Recognizing Three Pioneers
At the 63rd ISNA Convention in Detroit, the opening ceremony honored three pioneers whose contributions helped shape Islamic education in America: Sister Clara Muhammad, Karen Keyworth, and Imam Nadir Ahmad, may Allah have Mercy upon all of them.
Together, their stories reflect the history and evolution of Islamic education in America—from the earliest Islamic schools to the development of a national network supporting Muslim educators and families. Their contributions include the establishment of full-time Islamic schools and professional organizations that continue to endure today.
Sister Clara Muhammad and the First Islamic Schools in America
Sister Clara Muhammad played a pioneering role in establishing Islamic education in the United States. She was driven by a desire for Black children in America to know their rich and noble history, which was omitted from the public school curriculum and larger society. She took matters into her own hands and established the first known Islamic school in the United States in 1933 in Detroit, MI, in an era of economic depression and severe racial discrimination, including public lynchings and state-sanctioned racial segregation. Sister Clara Muhammad risked imprisonment and even her life in advocating for the right to educate her children through homeschooling, which later became the foundation of the University of Islam, renamed the Clara Muhammad Schools by her son. The school network expanded across the United States, providing a safe haven and empowering environment for Black children to learn about their selves, Islam, and society. Her efforts formed the bedrock of Islamic education in America as a professional institution and redefined the educational landscape for American Muslims.
Karen Keyworth and the Growth of Islamic Schools in America
Karen Keyworth was a pillar of Islamic education in the United States, pioneering advancement in the field in the United States. She founded the Greater Lansing Islamic School in 1996, which has grown to serve over 160 K-8 students. Recognizing a broader need for greater institutional support, Karen partnered with Judi Amri to establish a national body that could network the disparate Islamic schools across the country and provide them with a way to communicate with one another.
Karen was committed to helping tell the story of American Muslims through data, creating a directory of Islamic schools that had detailed up-to-date information on the state of Islamic schools. The data would help create reports and publications that would inform both the Muslim American community and the broader American population about our schools, helping create transparency that would lead to trust. She was a frequent speaker at interfaith events and liaison between the media and Islamic schools. She sought to bridge cultural gaps and interfaith dialogue in her work at the ISLA and other community involvement. She passed away nearly 10 years ago; yet the work of ISLA endures based on the solid foundation she established nearly 30 years ago.
Imam Nadir Ahmad and Islamic School Leadership
Imam Nadir initially served as a teacher in Detroit’s Sister Clara Muhammad School, later rising as an assistant principal and eventually principal of the school. Imam Nadir was instrumental in advising, mentoring and assisting numerous other schools across the region and beyond. He generously shared his knowledge on curriculum development, administration and community building to ensure Islamic education would flourish in countless communities.
He was the Director of Al-Ikhlas Academy, a Pre-K-12th grade Islamic school in Detroit, MI. Since its establishment in 1991, the school has graduated 34 senior graduating classes, many of whom have gone on to become successful professionals and return to serve the school through their personal engagement and donations. Imam Nadir transformed the lives of countless students and families through his role in education, both in Detroit and abroad. He was a regular contributor to ISLA and is deeply missed.
Beyond the Opening Ceremony
While ISLA has regularly been an exhibitor at the ISNA Education conferences in Chicago, IL and Orange County, CA, this was the first year that ISLA had a booth at the bazaar of the main ISNA convention.
One of the reasons ISLA decided to invest its time and resources into having a presence at the convention was to help spread the word about ISLA beyond its educational base. We wanted everyday Muslims to know that there is a professional organization dedicated to advancing Islamic education in America. Furthermore, the toolkits we offer, including the Sexual Abuse Prevention Toolkit, have resources that every constituency in the Muslim ummah can benefit from. We felt it was incumbent for us to spread the word about these resources as much as we can. During one main session about the Hurma Project, Dr. Ingrid Mattson told people about ISLA’s toolkit, and we were there to distribute our postcard with QR code to the attendees in the room.
ISLA also had an interactive panel sponsored by Archangel at our booth. This large screen allowed us to engage passersby in helping us locate and map every full-time Islamic school in the United States. As we seek to engage in the next round of surveying Islamic schools, being connected to all of our schools matters. The more complete our directory, the more likely it is for us to reach each school when we administer the survey.
Concluding Thoughts
The ISNA Convention that opened by recognizing the three educators, Sister Clara Muhammad, Karen Keyworth and Imam Nadir Ahmad, reminds us that the continued growth of Islamic schools and Islamic education in America depends on the educators, leaders, and communities willing to build for the next generation. We are grateful to have been present at this convention and to ISNA for recognizing these foundational leaders. We ask Allah to accept their pioneering works as a sadaqah jariah for them.
