In February 2024, I was invited to speak at a dawah conference in Bosnia – not an unusual event as I spend time travelling for various lectures, events and conferences fairly regularly. The difference this time was not the conference, which was very productive with wonderful people attending and speaking. The difference was an incredible… Continue reading My New Life

After that first phone box encounter in past chapters, me and sister Tracy arranged to meet for the first time. I don’t remember the exact time of year; but it must have been mid-1993. I walked up The Moor, through the bustling street market to meet the woman who I was to later discover, Allah… Continue reading Chapter 6 – My Apna Food Fail – and Meeting Tracy.

Late one summer night, the phone drilled rudely into my sleep. Bleary eyed and slightly annoyed I crawled out of bed to answer. “Assalamualaikum Ameena.” My friend, the Pakistani sister sounded worried and her voice choked as she spoke, “It’s my Uncle… he’s in the Northern General Hospital. He had a heart attack!” The phone… Continue reading Chapter 6: Tears of Sorrowful Light

After a few months, I was blessed with a small bedsit in a council block. The stairs stank of urine, the carpark echoed with the sounds of drunks singing at night, the side roads were lined with heroin laden prostitutes plying their trade; but it was home and I was grateful for a roof over my… Continue reading Chapter 5 Devils, Phones and Frights.

“Mum! Dad!” It was the Saturday after the shahada and the ‘new me’ was on fire! My Mothers eyes widened in surprise as I paraded, proudly clad in my badly fitting salwar kameez (to this day I can only imagine what was going through her mind)! My friend’s sister in law, a lovely lady called… Continue reading Chapter 4: Salwaar Kameez and Da’wa Disasters!

Chapter 2. Taking the leap of Faith The following Thursday, after taking a bath at my friend’s house, heart in my mouth, I parked my rusty gold Maestro outside the imposing Victorian church; now the local Sufi centre. As I pushed open the heavy studded doors, the smell of incense and polished parquet floors flooded my… Continue reading Chapter 3: Taking the leap of Faith

Wednesday night was ladies night at Josephine’s in Sheffield. I had been clubbing since I was 15. My friends and I had always been the ones who made a grand entrance through the plush lobby at 1am – entering the masses freshly made up, black mini skirts (what my mother would call ‘belts’), balancing on… Continue reading Chapter 2: Club to Truth

Chapter 1 Dad and New Beginnings “So, you decided to be a Muslim now?” Dad’s eyes twinkled bright blue when he glanced up at me from behind the crumpled Guardian. “It’s probably just a phase you’re going through.” He stated, rustling thoughtfully back into the education section with a wry smile. I stood there in… Continue reading Chapter 1 – Dad and New Beginnings

Assalamualaikum and Hello, For years now friends and students have been uring me to write about my life as Muslim…so here it is. I will write and blog chapters…. dish the dirt (halal style of course ☺☺) share my smiles, tears and sometimes crazy things I have got up to over the years….like how I… Continue reading Muslim Me