The Muslim Woman Who Took Over Shakespeare's Globe

Humraha News

Nusaiba Mohammad-Timol has been collecting firsts since she was 13. The latest: first Muslim woman to write and direct a non-Shakespearean production on the main stage of Shakespeare's Globe.

Humraha News is our weekly spotlight on good news from the Muslim community. A culture of good news, one story at a time.

A lifetime of firsts

In 2006, Nusaiba became the first female reciter to win the UK's National Qiraat Competition, and recordings of her recitation have since passed 3 million views on YouTube. Then came fashion school, features in BBC and British Vogue, and a magazine cover as the first Western influencer on Malaysia's top modest fashion publication.

In 2019, she and her husband Talha launched Waw Creative Arts, the world's first Muslim creative arts academy. The name stands for "Who Are We", and the answer keeps getting bigger: first Muslim woman to write and direct a non-Shakespearean production on the main stage of Shakespeare's Globe, co-founder of London's first Modest Fashion Week, and the Mayor of London's Creative Programme Partner for Eid on the Square.

Faith first, not in spite of it

This year, King Charles personally recognized her as one of fifteen women championing diversity in the UK. Her academy is now building real pathways for young Muslims into the creative industries, rooted in faith rather than in spite of it.

That last part matters. For a generation of Muslim kids in the West who love to draw, act, write or design, the message has often been that creativity and deen live in separate rooms. Waw Creative Arts is proof they can share a house. Students learn theatre, fashion and storytelling in an environment where their faith is the foundation, not a footnote.

A husband-and-wife team we cannot help rooting for

As a husband-and-wife team ourselves, this one hit home. There is something special about a couple building a dream that makes the whole community stand a little taller.

Speaking of art: Nusaiba's masterpiece is on stage, but yours can be in your closet. Our personalized Arabic name pieces turn any name into a one-of-one design.