The inaugural festival, MFest, will bringtogether Muslims and non-Muslims to celebrate the religion's cultures, andexplore contemporary Muslim thought through its heritage, politics, andcommunities.

Set to run annually, it intends to providea platform for emerging and established writers, performers and artists, aswell as 'encouraging challenging conversations' and presenting Muslim responsesto contemporary issues, thebookseller.com wrote.

The festival will run from April 27 to 29at the British Library in central London, featuring almost 30 events includingpoetry readings, workshops, performances, discussions and after-parties.Writerand commentator Shafak will kick off the two-day festival with a keynotespeech, while 'Home Fire' author Shamsie will be in conversation with BBC newsjournalist Razia Iqbal.

Mostly Lit will conduct a live version ofits books podcast, while a stand-up comedy night will be presented bycontributors to 'Don't Panic, I'm Islamic' (Saqi Books). Other events include amagazine-making workshop with Muslim artists' organization, the KhidrCollective, and a discussion on the consequences of the Grenfell fire foractivist movements, featuring community organizer Pilgrim Tucker in discussionwith Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad and the grime artist Saskilla.

There will be discussion on evolvingstrands of feminism within Islam, led by journalist Remona Aly, while anothersession sees independent publishers explore the dynamics of publishing Muslimauthors, chaired by BAME in Publishing co-founder Sarah Shaffi, formerly of'The Bookseller'.

The event is sponsored by the AzizFoundation ? an independent grant-making foundation supporting the mostdisadvantaged communities in Britain ? and artificial intelligence company,DeepMind.

Tufyal Choudhury, director of MFest and ahuman rights academic, said: "We are delighted to launch a festival ofbooks and ideas that recognizes the diversity, differences and dynamics ofMuslim cultures and lives. MFest challenges a fundamental feature ofIslamophobia, which sees Islam and Muslims as a monolithic, static block."

Link->https://www.salaamgateway.com/en/story/uk_to_launch_first_muslim_literature_culture_festival-SALAAM04032018050333/