Who Shaped Studious Muslimah?
“I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me”_ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This piece is for everyone whom I've learnt from over the years. You may have been formally a teacher, mentor or coach of mine. You may have simply been someone who said/did something that resonated, something that made me think or stuck with me. Perhaps even changed the way I behaved and acted.
This post has been triggered by attempts at writing the acknowledgements section in my first book. It remains unfinished as I patiently await feedback on my second draft (at the time of writing this article).
It was also prompted when explaining to others that Studious Muslimah is not just (about) me, albeit me being the face of it mostly at present. It is not just about my experiences and education journey story so far. It is far greater than this. Despite it being in its infancy still, the Studious Muslimah project remains a very big and ambitious one!
Though, I need to acknowledge so many people as I develop and the project progresses. I need to explain how I stand on the shoulders of giants.
A little bit about its birth:
The idea of Studious Muslimah began brewing as I sat in the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies listening to Iqbal Nasim during the Young Muslim Leadership Program (YMLP) in the summer of 2022. Studious Muslimah took its name in mid-October 2022 beginning with an Instagram account. It began “operating” in November with 9 students. Two years on, it has not only grown and grown, it has diversified and evolved more and more.
I literally want to thank all my teachers from my play school teacher in KSA all the way up to the university tutors involved in me attaining a distinction at the MA Education from the University of Birmingham.
And of course, as I preach all the time: education doesn’t end with a qualification! I have continued to learn and gain more knowledge and skills in many areas to help me in my career and life in general.
I pay tribute to ALL my experiences: the highs and especially the lows that have made me the person who I am today. I would love to pay tribute to all my coaches, mentors, teachers, colleagues, and anyone and everyone who has had a conversation with me. A conversation or encounter which I learnt from and shaped my way of thinking and acting.
The road has been bumpy. The path was not easy to pave. We’re even still working on it!
Here is a non-exhaustive list of organisations I have been part of at different stages of my adult life that shaped me:
Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd
Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS)
The Shropshire & Telford United Women's Association (STUWA)
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
Many secondary and primary schools across the UK
The Islamic Educator Learning Community (IELC)
The Muslim Association of Britain
The Muslim Researchers Network (MRN)
Green Lane Academy of Sacred Sciences (GLASS)
From an outsider, it may seem that there is a lot of self-promotion involved currently as I am trying to get my project out to the world. As I try to grasp and prefer this organic marketing approach. However, I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Studious Muslimah is much greater than me and what I alone have to say alone. Studious Muslimah is built up by so many. It has been brewing for years and years...
Studious Muslimah is a cross between faith, self-development and education.
Studious Muslimah, because the females are the educators and nurturers of future generations. Studious Muslimah, because the mother has Jannah underneath her feet. Studious Muslimah, because we have some serious internal work to do first.
