February 2026 – MACFEST our esteemed colleague Qaisra Shahraz , held its 2026 Opening Ceremony, marking the 4th edition of the Muslim Women’s Arts Festival and the launch of a new initiative, Muslim Diaspora Archives, dedicated to celebrating and recording the lives of first-generation Muslim migrants in the United Kingdom.
More about MACFEST (2017-2025)
Ms. Qaisra Shahraz MBE JP FRSA, Founder, Curator and Executive Director of MACFEST – an award-winning festival celebrating art, music and culture that brings Muslim and non-Muslim communities together – receives the distinguished MBS order of the British Empire Award and the Cultural Champion Award, from the Prince William of Wales for her outstanding work in MACFEST. Since its inception in 2017, with the support of FFEU, MACFEST has organized over 70 events in its hometown Manchester, UK, United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Morocco, Azerbaijan, among other countries.
The Interfaith platform TV Dialogue Program – an initiative launched by our esteemed colleague Imam Abdulkareem Shefiu Majemu and co-sponsored by FFEU – hosted 5 religious leaders to discuss “Peaceful coexistence in Nigeria: Role of Religious leaders”. The panel featured our colleague and partner Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, Chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.
Indian Pluralism Foundation led by Mr. Owaiz Aslam – a partner of FFEU based in India, brings delegations of youth peacebuilders to Maghen David Synagogue for interactive Muslim-Jewish discussions with Rabbi Beneli. Indian Pluralism holds interfaith events and discussions – including on how Muslim and Jews can team up to combat antisemitism and islamophobia.
Always looking for new modes and modules to share our message of combating stereotypes and bigotry, notably toward Muslims, while helping them to take their narrative back and tell their own stories. The Foundation For Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) produced Jinn (in conjunction with FFEU trustee Jason Kampf) to relay these messages to the millennial audience, and is proud that the positive response to this film has been overwhelming. Directed by Nijla Mu’min, a young African-American Muslim creative, the movie explores the themes of identity, religion and coming-of-age. Jinn was premiered at SXSW Film Festival 2018 and then featured at BlackStar Film Festival. Its cast won several awards (writing, and acting). Click on the link for more information.
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