Shelina Zahra Janmohamed (born 13 April 1974) is a British writer. She is the author of ''Love in a Headscarf'' (2009), a memoir of growing up as a

British Muslim Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2011 Census giving the total population as 2,786,635, or 4.4% of the total UK population, was published in August 2016. ''Generation M'', as

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

puts it, "is the first detailed portrait" of the influential segment of the world’s "fastest growing religion", Islam. She is also a blogger: her blog is called ''Spirit 21''.

Early life and education

Janmohamed was born on 13 April 1974. She is of East-African and South-Asian origin. Her parents emigrated from

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

in 1964. She grew up in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

and was educated at

Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls Haberdashers' Girls' School is an independent day school in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as "Habs" (or "Habs Girls" to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Boys' School). The school was founded in 1875 by the Wo ...

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...

, subsequently graduating from New College, Oxford.

Career

Janmohamed is a regular contributor and writer for several news outlets and magazines, including the ''

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

,'' '' ITV,'' ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', ''

'', '' The National'', ''

The Muslim News ''The Muslim News'' is a monthly and digital newspaper. Established by Ahmed J. Versi in February 1989, it has grown to become the largest monthly ethnic paper in the UK. It describes itself as, "The only independent monthly Muslim newspaper in ...

,'' '' Emel'' magazine, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' and ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

.'' focusing on Islam and current affairs. She has a particular interest in Muslim women and Islam in the West. Her blog, Spirit21, has won several awards, including the Brass Crescent Award for Best Blog. Janmohamed lives in London and has appeared on numerous British television networks. She has travelled with the

British Foreign and Commonwealth office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

to Darfur, Egypt, Saudi 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. She is serving as a Vice President of Ogilvy Noor, world's first Islamic Branding & marketing consultancy agency.

Personal life

She is married and currently lives in London with her two children.

Awards and honours

* Janmohamed was named by ''

'' and the UK Equality and Human Rights 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. * In October 2013, she was included in the BBC's 100 Women. * In January 2014, Janmohamed was nominated for the Services to Media award at the

British Muslim Awards The British Muslim Awards are an annual award ceremony that honours the success and achievements of British Muslim individuals, groups and businesses. It was established in 2013. Overview The British Muslim Awards was founded by Oceanic Consult ...

. * In October 2014, she was included again in the BBC's 100 Women.

Views

Janmohamed has stated the need for brands to improve their marketing aimed at Muslim consumers, urging them to conduct better research and to work harder at 'humanising' Muslims by treating them the same as they would any other demographic, saying: Janmohamed has criticised the current

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...

Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

for dismissing a request made by the

Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a national umbrella body with over 500 mosques and educational and charitable associations affiliated to it. It includes national, regional, local, and specialist Muslim organisations and institutions fro ...

for the Conservative party to carry out an independent inquiry into

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

. In an article for '' The National'', she wrote:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janmohamed, Shelina Zahra 1974 births Living people Alumni of New College, Oxford British memoirists British bloggers British journalists British Muslims British women memoirists British women bloggers People educated at Haberdashers' Girls' School BBC 100 Women Writers from London Journalists from London 21st-century memoirists