Executive Director
Quranic Arabic Instructor
Ismail ibn Ali is the Executive Director at Fawakih and serves as an instructor in Quranic Arabic. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Florida ('11) and a Masters of Science in Education with a concentration in Urban Education from Johns Hopkins University ('13). While at Johns Hopkins, Ismail was a full-time high school chemistry and technology teacher at ConneXions School for the Arts in the Baltimore City Public Schools System.
Ismail is a graduate of the Fawakih 2010 summer program, completing over 150 hours of Arabic training in both Fawakih's Virginia and Boston chapters. Ustadh Ismail built on the foundation he established at Fawakih to continue his Arabic and Islamic studies through independent study until he joined Fawakih in 2012 as a teaching assistant fellow for beginner Arabic. After quickly excelling in the training program, Ustadh Ismail adeptly stepped into a teaching position and taught level 1 during the 2012-2013 academic year in Herndon, VA and Washington, DC. Ustadh Ismail currently teaches Beginner and Intermediate Quranic Arabic for Fawakih. He also serves as the part-time Middle School Islamic Studies instructor at Al Fatih Academy.
A life-long student of languages, he has taken seven years of German in addition to his Arabic studies. He also enjoys pick-up basketball and reading books.