Fri, 17 February 2012, 8 pm | English

RELC Building

Darul Arqam (Muslim Converts Association)

Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

talk

It's February and all over Singapore, heart-shaped decor and roses are popping up in celebration of love. What's a Muslim to do in February? Is it only a choice between cheesy superficiality on the one hand, or heartless rigidity on the other? Is there anything wrong with... celebrating Valentine's Day? And can't Muslims just relax a little when it comes to love? In this talk, Shelina reminds us that faith is about celebrating love – love of the Divine, love of humanity, love of your companion, and yes, romantic love too. There is no need to reject a celebration of love; rather those who believe in the sanctity of marriage should recapture such events for their original celebration of marriage. Let us craft meaning out of a celebration that we will see every year, no matter what we say about it. Let us remember to create an art from our hearts whenever February approaches, a reminder for us to celebrate love in every form.

Shelina Janmohamed is the author of "Love in a Headscarf", a humorous and irreverent memoir about growing up as a Muslim woman. She writes regularly for EMEL magazine, a leading glossy Muslim lifestyle magazine. She also writes for the Times Online, the National (based in the UAE) and has written for the Guardian and Comment is Free.

She has her own award-winning blog which is now four years old at spirit21.co.uk. She has travelled with the British Foreign and Commonwealth office to Darfur, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Indonesia, Qatar and Turkey under its programme to build links with British Muslims and encourage dialogue. She is a creator and organizer of social and cultural events for young British Muslims, as part of creating a new British Muslim culture and identity, and the host of the annual ‘Eid in the Square' event which is held in Trafalgar Square. She is a trustee of the Windsor Fellowship which encourages minority ethnic students to excel in education and employment.

Shelina was named by The Times newspaper and the UK Equalities Commission as one of the UK's 100 most influential Muslim women, and most recently she was named as one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world. She is a graduate of New College, Oxford. She is married and currently lives in London.