THE UNITED KINGDOM is one of the richest countries in the world. Yet the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s UK Poverty 2026 report shows that more than 14 million people, around one in five, live in poverty. Of these, 6.8 million live in very deep poverty, unable to meet basic needs like food, heating, and housing. Poverty … Continue reading Poverty Is Not Inevitable, It Is a Choice
FOR SEVERAL YEARS, I treated Ramadhan like a spiritual performance to perfect. Thirty juz. Taraweeh every night. Charity drives. Colour-coded schedules. I would begin strong, fall behind by week two, and finish the month either sprinting in guilt or quietly disappointed. Outwardly, I was doing a lot. Inwardly, very little changed. Eventually, I realised the … Continue reading The Ramadhan I Planned and the Ramadhan I Actually Needed
WHENEVER THE TOPIC of Islamic governance or the re-establishment of a khilafah arises, a familiar question often emerges: “But who will be the leader?” This may be an honest and responsible question. Yet a closer examination often reveals that this question is not that, but more a way of preventing meaningful discussion. This article aims … Continue reading “Who Will Be the Leader?”: Understanding the Question Behind the Question
“I HAVE TO go home and tell my children it’s not nice to lie,” remarked Rachel Duffy, the most recent winner of the hugely popular BBC series The Traitors. It was said lightly, almost humorously, yet the irony was difficult to miss: a programme built entirely around deception, followed by an instinctive acknowledgement that lying … Continue reading When Entertainment Rewards Deception
I AM AT that stage of life where time feels scarce, and Ramadhan no longer looks the way it once did. Gone are the days when I could stay up all night in Ramadhan, immersed in recitation, reflection, and worship, doing all the things well-meaning speakers often encourage us to do to make our Ramadhan … Continue reading The Ramadhan You Are Given
I REMEMBER RAMADHAN not that long ago, in the height of the British summer. The longest fast stretched to 18 hours and 42 minutes. I remember the thirst, the way the day had to be paced slowly, hour by hour. The night was just as intense. Iftar was joyful after such prolonged hunger and thirst. … Continue reading A Ramadhan of Mercy: How an Easier Fast Tests Our Gratitude
WHEN EUROPEAN LEADERS rushed to condemn Donald Trump’s remarks about “taking” Greenland, many Muslims watched with a familiar mix of clarity and disbelief. Not because Trump’s comments deserved defence, but because the sudden moral outrage exposed something long concealed: Western appeals to international law have never been rooted in principle. They have always been rooted … Continue reading When Power Stops Pretending: Gaza, Greenland, and the Western Order
MUSLIMS IN BRITAIN increasingly encounter populist politics, from Reform UK’s immigration rhetoric to broader “take back control” narratives that dominated Brexit, to observing Trump across the Atlantic. Understanding populism is important to recognise how it works and what it leads to, and how it differs significantly from the Islamic political framework. What Populism Actually Is … Continue reading Populist Politics: A Muslim Response
MANY MUSLIMS IN the West today feel uncertain about their place in the world. Some wonder how to live faithfully in a society where Islam is a minority. Others notice that Islam itself is increasingly understood through the lens of being a minority: what is safe to say, what can be practised, what is respected … Continue reading More Than Survival: Reimagining Islam in the West
THE MOST REVEALING thing about AI is not what it can do, but what people are now asking it to do. When an algorithm becomes a confidant, a therapist, or a moral sounding board, it signals a deeper shift in how we seek direction. For Muslims, whose tradition treats guidance as sacred, embodied, and accountable, … Continue reading When AI Becomes a Life Coach: An Islamic Perspective
Living For Islam 