A Scouse Muslim poet has said that Ramadan makes her a more productive writer as the holy month allows her to prioritise well-being and build stronger relationships.
Amina Atiq is a 27 year-old creative and award-winning community activist from Toxteth who has worked with groups across Merseyside and has featured on the BBC. With family origins tracing back to Yemen, her work focuses on her experiences as a Muslim, working class artist and building social cohesion across the region.
Speaking about her plans for Ramadan, which begins tomorrow, Amina said the event revitalises her despite the fasting that takes place throughout the day. She explained: “Life as a freelance writer can be draining. It can be difficult to explain to family and friends what your day will look like.”
READ MORE: What is Ramadan, why is it celebrated, and why is it so important
Amina is kept busy through writing, numerous meetings with local bodies about social cohesion and creative workshops with community groups. This can restrict how much time she can spend with them, but Ramadan is the time when that balance can be addressed.
Amina said: “Ramadan gives me the chance to slow down and prioritise these things. In the next few days I’m seeing some friends that I don’t see often, but we always find time around Ramadan to connect with each other.”
For Amina and other Muslims, this is done through meals taken before the fast and those that break it. The Fajr is observed before dawn, while the Maghrib/Iftar marks the end of fasting for the day.
Amina also said she experiences health benefits during Ramadan, as it makes her realise how much she depends on unhealthy food and drink. She explained: “I depend on sugar and caffeine constantly and lose my mind when I’m not consuming them. Even though I tend to get bad headaches during Ramadan due to withdrawals, I find that fasting resets my body and makes me feel revived again.”
While some of those fasting can struggle with lesser productivity, Amina said she finds herself more productive during this period. She said: “Someone asked me last year if I stop writing poetry during Ramadan, and that’s not the case.
“I get more time to write during Ramadan because of the positive effects I’ve mentioned. I feel like I have more time during the day, not less.”
There are some adjustments to Amina’s routine during Ramadan. She said she asks for meetings to be moved to the afternoon as she is more fatigued during the morning and informs colleagues her working day will look different due to meal and prayer times.
However, Ramadan ties in with Amina’s creative work, which focuses on expressing her experiences as a Scouse Muslim and building cohesion across communities. She said: “Social activism actually grows during Ramadan. It showcases our right to practise our faith.
“It makes our positive experiences visible, in the same way that my poetry promotes positive visibility about Muslims. Me being visible as a Muslim woman is part of that resilience against discrimination.
Previously, she worked with theatre makers to write a poem about Muslim identity, which was displayed on a bus stop on Lodge Lane.
One of her current projects is in conjunction with the St Helens Family Art Club working with children and families in community centres and libraries across the country. Amina “co-collaborates” her poetry with those present, alongside a visual artist Emmer Winder, to bridge divides within communities.
Amina said: “For me, it’s not just about me performing poetry. It’s using the creativity of words and language to make a better vision of the world accessible.”
She referenced non-Muslim community groups in Liverpool partaking in fasting last year as another example of this in practice. Amina said; “I hope we can demonstrate to those who are hateful towards Muslims that we have things in common. Whether we can be united by fasting or music with Eurovision coming up, this is the kind of social vision we need.”
Amina credited social media as a helpful tool in this, as it can allow non-Muslims to see first hand what Ramadan and other aspects of her faith are like in reality. Despite the negativity on social media and the difficulties facing Muslims at the moment, Amina is keen to focus on the progress being made in Liverpool and beyond.
She said: “Being a working class poet isn’t all about despair. When we discuss being part of a marginalised group, it’s easy to assume it will be a sad story, but it’s not."
She added: “I’ve learnt to be more honest about myself in my writing. When I grew up, I never saw characters like me in books. But now I see people writing about girls that are more diverse. Our world is getting better in making literature accessible and more representative of the world we live in.”
You can find out more about Amina’s work by visiting her website here.
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