When the Islamic Society of Baltimore first opened its doors, the Friday prayers drew men and women eager for community, while potluck dinners kept families close. But for many parents, the most urgent question was not about themselves, it was about their children.
“How will they learn the Qur’an here?”
Back home, parents had relied on neighborhood madrasas, village teachers, or grandfathers reciting in the evenings. But in suburban Maryland, there were none. Children were learning English at school, watching cartoons on TV, and playing baseball in the park. Without structure, parents feared their faith would slip away.
So in the early 1980s, ISB launched what would become its first Qur’an school, held on weekends in the mosque’s basement. The classrooms were improvised: folding tables, chalkboards, and donated books. Teachers were volunteers, mothers, fathers, and a few students who had memorized portions of the Qur’an back home.
The classes were small but lively. Children repeated the Arabic alphabet in chorus, stumbling through alif, baa, taa. Older kids memorized short surahs and were rewarded with candy when they recited correctly. The lessons were often interrupted by laughter, mischief, or the smell of samosas drifting from the kitchen upstairs. Yet, for the parents watching, it was a miracle: their children were learning the same words they had grown up with thousands of miles away.
Over time, the Qur’an school grew. More families joined, more volunteers taught, and eventually, a structured curriculum emerged. Report cards were introduced, with marks for tajweed and memorization. The children began holding small competitions, proudly reciting before the community.
For many who attended, the memory of that first Qur’an school is still vivid, the crowded basement, the chalk dust, the gentle scolding of teachers, and the pride of parents when their child recited Surah Ikhlas for the first time.
Today, ISB hosts full-time Islamic schools with hundreds of students, accredited programs, and professional teachers. But all of it began with a handful of parents, determined to pass on their faith, sitting in a basement with chalkboards and conviction.
The first Qur’an school at ISB was not just about teaching children to read Arabic. It was about ensuring that the next generation of Maryland Muslims knew where they came from and where they belonged.