Umoja Outreach Foundation

Umoja Community Voice – Ma’rifa

Join us for a new outreach show, Community Voice! With so many successful and inspiring youth movements and leaders around us, we will be learning about their stories, struggles, and ideas to reimagine our own daily lives and goals. Ma’rifa is a national organization committed to the spiritual and intellectual growth of Shi’i students. By […]

Hood n Cape (PhD Student and Illustrator)

Hood is a full-time bioengineering PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology. Apart from her love for science and curiosity to learn, the shockingly less number of hijab-wearing faces in Indian academia has further pushed her to continue in this field. Among the many personal and social goals she expects to achieve at the end of […]

Engineering Panel (Zaynab Sbeiti, Salmaan Bhimji)

Zaynab received her Bachelors in Civil engineering in 2019. She started her first engineering job in September 2020, amidst the pandemic, and it was not easy. As a 5'2, visibly Muslim female, she has to prove herself every day on the construction field. But every little success tastes sweeter knowing that she is a rare […]

Mohammad Ali Naqvi (Flight Instructor and Pilot)

Mohammad Ali Naqvi is a Certified Flight Instructor, based out of Los Angeles, CA. Mohammad Ali started flying at 18, and is currently building flight hours in order to become an airline pilot. He's currently a senior at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, majoring in Aeronautics. Mohammad Ali would like to use flying as a means to […]

Aria Bashir (Fashion Entrepreneur and HR Professional)

Aria Bashir is the founder and designer of Zaria Boutique, an up and coming modest fashion brand that is ethically produced in Canada by Aria and her talented mother, Zakia Bashir. As a new hijabi, and even before putting on the hijab, she always has the access to having her apparel tailored and customized to […]

Umoja Community Voice – Who is Hussain

Who is Hussain's vision is a society inspired by Hussain. Leading with the values Hussain stood for, those of compassion, justice and dignity, our purpose is to build compassionate communities inspired by the moral values of Hussain. We achieve this through meaningful local actions and initiatives, coupled with informative content. Who is Hussain is a […]

Fatima Zaidi (Student and Journalist)

Fatima Zaidi has become a globally recognized voice due to her contributions within Muslim communities as a public speaker. After speaking in Chicago’s annual Ashura procession for nearly five years, she was granted the opportunity to raise her voice on Islamic World issues at the White House for the Al Baqee Organization in 2019. Aside […]

Insiya Aziz – Law Student

Insiya Aziz is a second year law student at the University of Texas School of Law. In her time as a law student, she has been involved with many pro bono projects, focusing on criminal justice, special education, and immigration. She also is also a board member at the American Muslim Bar Association, where she […]

Laila Tauqeer – College Student

Laila is a senior at Harvard University studying History of Science and Near Eastern Studies. She is passionate about working with young people to learn about religion and cultivating (and practicing) God-centered love in everything with them. Check out @marifaprograms to find out more about this. Laila finds inspiration from poetry, Shi'a Islam, and all […]

Arts Panel – Zeinab Shdid, Sahara Mehdi

Zeinab Shdid is passionate about art and started drawing when she was very young. She honed her talent and majored in Fine Arts in Lebanon, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree. She does not understand the negativity surrounding these types of majors for many reasons, as to her, painting is more than a major. It […]