In The Name Of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful
Our Story
Our Story
The founding director of the Islamic Montessori Society s Mary Catherine Flynn, a Irish American who was drawn to the compassion, ease and beauty of Islam while living and teaching in Jerusalem. After returning to the USA she attended the educational conference entitled, "Beyond Schooling" featuring speakers Hamza Yusuf and John Tayor Ga
The founding director of the Islamic Montessori Society s Mary Catherine Flynn, a Irish American who was drawn to the compassion, ease and beauty of Islam while living and teaching in Jerusalem. After returning to the USA she attended the educational conference entitled, "Beyond Schooling" featuring speakers Hamza Yusuf and John Tayor Gatto . It was at that time she became convinced that the current educational system was working against the true nature of the child. Determined to do her part to promote a more wholistic approach to education, Mary established a small Islamic Montessori program that has grown into what is now Medina Montessori. In 2016, Mary founded the Islamic Montessori Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Islamic Montessori education by providing scholarships for Muslim teachers to take Montessori training, provide student tuition scholarships and support Muslim Montessori schools. In 2019 the scope of the society was expanded to include wholistic education, sustainable living and the fine arts and was renamed the Islamic Society for Wholistic* Education.
*Wholistic is spelled intentionally with a "w" to make the word more meaningful as it applies to the whole person. We prefer this spelling to the current common spelling "holistic" which implies emptiness as in a "hole." This unique spelling was first suggested by Dr. Jeanette Hablullah, a Naturopathic Doctor a trusted advisor who as offered several workshops for our community.