
History
Mind Builders Islamic Academy, previously known as Kalamazoo Islamic School (KIS), was originally established in 1974. It started as a Sunday school located within Kalamazoo Islamic Center (KIC) to meet the need for Islamic education for the children of Muslim families living in and around the Greater Kalamazoo area. At inception, KIS primarily served to provide education to Muslim students at Western Michigan University and gradually expanded to encompass students of various age-groups that live within Kalamazoo County, averaging approximately 120 students enrolled per year. As the number of students grew in size, school expansion became necessary. In 2015, and through multiple efforts and generous donations of the Islamic community, a new headquarters for KIS became available after the purchase of a 30,000 square foot facility on a 10-acre property at 805 Osterhout Ave in Portage, MI. KIS continued its educational activities during Sundays at its new headquarters allowing for further growth and expansion of the school. In 2022, KIS underwent a renovation process and was rebranded to Mind builders Islamic Academy (MBIA).

Our Mission
To offer our youth a nurturing environment that enables them to better understand core Islamic values and principles, be proud Muslims, and transform into strong leaders and reformers of their community
Our Vision
To be the go-to hub for building the Islamic identity. We aspire to create a generation of Muslims that are unique and discrete in qualities, and bearers of the highest of standards
Our Values
Integrity, Respect, Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Compassion

MBIA Advisory Board
Current board members
Mohamed Mohamed
Asim Siddiqui
Saima Siddiqui
Selim Ozyurek
Huda Alvi
Former board members
Tamer Elkafrawy
Nadia Sunny
Former KIS board members
Faisal Alam
Huda Alvi
Afifa Thaj
Deena Warsi
Ayub Khan
Ejaz Iqbal
Eman Mohamed
MBIA Principal’s brief bio
Mohamed Mohamed, MD, MBA, FACEP is an emergency physician by training and serves as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Western Michigan University. He is a graduate of Cairo University Kasr AlAiny School of Medicine in Egypt. He completed residency training in emergency medicine from two residency programs; in Egypt and the United States. He completed a fellowship in Trauma Research at Michigan State University, and received his Master of Business Administration from Oakland University. Dr. Mohamed has authored nearly twenty peer-reviewed publications and received numerous research and academic awards including: the Making a Difference Award from Sparrow Hospital; Resident of the Year Award from his residency program at Sparrow Hospital; and the Faculty Teaching Award from Western Michigan University. Dr. Mohamed is a former emergency department director at a large teaching hospital in Egypt and has served on multiple leadership committees as well as a Lead Clinical Research Instructor at Michigan State University’s Trauma Research Fellowship program. Dr. Mohamed joined MBIA as the School Principal in 2022.

Staff
School Coordinator
Eman Mohamed
Our Teachers
Pre-k Maham Khanum
KG Nada Alakhras, Batoul Alkharssa
Grade 1 Aisha Rashid, Victoria Demuth
Grade 2 Fatima Mahfouz
Grade 3 Iman Siddiqui, Ayat Rizeq
Grade 4 Alaa Othman, Adam Coe
Grade 5 Aisha Brock
Grade 6 Ayat Rizeq, Rashida Al-Gharib
Grade 7 Deena Warsi, Faisal Alam
Grade 8 Kawther Mohammed
Seniors Maryam Khan, Karim Elghawy
Our Teacher Assistants
Farida Yasmin
Nour Yousef
Bassem Warsi
Hanyi
Esra
Zainab
Kitchen Supervisor
Sadia Mahmoud
Maintenance/IT Engineer
Faisal Mahmoud
Saftey Officer
Syed Hasan
