Blessed Are The Strangers is a new documentary film telling the very British story of a ragtag bunch of white hippies, a committed group of black activists and their journey to Islam via psychedelics and a quest for social change.

In London in the late 1960s, a group of hippies who are switched on to Sufi teachings take a trip to Morocco and are introduced to Islam. Later, in 1980s Brixton, a group of West Indians find themselves drawn to the teachings of Islam whilst searching for a new spiritual, cultural and political direction.

This film reveals the fascinating story of how these two very different groups of people came together through their shared faith to form one of Britain’s oldest and most diverse communities of Muslim converts.

The screening will be followed by a special Q&A session with Director, Ahmed Peerbux, Peter Sanders with Event Chair Remona Aly.

About The Speakers

Ahmed Peerbux

Ahmed Peerbux is a London-based filmmaker. He studied Government & History at the London School of Economics & Political Science, where he was awarded the James Joll Prize for his work on conversion to Islam in Britain. More recently Ahmed has produced Inside IS: Ten Days in the Islamic State, a documentary about Jürgen Todenhöfer’s perilous trip to the so-called Caliphate, and worked closely with BAFTA-winning writer/director Peter Kosminsky on an ambitious upcoming drama about British Muslims signing up to fight for ISIS. Blessed are the Strangers is his first documentary

Peter Sanders

Peter Sanders is considered the world’s pre-eminent photographer of the Muslim world. For more than 50 years, he has captured rich traditional civilisations filled with warmth, humanity and compassion. He has just launched his latest book, Meetings with Mountains, Encounters with Saints and Sages of the Islamic World.

About The Chair

Remona Aly

Remona Aly is a journalist, commentator and broadcaster. She writes for The Guardian, is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought and is a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Something Understood. Remona was also Deputy Editor of emel, a British Muslim lifestyle magazine.