Through out the history of mankind women have played a very important role in narrating the stories of their times. Even though Muslim women often find themselves marginalized in many modern day Muslim countries, the earliest history of Islam had very rich traditions of female narrators and story tellers. Due to their ingenuity, their narrations survived for over a millennium and are still very much alive in present time. Al-Rawiya(a female narrator) was conceived as a tribute to the female narrators of all race, religion, ethnicity and culture. Al-Rawiya Foundation is a registered non-profit American women’s organization.

Mission: The mission of Al-Rawiya Foundation is to empower Muslim women through education, arts and integration.

Non-discriminatory policy: Even though Al-Rawiya Foundation emphasizes the participation of American Muslim women, all activities, services and initiatives of the Foundation are open to women of all race, religion, culture, ethnicity and other orientations. Some of the initiatives are open to both genders.

What we do

Shaykha Fest: Starting 2012 Al-Rawiya Foundation is introducing Shaykha Fest to draw attention to and revive the often ignored tradition of female scholarship in historical and contemporary Islamic discourse. Shaykha Fest is a yearly event intended to provide an exclusive platform to female Islamic scholars and thinkers from around the world to share their knowledge and expertise in a nurturing and inclusive atmosphere.

Al-Rawiya Youth Forum: The Youth Forum is a yearly event that focuses on developing personality and cross-cultural leadership among the youth through interactive workshops on cross-cultural dialogue, conflict resolution and civic responsibilities.

ArtLit Competition & Exhibition: ArtLit Competition & Exhibition is intended to inculcate in the youth love for art and literature. The competition is open to all teens. As part of the competition the teens submit essays on selected novels to qualify for scholarships. The competition provides opportunities to local artists to showcase their talents at the award ceremony. The award ceremony brings together people of different backgrounds to promote arts, understanding and cross-cultural dialogue.

Literary Salon: Al-Rawiya provides a platform for creative expression through Literary Salon and other literary events where mainstream English literature(fiction) is studied and analyzed.

Interfaith Symposiums: Al-Rawiya has an extensive working relationship with various faith groups. The Foundation actively promotes inter-religious compassion by participation and organizing interfaith symposiums with different faith groups to highlight the common values shared among different religious traditions. As part of the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship Network, Al-Rawiya Foundation works a with group of talented Jewish, Muslim and Christian social entrepreneurs from USA, Europe and Canada to promote cross-cultural dialogue and interfaith action.

Spirituality through Moderation: Al-Rawiya organizes regular theological seminars and workshops for women to emphasize the spiritual aspects of Islamic teachings as well as highlighting the dangers of religious extremism. These seminars also focus on rights of women, women’s jurisprudence, family life and other classical and contemporary issues.

Women’s retreat/conference: Al-Rawiya hosts women’s retreat/conference to encourage active participation of Muslim women in all aspects of life. These conferences focus on women’s health, spirituality, intellectual development, volunteerism and networking. 

Miscellaneous Social Services: The Foundation provides school supplies to teen girls from disadvantaged families as well as those living in homeless shelters and orphanages. It also has an initiative to fulfill holiday “wish-lists” produced by afore mentioned teen girls.

Al-Rawiya Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under the section 501(c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

“Through life’s rush
never forget compassion”