! Our parents were freaking out, but we were having the time of our lives. They gave us these little waffles, and that was the start of my love for travel.
As told to Zeyad G.
Ms.Eman -
2nd Grade
Teacher
So my story is going to be about my travel anxiety. I started traveling in 2012. My mom worked on an airline, Ethiopia Airlines. My mom used to take me and my four siblings to Ethiopia every summer. It was a thirteen hour flight and that was the first time I ever flew. On the flight when we were taking off, I started to feel like I couldn't breathe. I was really scared. But then when turbulence hit, I thought I was going to die! And my mom was telling me to read the Quran and make dua. I was so scared I couldn't remember my name. I thought it was my last time traveling. Little did I know my mom will take us to Ethiopia every summer until 2018.
I was scared but I still wanted to travel and experience Allah's creation and see different parts of the world. I still travel to this day. I am still terrified of traveling to this day. I will start crying in someone's lap. People think that I'm ten or twelve and say, “you did it sweetheart.”
This summer, I went to Seattle and I am slowly getting over my fear.
As told to Safa M.
Ms. Amina R. -
Kindergarten Green Teacher
I have a lot of childhood memories but one of my favorite memories is how every summer we would go on road trips across the US, and we would never go out of the country. I lived in Kansas City, Missouri which is in the middle of the US and, one summer, we drove all the way to California, which is on the west coast and we visited a whole bunch of friends. My Dad had a lot of friends all across the US and then we drove back to Kansas City, did our laundry and then we drove up to New York and went to Niagara Falls. We did this all in one summer, we drove all across the whole country because my Dad loved to travel.
I was born in Dallas, Texas. We moved to Maryland when I was really young, and then we settled in Kansas City, Missouri when I was four. We moved there because my Dad was the Principal of an Islamic school and my Mom was the teacher. Therefore, I went to Islamic school from when I was in Pre-school all the way to when I was in 12th grade. So my entire schooling was in Islamic school. My Dad only ever talked to us about education. That was his main focus. He had 2 PHD’s, and it was always his main focus. And so, why I am here, teaching at AFA, has so much to do with him. He literally embodied increasing knowledge. He was always pushing us to continue our education, and increase our knowledge. He was always making dawah. He was always wanting to educate, because he was literally an educator. He had his PHD in education.
He passed away last year while I was working here, and sometimes you question yourself like why things happen at certain times of your life. I haven't worked outside of home for the past decade, since I had kids. My question was, “Why did this happen at this point in time?” I realized that one of the many reasons why Allah's plan is always perfect was because my Dad was able to see me back into the work force, and that is exactly what he wanted to see us do with our lives. Continuing with the Islamic education. Inshallah, everything that I will pass down to my students, any good that I’m able to pass down to them, will Inshallah get passed down to the next generation, and that is a sadaqah jariah for him. I love coming here to teach everyday because I love my students.
Last year was my first year teaching kindergarten and then this year, when I got a new class, it was a little hard for me to adjust but Alhamdullilah I love my new students. And with these kids, even if you're having a tough week or day, the kids will say something to make you laugh. So they are almost like stress relievers, Mashallah. They are so funny, and they are just awesome to be around. Therefore, coming to AFA and sending my kids here was because, Alhamdulillah, I feel that the values of AFA really align with mine. And I feel that teaching at an Islamic school is really continuing my Dad’s legacy. For hobbies, I am very much into photography. I love to be outdoors. I love to go hiking. I have this need for speed. Therefore, I have been skydiving, but even that wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I always thought that I would own a motorcycle, but that didn't end up happening. But now that I have kids, I feel like everything is a lot more family focused. So we go out together, we go hiking, we love to find waterfalls, and sit in the waterfalls and just enjoy Allah’s creations and marvel at them. I also love art so I have lots of different interests.
As told to Laily S.
Ms. Aisha A. - 5th Grade Teacher
This is regarding my career path choice and how I got to where I am as a Master's in public health. I began college in pre-med, thinking I was going to be a pediatrician. I took all my biology, chemistry, and physics classes, but by the time I got to my third year, I met with my counselor, and she kind of told me that I wasn't fit for med school, so I had to start looking elsewhere. I decided to start working at a hospital for a couple of years and kind of explore my options. I was a phlebotomist, which meant drawing blood from patients for about a year and a half. While I was doing that, I was a unit clerk on the pediatric floor, and while I was up there, I was able to watch residents do small procedures in our treatment room when they allowed me to assist. I thought it was cool, but at the same time, I thought it wasn't for me, so I decided to look elsewhere, and I spoke to one of my mom's friends, who was a dentist. She told me to shadow her, so I did that for a couple of months, and I realized that I really liked that; it was up my alley. So I decided to apply for dental school, and I got into the University of Maryland, and I really enjoyed it there and did really well. I was about to take my boards certification exam in my second year, then I started feeling pain in my back shoulder and losing feeling in my arm. So I went to get checked out and found out I had three slipped discs in my neck, and they told me I had to do physical therapy. I did physical therapy and thought that had worked, but then my pain started coming back, so I talked to one of my classmates whose dad was a neurologist. I went to see him, and his first instinct was that I needed to get out of the dental field. I was kind of upset, like, how could this happen? I was just about to take my boards. I was almost there. I listened to him and did what I had to do. He said, “Fine, you can go back for another round of physical therapy, then go back to school.” So, I did that, and when I went back, I thought I could do just as great as before, but then within a couple of months, I started feeling the pain again. At that point, I realized I had to leave dentistry. So I went home and told my parents. They were all crying, and I was kinda just in my bed for a month or so. Throughout that time, I made dua all night long for Allah to show me a new path to where I wanted to go. My mom would kinda get really annoyed with me since I hadn't really decided or tried anything new to do, so she started researching different programs that would be good for me. I finally decided to pick up those papers and take a look at them, and I saw one program called public health, so I applied for that and got in. I did that program for about a year and a half which would've taken me a little more than two years to do, but because I had some credits from before, it worked out. Then I found an internship, got a job, and started working.
Ultimately, in that time, I met my husband, and one day he joked with me and said, “If you had been either a doctor or a dentist, we probably wouldn't have gotten married,” since he knew of the long hours that people in the medical field had, especially since he was a doctor himself. Long story short, all the difficulties and hurdles I faced those years, although I found them very difficult and stressful, I never lost faith in Allah (swt) and realized that there was a better plan out there that I had not realized until I had finished my degree and met my husband and had four kids. So my advice to anyone is to always have trust in Allah (swt), continuously make dua, and never forget him and he’ll never forget us.
As told to Asiya Am.
Ms. Muzna -
Guidance Counselor
This is the story of why I chose to become a school counselor.
When I was a teacher, I had a student who went through something really difficult at home. And this student at our school was one of the sweetest, brightest, and kindest. I want to say, out of the whole class, she would always be smiling. Seeing how she coped and how she handled her responsibilities, cared for others, and kept showing up with grace made me realize that she needed more support than I could give her just as her teacher. I wished there was someone whose role was to help students through situations like hers because I felt she needed it.
As the year went on, I got to see how our school community came together to support her family. It was a reminder of what it means to show up for one another, to be present, to care, and to help students feel seen and supported through hardship. Being part of that experience was an honor and a blessing.
Reflecting on that year was what made me decide: this is the work I want to do -to be that source of support for students going through tough times or just manage emotions on a day to day basis to do better at school.
The thing I love most about being a school counselor is being the person kids can go to when they’re dealing with grief, family challenges, friendships, or academic stress -all the things that can weigh on them.
So I went back to school to get my master’s in counseling at George Mason University, Alhamdulillah. Around the same time, at Al-Fatih, we were beginning to shape what the counseling role would look like at our school. I helped outline the day-to-day work of the counselor, and when we opened the position, Ms. Uzma joined and did wonderful work. That was in 2015. I became the middle school counselor, and she worked with elementary.
Through that time, I learned so much - supporting students, families, and teachers. After a five-year break post COVID, I’m back now, and I’m so happy and excited to serve again — to hopefully be a small drop of rahma for the students, staff, parents, and families here at AFA.
As told to Safiyya R.
Ms. Myra -
Preschool Teacher
I was thinking about something inspiring in my life when I remembered the time I substituted for Ms. Saba– in 2021. That was the cause of me becoming a teacher; that was the start of it. It started out like a normal day of teaching. I went over the material and things like that. But after Ms. Saba came back all the students in the class gave me so much appreciation and gifts that I was not expecting at all. That was really the key for me to start teaching. It was like a light, sort of. Because before I started teaching, I didn’t work at all. But after I served as a substitute teacher, I said “That’s it. I want to become a teacher, and I want to work at Al Fatih.”
What the kids showed me– their appreciation, how they loved it when I taught them– I had no idea that something so small I did was so big for them. It really impacted both me and the students I taught. Even receiving things like notes from the class felt special. The parents thanked me too– I received so many cards and messages. I was amazed by all of it.
Some time after that, the school asked me to teach at Al Fatih. Someone suggested that I could be a staff member, so I accepted the offer. I said, “I would love to be a teacher at Al Fatih!” I like this school because we’re all close together. The parents can talk to me, the students can talk to me, and I feel like I can talk to anyone. So that link between me and Al Fatih is very strong. And that’s what I love.
As told to Asiya Ah.
Ms. Rabia -
3rd Grade Teacher
One of the things that I remember when I was younger, that I prayed for the most, was that I would always pray for a sister. I had an older brother who was amazing, he was anything that you could ever want in an older brother. He was protective, kind, encouraging, he was my role model, and he was great, but I still always remember wanting a sister for the longest time. I didn't know how it would happen, because I was little. But once I finally realized that I don’t think that's what God wants for me, I started looking for sisterhood in my friendships. Which was fine because friends are great; they’re helpful, they are kind, and they are really fun to be around. But I always wanted this connection with someone that I would see in other sisters. Like borrowing clothes, sharing experiences, and I was never allowed to sleep over at anyone's house, so having a sister would seem like it would be a sleepover everyday.
As I got older, I realized that friendships really aren't the same as having a sister, and there is no bond compared to family bonds. So I always still question, like it was one duaa that I made really consistently. I always asked Allah, “please Allah give me a sister, give me a sister,” and even as I got older, especially when I was getting married, I really wanted to share the experience with a sister. I wanted her to help me pick out my clothes, help me plan my wedding or my graduation and I always questioned why Allah didn’t give me a sister. I feel like that's what I really really needed and wanted. But Alhamdulillah, for my husband and my brother, they stepped up, and they did everything that they could from that point. It wasn't until I had my kids, my three beautiful daughters, when I realized that Allah's plan for me was so much better than what I could’ve imagined. I always wanted a sister but now I have three daughters. I love just watching them being able to have that connection with each other that I was never able to have, and I just feel like now I have three built-in sisters. So, the lesson I learned is that Allah might not give you exactly what you want when you want it, but his plan is better than you can ever imagine, and you will get some form of what you asked for when he thinks it's best.
As told to Noor M.
Ms. Sehrish - Kindergarten Teacher
Something that happened to me would be my dad passing away three years ago and how it changed me. It left a big impact on my life because at first, I thought my parents would never die. I would hear people around me dying and it wouldn't really affect me because it was never someone close to me and we didn't have the same bond but then when my dad died it really left an impact and I started to understand that one day that everyone is gonna go. It changed me as a person inside. I look at life a lot clearer now. I'm more thankful for what I have, alhamdulillah, and the days that I have. I'm thankful for my family ever since then and I take care of myself, because before I didn't used to. I exercise, I eat healthy and that's how it changed me.
As told to Asiya S.
Ms. Masouna -
Middle School Girls P.E. Teacher
All my life I wanted to travel but my parents told me I couldn't travel by myself unless I was going to go visit family, and I had to be graduated from high school. When I finally graduated high school, I googled some flights and looked for anywhere in the world where I had family. Thankfully, I had family living in the UAE but the tickets were really expensive. That was the first problem, but I talked to my parents and said, “Hey, can I travel to visit my aunts and all my cousins that live in the UAE?” They said, “Sure, if you can pay for it, you can go.” I was really excited and I went back looking at the tickets, but they were a lot of money so I realized that maybe I’m not gonna get to travel, and nothing really happened from there. I was looking every week or two. Then it was October, then November, and I still wasn't finding cheap flights but then in December, Christmas came around, and I was home from school and randomly got a price alert for a round trip flight to the UAE for 200 dollars, and I was like, “Oh my goodness, is this real? Life like this is real!” Then I thought, “Okay worst case scenario it’s a scam and I’m just going to lose 200 dollars.” So I bought the tickets and told my family, “I just got a round trip ticket for 200 dollars, and when I checked it it was a legit airline.” Everything went well and I booked it for a month and when I got to the airport I got a real ticket and they upgraded the plane so I got a super comfy plane and it felt like a miracle, and the entire trip, I just kept thinking, “Oh my goodness! Like Allah opened a lot of doors to allow me to travel.” When I was thinking, “It wasn't going to happen, I wasn't gonna be able to travel and the next thing I know this random miracle from Allah came on Christmas.” Later I went back to the website and it was completely messed up. There was an error but they honored all the tickets and I got to travel for a whole month. I had the best time traveling alone, seeing all my cousins, and exploring the UAE. To this day it was the best trip I have ever had.
As told to Hadiyah A.
Ms. Ann -
Middle School Social Studies Teacher
I was talking with my husband and I realized that my son was approaching an age that he would be allowed to go to school. But the only schools close to me were public schools. I wanted to send my son to an Islamic school, but there were none in my area. So I was talking to my husband about where to send him for school. He suggested that we can move to Virginia where there are more Islamic schools. Or send him to a public school. So we were thinking over the summer to move near my sisters-in-law's house in Virginia. I was looking to teach in an islamic school in Virginia,but my husband was trying to figure out how to work mobily. After a little while, he worked things out with his office and they said he could work mobily. So we finally made the decision that we were moving to Virginia. We packed all our stuff in our car and off we went to Virginia. But before we could reach Virginia, we had to stop at Maryland because the job that I applied for allowed me to teach. So we were staying in Maryland for a bit and I was teaching. But while I was working there, I realized the whole reason I wanted to move to Virginia is so my son can go to school and I would live closer to my sister in law. The school in Maryland that I was currently teaching at was two hours away from my sister in law. So I applied to teach at more schools in Virginia near my sister in law's house, and two schools replied back to me. One of them was a high school curriculum which my son couldn't go to and the other one was an elementary and middle school which was Al Faith academy. So I got interviewed 2 times and I started teaching at AFA. I really liked the environment of the school and my son was also enjoying his time there. So my husband and I were looking for houses in the vicinity for a while and then we found a house and my husband found a new job in Virginia. So we made our new adjustments and moved to our new home. Allhamdullilah, everything worked out and I am still working at AFA and all my three children went to this school too. In conclusion, in order to make big things happen, you have to move the small things first.
As told to Salma R.
Ms. Asma -
Arabic Teacher
Since I was a child, I was in love with the Arabic language, ranking as the top student of my class. In Tunis, children don't start learning English until they reach the age of high school. During the beginning of the first semester of my freshman year, I was absent due to taking a surgery. When I came back to school, I was so behind with my studies and didn't understand anything in class and it was really difficult for me. But then, I was sharing with my older brother, who is 2 years older than me, that I didn't want to be in that class anymore because it was too difficult and I was so behind and it felt impossible. Then, he said how about we go over the things you missed in class and he could try and help me so we sat together for 2 hours studying and going over the topics. Then, it slowly started to come to me and I understood the lessons and what we were learning.
The next day in class the teacher was explaining and asking questions. I understood everything in class because of my older brother's private lessons and then I started to excel in that class. My teachers noticed my extraordinary abilities and excellence and encouraged me to pursue a career in Arabic and my high school English teachers said I should pursue a career in English. Then I was thinking since I clearly have extraordinary potential in both now I was debating and realized now I just really have to choose. Then I asked Allah for guidance and let his way happen inshallah. My friend who graduated and became an English teacher was discussing with me and told me I should pursue English because Tunis at the time had very few English teachers and desperately needed them. Later, I went to university and got my bachelors degree in English and Arabic in Mashallah. Since I was skilled in both languages I decided to pursue both technically and become an Arabic teacher and help muslim kids in America learn Arabic and use English to coordinate with the kids to help them learn and progress in Arabic.
As told to Ruwaid I.
Ms. Sadaf -
1st Grade Teacher
My daughter had been wanting a cat for years. She would always get cat books and make do without having one, but my husband had really bad allergies, so we were never able to get a cat. In December 2023, we researched and found out that Balinese cats were considered hypoallergenic, so we got a three-month-old kitten and named her Barfi. Zareena and the kids were so happy, but my husband still ended up being really allergic even though he did not touch the cat. We had to give Barfi to my brother.
Zareena was very sad, so she begged for a different pet. She asked for all kinds. rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and birds. Finally, in the summer of 2024, we agreed to a bird. She got a canary and named it Tilly. She loved the bird and even decorated it for its birthday party. She took care of Tilly and made sure it was happy, but she still felt something was missing. She wanted a pet she could hold and play with.
In November 2024, we decided to give hypoallergenic cats another try. This time we got a Siamese kitten, also three months old, and named her Lilly because it rhymed with the bird's name Tilly. My husband was only allergic if he held Lilly. After a few weeks, we noticed that Lilly was obsessed with Tilly and often sat in her cage. To protect Tilly, we kept the room door closed, but Lilly always found a way in. Tilly stopped singing and became very nervous whenever she saw Lilly, often flapping her feathers. One evening, we came home and found that Tilly had passed away from the stress. Zareena and Hawa were devastated.
To help them feel better, in January 2025 we got another cat, Lilly's sister, and named her Coco. At first, Lilly did not like Coco and would hiss at her, but later they became close and played together all the time. Since my husband still could not hold either cat because of his allergies, he researched more and found that Sphynx cats, which have no fur, are allergy-friendly and very affectionate.
Two weeks ago, we got our third cat, a seven-week-old Sphynx, and named her Blue because she has big blue eyes. Alhamdulillah, we are happy to share our home with our three cats.
As told to Ibraheem. D
Sereen M. -
6th Grader
So when I was in 5th grade, there wasn’t a permanent teacher. They kept bringing in substitute teachers. After a while, they decided to keep some substitute teachers permanently. One of them was Ms. Saba. My grades weren't very good back then. I was lazy. I wouldn’t do homework on time. Ms. Saba would keep me after class ended to work on them. She refused to let me out to recess until I finished it. After a while, Ms. Saba had changed my grades from very bad to the worst grades to the best grades imaginable. It was then that I changed my fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
As told to Tessneem B.
Abdelrahman M. -
8th Grade Student
I walked into my new school on the first day and was ready to have a good year. It was my first time in Islamic school so I didn't know what to expect. As I walked downstairs to my locker, I noticed that all the boys in my class knew each other. They were all talking and laughing together as they opened their locker, but I was by myself. Because it was my first year in this school, I was kind of an outsider. I had no friends and was badly struggling to open my locker. Eventually, I asked a teacher and she helped me open it. I followed my classmates to our homeroom and found a seat. All the boys sat together at a table, I sat away from them because I didn't want to make it awkward. Then, we started morning meeting and people started sharing what they did over the summer. I kept my hand down because I was too embarrassed to speak. After the morning meeting, I went to my different classes and got to learn the names of my teachers: Ms.Ann, Ms.Fatima, Ms. Batul, and Ms.Imaan. They were very welcoming and kind to me.
At lunch time, I was sitting alone until a boy named Zain invited me to come sit with him and all the boys. They all introduced themselves to me, and I learned their names and what sports they play. It was easy to connect with them because we all had stuff in common and we were all muslim. I started to fit into the school more. After lunch we had recess, I didn't really know what to do, but then I saw some kids playing soccer together. I wanted to join so I asked one of the older kids, and he said sure. I told all the kids my name and started playing with them. They got to see me play and how good I was. I was getting many compliments from people for my skills. They were saying Mashallah, giving me fist bumps, and wanted to become my friend. In the end, I realized the difference between public schools, and Islamic schools. In this school, the kids were kind, welcoming, and easy to connect with, and the teachers were very welcoming and caring. While in public schools, it's a little harder to connect with people and make friends. Alhamdulillah I had the chance to go to AFA, and I hope many more get this chance too.
As told to Dawud B.
Mr. Marcus - Dean of Students
Being someone who works in education, both as a counselor and a football coach, graduating college I knew what it meant to work with the youth.
I was in public school for several years, and I really enjoyed the athletic and school spirit aspect as my role as a coach. When it came to counseling, I felt there was something deeper, something spiritual, that I was seeking.
So when I left counseling in public school, I began to seek roles in the private school sector, as there was more flexibility. I came across KAA, and I applied for a job, but I didn't know that the principal was actually my wife’s teacher. So when I came home, I told my wife
“I applied for a job at KAA”, and she responded
“That's where I went to school”, so I told her
“No not ISA, KAA”.
But, she explained that they changed the school a lot, which was a major coincidence. So, I emailed the principal, and two or three days later, he responded, and said that someone had left the school, so they wanted me to come. And Alhamdulillah, I got the position.
It was very nice being there. I was there for 3 years, and during that time, I realized that there was more that I wanted to see from an Islamic and Muslim community lens in terms of what the education was, meaning, a more intentional, religious culture of the teachings of our deen within the framework of the education in my role in counseling.
And so, I was getting ready to leave counseling in search of a way to have a bigger impact working with Muslim students, but I wasn't quite sure where it was. And so when KAA was closing down, I had several job offers and interviews, none of which had matched what I wanted. Around the time I applied to AFA, I had several job offers, and for sure I was definitely going to take one. But my wife convinced me to dive just a little bit deeper into AFA, as to what it was all about. So I opened up the website and began to read the school mission and philosophy, I was absolutely blown away by the intentionality of incorporating Islam into the education, and I immediately reached out again to inform the school that I had in fact applied, and when we scheduled an introduction before the interview and I let them know what I was looking for, sort of what they were looking for. And then I was offered the position of Dean Of Students position at AFA, and so, it was over all an investment for me, coincidentally being a perfect match, you could say. And so, that's that.
As told to Laith E.
Leena H.
8th Grade
On my sister's birthday, in 2021, my mom told me and my siblings that she had a gift for us. We all asked her what it was, but she didn't say anything. We all got into the car and drove towards our mystery present. We then asked her where we were going, but once again, she didn't say a thing. We kept on driving until we reached our destination. It was the airport. I was wondering why we were here, thinking maybe a relative came, or she’d gotten us all plane tickets. We went inside and sat on some chairs for about thirty minutes, until I saw her. A lady was walking towards us, carrying a large box with holes and two handles. The lady sat in front of us and introduced herself to me and my siblings as Aldona. She said she had come all the way from Russia to make this delivery. She placed the box on the ground and opened it.
When I saw what was inside, my jaw dropped. A fluffy white face poked out. I opened the box a little bit more, to reveal two adorable kittens. They were both fluffy and white. "They're yours,” she said. It was one of the best moments of my life. I immediately grabbed one of the kittens and held it carefully. I put the kitten back in the box and took them to the car. It was that day that me and my older sister named our two kittens Luna and Sultan. And to this day, they’re still my favorite animals in the world.
As told to Emma B.
Raya S. - 8th Grader
When I was in sixth grade I really wanted to begin wearing the hijab with one of my friends. I used to practice wearing the hijab in tennis practice which was on Saturdays, but, I would take it off after practice. I would wear it at the masjid but not a lot. I had a lot of influence from her mother and grandma because they wore it. I was going to do it but then when it finally came to the day, I said no because it was in sixth grade and I felt scared and embarrassed. When it was November my parents were talking about going to Umrah. It was her first time going out of the states and would be her first time doing Umrah. My uncle was planning to go as a family. I got there and they did it with a group so there were a lot of other hijabis. I went to madinah with my family after and it was very beautiful. Everything touched my heart, I was very excited about everything. When I was on the plane, I kept on wearing the hijab. It was like I was an actual hijabi. When I got back, I was still wearing the hijab because going to Umrah actually made me realize what I wanted to do, which was becoming a hijabi. When I was going to wear the hijab to school, I thought people were going to tell me no, you can't start wearing a hijab in the middle of the year. I was really scared. But when I got to school, all my friends supported me and said you look so pretty in the hajib. They congratulated me and I felt really happy and glad that I made this choice.
As told to Layla S.
Mr. Yousuf Mehter - AFA P.E Teacher
“ I had been doing martial arts for many years and had a great Aikido school which was one of the top in the country. My students would come from all over the country and always stood out in my class. My family wanted to move to a warmer place which is why we came to Virginia. My old home in Syracuse was very cold. So when I moved here, I did not want to start from scratch with teaching Aikido. So I decided to become a P.E teacher at Al Fatih. I teach students at Al Fatih during the day and teach Aikido during the late afternoon and that's where I am. I still do teach Aikido, less than before, but as an after school program. But in Syracuse, where I used to teach, most of my students were adults. I still had children’s classes as well though.
As told to Imaan A.
Ms. Souad: Arabic and Quran Teacher
I haven’t been to Syria in about ten years, so when I had a chance to go , it was such an amazing experience for me. I missed my family there and I got to see them. We spent a lot of time together. I also got to visit the mountains which were beautiful. The weather was nice, the air was fresh and the view was amazing. It was a really amazing trip to see all my family and finally get to go and revisit Syria. I’m really grateful for the opportunity I had to go to Syria.
As told to Salam H.
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