My First Umrah, Shahids 1099th or whatever...
Its been awhile since the blog was updated and the Urban Ummah team has been busy thinking up new designs and eating pudding at Shiraz' house (mainly the latter).
Shahid and I were fortunate enough to go to on Umrah this year and wipe the slate clean! Wonder why Shahid keeps going back nearly every year though, hmm (I'll have to keep an eye on him). Some of you may think I am just Photoshopping Shahids face over someone elses body in different locations but I swear to you, it's him, he only has that expression!
Posted on 03 May 2009 by Urban Ummah Team
The seal of approval from Mo Amer!
Not the best picture int he world but it's definitly him! If you don't believe us, just check him out on tour wearing an Urban Ummah t-shirt soon! Mo Amer perfomed at a charity dinner at the Bradford's Hilton Hotel to raise money for Islamic Relief's projects.
One of the stars of 'Allah Made Me Funny', the comedy show is about to become a feature length movie. If you have never heard Mo Amer before or the 'AMMF' DVD, I suggest you get onto Youtube now or buy the DVD. Hilarious!
Posted on 19 Sep 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Shahid goes Globetrotting!
Before you say it, yes he does look like the kind of person whose picture you would find pinned up on the office walls of the MI5! But it's only Shahid! I recommend not wearing those shades, again, ever!
Shahid went on a Middle Eastern tour to Syria, Palestine, Mecca and Medina. In the background you can see Masjid Al-Aqsa (left) and Masjid Al-Sakrah (right). wearing his Organic and Islamic t-shirt, he gently blends into the skyline (like a firework in the night sky!).
Below is Shahid after a well needed hair cut!
This looks more like a mug shot! In the background is Masjid Nabawi, the Prophets (pbuh) mosque in Medina. Wearing his Ummah t-shirt and guess what, a new topi! Well done Shahid... When's the janazah for the old topi?
Posted on 19 Sep 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah at SMT Gratitude!
Save the Mothers Trust put on a great event at the Abundant Life Centre in Bradford a few weeks ago. The event paid tribute to Mufti Hassan Raza and the brothers and sisters who work tirelessly to raise money for our families all around the world. Alhamdulillah.
Urban Ummah was there to raise awareness of Fairtrade and organic t-shirts with our unique brand of Islamatisation! (There, another new word for the media to use).
They had some really great acts performing. Outlandish as you can see above, I'm still yet to see all 3 of them perform at the same time! They were outstanding.
Shaam also put on a great performance and got the crowd involved. It was really funny when Hassen Rasool did the adhaan for Magrib and people were still sitting there so someone stould up and basically said, "Don't wait for Shaam, go and PRAY!" It was hilarious.
I think Mesut Kurtis was a highlight of the evening. His voice really sounded like it does on the CD. There is hardly any difference.
Karl Dallas, famous for standing in the front line in protest against the war in Iraq entertained us. He also came out with the best line of the night. While performing a song in Arabic (I think) he made an error and stopped. Before he resumed he said "The carpet makers in Turkey always make an error in their carpets, because only Allah is perfection." To which the crowd went crazy and started cheering. Good on you Karl. Shaykh Tijani lead most of the fund raising and managed to obtain numerous £1000 contributions! Mainly from the sisters which does imply that women generally carry the cash!
Posted on 19 Sep 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah at Living Islam 2008!
Urban Ummah were very proud to be at Living Islam 2008. The event was organised by the Islamic Society of Britain.
There were many great speakers present including Tariq Ramadan, Imam Ziaullah Khan, Dr Munir Ahmed, Muhammad Ali and Ajmal Masroor to name but a few!
Urban Ummah was in the bazaar area of the grounds where we hoped to tell everyone how important it is to buy Fairtrade, even if its only one or two items on your shopping list; it would make a major difference. We enjoyed talking to many people and thoroughly enjoyed the feedback of one lady inparticular (you know who you are!).
As you can see from the image above, it is a totally natural scene and not set up in the slightest (ignore the little girl hiding in the rail!). Look how the lady on the left casually (and yet totally naturally) places her finger on her chin, as if to suggest that she is contemplating a purchase or the indepth discussion we had a few moments earlier (ah-hum).
It's Outlandish (one third anyway)! Isam B, turned up to the event and performed some excellent vocals. The track that hit the number one spot in Germany 'Aicha' was just one of the few tracks he performed. We couldn't really hear the rest because the sisters were screaming... Anyhooo...
As everyone settled for Jummah on Friday, united in the prayer hall, devoting our time and ourselves to Allah, it was an amazing feeling. Then we all went outside to wave at some Devil's falling from the sky!!!
Sky diving team The Red Devils, jumped out of a plane and landed right in front of us! It was amazing to see as we thought the first guy was about to spin and smash into the grass, but he didn't. The image above shows the ISB logo hanging from a sky diver. It was a great spectacle.
It wasn't that we chose to eat junk food for the entire time, it's just that there was no other alternative! From a distance I thought I saw someone eating a salad, but it was just some kid with grass on his face. Heres Shahid enjoying some filthy animal left overs, packed into a delicious hot dog!
This is brother Khalid and he was part of the Five-a-Side team to win the football tournament! He even got a medal to prove it! I'm not suggesting people won't believe you but at least now you have proof, right? (You might want to move it away from the t-shirt though) Khalid proudly wears his 'Kung Fu Muslim' t-shirt and will take on all who challenge him! Just kiddin! All the best Khalid!
This curly locked bronze Roman gladiator is called Bradley. Bradley is a chef and a thoroughly nice guy. Here he is displaying the 'Brother' t-shirt. This t-shirt is our attempt at building bridges with our Ahle Kitaab compadres! (People of the Book Buddies!) Thanks for the pic Bradley and we wish you maximus blessings (maximus blessings, lol... Do you get it?).
Much like the orange Smarties, we saved the best for last (everyone saves the orange Smarties till last don't they?). These brothers could give even the most experienced of rickshaw drivers a run for their money but more importantly, they were at Living Islam representing AMG; Association of Muslim Governers. They were asking that more Muslims take up the role of Governers in state schools. This is a very virtuous project and I personally wish it every success. Yes I signed up as well!
It was great meeting you guys and BahadurIslam (far right), keep practising those vocals! Alhamdulillah, terrific people.
To everyone else we met at the event;
Brother Ahmad from Lightniche, Ayshah (yes the extra 'h' is meant to be there) and Leigh from 1001 Inventions, Mustafa the Perfume Doctor, the two brothers from Bounce, Dawood Wharnsby Ali and Idris Philips, the brother from Mercy Mission who kept giving me possible designs and many others (I can't think of right now because it's 3am and my eyes are starting to twitch involuntarily) it was great meeting you all and I hope we meet again inshallah.
Posted on 24 Jul 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah and Mecca 2 Medina!
We were very fortunate to hear many great acts at Living Islam, including these guys; Mecca 2 Medina! Gettin' Halalified!
M2M are the UK's first Muslim group to blend R'n'B with Reggae and Nasheed. They were amazing people and totally dedicated to spreading the message of Islam.
Here are the M2M guys posing with me (Urban Ummah designer) and Adeel Ali from Nottingham (I think) who works with the noble charity Deen Trust. Adeel is slightly taller in real life and a tremendously nice guy with a great sense of humour (sounds like a Muslim matrimonial website advert!). See you soon brother!
Posted on 24 Jul 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
HELP HAROON RAISE £10,000 FOR THE ISLAMIC RELIEF K2 Challenge!
Things to do: Get down to the supermarket, fill up the tank, watch footy, climb a mountain, put the bin out...
It's not your typical 'to do' list is it? Well, brother Haroon from Coventry lives a very hyper lifestyle mashallah; he kickboxes, works as a sports and physical activity leader and climbs the occassional mountain!
Haroon desperately needs to raise £10,000 before he leaves for his expedition in August 2008.
Please donate generously as scaling an 18,000 foot mountain isn't an easy task!
Quoted in the Coventry times, Haroon says:
"Losing one or both parents is traumatic for any child in any situation.
"In countries where war, famine or poverty are a part of everyday life, millions of children are orphaned and left to struggle for survival."
Please visit www.justgiving.com/k2orphans or ring Haroon himself on 07743 518 068 to invest in the life of an orphaned child.
Posted on 03 Jul 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah at RACE4LIFE!
Introducing... The Belle Vue Belles! This years Race4Life in Bradford was in Manningham (Lister) Park. It was a miserable and rainy day yet thousands turned up! I was proud to be there and it was amazing to see the support.
Above are images of some of the ladies from Belle Vue Boys' School in Bradford wearing their Fairtrade and organic Urban Ummah t-shirts. Well done ladies! You can see Michelle (above) posing after the race; no it isn't sweat, it's the rain (and maybe a little sweat!).
Ellie the Art teacher came in first for the school (I doubt she will let me put her picture up!) and making a triumphant finish to the race was little Jenny (above) who was in need of hip replacement surgery before the race but still finished the course. Congratulations to you all and I hope the people who have lost someone to cancer will always remember them and find the strength to carry on.
Posted on 29 Jun 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
YM Organiser Husman Khan in CHINA!
Here is Husman Khan (YMUK.NET), currently in China, wearing a Kung Fu Muslim t-shirt while enjoying a dish of rice (I bet some curry is in there somewhere!). Let's just hope that none of the locals think he really is a Kung Fu Muslim and challenge him to a showdown!
Posted on 29 Jun 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Bradford Grid.... MARTIAL ARTS STYLEEE!
Huuu-WAH! It's Ash and Zahra from Bradford Grid posing in the 'Kung Fu Muslim' and 'Ninjabi Muslim' t-shirts in the Grid Business Centre at Bradford City's Valley Parade. Thanks goes out to them for all the help and support they have given us. If you need more information on what the Grid does, visit www.bradfordgrid.com
Posted on 19 Apr 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah on the AIR!
Ok, the headphones weren't actually working but I had to go through the motions! Here I am with representatives from advertising company; Frontline Media at BCB (Bradford Cummunity Broadcasting) thanks to Zahra from Bradford Grid. I introduced some tracks to be played and talked about Urban Ummahs ethical, Islamic and environmental values. Zahra took a steady picture dispite the fact that she was giggling most of the time!
Shiraz later appeared on Sunrise radio courtesy of Bradford Grid to raise awareness Urban Ummah and our standards of being Ethical, Islamic, Fairtrade and Environmental.
Posted on 18 Apr 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah at Wisdom and Tea!
Shiraz was very pleased to meet Ku from the Islamic Canadian group 'The Sound of Reason' at Bradford University. The event was called Wisdom and Tea.
The event went very well and seemed to be a real success.
Posted on 18 Apr 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Look, it's Rob!
Here's the man himself, playing a vital role in printing our t-shirts and as interesting as this picture is in showing the process of t-shirt ptinting, I just can't get over how long Rob's fingers look!
Rob and Ady have a printing company in Bingley that focuses on offering Fairtrade, organic and ethical clothing, as well as vegetable based ink printing. Check out their new and improved website: www.fingerprintscoop.com
Posted on 18 Apr 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah going German... In LEEDS!
Urban Ummah visited a German trade festival in Leeds for some inspiration (it was a get together really) and a change of venue from Shiraz' house for a meeting. Things were going really well until we bought some bread with, what we thought was sugar sprinkled all over it, but it turned out to be salt! So we tried to rid the taste with garlic bread but the garlic was sensationally hot and unpleasent so we went back to Shiraz' house for some pudding.
Posted on 18 Apr 2008 by Urban Ummah Team
Urban Ummah in Paris!
Late last year two thirds of the Urban Ummah Team went to Paris along with this fellow. Imran is currently a British Gas engineer who, like us, believes in Fairtrade and ethical values. Here he is at the top of the Arc de Triomphe proudly displaying his 'Kung Fu' and 'anti-terror' t-shirt!
Posted on 19 Dec 2007 by Urban Ummah Team
15/12/07 Urban Ummah at Miriam Lord's Bangladesh Appeal
Here we are at Miriam Lord Primary School in Manningham, Bradford. The event was organised to raise money for the people of Bangladesh. We aimed to donate profits to the cause.
We also took onboard a young lad who is part of a youth offenders placement programme. I'm not quite sure why he is wearing golfing gloves! I'm only joking, Aqueel is a student at Belle Vue Boys' School in Bradford who also attended the event to give a helping hand. Well done Aqueel and to his older brother Adil who managed to finish all the kebabs.
Posted on 19 Dec 2007 by Urban Ummah Team
13/12/07 Urban Ummah at the Beckfoot Fair Trade Fashion Show!
Having met two fantastic students from Beckfoot School at an event, and speaking to Sarah Page (who works at the school) we were invited along to the Beckfoot Fair Trade Fashion Show! It was an amazing event full of humour and a terrific atmosphere. Everyone was very welcoming and the students did the school proud with all their efforts. I think the ICT technician needs a couple of nights off though, you know what I'm talking about! F5! PRESS F5! On the night we met Mr John Anderson, the Head of Fair Trade Bradford, who was delighted to see Muslims doing something actively for the environment. Thanks for your comments John.
Presenting Shiraz Ayub the 'I made a spreadsheet' one! There was a PC nearby but we couldn't log in, otherwise he would have been at Excel again! Incase you're wondering, no we didn't play the keyboards behind us (they weren't switched on.... Dammit!).
No we're not letting you guys off! From left to right, Raheem and Shuaib. These guys were brilliant and helped us with just about everything. Just after this picture was taken Raheem went crazy and smashed the place up.... Only kidding, but you can see it in his eyes though! Thank you brothers and beware of the 'swipey guy'!
Above is a picture of the fashion show. I don't know this gentleman's name but I think he had a couple of Cherry Bakewell Tarts on his blouse! All in good fun! The lady at the bottom left looks like shes praying for him to fall or something!
Posted on 16 Dec 2007 by Urban Ummah Team
19 - 25/11/07 Urban Ummah at Islam Awareness Week!
Going to This years Islam Awareness Week was the first IAW event we had been to. The opening was held at Anams restaurant in Bradford with special guest performer Dawud Wharnsby and his colleague Idris Phillips.
The atmosphere was buzzing and there were many people present at the event. Urban Ummah had the privilege of raising awareness of not only Islamic opinions of the environment but also to correct the misconceptions people have of our peaceful religion, and yes there was food!
Above is a display of the current Urban Ummah range layed out at Bradford College by a very kind lady called Noreen Akhtar who promotes all things good it seems!
Here he is, Shahid, the 'techy' one, laid back and taking it easy at Bradford University during Islam Awareness Week while Dawud Wharnsby and Tariq Ramadan addressed the many Muslims and non Muslims that arrived for the event. And yes, look out for brother Dawud Wharnsby in an Urban Ummah t-shirt! Com'on brother!
Posted on 14 Dec 2007 by Urban Ummah Team
16/11/07: Urban Ummah and Bradford Grid!
Here I am giving a short inspirational speech to youngsters in Bradford and this is what Zahra Niazi from Bradford Grid wrote about the event:
"Hosted and organised by Pot Black (Mohammed Siddique, GRID* member) and the GRID*(Zahra Niazi, Enterprise Prospector) provided a free short seminar to raise and encourage young enterprise during Enterprise Week in association with Make Your Mark, a nationally led organisation.
The event 'Giving Young People the BUZZ in Business' included a short interesting and inspiring presentation by Shiraz Zaman (Director and Creator) from Urban Ummah. A new clothing range for young people who want to make a powerful and unified statement no matter what their background! Urban Ummah were also the winners of the Bradford Council Enterprise Island last year. To demonstrate the quality of their products, three lucky youngsters were given the chance to to take away FREE T.Shirts to try and test! Shiraz Zaman comments, 'I hope our efforts in providing quality Fairtrade, organic and ethical clothing and raising the profile of good old fashioned human decency will go some way in creating a positive future for all of us. I also hope our efforts to provide an alternative choice, creates an environment which encourages people to think and ask questions.'"
Thanks Zahra!
Posted on 14 Dec 2007 by Urban Ummah Team