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  • Freedom Without a Choice

    Danila Jonnud, Hampshire I could never, by any stretch of the imagination, be a Vulcan. That is to say, I could never fit the criteria required to be part of the fictional logic-driven emotion-rejecting alien race from Star Trek. To be honest, I’m more like the opposite but sometimes I see something so incomprehensible in…

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  • Jalsa Salana Day 1: The World Walks In, The Heart Awakens

    Saira Iffat Bhatti, Slough There’s something electric in the air this morning at Hadeeqatul Mahdi, and it’s not just the buzz of golf carts whizzing past or the volunteers rushing around with walkie-talkies crackling. It’s the sense of possibility. A feeling that every person stepping through the gates has left the ordinary world behind and…

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  • Who is Making Muslim Women Wear the Hijab?

    Yusra Dahri, Tilford Over the past decade or so, the hijab has remained a contested issue. Even now, only 26% of Britons believe that wearing a hijab is a woman’s personal choice, whereas 49% believe Muslim women wear the hijab due to family or community pressure.      As a woman who wears the hijab of her…

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  • Podcast 32 – Spiritual Rejuvenation

    On the first day of Jalsa, Ayesha Naseem Mirza and Iffat Mirza Rashid discuss the core purpose of Jalsa Salana, an opportunity to be in the presence of His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V (may Allah be his Helper), and to surround ourselves with discourses regarding high moral values. For many Jalsa Salana, and the international…

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  • Podcast 31 – Jalsa Salana: The Turning Point

    Sixth Form students Fatiha Nadeem and Saba Anwar reflect on how our perception of Jalsa Salana evolves over time, they explore the spiritual atmosphere and global sisterhood at Jalsa and discuss how we can learn and improve spiritually. They share personal turning points, and finally, consider how we can prepare our hearts to truly benefit…

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  • Podcast 29: Misinformation

    Unfortunately, we see large-scale misinformation everywhere. Unaizah Ahmad and Madiha Cheema discuss how just as there are responsibilities that lie on us as an audience to discern information that we hear, we also have responsibilities when disseminating information as narrators. They look for guidance in principles that Islam teaches us about spreading rumours, gossiping and…

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  • The Casual and The Absurd: The Necessity of the Conscience

    Iffat Mirza Rashid, Bentley I’m sure we’ve all seen them – those videos that every now and then might pop on our social media, or might be sent to us by friends and families – the ones of one animal taking care of a baby animal of a different species. A cute glimpse into a cat taking…

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  • Lost in Translation – Podcast 27

    Marking UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day Saira Bhatti and Bareera Ghaffar discuss what happens when you lose your mother tongue. What does it mean when a language is no longer passed down? And why do so many of us feel pressure to prioritise English over the language of our ancestors?

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  • Podcast 26: International Day of Education

    Iffat Mirza Rashid and Ayesha Sabahat On International Day of Education, Iffat Mirza Rashid and Ayesha Sabahat talk about getting back to basics and ensuring education is available to everyone. They point out that Islam has always placed a great importance on women’s education, and show how it has a positive impact on everyone.

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  • Iffat Mirza Rashid, Bentley Certain debates seem to arise out of nowhere. And though as a fairly indignant teenager I would have bothered arguing about (quite literally!) anything, until the cows came home, now I find myself learning to pick and choose my battles. Having said that, I think it’s important to address certain non-issues,…

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