Stance Takes: MFest Muslim Knowledge & Creativity w/ Author Nadifa Mohamed; Journalist Rokhaya Diallo; MP Zarah Sultana; TV Director Nida Manzoor; Historian Blair Imani and more

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MFest is a partnership between Maslaha and the British Library.

Made in collaboration with Maslaha to spotlight MFest, a multi-arts festival of Muslim knowledge and creativity, Stance presents an insightful selection of the festival’s programming.

Aware of the ever-present inequalities and misguided stereotypes Muslim communities face, Maslaha actively works to empower Muslims in the UK through strategic initiatives in the areas of education, gender, criminal justice and health.

The current global, political and cultural climate has seen inequalities, oppressive systems and states challenged through acts of protest and activism. Conversations around liberation and reckoning with the past have been crucial.

In this conversation between Muslim women chaired by Aamna Mohdin, Mfest brings together Paris-based journalist and filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo, Labour MP for Coventry South Zarah Sultana and Chicago-based writer and organiser Hoda Katebi to discuss the connections between global anti-racist struggles.

Selina Bakkar

In exploring a range of Islamic perspectives by Muslim women, Mfest presents the Ethic of Loving. Women share their transformative experiences of love from their romantic, familial, work and spiritual lives.

The process of finding a space for self love and prayer are at the center of the discussion and the revolutionary roles women play.

At the forefront are the methods of expressing and developing communities through acts of loving.

This event is guest-curated and hosted by UK based curator and writer Aliyah Hasinah, and features contributions from UK based speakers Selina Bakkar, founder of Amaliah, creative producer Haja Fanta, political academic Hudda Khaireh, & journalist Myriam François.

Nadifa Mohamed by Sean and Seng. Image courtesy of Penguin Randomhouse.

Somali-British author Nadifa Mohamed has a knack for using historical fiction to beautifully illuminate the inner lives of everyday people.

Born in Somaliland and raised in the UK, Nadifa has received both The Betty Trask Award and the Somerset Maugham Award, as well as numerous other prize nominations for her fiction.

In an interview with Stance, we explore her latest and third novel, The Fortune Men, covering the wrongful imprisonment and execution of Mahmood Mattan, a Somali seaman, in Wales.

Through this lens, the conversation touches on the pursuit of truth, the intersection of myth-making and history and the warmth of Cardiff’s multicultural, close-knit communities.

UK based Royal Television Society award-winning genre comedy writer and director, Nida Manzoor, has actively been reshaping the existing stories throughout her career.

Having directed Doctor Who and BBC’s Enterprice, Nida has both written and directed Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts, a comedy about the trials and tribulations of an all-female Muslim Punk band.

Nida discusses her creative process behind sucsessfully reframing misguided representation in overwhelmingly white environments.

Many Queer and Trans Muslim stories have often been excluded, tokenised or co-opted. In this discussion, we hear from LA based poet and screenwriter Fatimah Asghar, Italy based award winning author Zeyn Joukhadar, California historian Blair Imani and London based screenwriter Faryal Velmi to hear about Queer and Trans stories that need to be told.

The value of literature and storytelling as a tool to create new worlds and challenge the structures of existing spaces is vital, especially for young adults.

US based authors Intisar Khanani, Tahereh Mafi, and UK based author Reni K. Amayo come together to discuss their shared goal to create stimulating fictional realities for young adults.

Their conversation emphasises creating stories which resonate and preserve cultural history, and fantasy as a powerful instrument for lasting change.

Music Used in this podcast:

We Are Lady Parts - Bashir with the Good Beard

Cultural Shoutouts:

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Front Page Image Credit: Nadifa Mohamed by John Foley Opale