Our Team

Na'eemah Martinez - Founder

Born in Canada but raised in the Bahamas, Na'eemah embraced Islam at seventeen, attended Toronto's Ryerson University (then a college), and embarked on a journey of Islamic scholarship alongside her husband in Damascus. There she studied at Abu Nur Islamic Institute, specializing in the Prophetic Biography (Seerah). While raising four children, she continues to pursue knowledge, literature and storytelling. She is also a guidance counselor at Dar al-Burhan Academy, an after-school hifz academy in Vaughan.

Sumayyah Ajem - Co-founder

Sumayyah was born in Canada but lived in Syria and Morocco until she was seven. Homeschooled until Grade 11, she graduated from the University of Toronto with a Specialist degree in English and a certificate from OISE in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. She was briefly a teacher in Dubai and currently works as a librarian. She is a bookworm, an author, and a freelance photographer. She has completed a children's book and is currently writing the first volume of a Muslim-themed fantasy series titled The Legends of Mourra.

Emanuelle Manigat - Contributor

The proud child of Haitian immigrants, Eman completed her degree in Languages & Literature from Champlain College, earned her Islamic Studies Teaching Certification from Ribaat, and has her Masters in Pastoral Studies, with a Certification in Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy, from the University of Toronto.

Eman also serves as Rabata’s Convert Care Coordinator and Toronto Chapter Lead, acts as a counselor and psychotherapist at Ruhcare, and mentors for the Muslim Women Convert Circle—an exclusive space for convert women of all backgrounds from across the globe. 

Zaakirah Rose - Contributor

Born in Montreal to immigrant parents of the Caribbean, Zaakirah is a specialized surgeon's assistant from the McGill University Health Campus and worked for the Montreal Children's Hospital for many years.

After converting to Islam in '99, she studied Hanafi fiqh and has ijaza in the fiqh of menstruation. She also qualified to teach at the Quranic Sciences Institute. Zaakirah is very passionate about everything Black and Muslim. She loves books, writing, the pious, and her people.

​