Intercultural stargazing – a success despite a lack of stars

By Scarlet Hall, Community Engagement Officer

Muslim people around the world are celebrating Ramadan this April and through fasting they are connecting with their spiritual practice. Shortly before Ramadan started, I accompanied eight members of Frosterley Women’s Institute who had been invited to lunch with Taj Khan at her flat in the West End of Newcastle. Over a delicious lunch we learnt more about the joy of fasting, about prayer, about the central role of justice and women’s rights in Islam.

This journey leading up to an unlikely group of women getting together to build connection and friendship began last summer. I was introduced to Taj through a mutual friend. While sharing food, we exchanged stories around our relationships with family, gender and religion and connecting with rural places. One thing Taj said around ‘welcome’ stuck with me:
“I would love to visit the North Pennines but only if I know I will be welcome. I don’t want to go and experience Islamophobia. I don’t leave the city since I started wearing the hijab, as I don’t feel safe.”

I wondered who will welcome her and her community? Sarah Hudspeth, our Communications Lead and Frosterley resident, put me in touch with Joyce Jackson, Secretary of the Frosterley Women’s Institute, and the idea of an intercultural stargazing night was born.

On a cloudy cold afternoon at the end of November, Taj was getting ready to visit the North Pennines for the first time. She was heading to Frosterley to meet with local women from the Women’s Institute to share food and stargaze together. She wasn’t going alone – she had invited other women from the Suffrages Sisters Alliance, a non-religious grassroots support group for women in Newcastle, to journey with her. She was expecting her phone to start buzzing with people dropping out, as often happened with activities. Yet it was oddly quiet. Much to Taj’s surprise all sixteen women who signed up, showed up. There is appetite for something different to happen.

Joyce welcomed the Suffrage Sisters and introduced the Women’s Institute, an organisation which aims to promote friendship and education for women, and to campaign on important matters.

Taj introduced the group, 16 sisters from many different countries, and many who are 2nd and 3rd generation migrants. Many of the women are also active in Newcastle Central Mosque, which has 5000+ members. She invited us to really make the most of the time together to share and understand each other better – “ask questions, no question is too silly.”

We shared food and conversation, finding connections, and talking about home, marriage and families. At my table were Carol, Zeb, Chris, Syeda and her son. Zeb, a Lecturer in Public Health, talked about her dream of living rurally but her uncertainty if she could adapt to living outside of the city; Carol shared about her sense of home, growing up in Trimdon but moving to Weardale later in life. Meanwhile, Chris and Syeda’s young son had a lot of fun together, drawing and chatting. At one moment he whispered to her “What religion are you?” and she whispered, “I’m Christian.” He whispered back “I’m a Muslim” and a smile passed between them.

Gary Lintern, a local astronomer joined us to guide us through the night sky. We learnt that the Greek zodiac originates not from Greece, but from Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq, an example of how intercultural exchanges, like ours, have taken place throughout history. Gary then showed us how the Greek and Arab constellations are more or less the same, only the names are different. We took a walk together outside, and even though we couldn’t see a single star, the learning had opened up our imagination so much that people began to imagine seeing constellations. Gary enjoyed seeing the two groups come together, adding: “It would have been a nice bonus to be able to give everyone a tour of the night sky, but I thought it was a successful event, regardless”.

As we gathered inside again to warm up, one of the women from Newcastle, Shazia, approached me:
“I have been working all day, I hadn’t eaten, I am so tired, but I really wanted to come. I have been blown away by the hospitality and the welcome. I am so glad I came.” Then she added: “And I am telling you this despite being really very shy. That’s how big it has been.”

After we had said an emotional goodbye to the Suffrage Sisters, the Frosterley women shared a few reflections. They had been nervous, as only one of them had ever chatted with a Muslim person before, and yet there was a sense of how wonderful it had been. Joyce added: “I thought it was really excellent, absolutely brilliant. And there were more questions I would have liked to ask, but I didn’t want to push. It was great for a first meeting.”
Following the star gazing night, Taj decided to invite the Frosterley women to her home. Hospitality is such a key part of many Islamic cultures. She also wanted people to see and understand more about how Muslim women live.

As we lunched together, we got the chance to go deeper and ask more awkward questions. There was much surprise as we realised just how many of our pre-conceived ideas about Islam were way off the mark. Taj also was surprised to hear that many of the women experienced fear about going out after dark – she thought that was just Muslim women.

After Ramadan, the Frosterley women will visit the Central Mosque and in the summer they will host a visit for the Suffrage Sisters to Frosterley.
Taj and the sisters were deeply moved by the welcome they received. Chris Woodley -Stewart, Director of the North Pennines AONB Partnership said: “This is such a lovely story of people coming together, and I’m not surprised by the welcome our visitors received. In the AONB team we want to ensure that more people from more diverse backgrounds get the opportunity to visit, experience and enjoy the North Pennines and feel that it’s for them. I hope we can help to organise more events like this and I’m sure we’ll then see them springing up on their own.”

About me

I am Scarlet, a genderqueer person who works as part of the North Pennines AONB team helping the organisation move towards our vision of the North Pennines as ‘A Landscape for Everyone’.