Dragonflies Team

Dr. Tamara is the Executive Director and Chief Spirituality officer at Rabata Inc. She spends her days and nights working to uplift and educate Muslim women around the world. She also drinks a lot of black coffee and strong tea. Dr. Tamara has read the Harry Potter series numerous times and considers herself a Griffindor. Her favorite characters are Hermione Granger, Professor McGonagall, and Snape. She is interested in women’s issues, religious leadership, and cultural change.

Dr. Tamara Gray

Executive Director at Rabata

Dragonflies Team

Eamaan Rabbat was raised in the United States and in Syria, where she benefited from renowned female teachers of the Islamic sciences, including tajwid, sirah, hadith, fiqh, and aqīdah. After moving to the United Arab Emirates, she earned her Bachelor’s in Mass Communications with concentrations in Advertising and Journalism and later earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration. Since graduating university, she has dedicated her time to the education and upbringing of children and adults. She has held various positions in educational institutions and schools, and volunteered at various educational centers. She has been honored to serve as director of the Ribaat Academic Institute since its inception in Fall 2013 and presently serves as Rabata's Education Director.

Eamaan Rabaat

Director of Education

Dragonflies Team

Hanan Amaira is a native of Southern California who enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling. She holds a BA in Mass Communication and a Master of Science in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations. She works in the field of communication and is passionate about sharing her knowledge through education and community work. She is currently the Youth Program Coordinator at Rabata, and is a strong advocate of promoting positive cultural change to Muslim teens and kids. Aside from her work, Hanan enjoys cooking with her husband and three kids, and spending time with her family and friends. She also volunteers at local non-profits and spiritual groups and focuses on maintaining a balanced lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise.

Hanan Amaira

Youth Program Administrator

Tayyaba Syed is the multiple award-winning author of the children’s picture book The Blessed Bananas. She has written for 20+ book titles for Muslim kids including Encyclopedia Britannica. As a journalist, her bylines have been in numerous publications such as NPR, Chicago Parent and Islamic Horizons. She is an active volunteer for Rabata, teaches writing to communities everywhere, leads a local women’s halaqa, and performs readily as a fun storyteller. She has worked as the Creative Developer for Noor Kids educational books and as a co-author for the Jannah Jewels chapter-book series. As a public speaker, she has conducted 100+ literary and faith-based presentations from all over the U.S. to Qatar and Turkey. Recently, Tayyaba completed the Ribaat Teacher Certification through the Ribaat Academic Institute. She lives with her husband and three children in Illinois.

Anse Tayyaba Syed

Hafsa Abdul-Hakeem resides in New Jersey and works for a non-profit organization. She has a passion for islamic studies and Quranic Arabic and has travelled to 3 countries seeking to grow and learn the beauty of the faith, she remains a student of Islamic studies and teaches Quran classes online. Currently her work is focused in social services as a Case Manager and a Pantry Coordinator, “Come volunteer at your local non-profit! We’d love to have you!!”. She is a mom of two and a lover of the outdoors. You can catch her with her with her son hugging trees while hiking. She continues her Islamic studies with Ribaat and in 2020 completed the Ribaat Teacher Certification through the Ribaat Academic Institute.

Anse Hafsa Abdul-Hakeem

Dr. Farhana Yunus is a mother of 4 boys and 1 girl, an optometrist, and has completed the Ribaat Teacher Certification through the Ribaat Academic Institute. She has taught clinical nutrition at St. Mathews medical school. She loves teaching and empowering young boys and girls as both a Boyscout and Girlscout troop leader. In her free time, she loves to travel, read, go fishing, kayak, and try new recipes. If she could have any superpower it would be to fly (which is interesting because she is afraid of heights).

Anse Farhana Yunus

Soofia Ahmed is a teacher and a real estate agent residing in Chicago, IL. She graduated from Elmhurst College, majoring in Secondary Education/English Literature and minoring in Intercultural studies with a focus on social justice. She also has a middle school history teaching certification. She's led teaching initiatives for street children in India, taught in UK Islamic schools, where she and her family resided for almost 8 years, and has taught in both public and private schools in the US. She loves horses, even though she's madly allergic to them and enjoys spending her free time exploring nature with her three beautiful bairns. She is currently a student at the Ribaat Academic Institute pursuing a Ribaat Islamic Studies Teacher Certificate.

Anse Soofia Ahmed

Eman was born and raised in Montreal, Canada from Haitian parents. She is currently a student at the Ribaat Academic Institute where she is studying sacred Islamic Sciences and Arabic. Eman is one of the lead admins on the popular Muslim Women Convert Circle FB page, exclusive to convert women of all backgrounds and locations. She is also responsible for the Black History Month and Women's History Month Rabata campaigns and Rabata French Facebook page. Eman resides in Toronto with her two beloved children and husband.

Anse Eman Manigat

A Colorado native with a Dallas residence, Zaina has a degree in Math and Secondary Education. She also studied in a full-time Arabic program. She has taught multiple subjects to middle schoolers. Zaina loves everything coffee and Harry Potter. She is a mom to a 3 ½ year old daughter and an almost 2 year old son who both keep her happy busy. Zaina has completed the Ribaat Teacher Certification through the Ribaat Academic Institute.

Anse Zaina Abukhdeir

Kiashe Pugh converted to Islam as a freshman in college, while attending Rutgers University, where she double majored in Psychology and Biology. After graduating she taught for a year and then went to the Middle East for nearly two decades. with her family. She studied Tajweed, learned an appreciation for loving Allah’s Messenger, and took care of her family. Anse Kiashe continues to seek Islamic Knowledge and she enjoys reading, traveling, and cooking for family and friends.

Anse Kiashe Pugh