The English journalist, activist and author of Finding Peace in the Holy Land: A British Muslim Memoir, Lauren Booth, who converted to Islam in 2010 (and is also Tony Blair’s sister-in-law), delivered a lecture on “To be a Muslim in the Contemporary World: Challenges and Responsibilities” at Lincoln Corner, Central Library, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI). The lecture was organized by Prof. Dr. Ayaz Afsar, Dean, Faculty of Languages and Literature, FLL, IIUI while, it was jointly hosted by the Faculty of Languages and Literature, Dawah Academy, and Character Education Foundation (CEF), which was moderated by Dr. Muhammad Sheeraz, Chairman, Department of English, FLL, IIUI.
In her lecture, Ms. Booth talked about how her visits to Palestine and her experiences of interacting with Muslims there influenced her thoughts to become a Muslim. She also emphasized upon spreading the message of Islam by practicing Islamic teachings. Ms. Booth also talked about her upcoming play “Accidently Muslim” which would be performed in from of the thousands of people in the UK in August 2019. She said that it is important to engage with the world by using the medium of entertainment because we are living in the age of entertainment.
Ms. Lauren Booth was born and grew up in North London. As a journalist, she wrote for and worked with the London Evening Standard, the New Statesman,The Mail on Sunday, the Press TV, British Muslim TV, and Al Jazeera. As an activist, she was an opponent of the American invasion of Iraq.
In 2010, Ms. Booth converted to Islam, and is a practicing Muslim now. In her talk, she also said she had completely devoted her life to Dawah. Prof. Dr. Tahir Khalily, VP Academics, congratulated Ms. Booth for embracing Islam, and thanked her for her visit to the IIUI.
Earlier, Ms. Lauren Booth also called on the President of IIUI, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh, in his office and presented her book to him. A university crest was also present by the President, IIUI on this occasion.