Muslims the world over celebrated Eid al Fitr last Sunday, a rare unity with only a few countries celebrating on Monday. This was after experiencing the most unusual Ramadan in living memory. Fasting is for God alone, but breaking the fast is often a communal activity. Eid is almost unthinkable …
Today, Saturday 2nd May, will be 40 days of lockdown here in the UK – a true quarantine. The word originates from ‘quarentena‘ (40 days) used by Venetians in the 14th century as the Black Death was raging around Europe. This was the number of days designated for ships and …
Lockdown is our new reality. Here in the UK, just a couple of weeks ago, people were going about their daily business, getting on flights, meeting friends for coffee. On Monday March 16th we were told we needed to be cautious. By Friday, schools, leisure centres, restaurants were told to close …
After an extended break from blogging to concentrate on the launch of my app, it seems appropriate to restart on International Women’s Day on the subject of female entrepreneurs. Last week I was invited to speak on a panel about Muslim entrepreneurship by the Islamic Finance and Ethics Society (IFES) …
In my last blog, I wrote that I would explain my vision for Islamic Education for children and how that can help build a confident and empowered community. In the current climate, how do we bring up children who have sound knowledge of Islamic principles and are proud of their …
Which Muslim woman inspires you the most? Chances are that you have heard of social activist Malala Yousafzai, Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, and politician Baroness Sayeeda Warsi. Many of us know about Tawakkol Karman, journalist and Nobel prize winner, or Fatima al Fihri who founded the world’s oldest university in …
By Sadia Irfan “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,”[1] Despite being a very easy going person on the whole, this quote never fails to infuriate me for its sheer ignorance. Even Jack Black’s addition in the hilarious School of Rock – “And those who can’t teach, teach gym!” …
By Sadia Irfan A new year has begun but for most of us the same routines have kicked in as soon as the children started school. Waking up when it’s still dark outside and a frantic search for shoes/PE bags/clean tights at the last minute are balanced by a relief …
