FICTION
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Good Girl
Rowayat | June 2025
“You wonder why your house always has to be the refuge. The first and only time you attempt to challenge this idea of taking in every uncle or aunt who’s just arrived from Nigeria in the name of paying back or forward, your mother shuts it down.”
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BERLIN
WAYF Journal | April 2025
“It’s only once I’m right outside the door of the women’s section, after I spot the pairs of shoes, that I notice the chattering. There’s an immediate lightness in my chest. Perhaps I won’t have a lonely night after all. Alhamdulillah, I no longer have to wait a while for a proper hug.”
ESSAYS
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This is what your life has become
Rowayat | November 2023
“You’ve become adept at deciphering the language of glances, the silent judgements that fall upon you the moment you walk through the door. It’s a language you never asked to learn, but one that has become as familiar as your heartbeat.”
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Unheard Stories
The Unheard Stories Anthology | November 2023
“What is it about our stories that made them so difficult to place? This is not to say some stories aren’t difficult to place but having been on the receiving end of such feedback, I know how subjective, fickle and sometimes ‘lazy’ the industry can be in its dealing with Black and Muslim stories.”
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Reclaiming, Repurposing and Remembering Black History
Bad Form Review | February 2022
“I remember sitting in History class in Year 10 learning about world wars and wondering why Black people didn't exist in this so-called world my textbooks referred to.”
On Books:
Reviews & Showcases
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Black Muslim Publishing Showcase
Sapelo Square | March 2023
“It’s a known fact that publishing is rife with inequalities, and although there have been improvements, there remains a lack of books by Black Muslims. Yet, when Black Muslims are given a space at the table, it is sometimes at the detriment of the whole parts of our identities: You either can’t be too Muslim or too Black or both. Otherwise, the story is considered niche and ‘difficult to connect to.’ “
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You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen
AMALIAH | February 2022
“Although this book addresses serious themes of Islamophobia, racism and online harassment, family and friendship remain at the core of the story. It shows us how far we can go when we have a strong support system, and we are made to feel loved and encouraged. We learn that with the struggle of vulnerability comes freedom and joy.”
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When We See Ourselves: Black x Brown Love by Jonah Batambuze
Bad Form Review | November 2021
“Although this book addresses serious themes of Islamophobia, racism and online harassment, family and friendship remain at the core of the story. It shows us how far we can go when we have a strong support system, and we are made to feel loved and encouraged. We learn that with the struggle of vulnerability comes freedom and joy.”
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What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
Bad Form Review | September 2021
“This book is reminiscent of Helon Habila’s Travellers, a moving novel on the Black migrant and refugee experience. I love that Omar El Akkad chooses to tell this story from the children’s perspective; it preserves the innocence, curiosity, hopefulness and a certain naïveté in the way children see the world.”