TUESDAY 4th September 9pm (login from 8:50pm)

A LIFE OF SERVICE

by Julie Siddiqi

* Are we known as a community that lives a life of service to others?
* Should our money and time be spent only with ‘Muslim’ charities?
* What would the impact be on social relations if Muslims were a lot more seen to be out there serving people?

In this session we will reflect together on our lives and think about whether we really are living in service to others. The Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, made time for everyone and despite being head of state and all of his other responsibilities, we hear stories of him constantly making time to help and be kind to others. Our country is said to be one of the most charitable in the world, let’s examine what we are doing as a faith community and how well we are fulfilling a core part of our faith, which is charity. We need to go beyond just giving money in charity, important as that is, and this session will explore practical ways we can do that.

About the teacher:

Julie became Muslim in 1995. In 1997 she was one of the founding members of local women’s charity, An Nisa Slough Muslim Women’s Group. Julie was a member of the National Muslim Women’s Advisory Group and has regularly been interviewed for magazines and newspapers including Woman magazine and The Big Issue. Other voluntary work has included leading various projects such as Islam Awareness Week and the Weekend for Women for the Islamic Society of Britain and she was the first female Vice President to be appointed. She worked in local government for two years and has appeared on the BBC programme, The Big Questions.

Julie was recently asked to participate in two pieces of work with the University of Cambridge – Contextualising Islam in Britain and Narratives of Conversion. She also is a mentor for the Prince of Wales Charity, Mosaic and is a newly appointed member of Slough SACRE (Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education).

Currently the Executive Director of the Islamic Society of Britain, Julie spends a lot of time networking and has built many links and relationships all over the UK with Muslim organisations and individuals as well as with people of other faiths. She was the National Co-ordinator of this year’s Ramadan Festival (ramadanfestival.org). Julie is married with four children and lives in Berkshire. External Event Url