No, No, No, Naima!

I met Naima after I had started working at an Islamic school in London. We hired her as a principal for our boy's elementary school, based on the recommendation by a respected school inspector. We hired her in time to help with our upcoming school inspection, and it was a wise decision as we would not have passed it without her!

Naima was another one of the Muslim professionals I have worked with who had her feet in two worlds and her head on straight. She was a strong young woman, who had a wonderful knowledge of the British educational system. I often teased her that she could not have actually been a Moroccan, as all the North Africans I knew were anarchists - she humored me with feigned indignation. Naima was far too earnest a great deal of time, occasionally betraying her sedulous composure with a sly grin and an indecorous anecdote. She was charming that way - not unlike a boxer that sets you up with a dozen jabs then finishes you off with an uppercut from nowhere.

I knew that whatever task I charged her with, Naima would carry it out assiduously. She had a great sense of integrity, and never let a difficult task alone. She was one of those people I didn't always agree with, but I knew that whatever she was fighting for, emanated from her heart with no selfish motive. Her passion was her strength, and occasionally nigh on her downfall. In my more ornery moments, my favorite distraction was counting her staccato "no's" in staff meetings. I would watch her contemplating something being said, usually something a bit near-sided, and I could almost predict the moment of her controlled eruption. After a few times, being the bright woman she was, she would catch herself around the fourth no, and turn around and look at me. I would smile and mouth "arba" silently, the Arabic word for four. Her fervently furrowed brow would relax, and she'd grace us with her beautiful smile.

Naima was just one of a terrific staff we had at the school, but her knowledge of school inspections, and her singular, focused work ethic helped us carry the day. We received an adequate report, phenomenal as we had turned over more than 60% of our faculty that year, and was midway between two curricula. Naima helped us with far more that year, and I was saddened to hear she left shortly after I did. Naima has since adopted a daughter, and is married and living in Saudi Arabia, She comes to mind very often, when I indulge the fantasy of having a few of her while facing a current predicament with limited resources. Just a few of her though, not particularly relishing an orchestra of no, no, no, no's. I miss her.