Assalamu alaikum (peace be upon you), I’m Hadiqa and welcome to my blog! I love history and always have. As a child, I remember I would always pick out non-fiction books whenever we visited the library. In particular, I had a huge fascination with Anne Frank and read almost every single book about her that was in the library. But most importantly, I owe my love of history to my incredible teachers who showed a real passion for the subject and made lessons so engaging and exciting. History is an endless subject, full of tragedies, victories and treacheries- what isn’t there to love?

Despite my love for history, I always felt as though there was a huge void in my knowledge. The topics I was taught were not very diverse, topics such as Nazi Germany, the Tudors and the Cold War. Whereas, like many other students I wanted to learn about the Ottoman Empire, British rule in India and Islamic Spain to name a few topics. So I took matters into my own hands and set up this blog to write about topics I’ve always wanted to know more about and share my findings with fellow history enthusiasts. Hence the birth of Historically Accurate. Although my blog will mainly focus on Islamic history and stories from the Muslim world, I hope there is something for everyone to benefit from and share with others.

The study of history is more important than ever before, especially that we now live in a STEM-driven world. It connects us to our past as we learn from the mistakes of our predecessors which teaches us how to move into the future. The statement ‘history repeats itself’ may seem redundant, yet how can one disagree with it? Therefore, is imperative that we learn from our past or else we are doomed to make the same mistakes. As the famous saying goes: ‘Only fools repeat the same things over and over, expecting to obtain different results.’

For Muslims, in particular, studying history is crucial in forging national identity. Learning about the glory of Islamic history allows Muslims to build their own identity that is not forged from colonial perspectives but rather is rooted in the richness of our own tradition and past. Muslims must be at the forefront of claiming their own narrative rather than being dictated a host of untruths about their identity, traditions and past by Western academia.

I hope, through Historically Accurate, to inform and inspire others to learn more about their heritage and history which in turn will encourage people to embrace and celebrate their own culture. I hope that you enjoy exploring my history blog and learn something new!