Na'ima B. Robert

Na'ima B. Robert is a British author of multicultural literature and the founding editor of SISTERS Magazine, the UK-based publication for Muslim women. ¹

She was born in Leeds to a Scottish father and a Zulu mother, both from South Africa, grew up in Zimbabwe, and converted to Islam in 1998. ¹

Robert's family moved from England to Ethiopia when she was two, and four years later to Zimbabwe, where she received her primary education in Harare. ¹ Her father, Robert McLaren, was a senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, and her mother, Thembi McLaren, was an entrepreneur. ¹

After graduating from high school in Zimbabwe, she returned to England and earned a first-class degree from the University of London. ¹

During her university studies she travelled to Egypt as an amateur musician, where her encounters with Muslim women started the reflection that her memoir later described; after a further trip to Guinea, where she began the five daily prayers and fasted Ramadan, she announced her shahada in London in 1998. ¹

She began wearing the niqab full-time in 1999. ¹ After teaching in the classroom and founding a private home school, she began writing. ¹

Her memoir, From My Sisters' Lips (2005), recounts her conversion and her life as a niqab-wearing Muslim woman in Britain. ¹

She has published thirteen picture books for children with Muslim themes, beginning with The Swirling Hijaab, which was included in the Booktrust programme; her Journey Through Islamic Arts won the UK National Literacy Trust WOW! Award, and Ramadan Moon appeared in 2009. ¹ Her picture books are published in up to 31 languages. ¹ Her earliest children's books were published under her birth name, Thando McLaren. ¹

Her young-adult novels are From Somalia, with Love (2009), included in the World Book Day 2009 schools pack and long-listed for the United Kingdom Literacy Association Award; Boy vs. Girl (2010); Far From Home (2011), set in Zimbabwe; Black Sheep (2013); and She Wore Red Trainers (2014). ¹ In February 2021 she published Show Up, a personal reflection on her life's journey. ¹

She is the founding editor of SISTERS, the magazine for Muslim women, and of DISCOVER, the magazine for Muslim children. ^{1 2}

On her own YouTube channel she presents The Marriage Conversation, a series of advice for Muslim couples. ³

This section presents what the sources report about her public positions; it is not the museum's verdict on her or on her opinions.

Robert is a vocal advocate of women's right to choose to cover fully, and explains in her memoir that the covered woman "cannot be judged on her appearance because nothing personal about her can be seen". ¹

She is one of the founding members of Veiled Justice and has represented the East London Mosque on Muslim women's issues, speaking in support of the niqab in British media including The Telegraph, BBC News, The Times Online, BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and Channel 4's Undercover Mosque, as well as on Islam Channel and AIM TV. ¹

• "Na'ima B. Robert", English Wikipedia (revision consulted 26 October 2026). ¹
• "[Interview] Secrets of a Productive Muslimah: Na'ima B. Robert", Productive Muslim, 2014. ²
• "Na'ima B. Robert — YouTube channel (The Marriage Conversation)". ³