Directors
KITABA's current directors are ideally suited to meet the aims of the organisation
Abdul Aziz Ahmed is a teacher specialising in supporting children with
Additional Support Needs in mainstream schools in Scotland and has wide experience
of management in education and with several voluntary organisations in various parts
of the world. He has been involved in publishing, translating and editing Islamic
journals and books. He has travelled widely seeking and teaching traditional Islamic
knowledge.
Adnan Tariq has been visually impaired from birth with an ocular condition
called Degenerative Myopia as well as Congenital Nystagmus in both eyes. In addition,
he suffers from colour blindness and is partially deaf. Using large print, audio,
accessible internet material and personal contact, he is pursuing his own Islamic
and secular studies. Currently he is completing his 'A' levels with intention to
study law at university. He also hopes to memorise the whole Quran and advance his
Islamic Studies abroad. He writes poetry, is an avid reader and plays for an all
blind cricket team. Despite his youth, Adnan's passion for and commitment to social
inclusion and his first hand experience have been a driving force in several local
community projects in Bradford and have been pivotal in establishing KITABA.
Sayka Hussain was born blind and grew up in the UK. She graduated from university
in 2002 and joined the Civil Service where she has worked to date. She is trained
as an accredited mediator, helping settle workplace disputes. It is one of her ambitions
to be able to offer mediation to Muslims in the future, as an alternative to formal
means of dispute resolution. With help from a teacher at Madrassa An-Noor for the
Blind and her cousin Bilal, Sayka learned Arabic Braille in 2002. She completed
reading the Braille Qur’an at the end of that year. Her interests are wide ranging
and include travelling and adrenalin sports, to working with disadvantaged people,
giving them the tools and motivation to help themselves. A passionate advocate of
'fairness for all', Sayka trained as a mentor with the Mosaic Community Trust, working
with teenagers to improve their confidence and aspirations for the future. Sayka
joined Kitaba in 2009 and is responsible for production of Braille materials. She
helped organise the Umrah pilgrimage for 2010, and hopes this will be the first
of many such pilgrimages, giving those with visual impairments the opportunity to
take part in the experience of a lifetime which has hitherto not been possible.
Arsalaan Khan is an IT service manager working for Fujitsu Services.
He took on an active role in kitaba at the beginning of 2009. He has also worked
for changemakers as a youth advocate, following this he assisted in setting up an
organisation for empowering and supporting the youth. Arslaan is also a mentor and
plays an active role on the Mosaic Midlands leadership team. He has a keen interest
in studying the sacred sciences which he is currently pursuing at a local islamic
supplementary school.
Previous Directors
KITABA would like to express thanks and appreciation to those who have served
in the past, they include:
Imran Sabir, Chairperson. Imran has complex health challenges including
a visual impairment. In overcoming these challenges, he has had personal experience
of the issues that KITABA are attempting to address. After completing his schooling
in Scotland, he went on to study psychology through the Open University as well
as various management and creative writing courses. He founded and continues to
lead one of our sister organisations,
Ethnic Enable, which supports people with disabilities from the minority
ethnic communities. His passion for justice and equality draws on his commitment
to Islamic and Quranic Studies which he has pursued rigorously, using a combination
of audio, Braille, internet and personal contact with various scholars. He is a
qualified teacher of Arabic Braille with ijazah, license, from Mualana Hasan Mirchi
of Madrassa al-Nur, South Africa.
Maha Khechen began losing her sight at 8 years old as a result of using
cortisone eye drops for longer than needed. Despite this, she qualified as a history
teacher and completed a diploma in special and inclusive education. She is pursuing
an MA in Special Education at London University and is also a qualified teacher
for people with visual impairments and a teacher of both Arabic and English Braille.
She taught at a special school for sensory impairment and language and communication
disorders in Lebanon, has worked on project teaching visually impaired children
computer skills for the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
and acts as a consultant for its specialised website, Net Forum for the Blind. Left in 2010
Asma Arif is an Orthoptist, eye specialist, being involved in the diagnosis,
investigation and management of various ocular conditions. She works with people
of all ages and varying levels of impairment. While gaining her Medical Sciences
degree at The University of Sheffield, Asma was secretary of the Islamic Society.
She has studied Islam with various teachers by attending teaching sessions in her
home town of Peterborough as well as other cities in the United Kingdom, and through
SunniPath and the OnlineHalaqa where she also works as part of the administration.
Left in 2009
