Who is House of Amal?
House of Amal’s founder, Amal Kassir (left) and Lead Writing Instructor, Sara Bawany (right)
Founded in July 2020, House of Amal is a dynamic foster home for the creative Muslim writer seeking craft and community. We believe that every Muslim creative deserves space to develop their craft, find their voice, and connect with a like-minded faith-centered writing community, while building bridges between Muslim writers and the broader literary world.
House of Amal’s teaching philosophy centers on hands-on learning through craft instruction, writing studios, generative workshops, and service-oriented projects. We offer a robust 12-month writing residency curriculum developing technical skill and artistic voice through intensive training in poetry, prose, and storytelling. Our thriving membership program provides exclusive access to monthly book clubs, generative workshops, community open mics, and notable visiting writers, supported by mentorship and feedback. House of Amal has now published two community anthologies showcasing Muslim creative expression, with 100% of the profits going to charity.
None of this would be possible without YOU. Join us in continuing this journey by signing up for membership or exploring our programs. Together, we can build a home for the Muslim creative.
Meet the rest of the team here.
Mission
House of Amal creates a nurturing community for Muslim writers around the world to foster their creative journey, and provide them a home to utterly express themselves.
Vision
House of Amal envisions a global creative community with a cohort of courageous, compassionate, and growth-oriented Muslim artists who themselves can experience wellness and belonging through easy access to knowledge, resources and mentorship.
Our Values
Ihsan = Craft | Suhbah = Community
Our Writing Principles
Writing is spiritual.
Vulnerability & honesty will translate into our work.
Our intuition, or our inner teacher, can guide us to our truest writing. The threat to the inner teacher is the ego.
“Inspiration” is not the only driver of writing; consistency is the counterpart.
Creativity comes from memory and craft; it’s a skill that can be learned.
Writing exists because of community, and writers thrive in community.
Creativity is our gateway to life, to Allah, and to ourselves.
Patience, accountability, and discomfort are part of our writing process.
Stillness [boredom] and silence are vital to our creative process.
Intention setting lays the foundation for our writing practice.
No idea is a bad idea.
Listen for what the Divine is conveying to you, through you.