By Bassam Tariq
Reading time turns into photo time.
Growing up in the public school system, I’ve always been curious on what a full-time Islamic school looks like from the inside. I decided to do a small photo essay on the Mohammed Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. The Mohammed Schools consists of an elementary, middle, and high school. It is said that 100% of the seniors from the school go to college after graduation to prestigious institutions like Harvard. The girls basketball team, the Lady Caliphs, has made it to the state championships and was featured on ESPN not too long ago.
For more information on their school visit their website – The Mohammed Schools
Sister Jamillah Bouchta leads her first grade Arabic class in Quran recitation and translation.
Girls in middle school look up difficult words in dictionaries.
After the midday prayer, dhuhr, high school girls come out to play a short game of basketball. The Lady Caliphs basketball at the Mohammed School made it to the state finals two years ago. The story was covered beautifully by ESPN.
Safiyyah Shahid, the high school principal, watches the Lady Caliphs basketball team warming up.
Pictures of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a former NBA player for the Sacromento Kings, plasters the walls of the gymnasium. Abdur-Rahim donated the money to build the gymansium for the school. He is also a graduate of the Mohammed Schools.
Seniors discuss the Park 51 mosque in their “Quranic Thinking” class. Led by the former Imam of the mosque, Plemon T El-Amin, students are being taught how to engage in a constructive discourse on this sensitive issue.
The Mohammad Schools building is in close proximity to the Atlanta Masjid. Though the school is its own entity, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Atlanta Masjid.
Students kill time before iftaar, break fast, watching YouTube clips on an iPad in the lobby of Atlanta Masjid. Today’s clip: “Charlie bit my finger.”
A sudent sends a Facebook message to a friend on his iPad. The message reads,”Are u coming to iftaar…Need some stuff on my iPad….Like movies and songs…Nd sum apps.”
A family plays a game of trouble before iftaar, the break fast, at the neighboring fish restaurant.
Like most mosques, the Atlanta Masjid community breaks their fast with dates and water.
Two boys prostrate in the mosque during salaah, the Islamic ritual prayer that is performed five times a day. Prostration during salaah is considered to be the moment that one is closest to God.
A boy takes a shot at the basketball court. Students regularly play basketball after the break fast dinner.
