Emdad's Articles
Artistic brilliance with the radiant Shamim Azad
By Emdad Rahman
I first met Shamim Azad at a community event in 2004. She is a poet who uses aspects of Asian folk and oral traditions with chanting and percussion instruments and was specially recruited from Bangladesh to work as a primary school teacher in London. A published writer with over 15 years of experience in working with the community the talented artist has published many books of fiction, essays and poetry.
Borrowing her broad narrative style from Chaucer, her improvisational technique from Rimbaud, and mystically connected to the living spirit of William Blake, Azad has, like these earlier greats, made herself both subject and object of her verse. Her work is poetry without intellectual boundaries, where internal landscape and worldly concerns are metaphysically united.
In my interview with Shamim, she talks about herself and her poetry. Her spiritual quests, her socio-political convictions are candidly and exuberantly explored. In essence we get a glimpse of this wonderful woman and what she is about.
Working in two languages, she says, gives her a different take on the world, but she would now like to focus on working in English. “I would like to cater for multi cultural audiences who can read English. Because I found that once they know my work, they're keen on my work in Bengali as well.”
Ohid Uddin has emerged in recent years as one of the most powerful and articulate voices of the new consciousness in Bangladesh. 
The Bangladesh Social Welfare Minister, Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid is overseeing a big shake-up in Bangladesh. He believes everyone has a crucial role to play and can make a unique and growing contribution to the delivery of public services. Widely acknowledged to be an extremely hard-working individual, Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid has spoken out on subjects ranging from the welfare of orphans, to the rehabilitation of drug abusers and the support of the not so fortunate. In fact the Minister feels so strongly about the current efforts being taken to improve social welfare that he has made it his personal mission to make sure that absolutely nothing jeopardises this. 
Moulana Mohiuddin is from Dhaka, Bangladesh and is a prolific scholar and thinker of Islam. He is the son of a distinguished academic and studied at one of most the famous educational establishments of Bangladesh. He is a renowned Mufassir of the Quran and travels widely for the purpose of Dawah. Recently, he was invited to the United Kingdom to visit leading Islamic and educational establishments. He is currently on his fourth visit here. Emdad Rahman was recently allowed some time in his presence. This meeting took place at Markazul Uloom, an Islamic Institute in Dalston, London. Moulana Mohiuddin Khan gained his Madrasah degree in 1955. 
Don’t let the name fool you… Amy Anderson has been described as “a skinny Margaret Cho” and “a heterosexual, Asian Ellen”. Amy would describe herself as “a funny American girl who happened to be born in Korea and adopted by Swedish parents in suburban Minnesota”.