Tarjuma began in 2012 as a collective effort by a group of Ta’leef Academy Alumni, seeking a way to build a community based on fellowship and spiritual cultivation. After 2 years of hosting gatherings in Edmonton including Meaningful Expression (a quarterly event that explored the intersection of Islamic tradition and creative expression) and Being Muslim (a weekly class on the essentials of Islamic belief and practice), Tarjuma was created. The mission is to better cultivate the Prophetic graces of a welcoming and caring community.
Ta’leef Academy alumni consist of over 350 graduates of Refining the Core (formerly known as the Mu’allif Mentorship Program or MMP), which provides a unique hands on training experience for a life of service and designed to empower community care providers with our best pastoral care practices.
Our alumni join us from over 25 cities across the globe, and represent a wide-range of professions and fields of expertise. Our training programming aims to provide alumni with a life transforming experience, and give them the tools to do the hard work of heart-work.
Below are a few examples of our amazing alumni who have gone on to build in their communities.
Founded by Samuel Chesneau, Heather Lakhal, and Alouisse Urness, Wasat creates space to connect people and explore the American Muslim experience through art, love and learning. Wasat was born in 2012, as a need to create space for Seattle-area Muslims to grow and learn together. Many dreams and cups of coffee later, is has grown into an organization followed and much beloved by many. Wasat is an Arabic word that can mean middle-way, just, or balanced. It’s used in the Qur’an to describe the community that we are intended to be.
Center D.C. was founded by Ta’leef Academy Alumni, Lauren Schreiber and Muhammad Oda, and strives to bring together a growing Muslim-American community in the Washington D.C, Maryland and Virginia area. Started in 2015, Center D.C aims to meet the spiritual, social and educational needs of the Muslims, and help navigate a faith-based identity.
The Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto engages students by providing an inclusive space and sense of community for them to foster a meaningful Muslim identity. The Muslim Chaplaincy enriches and supports students through quality educational, spiritual and counselling services rooted in relevant Islamic learning and currently has dedicated chaplains at Ryerson University and at the St. George and Scarborough campuses of University of Toronto.