Ritual: A Night of Muslim Australian Poetry

Join the award-winning team of Sweatshop for a night of performance readings to celebrate the release of Ritual — the world’s first collection of Muslim-Australian poetry. Featuring a star-studded line-up of presentations and performances from several of the anthology’s powerhouse contributors. Hosted by Dr Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Winnie Dunn.

Ritual is a ground-breaking new publication which centres the diversity of contemporary Muslim-Australian identities and experiences through the timeless power of the written word. Edited by multi-award-winning poets, Zainab Syed and Sara M. Saleh, the collection offers an inspiring and transformative contribution to the global tradition of Islamic-inspired poetry.

100% of ticket sales for this event will be donated to the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association and Islamic Relief Australia to support communities in Palestine and Sudan.

Proudly presented by Sweatshop Literacy Movement in partnership with Red Room Poetry and PYT Fairfield for Poetry Month 2025.

Featuring:

Munira Tabassum Ahmed has had her work published in Pleiades, Frontier Poetry, Best of Australian Poems, Liminal and Cordite. She was a 2022 Kat Muscat Fellow.

Mualla Aydoğan is a Turkish-Australian writer from south-west Sydney. She has a Bachelors of Communication from Western Sydney University and a Masters of Arts in Writing and Literature from Deakin University.

Ferdous Bahar is a Bengali-Australian woman from Western Sydney. She obtained a Bachelors of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney. Ferdous’ creative and critical works have been published in SBS Voices and kindling & sage magazine.

Meyrnah Khodr is a Lebanese-Australian writer from Bankstown. She completed a Bachelor of Education at Western Sydney University. Meyrnah has been published in SBS Voices.

Adrian Mouhajer is a queer non-binary Lebanese-Australian writer, fighter and editor from Lakemba. They are currently working on their debut essay and poetry collection as the recipient of a 2024 Affirm Press Mentorship.

Rania Omar is a lived experience advocate for mental health, disability and domestic violence. She has performed extensively at Bankstown Poetry Slam and recently published an audio story in Stories From Here (Outloud, 2024).

Yahya Tresor Djomani-Ousmane is in his fourth year at the University of Wollongong, pursuing a double degree in Science and Commerce. The dualities of Yahya’s African-Australian upbringing and Islamic faith have shaped his artistic practice.