Bio
Having had a direct link to IOK (as student, and now as student-teacher) for the vast majority of his life, Mohammad Omair Siddiqui who joined the IOK primary school program at the age of 4, graduated in 2012 as a hafidh, and 2015 as a freshman ready to enter UCLA. Now in his Senior year, at the age of 20, Omair is looking for opportunities that will allow him to balance his time as a Seminary student, a weekend school teacher, and a family man.
“IOK has had an impact on my whole family – my mother is a part-time Seminary student and started hijab because of IOK, my sisters were influenced to start hijab because of IOK, and my brother is also a hafidh thanks to IOK.” Having been introduced to the program in its infancy through Muslim neighbors, the Siddiqui family has witnessed and encouraged their youngest to be a leader wherever he can. A key teacher in the IOK Weekend Deen Connect youth program, Omair wants to help maintain the value of the environment IOK offers – “IOK gave me a great friends group, showed me how to build a community, and above all – set an example of adab, not just in my outer actions, but in my inner actions and thoughts as well.”
When he’s not busy with his academic and spiritual pursuits, Omair spends time watching sports, pursuing his passion for cooking – which he attributes to his hifdh teacher, Shaykh Abdul Wahab – reading, and watching Ertugrul.
An active member of his masjid, CVIC and college Muslim life, Omair encourages parents who wants their children to grow up in the deen, to value the need for Suhbah – Good Companionship. “These are people who have faith in God and put him first. Putting Allah first changes everything in your life. IOK gave me that.”