Islam
-
Zujaja Khan, London On Friday 8 December 2017, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih V, threw light on the impact of materialism on one’s relationship with Allah the Almighty. His Holiness spoke in detail about the meaning of Arabic term shahwat, an intense desire or yearning for something and a constant worry regarding…
-
Basira Ajmal, Bournemouth Once again, a New Year is just around the corner—a time when words like resolution, goals, change, plan etc. echo the planet Earth. A new year marks the time when our beloved home planet has travelled one whole orbit around the Sun. But what’s so special and ‘NEW’ in it for us—the…
-
Sameen R Chaudhary, London The month of December, cold and dark as it is, for many is a celebration of light over darkness. For them it is a time to be with family and friends, worship, giving, joy and singing, embracing and focusing on the good. For Christians in many parts of the world, December…
-
Basira Ajmal, Bournemouth Unfortunately we are living in a world full of fake personalities, fake standards, fake reputations, fake accounts and even fake calls—that’s a lot of fakes, and oh! I nearly missed fake news. No wonder we find it hard to trust people, organizations and even governments. We have all heard of the boy…
-
Yusra Dahri, London Introduction Recently, a lot of controversy arose from Ofsted’s (Amanda Spielman) fear of the hijab ‘sexualising’ young girls, aged 4 to 5, who may wear headscarves in primary school. There is no Islamic requirement for girls to wear a headscarf until they have reached full physical maturity, so it’s perfectly acceptable for…
-
Navida Sayed, London The head of OFSTED Amanda Spielman announced earlier in the week that Inspectors would question girls who wear hijab in primary school to find out why they do so. She said ‘creating an environment where Muslim children are expected to wear the headscarf could be interpreted as sexualisation of young girls’. If…
-
Sarah Waseem, London Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector for Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education (UK)) inspectors will talk to primary school girls who wear the hijab to ascertain from them why they do so. The move comes after concerns that wearing the hijab could be interpreted as the sexualising of young girls. Is the…
-
Munazzah Chou, London Dear OFSTED The case of your inspectors asking young primary school girls about their choice of clothing makes as much sense as CQC inspectors asking paediatric patients about their sartorial choices in clinic. Very little. The function of both organisations being the inspection and regulation of services, why one would wish to…
-
Laiqa Bhatti, Surrey When Ofsted announced that their inspectors will talk to primary school girls who wear hijabs a few days back in order to tackle ‘sexualisation of children’, it raised a lot of questions and debate. In a climate where Islamophobia and related hate crimes are rising, the hijab has been the go-to issue for…
-
Sarah Ward Khan, London Sometimes people stare at me in the street. I’ve come to recognise that certain look that crosses a stranger’s face of confusion and bewilderment. For I am a white woman in a headscarf – an anomaly, not fitting the mould. There is no cultural or familial pressure for me to conform,…
Voice of British Muslim Women 