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EDITOR’S ADDRESS

ميحرلا نمحرلا هللا مسب

Not a second goes by without motion. The tiny speck we call earth is restlessly hurtling through space at all times. Perhaps the phrase “not a second goes by without motion” is a simple tautology; it is true because a “second” or “moment” already entails a sense of motion. Just as our conceptions of space and time entail motion, so does everything else we do. We are constantly dealing with change and reacting to the world around us; we are in a constant state of flux.

2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least. I am a little weary of calling an arbitrary measure of 365 days a “bad” year but it has been odd. We have dealt with a global pandemic that should well and truly humble us - a tiny virus we cannot even see with our naked eye brought the world’s strongest economies to their heels. It has forced us to rethink how we live our lives and reimagine what it means to connect to people and the world around us.

As we deal with the pandemic and a host of other social and political issues, we are always working in the background of climate change. It is against this backdrop of destruction and doomsday-like visions of the future - the perennial threat of irreparable change - that we make personal and collective decisions. Responding to climate change necessarily entails changing the current course of actions.

The theme for this issue is A World in Flux. The work in this issue is responding to questions of change and uncertainty with respects to the pandemic. It addresses the ways in which we can begin to better understand and prevent an environmental crisis. Finally, this issue deals with the important question of finding a metaphysical anchor that can keep us grounded and adept at attacks on our souls for it is easy to let that go in a world hell-bent on constant stimulation.

When I first applied for the role of Editor-in-Chief, I was warned of the levels of commitment and work it would entail from everyone involved. Perhaps my earlier statement that we are in a constant state of flux is not entirely true because that will probably never change. I hope that this humble result of the work the entire team of writers, editors, designers, artists, and the support structures each one of us has to keep us motivated, is worthy of The Muslim Voice Magazine’s legacy. It is an honour to be a part of something rewarding and I hope everyone in the team who has had to hear my artistically illiterate takes on design-related topics still thinks it was worth it.

With love,

Hikmat Jamal Editor-in-Chief