SHUKR Staff Profiles

Anas Sillwood – Managing Partner

Anas, 35, is the founder and co-owner of SHUKR. His goal, when founding the company in the year 2000, was to provide Muslims living in the West with high quality, contemporary Islamic clothing. A convert to Islam, with a keen awareness of the need for Muslims to engage with society in a positive, pro-active manner, he is a pioneer in developing a truly unique, attractive style of clothing that offers Muslims the opportunity to remain faithful to their religion, while being culturally relevant at the same time.

Anas was born in England and studied at the London School of Economics, where he received a BSc and MSc in Political Theory.

Fluent in Arabic, Anas personally supervises the design and production facilities in Damascus, Syria, where he currently resides with his wife. He also coordinates the marketing activities, ranging from the photo-shoots in the beautiful Damascene Arab houses to face-to-face meetings with customers at the large Islamic conventions held in the West.

His favorite part of his job is the opportunity he has to work with the SHUKR factory manager, Abu Munir al-Sha’ar, a pious man who is known for his beautiful character and selfless efforts in serving the religious scholars and their students.

What SHUKR clothes is Anas currently loving? Well, he is trying to get out of a lazy habit of wearing one of the same 10 white Hyderabadi SK tops he has, even if he does match it with a different pair of SHUKR trousers. He has really taken a fancy to the new Sandal Embroidered Jubba, which he feels is one of the highest quality garments SHUKR has ever produced (it looks simple, but examine it closely, but inside and out, and you will find it a high quality piece of tailoring), quite apart from its blessing due to the embroidered emblem of the Sandal of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)

What does Anas have ‘shukr’ (‘gratitude’) for? Anas has ‘shukr’ for SHUKR, a company he feels gives himself and all its employees an opportunity to serve Muslims from all over the world by providing them with culturally relevant, beautiful Islamic clothing.

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Jaafar Malik – Managing Partner

Jaafar, 37, is the co-owner of SHUKR. His goal, when joining the company in the year 2001, was to establish a successful business organization based upon Islamic principles and ethics.

Jaafar was born in England and studied at the University of London, where he received a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Systems after receiving his BA Hons in Accounting.

Jaafar currently lives in Amman, Jordan where the SHUKR Head Office is based. Jaafar’s role in SHUKR is business development and finance.

His favorite part of his job is working with Islamic Scholars to find Islamic business solutions to contemporary issues.

What SHUKR clothes is Jaafar currently loving? The Winter London Jubba, of course.

What does Jaafar have ‘shukr’ (‘gratitude’) for? Jaafar has ‘shukr’ for being given the gift of iman.

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Tabassum Siddiqui – Head Designer

Tabassum has been the Head Designer of SHUKR for the past 4 years. Before SHUKR, she had worked with designers in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe. She had received covetable offers with well-known international designers, but all the while she was searching for a way to continue with design, but in an Islamic environment. Then the offer to join the SHUKR team came, changing everything.

Tabassum was born in the United States and has been traveling and moving globally since she was 6 months old. She has a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Studio Arts from University of California at Davis, and an M.S. in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design in New York City. Her life experiences and education, combined and her natural talent in art and design, have had a major impact on the work she does at SHUKR. In addition to English, her native tongue, she also speaks French. After marrying her husband and settling in Southern Spain, she has added Spanish to the list.

From the first idea, to the sketches, to the fabric selection, to the technical explanations of the designs, to the fittings and photoshoots when she is in Damascus, Tabassum is chiefly responsible for the men’s and women’s collections for SHUKR. Apart from design, she also contributes to any aspect of the company that requires any creative or artistic direction, which could include photoshoots, magazine features, marketing campaigns, as well as meeting with the SHUKR clients at Islamic conventions. Tabassum is also the Style Contributor for SISTERS-a UK based Muslim Women’s online and print magazine. You can read about her ideas on style and latest tips each season.

Her favorite part of the job is when she starts a new collection. It’s a euphoric time, because each new collection breaks new ground. She looks forward to `scratching’ for new concepts, ideas, and trends. Never knowing where the next idea for SHUKR’s new collection will come from makes the search all the more interesting and challenging.

What clothes is Tabassum currently loving? At the moment, she loves the Geometric Flared Skirts, which was inspired by a sidewalk in the Spanish island of Mallorca one summer. The flattering fit and unique design of the waistband, the elegant drape, and the fact that it is one of the few items that accommodates her very tall frame has made her add three of them to her wardrobe.

What does Tabassum have ‘shukr’ (‘gratitude’) for? Tabassum has ‘shukr’ for Allah (swt) for giving her a loving and wonderful family and husband who have supported her work as a designer and have helped her acheive her goals. With the support of her family throughout her studies and work, she is now able to share her talent and expertise with SHUKR to bring the best of design for all Muslims.

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Moustafa Elqabbany – Manager, Retail Division

Moustafa joined SHUKR’s Retail Division in Amman, Jordan in early 2006. After graduating with honors with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, Moustafa spent the next eleven years roaming around North America as a techno-Bedouin, working at everything from Fortune 500 companies to Silicon Valley startups.

But Moustafa was always a little different than the other geeks; most notably, he actually dressed decently. Sensing his unusual sense for fashion, he coined the catch-phrase, “Muslim Eye for the Infidel Guy” which became very popular with his fellow techno-geeks who prided themselves on dressing down. His initial assignment as IT Manager at SHUKR allowed him the perfect opportunity to combine his appreciation for fine clothing and his love of all matters technical.

Moustafa later became Manager of SHUKR’s Retail Division, thereby assuming responsibility for financial operations, reporting, customer service, and IT systems.

His favorite part of his job is buying new SHUKR clothing. He has often contemplated moonlighting as a SHUKR model. (Someone needs to tell him that models need to be taller than 5’6″.)

What does Moustafa have ‘shukr’ (‘gratitude’) for? He loves working for an Islamic, ethical company that does things right. At SHUKR, there’s no cutting corners when it comes to doing the job right: the atmosphere is Islamic, the wages are reasonable, and a professional world-class service is being offered to Muslims in the West and around the world. What more could one want in a job? Alhamdulillah.