LIOL UK TOUR

Some Memorable UK Moments:

I will never forget early morning walks in Hyde Park with my “this is what a radical Muslim feminist looks like” t-shirt and noting the faces of passersby…imagining what the men displayed in the House of Commons would think about a group of American Muslim women holding court in their halls…meeting Parvin Ali, the Oprah of Leicester…eating organic scones with homemade cream and jam in Northamptonshire…waking up to the snow in the Daventry countryside on my birthday…Watching Michelle’s eyes pop out when we got “low” in the taxi cab…Sofia of the Lounge, a pub for Muslim youth…Ghulam Fatima and the school girls in Birmingham…outrage when Michelle and Sham were stopped and searched under section 44/akin to the US’s patriot act…Adeeba Malik of QED, a successful workforce development model and meeting a powerhouse group of Muslim women over the best dinner at Mumtaz…The shining faces of the women from Newcastle who drove to Leeds so we could meet them…the brother I miss judged (May Allah forgive me and reward him)… Inspired Sisters and Manchester Muslims…and Elvis in a castle. The best part was knowing that my sisters, Aroosha, Samina and Sham were there in front of me, behind me and by my side. Click here to view some of the photos from the trip.

Feedback

Living Islam Out Loud seems like a much needed project particularly for the hundreds of Western Muslim women that are struggling to stand up to the challenges they face posed by both their own cultural communities and their wider Western communities too. There is a desperate need for change in the way our cultural communities think and work particularly with regards to the way they view women and their roles and rights. It gives me hope to see projects like this emerge and that will, Insha’Allah, have a positive impact on the future of the Muslim world all over.---Fatima

I really enjoyed your talks. I have mentioned your book to many of my friends and colleagues at work.--- Shahenaz

It was a pleasure to meet you and some of the women who contributed to the book. Living Islam Out Loud is most definitely a book that is being used for Black History Month---Robina

It was indeed a pleasure to meet and host you and the other sisters…On behalf of the Federation of Muslim Organisation in Leicester, I would like to thank you all for attending the event---Federation of Muslim Organisation Leicestershire

We hardly know how to begin to thank you for the marvelous contribution you made to the success of this year’s festival. The feedback has been tremendous and many have told us that there is now a real momentum to it. We sold more tickets than ever before and ran out of audience accommodation---Oxford Literary Festival

I have since read Living Islam Out Loud and found it compelling, moving and inspiring. It has helped me confront and dispel some of the misconceptions I held about women in Islamic culture and is truly a ground-breaking book. I wish you all the very best---Sally

Your book is good inspiration for us to do a book here in the UK about British Muslim Women!!!---Shahida

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Michelle Lawrence of Faith Matters. Michelle coordinated the LIOL tour in the United Kingdom and graciously took great care of us. Thanks to Iman and Fiyaz of Faith Matters as well for collaborating on the tour. Click here for more on Faith Matters.