Our girl’s a Muslim, a chorister — and proud to be British
I SUPPOSE some eyebrows will be raised at the fact that my daughter is a chorister and organ scholar — and that we are a Muslim family. We are liberal and progressive, celebrating and participating fully in British culture, while practising our religion and upholding core Asian traditional values, so I hope no one feels they can achieve much in criticising our choices. I strongly believe that with all the criticisms of the Muslim community, people like us, who are pushing against the boundaries, are not recognised. My 11-year-old daughter, Ishal Mahmud, is the first and only Muslim organist in the country — maybe the world — and an active member of the Royal College of Organists. She was a chorister at Portsmouth Cathedral and is joining Winchester Cathedral Choir, and is also a member of the Royal School of Church Music. As her mother, I am so proud of all her achievements: she is a member of Mensa, a competitive horse rider and swimmer, she loves to volunteer and fundraise for needy causes and is even writing a novel. Coming from an underprivileged and disadvantaged background, it is a huge achievement for our family and community that Ishal has won a bursary to a top girls’ boarding school, St Swithun’s in Winchester. I am a disabled mother of two and my husband is a taxi driver, and we have tried to do whatever we can to support our daughter in her aspirations. It was a tough decision to send her to boarding school, especially coming from the Muslim community where it is frowned upon. But we knew it was the best place for her. As an Asian woman, I know how difficult it was for me to aspire to higher education, and I could not let my daughter have the same struggle.