Introductions

This is the part where you'll decide whether you love me or hate me...

Thank you for visiting my blog

I have been contemplating the idea of starting a blog for some time now and with the encouragement of a few friends; here I am.

My name is Momodou Taal, I am 20 years old and a law student.

I was born in The Gambia, West Africa (not many people know where it is) but came to England when I was 3 months old. I come from a well known family within the Gambia from both my maternal and paternal side. My mother's maiden name is Jawara, which is the surname of the first President of The Gambia and who so happens to be my great grandfather. (Sir Dawda Jawara). And my Grandfather on my mothers side was also a high ranking politician in The Gambia. My father's family name is Taal and we trace our lineage to Shaykh Umar Futi Tal. He was a sufi Shaykh, an islamic scholar and a mujahid who fought the colonialists. My words are unable to do justice to his legacy, so I encourage you to do a quick google search on him. (May Allah be well pleased with him)

When my mother first arrived to England we lived in Walthamstow, East London, later moving to Thatched House, which is in between Leytonstone and Stratford. (Hopefully one day I will get a chance to go into my upbringing in more detail) When I was 13 years old, I got involved in the typical postcode nonsense which as a consequence saw one of my best friends, Paul Erhahon, murdered and another close friend stabbed multiple times. As a result my mum took the decision to move our family to Birmingham for a fresh start. 

Readjusting to my new life in Birmingham was smoother than expected, I made friends quickly, worked my way up the school social ladder with relative ease and became pretty comfortable with my surroundings.

During my secondary school years, like many black youths, became obsessed with Barack Obama and followed his campaign intensely. This inspired me to take an interest in politics and I became involved in the UK Youth Parliament for a few years. 

I was born a Muslim but never really knew much about my religion. It was Ramadan in 2008 or 2009 and I had never really fasted before but a friend of mine suggested we pray in school as we were not eating or rather we were not supposed to be eating. Not knowing exactly what I was doing, I followed what my friend did and he became my teacher. This then inspired me to take an interest in religion. 

As you'll learn, I get excited easily and tend to jump into things head first. However the decision I made at this stage in my life to learn my religion will be what shapes me from here on in.

As a zealous impressionable youth, I had a brief spell with various Islamic groups, groups that leaned to the more strict and harsher side of things but this soon came to an end as I began to grow and explore.

After living in Birmingham for 5 years and kitted out with a Londoningham accent. It was time for another change and this came in the form of a chance to live with an extremely diverse Muslim community in the unlikely country side of Norfolk. Norwich to be exact and here I am now. 

Yipee.. You've made it this far and I haven't bored you yet. 

I don't claim to be an intellectual nor a learned person. I just wanted to share some of my experiences and thoughts with people, so we can live, learn, love and grow together.

"And the best of Mankind are those who benefit Mankind"

Sir Dawda Jawara with Queen Elizabeth the 2nd.

Grandad with ex Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Momodou