Originally starting out as a photo series capturing young Muslim women and non-binary Muslims, Muslim Sisterhood has evolved into a London-based artistic collective working within photography, publishing, and events. Founded by Zeinab Saleh, Sara Gulamali and Lamisa Khan in 2017, the collective aims to highlight genuine diversity rather than the usual tokenism that we witness every day. “Our work came out of a need to see ourselves represented authentically in a way that celebrated our identities as young Muslims growing up in London,” they say.

Inspired by other London-based collectives that merge activism with championing creative talent from marginalised communities (see Dazed 100 alumns BBZ and gal-dem), the collective launched its first zine in collaboration with Between Borders – a magazine dedicated to celebrating the diversity of British identities – last year. The special edition zine, created by an all-muslim team of creatives, rejects the prejudice of western narratives projected onto muslim womxn. Instead, packed with dreamy pastel hued close-ups of a diverse cast of women and non-binary people in bold, Euphoria-style makeup, Muslim Sisterhood is shining an intimate, honest lens on what is means to be young and muslim today.

How is your work unique to you, or informed by your perspective, experiences, or identity?

Muslim Sisterhood: The entire project was born out of our desire to be seen, not necessarily by other people, but by our own community. Our work is informed by our personal experiences as Muslim women and the racial and political paradigm we exist in. We want to create positive images and spaces for Muslims. 

What issues or causes are you passionate about and why?

Muslim Sisterhood: As Muslims, we’re inherently activists. We’re passionate about changing the way industries perceive and work with the Muslim community. We’re over representation politics and we want to see authenticity in the way that our community is involved in creative spaces and campaigns. It’s always important for us to keep in mind the wider community we represent and be able to give back to them in a beneficial way. 

“We’re over representation politics and we want to see authenticity in the way that our community is involved in creative spaces and campaigns” – Muslim Sisterhood

What creative or philanthropic project would you work on with a grant from the Dazed 100 Ideas Fund?

Muslim Sisterhood: The monetary support would allow us to produce a new zine – to pay ourselves, writers and collaborators. It would enable us to give more opportunities to those in our communities at a time where funding is so scarce for community groups and the arts. Muslim Sisterhood, up until this point, has been completely self-funded. Funding would enable us to reach our full potential. All our events are free to our community, it’s very important to us that the spaces we create and that the work we produce is accessible and inclusive.