By: Fatema Rehmani and Ulaa Kuziez
Welcome to our latest issue of The IME® Report, which represents First Quarter 2021. We are pleased to report an exciting surge in interest on the topic of IME®, as reflected in a steady and unabated rise in inquiries at AIMA® and in subscriptions to The IME® Report. This is GREAT news!
And so, as many of you are first-time readers of this publication, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for making it a priority, amidst the many other demands on your time. We are happy you are here.
We are grateful for those of you who share our values and who recognize the importance of fostering in our children an early appreciation of their spiritual nature. Spirituality is a privilege of divine origin that imbues life with meaning and purpose – simply by virtue of the fact that it exists, that God exists. While this privilege is, of course, available to us all, only those whom God calls will become beneficiaries of the peace it affords.
Hence our mission at AIMA®: Expanding Peace through Education.
Why is this organization and its mission necessary?
Because the greatest-problem-ever, was created by the erosion or “dis-integration“ of the domain of Education in the United States over the course of the past century. At one time, “Education” and “values” were constructs that were intractably intertwined; and yet, whether through complacency or deliberate intent, we have been witness to the gradual erosion of this union. No longer do they co-exist; they have become effectively, “dis-integrated” from one another.
This development, in concert with the rapid expansion of instant communication, has generated a social climate and culture in which all voices are afforded equal merit. This means that ALL thoughts or opinions expressed, all claims, assertions, and purported truths that are posited and posted online (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, MyLife, Instagram, etc.), are accorded equal status and validity; this, based on nothing more than the fact that they have appeared, and perhaps that they have been “liked”. Matters of veracity, critical thought, and the scrutiny of logic and science have become extraneous to the voices that emerge amidst the ether of the World Wide Web, voices that manifest and linger for a time in parity and in functional equivalence, before fading away into the darkness; each one assumed by default, to have been equally sound, equally grounded and equally valid.
This is a problem.
This circumstance offers fertile ground and, untended as it is, presents the absolute ideal condition in which to catalyze, cultivate, and breed ignorance – a state from which nothing associated with our spiritual nature can materialize. So, if it is true that purpose and meaning are intimately connected with our spirituality and connection with God, then herein lie the seeds of our destruction. Ignorance destroys our humanity. And this is the point that strikes at the very heart of all we do.
This is why the work of AIMA® is so important. Conceived as a guardian of children and a harbinger of peace, we at AIMA®, hold the education of children as a sacred trust. We affirm Dr. Montessori’s perspective, as she proffered, “Peace is that for which every human being longs and it can be manifest for humanity through the child.” Dr. Maria Montessori
Thank you for being here. We are grateful for your partnership as we endeavor to advance this important work.
As you read through this issue, you will find that we have been busy growing, behind the scenes. We now have a powerhouse IT team working on our website re-design, intended to better represent the evolution of the organization and expand our web presence to make IME® more relatable, more accessible, and more valuable than ever, to a wider spectrum of parents, educators, schools, supporters and friends across the country.
In addition, we are expanding our online library, which now features a variety of thoughtful articles and essays. Our intention is to broaden the scope of this library to include a portal for access to current research in IME®. Quality, academic research is, and will always be, central to our work at AIMA®, for it will guide our continuous effort to define, refine, and advance best practices in IME®. To this end, we invite graduate students who may be actively engaged in IME® research, to please consider submitting your theses and dissertations for publication in the AIMA® Research Library, which will serve as our incubator for the development and launch of the Journal for American Islamic Montessori Education. Our intention is to establish this as a peer-reviewed, professional journal that will contain the latest and greatest research in IME®. This ambition, once achieved, is certain to be an important milestone for the promotion and advancement of IME®, across the nation and around the world.
Finally, we are interested to hear from you. If there are specific issues or topics that you would like addressed in future issues of The IME® Report, please let us know. Our purpose is to serve you – whether you are a parent, an educator, a supporter or friend, our goal is to be your primary resource for the development and advancement of quality IME®.
Salam and best wishes,
Dr. Jaime Dodd, Trustee