Elma Harder

Elma Ruth Harder

Elma Ruth Harder is a teacher and a home school mother, and author of Concentric
Circles, Nurturing Awe and Wonder in Early Learning (2006). Currently she is working
to establish Sakinah Circle as an alternative program within Edmonton Public Schools.
Sakinah Circle focuses on holistic lifelong learning with a Qur’anic worldview. Elma
has taught at the International School of Islamabad and in rural Saskatchewan, northern
Alberta, and urban Montreal. She holds a M.Sc. in Continuing and Vocational Education
(University of Wisconsin-Madison) and undergraduate degrees in Education, Home
Economics, and Theology.
Her other publications include Living Ramadan, for children who think (2004),
Unromantic Orient, a translation of Muhammad Asad’s Unromantisches Morgenland,
aus dem Tagebuch einer Reise (2004) and Stories of the Prophets (1999).
Elma Harder and her family live near Edmonton, Alberta.

Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick

Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick

Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick is a historian, social activist and religious leader of African and Native American descent. He has travelled to over 58 countries doing research and delivering lectures to various communities. His qualification in Islamic Studies comes from a BA from the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia and his history background is shaped by an MA and PhD from the History Department of the University of Toronto, Canada.

Dr Quick has served as a special adviser to the Toronto Board of Education, the Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum as well as a regular columnist in the religion page of one of Canada’s leading daily newspapers, The Toronto Star. He has initiated and developed special classes for the hearing impaired of Canada and the underprivileged of Southern Africa. He has been a guest lecturer at York University (Toronto), McGill University, the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) in the Departments of History, Women’s Studies, Geography and Middle-East Islamic Studies and African Studies as well as member of the Chaplains Association of the University of Toronto. He has also developed and facilitated workshops and training sessions for diverse organizations such as Children’s Aid Society, Metropolitan Toronto School Boards, Family Service Association of Metro Toronto, Canadian Museums Association, Canadian Institute for International Affairs, the Canadian Churches Forum for Global Ministries, Elementary Teachers Association of York Region, Metro Toronto School for the Deaf, the Scarborough Public Library Board, and Al Wagah, Muslim Deaf Society of Cape Town.

For over ten years, Dr Quick was Director of the Islamic Social Services and Resources Association, one of Canada’s first recognized Islamic social service agencies. There he counseled hundreds people from all walks of life and various religions and developed one of Canada’s first Muslim food banks.

He has participated in interviews as an expert on African History and Islamic issues with major Canadian, Caribbean and South African media organizations, such as CBC TV, City TV, CFRB, Channel 47 (Canada) and the SABC, 702 Cape Talk, Voice of the Cape, Radio 786, Channel Islam, Radio Ansar (Durban, South Africa).

He has a number of scholarly presentations and publications but his recent focus has been on documentary films such as Timbuktu, the Empire of Knowledge, Untold Ethiopia and Reflections from the Western Sunrise (Quick Answers) that all aired on national television in South Africa.

Presently, Dr Abdullah is the Director of the Discover Islam Centre of Cape Town , South Africa, a roving lecturer with Al-Maghrib Institute and a special adviser to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Michael Reist

Michael Reist is a leading expert on the topic of homeschooling in Ontario. He is a teacher with over 28 years of experience in the Ontarioschool system, and he and his wife homeschooled their four children through elementary school. Michael has been a mentor to many homeschooled kids and a consultant to many homeschooling parents. He believes that homeschooling is one of the best options available to parents today. He is the author of The Dysfunctional School and has spoken to parent groups and education conferences across Canada.