Momtaza Mehri, a poet and comparative literature researcher has compiled an incredible and extremely vital document titled, ‘The Black Muslimah Toolkit’.

pleased to finally share The Black Muslimah Toolkit w/ you guys. poetry/essays/academic bangerz & more. RT & share! https://t.co/6psBPadbci pic.twitter.com/eFQDdJ6rnu

— تاز المشاكس (@RuffneckRefugee) October 3, 2017

It is a free google document, readily available to anyone with the link to it, which she has posted on her Twitter account, featuring a list of links to multiple different resources. The list includes but is not limited to poetry, essays, academic resources, music. It is meticulously organised into fifteen categories, to ensure easy access;

• Black/Muslim Poetics,
• On  Black Muslim Art & Praxis
• Black/Muslim Hip-Hop Scholarship
• Beauty Politics
• Theory/Diagnosing The Wound
• Between Feminism(s)
• Anti-Black Islamophobia(s)
• On Spirituality, Suffering & Resistance
• Of  Mothers & Daughters
• Self-Care & Self Defence
• Through The Lens
• Cinematic Visions
• Tasbihs & Turntables: A Playlist
• Podcasts On Loop
• Miscellaneous

Some examples include; the poem ‘A Personal Jihad’ by Gaston Neal, a Dua for Ancestors by Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, and a video of Five weak points and strikes for self-defence.

It has been warmly received so far by many on Twitter;

I've been holding my breath waiting for this. Endless duas for you sis ????

— Jelly ???? (@theculturecrit) October 3, 2017

Wow so proud of you! Going to go through the poetry section all day today. Happy to buy you coffee in person too. #BlackGirlMagic

— Samra (@samra_said) October 7, 2017

We reached out to Momtaza, to ask a few questions about the project, and here is what she had to say;

“I created the toolkit so that I could champion and widely share the work of contemporary artists and thinkers. In my own private conversations with friends and peers, I felt there there was a need to celebrate a canon of Black Muslim cultural production and scholarship that already exists and is being built upon. I was also very interested in categorization and how that prevents so many of us from accessing work in its totality.

What is categorized as Muslim art? What is excluded from that? I wanted to celebrate the work of those who blur the lines by compiling resources that I and so many Black Muslim women I know have benefited and learned from. It wouldn’t be fair to just let these gems sit on my USB drive.

I’ve had such beautiful responses from many women (and men) who have told me the toolkit it exactly what they needed. It’s been wonderful to hear that it’s helping, in whatever small way, folk based as far away as Australia, Canada and Ethiopia. There’s many people who are interested in this kind of work but, as they’ve told me, had no idea where to begin. It’s been an overwhelming response and I’m humbled to be the channel through which anyone discovers a poem, song or paper that changes their way of thinking about the world or even themselves.”

This is a really important, informative and enlightening resource that everyone can benefit from.