Our Team
The organisation is run voluntarily by a dedicated team of women who are qualified in various secular studies and are working professionals. They understand the dynamics of being a Muslim woman in today's world because they too have families and commitments of their own.
Our Founder
Ruzi Khatun (Umm Talha)
Ruzi Khatun is a British marriage and parenting coach with over 18 years of experience in working with the London community.
Married and a mother of one child whom she home educated. In her early years of married life, she travelled to study Arabic and Tajweed at the prominent Fajr Centre in Cairo, Egypt. She further enhanced her knowledge through Islamic Studies under the tutelage of various respected teachers and scholars.
Founder of Marital Arts, a non-profit organisation set up in 2016 to help nurture and empower Muslim women in the UK. She has completed her studies in Early Years Education and is currently a Director at Iqra Pre-school.
Ruzi is a trained professional in micro teaching. She has a natural ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and conducts various group workshops and one-to-one mentoring with her work focussing on promoting change through education and self-development.
Passionate about serving and empowering women within her community. Her purpose is to equip women with the knowledge and confidence to build strong foundations for a successful family life
Her charismatic leadership together with her vast knowledge and experience make her a well-respected pillar of the community. She has transformed and nurtured many lives through her outstanding initiatives.
Board of Advisors
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Advisor
Fatima Barkatulla is a British Islamic scholar (Alimah), author and presenter of the IlmFeed Podcast, based in London.
She graduated with two Alimiyyah degrees (classical degrees in Islamic scholarship). One from the Ebrahim College seminary with a specialisation in Fiqh and the other with Distinction from AlSalam Institute, awarded by Sheikh Muhammad Akram Nadwi. She is currently completing a Masters degree in Islamic Law at SOAS, the University of London.
In her teens, she studied Arabic & Islamic studies in Egypt at the prominent Fajr Centre and Qortoba Institutes as well as a college of Al-Azhar University.
She is currently working on her books ‘Women in the Qur’an’ and ‘Aisha, the Truthful’, having authored her groundbreaking first book: ‘Khadijah, Mother of History’s Greatest Nation’.
She has been a key contributor to the discourse surrounding Muslim women in the West, contributing to the Westminster Faith Debates, documentaries and live shows for BBC Radio 4, the World Service, as well as BBC television, Channel 4 and Islam Channel.
She has written numerous articles for magazines as well as for the Times newspaper, Times Online and emel Magazine, sharing the message of Islam with wider society. She was Director of SEEDS OF CHANGE – the biggest Muslim women’s conference in Europe and a Dawah trainer for iERA.
In 2014 she was awarded the IKON UKHWAH International Award – for women in dawah and community service at a ceremony in KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA. Her twitter handle is @FatimaBarkatulla
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Advisor
Afshan Khan is the founder of Sukoon Healing. She is an Islamic counsellor, NLP life coach, CBT Therapist, Youth Mentor, Parenting Advisor and a Marriage Counsellor who provides Islamic counselling and mediation service for Muslims.
Afshan has also developed her own effective therapy; Islamic Transformational Core Therapy.She is the author of two books ‘Secrets to a Successful Marriage’ and ‘Healing Hearts’.
With over 30 years of experience, Afshan is an active part of the Muslim community and has a broad range of experience with a variety of cases.
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Advisor
Rahma Abdulatif is a trained, qualified and registered family psychotherapist, combining Islam and psychotherapy in her approach.
A mother of four, she has trained as a counsellor (certified NLP practitioner). She is also an accredited parenting practitioner who has delivered popular Islamic parenting courses all over the UK.
Sister Rahma has had the opportunity to learn various Islamic topics with different qualified teachers within their fields. She is very passionate in her helping role and continues to learn from her professional and community work about current challenges facing individuals, families and communities.
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Advisor
Dr Nadia Rahman has been a doctor for over 12 yrs and currently works as a part time GP. She has been honoured in working within the community for the same amount of time through her Islamic activities. She was involved in Al-Ansar Islamic Education Centre for 10 years organising events and circles. She has left that role to dedicate more time to her family but occasionally still delivers lectures from various masjids, schools & organisations.
By working in both the professional and community sector, as well as living amongst the people that she serves, this has allowed her to gain a very privileged view into people’s homes & lives. This has given her an insight into understanding some core problems that exist within ourselves and our families.
She has also been fortunate to experience different educational models that our children are put through (Islamic, Home & State schooling) and is a governor at a Special Needs Secondary school.
And above all her main role is being a mother.