Worshippers at the Inclusive Mosque Initiative, where Naima Khan is an imam.
When Zara Mohammed was announced as the first female secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, my phone lit up with messages from my sisters, my mum and my colleagues. Uncles cheerily shared the news on WhatsApp; cousins from around the globe sent congratulations.
The MCB, an umbrella body of over 500 Muslim organisations, has been consistently male-led since its inception in 1997. So seeing its members – which include charities, schools, mosques and community groups – vote in a 29 year-old Scottish Muslim woman feels groundbreaking.
What is her vision? What are her priorities? What will she do alongside other young leaders? We want mainstream journalists interviewing Zara to ask these questions for us and the wider British public to hear. I’d be keen to know Zara’s thoughts on how we can all increase rights and resources for disabled Muslims, especially during the current pandemic, and how MCB will include more Shia and Black-led organisations in its membership.