The Association of Muslim Lawyers (AML) opened their doors to members, guests, Muslims and non-Muslim, to celebrate `Eid at The Law Society in London on Friday, June 7.

The program for the night included speeches from journalist Aina Khan and from Shahin Sadafi who helped set up Grenfell United, a group supporting survivors from the terrible tragedy that left 72 deceased.

Speaking of the evening, Remy Mohamed, a lawyer and President of the AML said, “We are here for the joint Law Society and Association of Muslim Lawyers `Eid event. It’s a Friday evening in central London and the room is packed full of people to celebrate `Eid with us.

Remy Mohamed with Hassan Joudi from the Muslim Council of Britain

“The Law Society does a wonderful job of promoting diversity in the profession. Tonight we had two amazing guest speakers. The first was Aina J Khan, she’s a journalist, and she spoke about her journey, representation, and the power of storytelling.

“And then we heard from Shahin Sadafi who is a Grenfell survivor and has now become an inspirational speaker. He touched everybody with his words, on how he has overcome adversity in his life, and he really gave the most inspiring speech.

“I celebrated `Eid with my family, at a Malaysian restaurant (in London). The table was packed full of food and we still managed to eat all of it. It was a great evening.”

Shahi Sadafi

The Message

After a delicious hot catered meal Aina Khan sat towards the front speaking with excited guests from the night.

Aina said, “Today I delivered a speech about the power of storytelling. I know it’s the Law Society so maybe I should have done something more law orientated, but I just stuck to my guns, my expertise, which is journalism and writing.

Aina J Khan

“I started talking about a film that I watched when I was six years old, The Message, it came out in 1976. It was a historic biopic of Prophet Muhammad, and I was a really big history buff when I was a kid, which might be a bit unusual. But basically it sparked, I don’t know, I went tumbling down a hole, getting into history, stories of the past, and I guess, in a nutshell, that film sparked my interest in writing. Sparked an interest in stories, past and present. Leading me twenty or so years later, to pursue a career in journalism.

“(How did you celebrate `Eid this year?) I was revising! I was at work, then I was revising as I had a journalism exam the next day. But, later I went to my grandmothers in the evening. We had brown rice with red meat, and sweet rice as well which was really lovely.”

Dinner Buffet

Before the evening came to an end, Shahin shared, “I’ve been asked to speak at the Law Society in regards to resilience and how to change a tragedy, in your own min, from a tragedy to a positive note, to bounce back stronger than before.

“It’s really important to first acknowledge yourself, to be true to yourself, to be grateful for what you have, and to understand that any situation you are in, is only temporary. It is down to you to realize that you can make a difference in your own life, in your own mindset, to move forward.

“Whether it’s something positive like a promotion or a new job. All that this means is that it’s time for you to grow, to change, and to move forward. Even if it’s a tragedy, something like a divorce, or death in the family, you can take this opportunity to grieve, feel the pain, to acknowledge it, and to move forward, being better than what you were before.

Guests

“I celebrated (`Eid) first and foremost with my family. I went to my in-laws’ house, we had a lovely dinner together. And the next day I spent it with my friends, my community, and then I went to my friend Mohamed’s house for dinner with his lovely family.”

The overall objective of the Association of Muslim Lawyers is to empower Muslim lawyers to eradicate injustice and deliver positive impacts to our communities and beyond.

While this is a serious mandate, after the talks guests ate, mingled, laughed, joked and smiled. Every community has their celebration, `Eid – a time of joy, is one for Muslims and it was an honor to be amongst people of all faiths and none sharing our hospitality.