She lived in Syria for twenty years, studying sacred knowledge and traveling along the road of tarbiya (spiritual upbringing). Anse Tamara studied a full curriculum of Islamic sacred texts and subjects including: Shāfiʿī jurisprudence (fiqh), Islamic theology (ʿaqīda), Quranic sciences (tafsīr and tajwīd), Arabic grammar (naḥū), geography of the Muslim world, Islamic civilization and culture, Islamic history and classical methods of spiritual growth (tazkiya). Her specialty area is the life of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him (sīra), which she studied in-depth with the foremost sīra scholar of our time. She is fluent in both spoken and classical Arabic and received her ijāza in the recitation of Quran from the late Shaikh Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Kurdī in 1997.
Anse Tamara is a doctoral student in the Leadership, Policy and Administration program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She holds a master’s degree in Curriculum Theory and Instruction, and works in the field of education, focusing on instruction, curriculum design and implementation, administration, and teacher training. As the Executive Director of Rabata, she brings together her training in the Islamic sciences and education to create numerous programs and projects that change lives and bring joyful faith to women around the world.
Her publications range from several culturally appropriate English language curriculum programs to translations of sacred texts. Her most recent publication is the translation of Mukhtasar al-Jāmiʿ fī-l-Sīra al-Nabawiyya (A Compendium of the Sources on the Prophetic Narrative-Abridged) due for release in September 2018. Her book, Joy Jots: Exercises for a Happy Heart, is now in its fourth print, and she has an upcoming Project Lina workbook due for publication in 2019.
Along with her educational pursuits, Ustadha Sana has volunteered from a young age with various local and national organizations. She worked closely with the Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) during high school in both her hometown and on a national level, and chaired the national MYNA conference at ISNA at the age of 17. In college, she worked with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and was the sisters’ coordinator for her university in her final year of undergraduate studies. Since moving to Chicago, she has taught Quran classes and volunteered with Sisters Steppin' Up (SSU). She has taught Arabic at Ribaat since 2015 and also teaches "The 99 Names of Allah (swt)".
Ustadha Sana is married and has 3 sons and 2 daughters and currently resides in Milwaukee, WI.
Dr. Mattson was educated in Canada and the United States, earning a PhD from the University of Chicago in 1999. From 1998 to 2012 she was Professor of Islamic Studies at Hartford Seminary in CT where she developed and directed the first accredited graduate program for Muslim chaplains in America, and served as Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. From 2001-2010 Dr. Mattson served as vice-president, then as president of the Islamic Society of North America (USA), the first woman to serve in either position. Her writings, both academic and public, focus primarily Quran interpretation, Islamic theological ethics and interfaith relations. Her book, The Story of the Quran, is an academic best-seller and was chosen by the US National Endowment for the Humanities for inclusion in its “Bridging Cultures” program.
Dr. Mattson is a Senior Fellow of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman, Jordan. From 2009-2010, Dr. Mattson was a member of the Interfaith Taskforce of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; in 2008 she was on the Council of Global Leaders of the C-100 of the World Economic Forum; from 2007-2008, she was a member of the Leadership Group of the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project (USME). Dr. Mattson is the recipient of numerous awards as well as honorary doctorates from Trinity College, Hartford, and the Chicago Theological Seminary. She is frequently consulted by the media and has served as an expert witness.
He has completed the final text of Maliki fiqh, Mukhtasar Khalil, with memorization and has been granted permission by his shuyukh to teach. In addition to his extensive study of fiqh, he was afforded the unique opportunity to attend one on-one sessions with his teachers where he would engage them in countless hours of discussion on the application of fiqh in general and specifically for those living in the West.
Shaykh Rami has translated traditional Islamic texts from Arabic including various works on Maliki fiqh and several works of the great Mauritanian scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Mawlud, including Birr al-Walidayan (The Rights of Parents), Ishraq al-Qarar (The Spiritual Aspects of Prayer), and the Adab of Sadaqa. He has also translated a versified version of Adab of the Student entitled Iya’ant al Mutafahim (The Assistance of the Student) by Shaykh Muhammad al Hasan as well as the original Taleem al Muta’llim by Shaykh Zarnuji.
In addition, he has dedicated much of his time in teaching, conducting seminars and counseling. He has spent a great deal of his time teaching and aiding Muslims in prison and has seen how knowledge unlocks the human potential. His students in the prisons have in turn taught countless people and invited many people to Islam. He was instrumental in co-founding Dar as-Salaam, a project dedicated to building and supporting a school in Mauritania. Shaykh Rami serves as Senior Instructor at SeekersHub Global. He is the co-founder of the Tayba Foundation which has a correspondence program for Muslim inmates (http://www.taybafoundation.org/). In addition to traditional teaching licenses (ijazah), he holds a B.A. in Human Development with a Focus on Early Childhood. Rami resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, is married and has two children.
Ieasha Prime converted to Islam more than 20 years ago, after being an International Youth Ambassador to Morocco and Senegal. It was during this time in her youth that she officially began studying Islam. The year she returned from the youth ambassador’s program, she took an Islamic Studies course at the Islamic Center in Washington D.C. from the professor and scholar Mohammad Arafat. It was during this course, that Ms. Prime formally took Shahadah (profession of the Islamic faith). Since that time, she has spent her life as an educator, artist, activist and entrepreneur committed to the goal of empowering Muslim women to rise above their challenges to maximize their full potential of being female servants of Allah and vicegerents on this earth.
After having participated in several circles of knowledge in the US, Ieasha decided to pursue religious studies abroad. She studied Arabic, Quran at the Fajr Institute and general Islamic studies in other institutes in Cairo, Egypt. After two years in Egypt, she moved to Hadramaut, Yemen and enrolled in Dar al Zahra, an Islamic University for Women. There she studied Aqeedah, Quran, Hadith, Arabic, Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Islamic law, Purification of the Heart and other religious related learning. Her lineage of scholarship from whom she received direct education can be traced directly back to the Prophet Muhammad (Salla Allahu alaihi wa Salaam) from Husseini lineage. Under the tutelage of her professors, she has established several circles of knowledge and continues to teach and lecture across the United States and abroad.
In 1994, her passion to educate and empower Muslim women to be leaders in America led her to the creation of the non profit organization, Sisterhood In Action. SIA is an international women’s organization devoted to helping women rise above social challenges to actualize their full potential in life and society. The expansion of SIA gave Ieasha Prime access to a worldwide network of women and like minded organizations. Thus, her work and studies began to expand internationally. She has lectured and facilitated workshops for Muslim women, youth, and interfaith groups in high schools, universities, college campuses, churches, community centers and Masajid around the country and the world. She served as the director of Islamic Studies at El- Iman Learning Center and Khadijah Academy, is the former Vice Principal at Al-Qalam Academy in Springfield, VA. and is now the Executive Director of Barakah, Inc. empowering women and youth with a foundation of Islam.