Surkheel Sharif, aka Abu Aaliyah, founded and has been the director of the Jawziyyah Institute since 1999: a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.

He has authored the following works: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011), Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011) and, most recently, A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025). He has also translated a few texts from Arabic to English, notably The Exquisite Pearl (2000). He gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

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Article referenced at 1:04:35: https://thehumblei.com/2019/10/27/women-mosques-misogyny-to-misrepresentation/

(0:00) Trailer

(1:12) The meaning of Surkheel

(4:47) Early life and education

(16:27) Evolving community concerns

(29:53) How our attitude needs to change

(36:34) An assessment of the status quo

(48:44) The failures and future of scholarship

(59:55) Integrating macro and micro factors

(1:11:52) The need for imagination and conversation

(1:22:01) A vision for faith in Britain

(1:27:11) Future publications and final thoughts