A creative project is giving 10 young Muslims aged 16-25 a voice and a way to express themselves.
Award winning Amina Atiq, a Yemeni- Scouse poet, performance artist, creative and community activist has collaborated with theatre makers, 20 Stories High (20SH) to co-produce the four-week project, called "Poet’s Gift."
They aim for a group poem to be published on a bus stop in Lodge Lane, Toxteth for four weeks, and for individual poems to tour community centres.
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Organisers say November's terrorist incident at Liverpool Women's Hospital sparked a conversation around creating a space to use writing as a form of expression.
20 Stories High (20SH) co-artistic director, Keith Saha asked Amina how she was feeling the day after the attack.
Amina told the ECHO : "It was the first time someone asked me a question of care. I was speechless.
“This made me think, if I cannot articulate myself and I’m a poet and lover of words, how do Muslim young people articulate how they feel?"
Relecting on rising Islamophobia, especially after 9/11, Amina said: “You feel you don’t get the opportunity to feel how the rest of the world is feeling”.
Keith and Amina said they saw the opportunity to create a space for young Muslims around L8, to encourage them to write, find love for words, self-expression and to bring conversations around care, love and community.
The project is not about reflecting on terror attacks, but to explore the lives of young people and to share with the wider community what their lives consist of outside of stereotypes.
Amina said: "The project is a safe space for young Muslim people across Merseyside, especially Liverpool 8 to come together to express themselves through spoken word workshops and writing.
"The reason why we’re creating this space is because it is not a place that we already have.
"Young people who are also Muslim will go through other things in life - conversations to do with mental health, the pandemic and their aspirations and ambitions for the future.
"(It is) To understand what young Muslims people in Liverpool 8 feel and think”.
Supporting workshop delivery, Amina will work alongside associate artist Nadia Anim, and Muhammad Elmi, who will carry out internal engagement.
Muhammad said: "As a young lad from the area, I never had the opportunity to be involved in projects like this.
"Growing up the support for young people was abysmal for a number of reasons. To now be given the opportunity to get involved in supporting the future generation is an honour.
"I very much hope that this project is the beginning of a new era for young Muslim Scousers."
20SH will include a wellbeing art consultation for the workers and young people to help cope with potentially triggering situations.
Amina added: “I want to make it a thing for young people to come and know that this is not just about writing ability and how poetic your writing skills are.
“This is about self-expression and the control of narrative, so when things in the world happen they’re able to articulate themselves in the best way”.
Lush Liverpool teamed up to offer participants a free wellbeing day at their store.
Workshops will take place over the four weeks at Toxteth TV and also at the Al Ghazali Multi-Cultural Centre.
