Date: Wednesday 7th May 2025. Venue: Conway Hall library, central London.
Author Ziauddin Sardar in conversation with journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.
Three Begums:The Women Who Shaped My Life revolves around the lives of three ordinary women—Hamida, Merryl and Saliha— who lived extraordinary, interwoven lives of fabulous joy, fierce pain, and untold trauma. Like many who came before them, they loved and dreamed. Although born in different times and places, they were united through their dedication to bettering the lives of all around them. Each fell victim to disease and premature death, without fulfilling their desires; but, like all desires, these continue beyond their lifetimes.
This special event, organised by the Muslim Institute in conjunction with Hurst Publishers, was a unique opportunity to hear Muslim polymath and public intellectual Ziauddin Sardar in conversation with renowned and award-winning journalist and commentator Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.
The event also launched Critical Muslim 53: Water with readings from Naomi Foyle and Alev Adil.
Speakers:
Professor Ziauddin Sardar, an internationally renowned writer, scholar, futurist, and cultural critic, is a founding member and former chair of the Muslim Institute. He is the author of over 60 books, including two volumes of highly acclaimed autobiography, Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim and Balti Britain: A Provocative Journey Through Asian Britain, Reading the Qur’an, Mecca: The Sacred City, and the international bestseller Why Do People Hate America? His latest books are A Person of Pakistani Origins and Three Begums: The Women Who Shaped My Life. A former Professor of Law and Society at Middlesex University and columnist on the New Statesman, Zia is the Director of the Centre for Postnormal Policy and Futures Studies (CPPFS) and Director of the International Institute of Futures Studies (IIFS) at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He is also the editor of the influential quarterly Critical Muslim.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown was born in Uganda. She has a First Class degree in English Literature from Makerere University in 1972, which is the same year that she was exiled from her birthplace. She holds an MPhil in Literature from the University of Oxford. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is known as a journalist, broadcaster, author and columnist. Yasmin’s several awards include The Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the National Press Awards Columnist of the Year in 2017. In the New Year Honours 2001, Yasmin was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) “for services to journalism”. In 2003 she returned return the award writing that her decision was partly in protest at the Labour government, particularly its war on Iraq. Yasmin has eight honorary degrees and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
Naomi Foyle is a British-Canadian poet, science fiction novelist, essayist and theatremaker. Naomi’s debut novel, Seoul Survivors, a cyberchiller set in South Korea, was published in 2013. She is the author of the Gaia Chronicles, an eco-SF quartet set in a post-fossil fuel Mesopotamia. Naomi has written ten poetry pamphlets and four full collections. Her latest collection of poetry – Salt & Snow – has just been published by Waterloo Press. Naomi is co-founder of British Writers In Support of Palestine (BWISP), and is a vocal advocate of BDS – the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. Naomi teaches Creative Writing at the University of Chichester and is the Poetry and Fiction Editor of Critical Muslim.
Alev Adil is a writer, artist, and academic whose work dives into memory, identity, and the experience of being between cultures. Her poetry and essays explore the personal and political, and have been featured in anthologies, taught in universities across the UK, US, and Europe, and praised by leading critics in postcolonial literature. Alev has performed and exhibited at places like Tate Britain and the British Museum, and her artwork is part of both private collections and the State Collection of Cyprus. Alongside her creative work, Alev has held senior academic roles in the UK, led MA programmes in film and creative writing, and co-edited the anthology Nicosia Beyond Barriers, reimagining her divided hometown. She also reviews literary fiction for The Times Literary Supplement—and is part of the editorial board for Critical Muslim as a reviews editor.
Video by Robert Hoang
Photos by Rehan Jamil