Abdulla Idris Ali (2019)

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One MAX

January 8, 2021

On December 1, 2019

Dr. Abdalla Idris Ali was born in Sudan and immigrated to Canada in 1977 as a graduate student at the University of Toronto, pursuing his Ph.D. in International Relations. His work in education began as a teacher of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Islamic Centre of Toronto. In 1982, he laid down the foundation of the first full-time Islamic school in Canada and served as the Principal of the Islamic Community School. Dr. Abdalla Idris was later appointed to the Executive Council of the Islamic Society of North America and then elected to its consultative body. This led him to serving as President of ISNA from 1992 through 1997. He is also a founding Board member of the Council of Islamic Schools in North America where he developed and implemented Islamic and Arabic Studies curricula for elementary and junior high students. In 1998, Dr. Abdalla Idris moved to the United States as a curriculum consultant to the Universal Foundation, and then was appointed Director at the Center for Islamic Education in North America in Kansas City, Missouri. He also became a member of the Board of Trustees I.B.E.R.R., a unique organization headed by Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens which services minority communities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Britain, South Africa and Nigeria. Upon returning to Canada in 2008, Dr. Abdalla Idris started serving as the Secretary General of ISNA Canada. For the last 10 years, Dr. Abdalla Idris has chaired the ISNA Education Forum that attracts more than 250 schools and close to a thousand teachers every year. In 2017, he decided to retire, however the community asked him to stay on as Director of Outreach and Community Development. Today he is serving as the Senior Community Relations Adviser.

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