The Islamic Seminary of America is an institution that I could only dream of as a younger student. I was drawn in by their exceptional faculty, their valuing of female scholarship, and the diversity of lived experiences reflected in their student body. I am continuously blown away by TISA’s dedication to making their pedagogy rooted in the Islamic tradition and relevant to contemporary issues that impact each of our lives here.

As simple as it sounds, I would say that an ideal TISA student is one who shares TISA’s ideals. Someone who has, throughout their education, been asking questions along the lines of: How is what I’m learning connected to my Islamic worldview and my Muslim communities? Who are the Muslim intellectuals, past and present, that normally go uncredited in my textbooks? Where can I engage intellectually on the contemporary issues that are important to me? If any of these questions are ones you’ve asked yourself, the answer to the last question is undoubtedly, “The Islamic Seminary of America”.

I honestly cannot pick a single experience because this institution has been an answer to so many of my prayers. There is, however, a common thread that weaves itself through my favourite experiences: a sense of community. Whether it is having the honour of sitting in a small classroom and being welcomed into office hours with some of the leading scholars of our time or working alongside my peers to think through some of the most pressing questions of our time, TISA has provided a sense of intellectual community that is generally very hard to find.