About Us

We aim to offer Muslim students a rigorous liberal arts education integrating Western and Islamic texts.

Introduction to Adab Academy

            It is with much joy and excitement that we share with you what we hope to be a beneficial and fruitful endeavor: Adab Academy. Our intention is to provide Muslim students with the opportunity to pursue a rigorous education built upon the liberal arts and developed through the reading of seminal texts from the Western and Islamic worlds. We aim to produce well-rounded young adults who can begin to navigate the complex world we live in today by contextualizing the past and harmonizing it with the present. 


            Our courses incorporate didactic, dialectic, and Socratic instruction. They are divided into liberal arts fundamentals courses that cover the trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric along with Euclidean geometry, while our seminars focus on reading great books in conversation. Fundamentals courses incorporate labs and practicums to ensure that the skills and content taught are practiced and acquired. Seminars support the skills learned in didactic courses as a secondary arena in which students begin to discuss, analyze, understand, and explore the great ideas they read. We do all of this with reference to the Islamic scholarly tradition and the concepts, principles, and worldview developed therefrom.

            We also provide consulting for schools, institutions, and individuals that want to develop courses, modules, or entire curriculums in the liberal arts, Islamic studies, or great books. We approach our consulting with a focus on the ideas, principles, and philosophies that underlie our contemporary world.


            In essence, we are an online educational institute that provides supplementary courses, resources, and consulting to Muslim homeschoolers and others interested in the liberal arts, great books, and the Islamic tradition. It is our sincere intention, hope, and prayer that everything we do is imbued with adab and all of its connotations of good manners, hospitality, comportment, moral integrity, intelligence, and knowledge of how to put the right things in their proper places.

Academics

We train students in the trivium and read "great books" of the past from both the Islamic and Western traditions in order to understand our present and to plan for what may come ahead.

VIEW COURSES

You may have activities and consulting needs that we have not listed above. Please reach out to us with your inquiries, and we will happily inform you if your request fits into our skillset. 

 

Please email [email protected] regarding your specific needs.

  • I highly recommend Adab Academy. Their courses in logic, ethics, Tasawwuf, and philosophy have challenged my daughter, enhancing her critical thinking, articulation, and engagement with complex texts. This blend of analysis and inquiry fosters intellect, ethical responsibility, and confidence—an invaluable opportunity for any child.

    Anonymous Parent

  • Ayesha and John are exceptional educators and mentors who have profoundly impacted my children’s lives. Ayesha’s tailored, engaging Arabic lessons built a strong foundation, while John’s ability to connect, challenge, and inspire brought out their best. They’re not just teachers but sincere, caring role models my kids deeply admire.

    - Rukhsar, Mother of Three Students

Meet The Instructors

John Ropoulos
John Ropoulos, from Fremont, CA, holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Islamic Law from St. John’s College and Zaytuna College. After studies in Egypt, Turkey, and Mauritania, he earned an M.A. in Islamic Texts from Zaytuna, focusing on justice in Ibn Khaldūn’s Muqaddimah. Currently pursuing a doctorate at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, he researches the divine attributes in post-classical Kalām and falsafa. His expertise spans literature, history, philosophy, and Islamic studies.


Ayesha Darab
Ayesha Darab, from Northern Virginia, earned a B.A. in Islamic Law and Theology from Zaytuna College and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, where she wrote Heidegger's concept of nature. She furthered her Arabic and Islamic studies in Egypt and completed an M.A. at Zaytuna on Mulla Sadra’s concept of existence. Currently, she teaches Arabic, explores classical philosophy, and tutors for the Catherine Project. Her expertise includes philosophy, Islamic theology, and classical Arabic.

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