ISLA - Islamic Schools League of America

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ISLA - Islamic Schools League of America

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The ISLA is a non-profit educational organization that networks (online) full time Islamic schools across the U.S. and Canada. Our vision is achievable.

We help schools, but we are not a school ourselves. The ISLA was founded by four parents whose own children benefited from an education in an Islamic school. The realization of how much Islamic education had helped their own children led to an interest in the general condition of Islamic K-12 education across the country. A year of research revealed that the status of Islamic education nationwide was encouraging because Islamic schools were growing rapidly in Muslim communities across the country. However, it was obvious that the status of Islamic education also was fragile. In some cases, as quickly as new schools opened, others closed their doors, plagued by a multitude of problems and obstacles. One of the biggest problems the ISLA observed was that Islamic schools were often working in complete isolation. There was no strategy in place to interconnect the schools with other schools and with organizations providing ancillary services, of which there were many. Many of the schools were also unaware of educational resources and information; they were often too overwhelmed with the task of keeping the doors of the school open to search for such information. The need described above shaped the ISLA’s focus and direction. The first goal was to facilitate communication and networking opportunities for the schools. The next goal was to try to make it easier for schools to access vital information that would enhance the school’s instruction and the professional development of their faculty. Finally, it was the ISLA’s goal to raise nationwide awareness of the urgency in supporting Islamic schools and working to improve Islamic education, in general, in America. For the ISLA, the success of Islamic schools is not an option; it is a must. Our mission requires that we all work together in support of Islamic schools. This is the ISLA’s service to God, our children, community, and country.

11/05/2026

💬 “I have page after page filled with notes and things that I plan to apply as soon as I get back to Houston.”

Seham Aggad, Assistant Principal at Iman Academy Southeast in Houston, at her first ISLA Leadership Retreat in 2025.

This December, it's your turn. Join Islamic school leaders for The Heart of a Leader.

📅 December 4–6 · Diyanet Center of America, Lanham, Maryland
🔗 Register: https://theisla.org/retreat2026

11/05/2026

📍 Not online. In the same room.

"It's very rare to be able to network with all of these passionate Islamic educators, all in one place." Asmaa Albadawi of Reach & Teach on what changes when leaders gather in person.

This December we gather at the Diyanet Center of America in Lanham, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.: sessions, shared meals, prayer together and the bonfire, from Friday, December 4 to Sunday, December 6.

🛏️ Private on-site rooms are sold out. A limited number of shared on-site beds remain, first come, first served. Add one when you register.
✈️ Fly into BWI.
🔗 Register: https://theisla.org/retreat2026

📌 Save this for your travel planning.

11/04/2026

📚 Books, educators, authors—and more than a few new additions to our reading lists!

September 2026: ISLA was proud to serve as a Community Partner for the inaugural - Nour Book Expo in Anaheim, California, where more than 900 people from across Southern California gathered to celebrate books, storytelling, and a love of reading rooted in an Islamic perspective.

Authors and publishers came from near and far, alongside educators, community organizations, small businesses—and even tea sellers!—creating a lively space for discovery and connection.

For ISLA, one of the best parts was catching up with so many people connected to education and our growing community, including:

📖 ISLA Corporate Members and of Darussalaam
🏫 The principal of
📚
✍️ Authors of , Ilham Malik of , and Wajma Alcozy Babak of For Muslimahs
🌸 Ayza Syed, a remarkable 13-year-old poet and author of

And, of course, we had to say salaam to Meowza of The Little Meowslims Series, created by Valeria The Hijabi, owner of Nour Emporium and the talented host behind the Expo. 🐾

It was a hot Southern California day, but an even warmer gathering of people who believe in the power of books, stories, and learning to shape the next generation.

Congratulations to the Nour team on an incredible inaugural event. We loved seeing Muslim literature—and the educators, creators, and communities behind it—take center stage.

11/04/2026

Check out this featured offer from one of our ISLA Corporate Members, School Pro! School Pro is an all-in-one management system built for Islamic schools, covering admissions, gradebook, report cards, billing, attendance, parent communication, lesson planning, and a dedicated Hifdh module.

Run by a US-based Muslim team with over 7 years of serving this community, School Pro offers one flat price of $250 a month, with no student cap, no contracts, and free technical support included.

👉 Schedule a free demo call: schoolpro.us

Are you an ISLA Corporate Member looking to promote your product or service? Reach out to us to learn more about advertising opportunities!

11/03/2026

⏳ Very limited seats remaining. Don't miss the moment.

📍 Where we'll gather this December: the Diyanet Center of America in Lanham, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.

The 16-acre campus of has an Ottoman-style masjid with twin minarets, where we pray together, a dining hall for every meal from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, and space for the sessions and the conversations between them.

Swipe through the campus →

🛏️ Private on-site rooms are sold out. A limited number of beds in shared on-site houses remain, first come, first served, $150 per person for both nights. Add one when you register, or see the nearby hotels on the retreat page.
🎟️ Registration closes Friday, November 27, but seats may not last that long.
✈️ Fly into BWI. Registration and lodging check-in: Friday, 1:45 to 3:00 pm Eastern.
📅 December 4–6, 2026
🔗 Register: https://theisla.org/retreat2026

📌 Save this post for your travel planning.

10/31/2026

Check out this featured offer from one of our ISLA Corporate Members, QManager (), the school dismissal and carpool app.

With QManager, parents never leave their cars. Staff have carpool information at their fingertips, and QManager shows parents' location as they pull into your school's geofence. Students walk out only when their ride is at the curb, one by one. At Lakeside Montessori, dismissal went from 54 minutes to 21.

Schedule a 30-minute demo to see how your school can save $800/month. Start your free 30-day trial by December 30 and your first year is $995 instead of $1,295.

👉 Schedule Your Demo Now: https://dismissalsoftware.com/schedule-demo/

Are you an ISLA Corporate Member looking to promote your product or service? Reach out to us to learn more about advertising opportunities!

10/30/2026

💛 Islamic school leaders give all day. Here is a moment to pause, from our Retreat Sneak Peek.

Kareem Elsayed, Dr. Ahmad Deeb, Rasha El-Haggan and Dr. Shaza Khan talk about burnout, self-awareness and the company that helps us keep going.

At The Heart of a Leader, ISLA Leadership Retreat 2026, we will make time for that work together.

🎥 Watch the full Sneak Peek conversation on the retreat page.
📅 December 4–6 · Diyanet Center of America, Lanham, Maryland
🔗 Watch and register: https://theisla.org/retreat2026
🎟️ Save 15% on registration with code ISLAFriend.
🗓️ Valid through Friday, November 27, 2026, at 11:59 pm Eastern, when registration closes.

📩 Send this to a colleague who carries a lot.

10/30/2026

🤝 Welcome, Reach & Teach, a Silver Sponsor of the ISLA Leadership Retreat 2026.

Reach & Teach offers workshops, coaching, consultations and the FITRAH Framework Training for Islamic schools and Muslim educators. It was founded by Asmaa Albadawi, an instructional coach with more than 20 years in Islamic school teaching, higher education and coaching.

Thank you for standing with the Islamic school leaders who gather this December to reflect, replenish and go back and give.

📅 December 4–6 · Diyanet Center of America, Lanham, Maryland
🌐 https://www.facebook.com/reachandteachwithasmaa https://letsreachandteach.com

10/29/2026

🎙️ An imam and a psychologist who studies belonging in the American masjid. Meet our Resident Scholar, Dr. Ahmad Deeb.

Dr. Deeb is an imam, teacher and community psychologist whose work brings together classical Islamic scholarship, mental health and community development. He holds a PhD in Community Psychology, and his book Staying Human: A Muslim Philosophy of Belonging and Community grew out of his research on loneliness in the American masjid.

He co-founded Pillars Seminary, a part-time online seminary, and Itqaan Institute, which teaches the Qur'an, and he has lectured internationally, including at Yale and Princeton. He joins The Heart of a Leader, the ISLA Leadership Retreat 2026, as our Resident Scholar.

🔗 Follow his work: instagram.com/imamdeeb
📅 December 4–6 · Diyanet Center of America, Lanham, Maryland
🔗 Register: https://theisla.org/retreat2026

📩 Send this to a colleague who would love to hear him.

10/28/2026

👋 Meet Dr. Shaza Khan, Executive Director of ISLA, who brings Islamic school leaders together at the ISLA Leadership Retreat.

Dr. Khan leads ISLA's work to elevate Islamic education and strengthen school leadership. Under her leadership, ISLA has grown into a hub for research, resources and relationships for full-time Islamic schools.

She holds a Ph.D. in Teaching, Curriculum, and Change from the University of Rochester, and through retreats like this one she convenes school leaders, scholars and partners to build bold, reflective, mission-driven leadership.

📅 December 4–6 · Diyanet Center of America, Lanham, Maryland
🔗 Register: https://theisla.org/retreat2026

Address

Round Rock, TX
78683

Website

http://www.theisla.org/

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