Essays, opinion pieces, and reflections on Muslim life, institutions, and culture.
A profile of comedian and actor Azhar Usman, exploring his work as a consultant helping Hollywood tell more authentic Muslim stories.
Click to open new window →Reflecting on the tragic death of a South African imam and what it reveals about the fractures within our communities that we must address.
Click to open new window →Why Mo Amer's Netflix series matters for Palestinian visibility, and the urgent need for more stories that centre Palestinian humanity.
Click to open new window →An exploration of how the discipline of fasting reshapes daily rhythms and cultivates a particular kind of clarity and intentionality.
Click to open new window →Finding unexpected resonance between Star Trek's vision of human potential and the spiritual aspirations of Ramadan.
Click to open new window →Why investing in the psychological wellbeing of displaced populations is not just humanitarian, but strategically essential.
Click to open new window →Written during the pandemic, warning about the long-term psychological toll of isolation and uncertainty on populations worldwide.
Click to open new window →A first-person account of leaving medicine to protect his mental health, and returning to the NHS frontline during the pandemic.
Click to open new window →A frontline perspective on why healthcare workers need structural support systems, not just public appreciation.
Click to open new window →A critique of barriers to entry in the world's largest arts festival, and what genuine inclusion would actually require.
Click to open new window →Navigating love, courtship, and cultural expectations as a Muslim in the West, where the rules are not always clear.
Click to open new window →Unpacking the misconceptions about Muslim attitudes to Christmas, and the deep reverence for Jesus within Islamic tradition.
Click to open new window →Arguing for legal reform to protect Muslim women whose religious marriages leave them without rights in British law.
Click to open new window →Ihsan is not a feeling. It is a standard. And standards can be applied. We have spent years developing a framework that translates this ancient concept into something organisations can actually use.
Click to read full article →Influence is what happens when someone listens to you because they choose to. Power is what happens when they have to. Muslim communities in the West have built remarkable influence. We have not yet built power.
Click to read full article →The pattern is consistent enough to be a law. A charismatic founder builds something remarkable. The institution becomes synonymous with the founder. The founder leaves or dies. The institution collapses or stagnates.
Click to read full article →Every Muslim organisation has a strategic plan. Almost none of them have a strategy. The difference is not semantic. It is the difference between a document and a discipline.
Click to read full article →The phrase is a cliché because it is true. You can have the best strategy in the world. If the culture is broken, the strategy will fail. And Muslim organisational culture has some specific pathologies worth naming.
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