The TaʿLeem Collaborative was founded by Rasha El-Haggan in 2024 as a way of using her educational leadership skill set in support of her own Muslim community. A longtime member of Dar Al Taqwa mosque (www.taqwa.net), Rasha’s hope was to help organize and support educational programming for the community. In doing so, she quickly realized that while there were many Muslim educators across the region, there was no formal network bringing them together.

What began as a proposal to starting a teaching and learning committee at her local mosque soon expanded into an independent group of like minded Muslim educators from across the DMV—spanning public and private schools, Islamic schools, homeschooling co-ops, higher education, counseling, parent education, coaching, and more. Over several months, the group gathered regularly to refine their vision and shape their collective purpose. From these brainstorming sessions, the Ta’Leem Collaborative was born.

Our guiding question was simple but powerful: How can we, as Muslim educators, use our professional skills to serve and uplift our own communities? Too often, Muslim educators serve in spaces outside our communities, without the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and give back in meaningful ways.

The TaʿLeem Collaborative was created to change that—to bring Muslim educators together in service of one another. We are a growing network committed to supporting, uplifting, and learning from each other—no matter our professional role or setting.