Hazel Gómez

BIOGRAPHY

Hazel Gómez is a Puerto Rican and Mexican Muslim convert of over 20 years hailing from Chicago’s west side. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with double Bachelor’s degrees in Forensic Science and Biology.

Hazel’s passion for studying Islam was heightened while at Al-Azhar University with a delegation of Latino and Latin American Muslim students where they studied a myriad of the foundational Islamic sciences.

A lifelong student of knowledge, Hazel is currently studying the Islamic Sciences with Rabata.org Ribaat Academic Institute, a seminary program under the tutelage of Shaykha Dr. Tamara Gray and other Muslim women scholars since 2012. She has an ijazah in the Forty Hadith of Imam an-Nawawi and hopes to complete the Ribaat Scholar Certification.

She teaches two youth programs for Rabata: Rabata Dragonflies, an online program for Muslim girls and boys ages 6-12 that develops faith, character, and value systems through stories from the life of the Prophet (S), age-appropriate songs, activities, and games; and RabaTEENS, an online engagement program for Muslim girls ages 12-17 which offers teen girls a variety of classes that will provide them with the skills to think critically, manage important decisions, connect with their Creator, and navigate through early adulthood.

Hazel has served as a curriculum developer, trainer, and mentor with a cohort of Muslim community organizers who worked on a comprehensive community organizing and leadership development program for Muslims nationwide in which an Islamic framework is core to the curriculum. Additionally, as a labor of love, she serves as a faith-based community organizing advisor with Dream of Detroit, a nonprofit that combines community organizing with strategic housing and land development to build a healthy community and empower a marginalized neighborhood.

Striving to be a better community servant, Hazel also dedicates her time as a volunteer, advisor, and board member to various nonprofits ranging from community development and convert care to anti-racism work and bail reform. She is an avid reader of all things about Muslims in America and is interested in the research and creation of an authentic Latino Muslim experience.  

In 2021, she was named by the Center of American Progress as one of 21 faith leaders to watch.

She currently lives in Detroit, Michigan with her husband and three sons.