I overheard a stranger on her phone last week. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. She was waiting somewhere, talking to her sibling. Their father had just been admitted. She had somewhere else to be, and she was trying to hand things over. Gently at first. Then not so gently….
Faith & Reflection
It Starts With Us
Today’s khutbah was about work culture, which is not something you expect to hear from the mimbar, and it has been on my mind since. It talked about safety in the workplace, looking after mental health, speaking to each other politely and clearly, getting along with colleagues, and not letting…
Society & Culture
Why Dangdut
People ask me this more often than I expected. Why Dangdut? A man my age, with my background, humming Rhoma Irama in the car. The truthful answer is that I don’t really know. I can’t even tell you when I first heard it. It feels like it was always somewhere…
Faith & Reflection
Compassion Is Not Silence
Bullying is often discussed as though it belongs only in schools. It does not. I have seen what online bullying can do: how quickly a careless comment, a pile-on, or something passed around for entertainment can make a person feel exposed and alone. People sometimes dismiss it as “just the…
Faith & Reflection
Penyakit Ain: Between Faith and Fear
Penyakit ain is real in Islam. But belief should lead us towards prayer, wisdom and trust in Allah, not fear, suspicion or superstition.
Society & Culture
The Anatomy of a (Online) Mob
I have written about the dog post before, twice now, a decade apart, in 2014, right in the middle of it, and again in 2024, looking back after ten years. I am writing about it again now because I have been asked to give a guest lecture on Digital Media…