Juz Amma: The Qur’an in Public

The sound of the Qur’an read aloud is a cultural signifier used across media and the arts to indicate the presence of Muslims and of Islamic religious expression. But, how often do you hear the Qur’an recited in public by someone who isn’t a man? At IMI we believe that the Qur’an belongs to all Muslims and that women and non-binary* Muslims deserve to take up more public space when it comes to the personal and public understandings of the Qur’an.

What is Juz Amma: the Qur’an in Public?
Juz Amma: The Qur’an in Public is a digital sound project created by the Inclusive Mosque Initiative in partnership with London arts venue Free Word as part of its ‘All the Ways we Could Grow’ Season. With this project, the Inclusive Mosque Initiative invites Muslim women and Muslim non-binary people to recite verses from Juz Amma, the last part of the Qur’an and the part most commonly committed to memory, and share what it means to them. The final recordings will be available to hear online and at Free Word.   

Listen to the trailer

How do I take part?

1. Please fill in this Expression of Interest (EOI) form and tell us the verses from Juz Amma that you would like to recite.
2. We’ll review the EOI forms as they come in and you should hear from us within a week. The final deadline is Sunday 7th April at 6pm but we would encourage you to send us your EOI as soon as possible.
3. If we can include you in the project we’ll get in touch and ask you to send us a recording of your chosen verses along with some commentary about what it means to you and a picture of yourself to be included with your recitation and interpretation.

What is Juz Amma?
The Qur’an is split into 30 sections (Juz) and 114 chapters (Surah). The final section, Juz 30 or Juz Amma, contains 37 chapters. Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) shared these verses with his followers when he was living and preaching in Mecca while Muslims were a minority group being persecuted.

Any Questions?
Please see our FAQs about Juz Amma: The Qur’an in Public. 

*Gender is messy and if you don’t identify with a gender, or you’re a non-binary Muslim, you are very welcome to join this project. When we use the term ‘women’, we include cis and transgender women. IMI would also like to extend a specific welcome to disabled women and disabled non-binary folk