Aboulela described the award as “a complete and utter surprise,” expressing gratitude to English PEN and the judges for recognizing her work.

She said she was “honored to win a prize established in memory of Harold Pinter, a great writer who continues to inspire so much loyalty and consistent high regard.”

Reflecting on her identity, she added, “For someone like me, a Muslim Sudanese immigrant who writes from a religious perspective probing the limits of secular tolerance, this recognition feels truly significant.”

Leila Aboulela, born in 1964 in Cairo to an Egyptian mother and Sudanese father, was raised in Khartoum, Sudan, where she lived until 1987.

She studied at the Khartoum American School and the Sisters’ School, a private Catholic high school, before earning a degree in Economics with a specialization in Statistics from the University of Khartoum.

She later moved to the UK, completing an MSc and MPhil in Statistics at the London School of Economics. In 1990, she settled in Aberdeen, Scotland, where she began writing in 1992 while working as a lecturer and research assistant.

Aboulela is the author of six acclaimed novels, including The Translator (a New York Times 100 Notable Book), Minaret, Bird Summons, The Kindness of Enemies, Lyrics Alley (winner of the Scottish Book Awards), and River Spirit.

Her short story collection Elsewhere, Home won the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year Award.

She was the first-ever winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing and has been longlisted three times for the Orange Prize (now the Women’s Prize for Fiction).

Her work has been translated into fifteen languages, and her plays such as The Insider and The Mystic Life have been broadcast on BBC Radio.

She is Honorary Professor of the WORD Centre at the University of Aberdeen and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Source: Maktoob Media

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Wednesday, January 29, hailed a new resolution in the New York State Senate that officially recognized Feb. 1, 2025, as World Hijab Day.

The resolution, introduced by Senator Roxanne Persaud, aims to “encourage religious tolerance, cultural understanding and international solidarity.”

“World Hijab Day, in its 12^th year, is a platform to promote understanding, dismantle stereotypes, and celebrate the empowerment of women who choose to wear the hijab,” CAIR said in a statement.

Noting that “this resolution reflects New York’s celebration of cultural and religious diversity,” CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher said, “World Hijab Day is an important opportunity to amplify the voices of hijab-wearing women and to combat the prejudice and discrimination they often face.”

“We are deeply grateful to Senator Roxanne J. Persaud for her advocacy and support of this resolution,” Nasher added.

World Hijab Day was founded by Nazma Khan in 2013 as a platform to foster religious tolerance and cultural understanding, according to its website. Since its inception, it has been observed worldwide, allowing women of different backgrounds to experience wearing a hijab for a day.

Source: Anadolu Agency

She had joined two dozen other members of a group founded by a Somali-American mother in Minneapolis to promote all-seasons activities among Muslim women, who might otherwise feel singled out in the great outdoors, especially when wearing hijabs.

“They understand my lifestyle. I don’t have to explain myself,” said Nasser, who recently moved to the Twin Cities from Chicago and whose family hails from Yemen. “My religion is everything. It’s my survival kit.”

As one of the most visible signs of the Muslim faith, hijabs often attract controversy. Within Islam, some women want to wear the headscarves for piety and modesty, while others oppose them as a symbol of oppression. In the sports world, including in the last Olympics, devout athletes have often faced extra hurdles on and off the field in finding accommodations for religious practices.

Concerned about safety as a woman — particularly one wearing a head covering — but determined to get outdoors to beat seasonal depression, Nasrieen Habib put out a social media post about creating a hiking group three years ago.

From the nine women who responded, her Amanah Rec Project has grown to more than 700 members. There’s a core group for Muslim women only — for “more sisterhood and modesty,” Habib says — as well as a group for families. In addition to weekly outings, they organize longer trips and education on everything from appropriate winter clothing — a challenge for many migrant communities — to health and environmental sustainability from the perspective of Islam.

“It’s a way to live your whole life according to a set of beliefs and rules. And part of those beliefs and rules is taking care of creation,” Habib said as her 4-year-old son took a break from tubing in a toasty chalet at Elm Creek Park Reserve near Minneapolis. “How can we be more sustainable in a time where we see the impact of climate change, especially impacting people who look like us in the Global South?”

Two sisters, Ruun Mahamud and Nawal Hirsi, moved to the United States from Somalia as children about two decades ago.

They found a safe haven in Minnesota where, since the late 1990s, growing numbers of East African refugees have created an increasingly vocal Muslim community. Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was the first lawmaker to wear a hijab while on the U.S. House floor, and Minneapolis was the first large city in the United States to allow the Islamic call to prayer to be broadcast publicly by its two dozen mosques.

Even though she feels “safe and accepted” in her hijab, Hirsi joined the group for extra support.

“I love being outdoors and joining this group has made me more comfortable to participate,” she said on the tubing hill, where she had convinced Mahamud to come along for the first time.

“Oh my gosh, it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,” Mahamud gushed after speeding downhill on a tube attached to her sister’s as their daughters recorded the adventure on their phones.

The sisters said it’s important to include love for the outdoors and physical activity in their children’s religious upbringing.

“Taking care of one’s health is part of our faith,” Hirsi said.

Muslim women who wear hijabs can face multiple barriers to sports participation, said Umer Hussain, a Wilkes University professor who studies religion and sports. They range from activities where genders mix or head coverings pose logistical hurdles to conservative families who might frown on it.

Groups like Habib’s tackle empowering women in their communities as well as raising awareness about religious accommodations like single-sex spaces or locations for prayer.

“The biggest barrier, for women specifically, is having access to spaces that allow us to practice our religion while keeping our modesty and abiding by the Islamic laws that tell us we are not supposed to be in mixed spaces without covering up,” Habib said.

She appears to have tapped into a great demand.

“When she told me she was going to start a hiking group to get sisters out in nature … it was like actually something I’ve been looking for for a very long time,” Makiya Amin said as she climbed up the tubing hill in a long white skirt, bright-red headscarf, and heavy winter coat. “I didn’t really have those type of people who were outdoorsy already around me.”

Isho Mohamed joined the group for the wide-ranging conversations as much as for the outdoors, which as a self-described “homebody” she had largely avoided since college days.

“It’s a safe space that takes me out of my comfort zone,” she said of the group outings. During them, the women share about work experiences but also life as immigrants and, most importantly, their faith.

“We also talk about spiritual connection and connecting with God as well, and just say a little prayer here and there when we’re walking,” Mohamed added.

Her cheeks glowing above her ski mask after two hours on the hill, Jorida Latifi was with her 7-year-old son among the last to hang up their snow tubes. Originally from Albania, Latifi has gone out with the group almost weekly since joining more than a year ago.

“With Muslim sisters … they do understand you, what you go through, even with the clothing and hijabs,” Latifi said. “It feels way, way more like, you know, where you are with family.”

Source: Associated Press

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation this week to target hate crimes on the streets of New York, which includes criminalizing the forcible removal of religious clothing, including the hijab.

The legislation consists of three new laws to protect New Yorkers from hate-fuelled violence, including fighting harassment or threats against those who wear religious clothing, enhancing anti-violence education in schools and cracking down on stolen phones.

“Public safety is my top priority, and I’m committed to using every possible tool to keep New Yorkers safe,” Governor Hochul said in a statement.

“There is more to do to stop hate and prevent violence in our communities. Signing these bills today will create three new laws to help protect New Yorkers and further reduce crime.”

Removing or threatening to remove religious clothing like the hijab or kippah is now classified as aggravated harassment in the second degree and takes effect immediately.

This covers incidents including threats, verbal harassment and physical strikes motivated by one’s identity.

The law amends an existing law. It was introduced by Assembly member Nader Sayegh, a Jordanian-American Democrat, and co-sponsored by Nily Rozic, an Israeli-American Democrat and Assembly woman from Queens.

There were also no votes against the amendments.

This comes after multiple incidents over the year where individuals’ religious clothing has been threatened.

New York has seen a surge in hate crimes over the last five years, with over 1,000 reported instances in 2023, including the targeting of people in religious clothing. One incident included a man pulling off a 16-year-old’s hijab on the subway.

Following 7 October, New York police logged five instances of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the first three weeks.

New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services in December 2023 also noted a 417 percent increase in online hate speech against Muslim communities since Israel’s war started.

In April, New York City agreed to pay $17.5m to settle a lawsuit by two Muslim women who said the police violated their rights after forcing them to remove their hijabs before being photographed.

Source: The New Arab

“I’m angry to learn that women wearing hijabs were the target of a violent attack in London, and a mosque in Winnipeg was the target of hateful harassment,” Trudeau said on his official X account on Friday.

According to a statement by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), two women wearing the Muslim headscarf were attacked Thursday in front of their children in London, where four members of a Muslim family were killed in a ruthless attack in 2021.

The statement noted that a knife-wielding man punched the women in their faces and made inappropriate comments. “The Israelis did a good job of landscaping Gaza. They’ll do the same to Lebanon,” and other slurs of an Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian nature,” according to NCCM.

“Needless to say, the incident amounts to yet another disturbing example of how Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, often intersecting, continues to pervade corners of our communities, primarily targeting the vulnerable,” the civil rights organization said, adding that anti-Muslim hatred led to the killing of the Muslim family three years ago, and earlier this year, a Muslim family’s house was set on fire due to anti-Palestinian racism.

“It is time to act. Now. There is no time for more platitudes and words. Our leaders have to come up with a real plan to address this massive and disturbing rise in hate against our communities,” NCCM statement said.

No details were provided about the attack on the mosque in Winnipeg, in the country’s central Manitoba province.

A horrific mosque attack in Quebec province, where a lone gunman killed six Muslims and wounded 19 during evening prayers, shook the North American country in 2017.

In June 2021, four members of a Muslim family, who were out on a stroll in London, Ontario, were killed after a white nationalist man deliberately drove his truck into them. Countless other attacks occur on an ordinary basis, as Muslims across the country urge the government to take concrete action to stop the crimes.

Islamophobia is entrenched in Canada, according to a report by the country’s Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Source: Daily Sabah

At the forefront of this movement is Dilruba Begum, 43, who guides a kayak along a canal, her paddle gently cutting through the water.

“Out here, you can be anyone,” Dilruba reflects, savoring the freedom that the water offers.

Two years ago, Dilruba, overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood, discovered a free, women-only paddle sports program in her community.

Now, as a qualified paddle sport instructor, she helps other women—many from marginalised communities—explore water sports they once believed were out of reach.

The program, launched by local housing association Poplar HARCA, has grown from 18 participants to around 70, many of whom, like Dilruba, had never imagined themselves on the water.

The initiative’s impact goes beyond the physical benefits of sport. Dilruba and eight other women, including Atiyya Zaman, 38, have now qualified as instructors and formed London’s first all-female, Muslim-led boat club, “Oar and Explore.”

The club, which caters to women of diverse backgrounds, operates in one of London’s most economically disadvantaged areas—Tower Hamlets—using the borough’s extensive canal network to create access to “blue spaces.”

Breaking Barriers
For Muslim women, participating in water sports presents unique cultural and religious challenges. Many, like Naseema Begum, 47, faced cultural taboos, especially regarding modesty and the hijab.

Naseema, who now teaches alongside Dilruba, wanted to show that “you can wear anything and go in the water. As long as you’ve got the right equipment… anyone can take part.”

Her own niqab has never been a barrier, and the program’s inclusive approach to attire has made the sport accessible for local Muslim women.

Affordability is another key factor. Private boating clubs often charge prohibitive fees, a barrier for women managing household finances.

This community-led initiative removes that obstacle, offering women the chance to learn and participate in water sports without sacrificing their budget or responsibilities.

Beyond the physical activity, the water offers emotional solace. Dilruba describes it as “an escape,” a place where she can reflect and find peace.

For Atiyya, too, kayaking provided a much-needed release from the stresses of parenting and work during the pandemic. Both women emphasize the mental health benefits of connecting with nature through these activities.

With plans to raise funds for their own boats and storage, the women of “Oar and Explore” are determined to continue breaking down barriers. They aim to inspire future generations of Muslim women, proving that water sports are not only accessible but an empowering space for growth, community, and self-discovery.

As Dilruba puts it, “The enjoyment and confidence I’ve built from this, I want to pass it on to others and tell them there’s more to life.”

Source: About Islam

Haniyah Kousar, who coaches at Impact Fitness Academy in Birmingham, said the singlet exposed the full leg and arms, with the neck line also being too low.

To compete at United World Wrestling (UWW) competitions, including the Olympics, participants must comply with uniform guidelines, which require women to wear a singlet.

“Religiously, we can’t show that skin,” Ms Kousar said.

However, students at the Impact Wrestling Academy said the restrictions would not stop them from aiming to compete on a global stage.

Student Asia said: “I dream of representing team GB in the Olympics one day and the singlet will not stop me from trying.”

One woman who could not take part in the final Team USA trials for the Paris Olympics due to the UWW rules was Jamilah McBryde.

She said: “Even though we were denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympic trials… we’re still going to fight for the right to compete, not only for myself, but for my younger sisters, for all young girls [not just Muslims], all young women for who wearing the singlet doesn’t feel comfortable.”

McBryde surprised the young girls at the Birmingham club via Zoom during one of their lessons and shared her story to empower them to fight on.

Ms Kousar, who is believed to be the UK’s first ever Muslim female wrestling coach, trains up to 20 young girls at the Impact Fitness Academy.

Despite international uniform restrictions, Ms Kousar said rules were more relaxed for competitions under the British Wrestling Association.

On their website, they say: “In line with making the sport more accessible, competition wear requirements have been relaxed for all levels of competition within the control of British Wrestling.

“For National and Club level competitions tight tops and leggings can be worn under a traditional wrestling singlet.

“For lower-level competitions, the requirement for a singlet has been removed though wrestlers will need to be clearly identifiable as either red or blue.”

Source: BBC

The 28-year-old martial arts expert said she wanted to help women of color to learn how to deal with abuse and build connections and confidence after more than a week of unrest aimed at mosques, asylum seeker hotels and the police.

“It gives you a little bit more confidence,” she said. “You kind of know what to look for, how to be socially aware, how to spot things and how to get out of a really bad situation.”

Muslim and ethnic minority communities have expressed shock over the disorder which was sparked by false information online that the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, was an Islamist migrant.

Martial arts instructor Stewart McGill said he had seen more women signing up for classes since the unrest started. He told them how to defend themselves with tactics including kicks and impromptu weapons such as belts.

One attendee, Elza Annan, 24, said she felt more confident.

“I obviously don’t want to have to use these techniques but it is useful and beneficial to have them … especially because of recent events of far-right racists coming out and targeting people of color,” she said.

The riots have largely targeted migrants, Muslims, and Asian people, spreading fear through ethnic minority communities and casting a light on Britain’s record of integration.

Tell MAMA UK, a group that monitors anti-Muslim incidents, said hate directed at Muslims had been growing in Britain for some time, and especially since Oct. 7 last year, the start of the conflict in Gaza.

Since the riots began, it had received more than 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behavior across Britain.

Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, which focuses on migration and identity, said at its best, Britain is a “confident multi-ethnic democracy”.

But he said successive governments had lacked a strategy for integrating different communities. While those arriving recently from Ukraine and Hong Kong were given government support, that did not happen to all.

The asylum system faced particular pressures, with a huge backlog of applications and some Britons concerned about pressure on housing, healthcare and education.

“With asylum you’ve got a visible lack of control, and that can feed into fear,” he said.

The riots have largely stopped since thousands of anti-racism protesters turned out to protect potential targets such as immigration advice centers, mosques, and hotels housing asylum seekers.

Hassan, who wears a hijab and is a Swiss national of Somali origin, moved to Britain in 2008, partly because she felt it was more welcoming to ethnic minorities than many parts of Europe. She is considering organizing more classes.

A similar event was planned for Manchester, northern England, and a campaign group, The Three Hijabis, held a large online conference call with Muslim women this week to discuss the psychological impact of Islamophobic violence.

Shaista Aziz, the group’s director, said some women feared that the violence could unleash confrontations or abuse, prompting many to stay close to home.

“Today I advised a sister I dearly love to consider removing her hijab to stay safe as she travels through the Northeast …” she said on X during the riots. “Across the country British Muslims are having these same conversations.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has ordered extra protection for the Muslim community, described rioters as “far-right thugs” and almost 800 people have been arrested, with some fast-tracked through the courts and jailed.

The anti-racism protests are likely to continue.

For Maki Omori, 23, who identifies as non-binary, Saturday’s class would help prepare for counter protests.

“I found it really intimidating, thinking about how I would defend myself,” Omori said. “I want to make sure that if something happens, I feel ready.”

Source: Reuters

“I was talking about, you know, what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon?” Vance said at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., describing a recent conversation between himself and a friend.

“And we were like, ‘Maybe it is Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts,’ and then we sort of finally decided maybe it’s actually the U.K. — since Labour just took over,” Vance quipped.

While the Ohio senator made the remarks earlier this month, they have resurfaced after Trump formally selected him as his running mate — sparking fresh backlash from British political figures.

“The fact Vance can so easily miscategorize the U.K. in this way, and make such flippant remarks in public, so casually delivered — his shocking line raised a laugh from his audience — tells me that, to this potentially incoming vice-president, the special relationship has become no more than a racist joke,” Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the former Conservative Party co-chair, wrote in The Independent.

In a post on the social platform X, Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in the British Cabinet, said that Vance’s comments represented the “everyday Islamophobia / anti Muslim racism which is casually thrown around by some of the most powerful in our societies.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner rejected Vance’s suggestions, arguing that Trump’s running mate had said “quite a lot of fruity things in the past.”

“Look, I don’t recognize that characterization,” Rayner said during an interview on ITV’s “Good Morning Britain.”

“I’m very proud of the election success that Labour had recently. We won votes across all different communities, across the whole of the country. And we’re interested in governing on behalf of Britain and also working with our international allies.”

Rayner went as far to say that she was looking forward to meeting Vance in the event that the Republican duo was elected, but stressed that it was ultimately “up to the American people to decide.”

In the same speech, Vance urged his “Tory friends,” who were ousted from power after 14 years of leadership, “to get a handle on this,” referring explicitly to immigration, which remained a key issue throughout the U.K election.

Andrew Bowie, a conservative member of Parliament, blasted the senator over his remarks, acknowledging in an interview with Times Radio that while he clashed with Labour on numerous policy issues, he “absolutely” disagreed with Vance’s suggestion that the party would establish an “Islamist country.”

The 39-year-old bestselling author and former venture capitalist was announced as Trump’s VP pick on Monday, July 15, at the Republican National Convention, just two days after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa.

Source: The Hill

“Why do you wear the hijab?” is a question I’m often asked. Whether it’s by well-intentioned and genuinely curious people, those who think I’m doing a disservice to feminism, men who think I would look better without it or others with pure vitriol towards women like me. Well, it’s been 10 years since I began wearing the hijab and here is why I do.

I was around 14-years-old, growing up in a small town in the West Midlands and had recently begun practicing my faith when I first put it on. I was born and raised Muslim, but found a new connection to my faith during the Islamic month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset as a way to gain a better consciousness of God. It was the change I needed in my life and wearing the hijab felt like a way to affirm that.

By wearing the hijab, I’m constantly reminded to practice my faith and be the best version of myself due to being a visual representation of my religion. Whether that means going out of my way to help someone in need, giving plentifully in charity or keeping my mouth shut when people walk slowly in front of me during rush hour in London.

It also provides me with an instant sisterhood and sense of solidarity with other visibly Muslim women (there’s nothing quite like the friendships made in prayer rooms and swapping modest fashion tips) and invites people to judge me based on my character, over my hair or body. Overall, Muslim women wear the hijab for a plethora of reasons and it can be a difficult choice, which I’ve found now to be the case now more than ever.

Sometimes, it’s the little things. I’ve noticed people making judgements about me or appear surprised when I’m articulate, funny or opinionated as they don’t expect Muslim women to be any of those things, as if there is a covering over our mouths rather than our heads (side note, for the women I know who do wear full face veils such as the niqab, they’re some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.)

At worst, it’s the constant discrimination and feeling at risk. For the most part, I’ve been lucky apart from ignorant comments, some shouting and intense stares. Recently, though, I witnessed an older, hijab-wearing woman being called a terrorist and a member of Hamas on a busy London bus. Many of my friends have had similar or worse experiences, such as having their hijabs pulled off and being threatened with physical violence.

Tell MAMA, a charity which records anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, has reported a 600 per cent increase in Islamophobic incidents since Hamas’ attacks in Israel on 7th October, which makes wearing the hijab tougher than ever. Journalist Nadeine Asbali articulates such feelings brilliantly in her book, ‘Veiled Threat’. “[Our] existence is built on the precarious grounds of policy and stereotype, penned in between the twin oppressions of misogyny and Islamophobia,” she writes.

“Our voices drowned out by the endless din of those seeking to save us and others condemning our covered bodies as foreign, menacing, un-British,” Nadine continues. It can be exhausting and dehumanizing to constantly have to prove your humanity to those who simply do not wish to see it, based on stereotypes and misjudgments incited by parts of the media, exclusionary feminist discourses, outright racists and more.

So, despite this, why do I still choose to wear the hijab? Well, it’s become a core part of my identity. It’s a constant reminder for me to practice my faith without fear, better my character and it’s become a normal part of my daily routine. To take off my hijab would be to dilute who I am in hopes of appeasing those who refuse to accept me, either way.

On this World Hijab Day, an annual event founded in 2013, I feel a greater sense of purpose, belonging and empowerment as a visibly Muslim woman. I’m inspired by those around me who show strength in the face of discrimination, trailblazers increasing representation in their industries and the heartbreaking resilience of the women of Gaza. While it can be difficult, wearing the hijab has – and will always feel – like home to me.

Source: Cosmopolitan UK