March 2026 at The Barakat Trust
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In This Month’s Newsletter
– New podcast: The Story of a Stone: The Fatimids in Ethiopia
– Event: Benaras Exhibition Tour and Iftar – London, 7th March
– Your Zakat this Ramadan
– Grant information sessions – English and Arabic
– Courses at the Arab British Centre
New Podcast: The Story of a Stone: The Fatimids in Ethiopia, with Mikael Muehlbauer
This month’s podcast episode takes us to Ethiopia, specifically the rock-cut church of Wuqro Cherqos in Tigray where a tantalisingly cryptic piece of carved stone can tell us a whole story of interconnection up and down the Red Sea. This is a journey of merchants, artistic ideas, and political power in a place where you may not have expected it before.
Our guest is Mikael Muehlbauer, Lecturer in the Discipline of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. He is a specialist in the architecture of Medieval Ethiopia and Egypt, with a broad interest in interfaith exchanges and historical memory. He received his PhD from Columbia University. He is the author of the 2023 book “Bastions of the Cross: Medieval Rock-Cut Cruciform Churches of Tigray, Ethiopia” as well as an upcoming book “Inventing late antiquity in Fatimid Egypt”.
Come and visit Mughal Banaras: Forgotten Histories in a Troubled Present for a private tour with one of the exhibition’s curators, Jateen Lad, at SOAS.
This exhibition throws light on Banaras’s rich Mughal past and present by going beyond the riverfront into the hidden lanes, neighbourhoods and sites associated with the ‘later’ Mughals. This photography exhibition looks beyond the dominant perception of Banaras as a Hindu city, drawing attention to the city’s diverse communities and their profound role in shaping its rich history and urban heritage over the centuries, which are often overlooked in more familiar representations of the city. The exhibition has been co-curated by Malavika Kasturi and Jateen Lad.
The private tour will last approximately two hours before we head to Mowgli Street Food (Charlotte St.) where the group will sit down together for iftar, to break the daily fast during Ramadan.
This event is ticketed to cover the cost of the restaurant. It is open to all. Members of The Barakat Trust can buy a ticket at a discounted rate.
To beome a member, please visit our website: www.barakat.org/membership/
Member’s ticket: £45
Non-members ticket: £65
Your Zakat this Ramadan
Today, more than ever, the cultural heritage of the Islamic world, whether buildings, crafts, traditions, or foods face ever greater threats. Sometimes the cause is war, sometimes development, sometimes a lack of means.
Whatever the reason, The Barakat Trust hosts an annual grant-giving cycle where grants are given to projects that best meet the goals of the charity. Since 1987, we have funded over 800 grants including restoration, conservation, documentation, digitalisation, education, and training projects. All have a tangible effect on the protection and promotion of cultural heritage as led by communities in and around the Islamic world.
The Barakat Trust is able to hold its annual grant-giving cycle through the generous support of donors like you. Your donation this Ramadan can help us with our mission:
£20 – will cover the daily fuel costs of an archaeological team completing 3D scans of watermills around Jerash, Jordan
£50 – will pay for two hours of a web designer’s salary working on the online digitisation of an Iranian shrine
£100 – will fund the salary of a research assistant for a tombstone documentation project in Egypt
£500 – will pay for the clearance of debris to conserve three historic graveyards in Kashmir
£1000 – will provide a place for an expert at a conference on climate adaptation and heritage
£5000 – will cover the salary of an archaeologist to train 30 Palestinian students in protecting historic villages in the West Bank
£10,000 – will pay for a scholar from the Islamic world to spend three months at the University of Oxford
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/preserving_the_cultural_heritage_of_the_islamic_world
Q&A Sessions
We will hold our final two rounds of Q&A sessions in March. In these sessions we will provide some guidance on how to think about and write a strong application. There will also be time for applicants to ask the Barakat team questions about the grant process.
These sessions will be held in English and Arabic on separate dates. To register, click on the session(s) you want to attend:
Monday 23rd March 16:00 GMT – English
Tuesday 24th March 16:00 GMT – Arabic
Courses at the Arab British Centre
The Arab British Centre, a close partner of The Barakat Trust, have released their courses for the coming year covering a variety of themes: from embroidery, to belly dancing to calligraphy. These are courses run under the ethos that knowledge should live beyond the textbook and thus they are taught through conversation, practice and shared curiosity. Make sure to sign up for your place.
https://courses.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/
