Naeem Dulloo For Monte Vista graduate Naeem Dulloo, finishing high school at the top of his class is a good feeling, but it wasn’t the No. 1 thing on his to-do list.

No, he has a bigger goal in mind, a lifetime achievement, really: to finish memorizing the Quran.

“He’s becoming a hafiz, a person who completely memorizes the whole Quran, the holy book,” explained Naeem’s mother, Sheeba Dulloo, who is originally from India. “His No. 1 priority is to please his lord.”

For Naeem, it’s a goal he’s been working toward for the past 14 years.

“I actually memorized my first chapter at 4 years old,” he said. A chapter is equivalent to about 30 pages in Arabic.

Though it’s not compulsory for Muslims, the 18-year-old said the time spent studying the 1,000-page book adds purpose to his life.

“I believe the purpose of life is to seek knowledge and act upon it to help better the future for yourself and, more importantly, for others.”

Being a hafiz is an honored position in Islam. During the holy month of Ramadan, for example, a hafiz is called upon to recite from the Quran each night. Naeem would be the first in his family to earn the position.

Naeem’s desire to become a hafiz is what brought him to Monte Vista, one of Simi’s smallest schools.

Located in bungalows on Blackstock Avenue near Apollo High School, the independent study school is for grades one through 12.

Its goal is to provide a personalized alternative education that suits the needs and schedules of its students better than a traditional high school would.

Students complete work at home and meet with their teachers once a week.

Born in Toronto, Naeem lived in Manchester, England, and South Carolina before his family came to Simi in 2002.

After attending an Islamic boarding school in Sacramento as well as an independent study school in eighth grade, Naeem decided to come back to Simi for high school. Accustomed to learning on his own, he enrolled at Monte Vista.

However, loneliness and boredom soon prompted Naeem to transfer to Royal High School for the second semester of his freshman year; he thought he’d still have time to study the Quran in the afternoon. But after a year and a half at public school he found the workload was too demanding.

“I felt like I wasn’t going to achieve my dream. I started to forget my Quran,” Naeem said, adding, “Monte Vista kind of saved me.”

Today, he is two-thirds done memorizing the holy book. He knows 20 of the 30 chapters, about 600 pages.

Naeem said he tries to memorize three pages a day. Though it seems like an impossible task, it actually gets easier as you learn more, he said, because of the way the Quran is structured and recited, almost like a song.

In spite of his intensive religious studies, Naeem earned straight-A’s throughout high school and was valedictorian of his class, which graduated Monday. While he admits academics weren’t his first priority, he said it isn’t his way to “slack off.”

His teacher, Rosanna Giordani- Clegg, agreed. She described her pupil as “very focused” and not one to take shortcuts.

“He has a plan, has set very high goals for himself, and you’d almost expect that he’d have to achieve them,” she said.

Though he’s a serious student, she said he has a lighthearted side, too.

“He absolutely has a great sense of humor and a great outlook on life,” Giordani-Clegg said, “and I know he will do well.”

Naeem’s father, Shaukat Dulloo said he’s proud of his son.

“He does work really hard. Many times you can see his light still on in the middle of the night,” said the native of Mauritius, an island off the coast of Africa.

“To memorize the Quran is not an easy thing. It’s a commitment. It comes from within the child himself to be able to do it,” he added.

Since he finished high school a month early, Naeem decided not to walk in graduation. He said he’s already looking ahead. His plans include finishing memorizing the Quran by the end of the year, spending two years at Moorpark College and then transferring to UCLA.

He wants to become a doctor, which he said is the “perfect job.”

After establishing a career, Naeem has more plans: to attend an Islamic academy in England to learn the real meaning behind the words his recites.

Grad Facts

Monte Vista School
Class of 2010
Number of Graduates
39
Valedictorian
Naeem Dulloo
Salutatorian
Jeffery Vreeken