'Intermediate Episode 7: On Singing, Studying at Oxford, Melayu and Kelantanese with Iman Farrar

Arabic with Imran Lum

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In today’s Ep, we chat to the superstar singer/songwriter and activist Iman Farrar! We discuss how she learnt Arabic, what it’s like studying at Oxford University then for the Malay speakers we switch to Bahasa Melayu and talk about growing up in a multilingual household and learn or I attempt to learn some Kelantanese. Biography: Iman is a Muslim artist, student, singer and songwriter. Iman lived across five countries while growing up; including England, Malaysia, and Australia. This early exposure to different languages, cultures and religious traditions encouraged her to explore her talents and interests in the performing arts. Since 2009, she has been performing in Malay, English, and Arabic. Her notable performances include covers of ‘Ya Tayba,’ ‘Rasulullah,’ ‘Raqqat Ayna,’ ‘Kasih Padamu,’ and ‘Dia Muhammad’ among others, with a combined viewing of over 20 million hits. She has recently covered some of her favourites, including ‘Zammilooni’ and ‘Best Manners’, and aims to release her debut single, ‘Believe’, this January. Iman founded KindNecessities in 2017, while in her first year of her Undergraduate degree. KindNecessities is a charity that works to better the lives of women both globally and locally. It challenges cultural taboos around female hygiene by providing education and advocating for the cultural awareness and acceptance of women’s circumstances. KindNecessities also provides refugee women with feminine hygiene necessities. While the charity is currently not in operation due to Iman’s intensive studies and focus on developing original material in her music, she hopes to re-launch it in the near future. In 2019, Iman joined Project Dastaan as their Innovations Lead. Project Dastaan uses virtual reality (VR) technology and 360 video to enable Partition Witnesses to relive their childhood memories prior to the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. Working to bring these memories to life, the Project seeks to educate, innovate and create the biggest impact possible using cutting-edge technology. In 2016, she undertook a placement under the United Nations Relief and Work Agency in Al-Baqa’a refugee camp in Jordan. She lived alongside Palestinian refugees and volunteered at the local Women’s Centre while conducting research for the establishment of KindNecessities. Iman continues to serve the local and international community with a vision to help empower disadvantaged people, women, and young people globally.Checkout Iman's website here: https://www.iman-farrar.com/about#:~:text=Iman%20Farrar%20is%20a%20young%20Muslim%20artist%2C%20leader%2C%20and%20advocate&text=Since%202009%2C%20she%20has%20been,of%20over%2020%20million%20hits.YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ImanFarrar--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/arabicwithimran/message