Vision and Values

My Vision

At this moment in time, humanity is grappling with complex and devastating challenges: inequalities of wealth, health, income and education; climate change and biodiversity loss; polarised politics; financial volatility; violence, genocide and wars; mental health crises; unsustainable consumption. I believe that the loss of the sacred and the spiritual is a major contributory factor behind these crises. The solution lies in working towards an ethical, just and moral vision.

It is in this space where Muslim women can play a powerful role by connecting to the profound wisdom of the Qur’an and the noble example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We can become knowledge creators and leaders of tomorrow. Together, we can create fairer, sustainable and kinder societies where all people thrive, regardless of their faith, ethnicity, language or race.

Muslim women are uniquely capable of understanding the emancipatory power of the Qur’an’s egalitarian teachings. We connect with the pain of all women who continue to experience war, ill health, sexual aggression, poverty and lack of education. By exercising openness and allyship, Muslim women are in a position to develop a non-racialised and grounded framework of Islamic feminism that is orientated towards Allah and upholds the sanctity of our roles as custodians of this planet.

By working with other nurturers – the wombs that bore us all – we can indeed create a better world.

Join me in this journey to empower Muslim women to become leaders and raise leaders of the future LINK to My Educational Offer page who will go on to create egalitarian institutions, who will shun war and aggression, who will work towards a collaborative and nurturing economic model, and who will tend to the planet as its guardians. A journey to true vicegerency of Allah.

My Values

O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;- reverence Allah, through whom ye demand your mutual (rights), and (reverence) the wombs (That bore you): for Allah ever watches over you.

Qur’an 04:34. Translation: Yusuf Ali

This powerful verse in the Qur’an sets out the values that underpin my approach to teaching, research and leadership.

Accountability and Sense of Purpose.Our world is sustained by a Creator to whom we are accountable. This creation has meaning and purpose. It is not arbitrary in its existence.
Gender Equality.Allah created men and women from a single soul - nafsin wāḥidatin. Together, they complement and support each other. For too long, women have been commodified and objectified in both religious and secular spaces. The Qur’an establishes ontological equality between men and women, emphatically dismissing any notion that patriarchy or male superiority is natural or desired.
Diversity and Connectedness. All human beings are connected to each other through the wombs that bore them. Our diversity of language, custom, race and ethnicity enriches our connected lives. We are equal in our humanity and we all deserve dignity, peace and safety. “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” Q49:13
The Power of Nurture and Compassion. The wombs that bore us deserve reverence, respect and acknowledgment. The Qur’an elevates the status of women, to whom Allah has granted the capability of creation. The womb is a place of nurture and warmth, signifying our ability to act as compassionate and caring leaders in personal and professional lives.