Community
1 min
The Mosque That United Beirut
When the neighbourhood changed, our community hall became the beating heart of the neighbourhood — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
Revert journeys. Identity struggles. Faith found, lost, and found again. Unfiltered voices from your brothers and sisters across the world.
In Egypt, a divorced woman is a tragedy. I decided to be a plot twist instead.
When the neighbourhood changed, our community hall became the beating heart of the neighbourhood — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
It wasn't atheism that pulled me away. It was exhaustion. And it wasn't theology that brought me back. It was grief.
Our first year nearly ended because of biryani. What saved us was an imam who understood listening instead of lecturing.
When the neighbourhood changed, our tiny mosque became the only institution that stayed — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
Fasting while teaching children in Bogotá tested everything I thought I knew about faith.
At school I was too Muslim. At the mosque I was too British. I spent years feeling like I belonged nowhere.
They said wearing hijab would hold me back in finance. I wore it anyway. They took me seriously regardless.
I've answered 'aren't you hot in that?' approximately four hundred times. Here's my actual answer.
In Italy, everyone assumed I was born Muslim. Actually, I found Islam at 27.
At school I was too Muslim. At the mosque I was too Azerbaijan. I spent years feeling like I belonged nowhere.
In USA, everyone assumed I was born Muslim. Actually, I found Islam at 30.
It wasn't science that pulled me away. It was anger. And it wasn't theology that brought me back. It was community.