Nawar Taleb-Agha
Nawar Taleb-Agha graduated from the University of California- Berkeley with a BA in Linguistics. In 2003 she received her ijaza in Tajweed in the Hafs recitation from the late Shaykh Abu Al-Hassan Al-Kurdi (may Allah have Mercy on him) and later on memorized the Quran and received the ijaza for the memorization of the Quran from Shaykh Muhammad Nizar al-Kurdi. Nawar is a Rosebuds Murabiyyah for the Oakland halaqa and teaches Arabic and Tajweed classes locally to both children and adults. Currently, she is the head teacher for The Rahmah Foundation Girls’ and Women’s Hifdh (memorization) Program.
Homaira Wassel
Homaira Wassel is a homeschooling mother of two girls. She has been a teacher or administrator at various schools for the past eleven years and loves working with children of all ages. She enjoys writing, reading, crafting of all sorts.
Iman Jandali
Iman Jandali recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor’s Degree in public health. In addition to teaching Arabic to kindergartners at the Richmond Islamic School, she has served as a Murabbiyah to the Oakland Rose Buds. This past spring, she had the opportunity to study Arabic and Tajweed at the Nouriyah Hadith Institute in Damascus, Syria and received her Ijazah in Tajweed.
Venus Mahmoodi
Venus Mahmoodi has been involved with The Rahmah Foundation for several years and over the past year has served as the Rosebuds Halaqa coordinator for girls ages 11-13 as well as a murabiyyah for both the NorthStar School and Fremont Halaqa. She received her Bachelors in Science degree at the University of San Francisco and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on the mental health of women and adolescents girls. She has studied classical texts in Aqidah and Fiqh as well as attending local halaqaat with female scholars.
Sawsan Taleb-Agha
In 2008, Sawsan graduated with a BA in Public Health from San Francisco State University. After graduating, she traveled to Syria and studied advanced Arabic at the Institute for Non-native Speakers. In 2004, she received her ijaza in Tajweed in the Hafs recition from the late Shaykh Abu Al-Hassan Al-Kurdi (may Allah have Mercy on him). She enjoys teaching young children and is currently an Arabic instructor at ILM Tree in Lafayette.
Hala Elhayek
Hala Elhayek is currently a student at Ohlone College with a major of Child Development for teaching and hope to transfer to California State University, East Bay, next fall to pursue her studies to become an elementary school teacher. Hala has worked as a TA in a 2nd grade classroom for the past year as well as serving as a Murabiyyah for MCA Rose Buds Halaqa. In terms of her Islamic knowledge, Hala has studied under Shaykh Salek as well as with his students, Ustadha Mona Elzakaly and Ustadha Saira AbuBakr. She also attends classes with Shaykh Tameem Ahmadi and Ustadh Suhaib Webb.
Rana Chawla
Rana Chawla is a professionally trained Mental Health Therapist. She currently holds a position as a Mental Health Specialist where she provides individual and family therapy to children and adolescents. Rana has worked extensively with clients who have suffered from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and child abuse. She holds a M.A in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver. Prior to enrolling into the graduate program in Denver she studied Arabic and Tajweed in Syria where she received a license to teach Tajweed in the Hafs recitation from the late Shaykh Abu Hassan Al Kurdi in 2004. Rana currently resides in the Silicon Valley with her husband and son. Ustadha Rana Chawla is one of our Qur’an Program teachers.