Sharifa Jamila Smith -

Smith’s unique position is her insistence that one can be both deeply traditional—observing hijab, praying five times daily—and radically progressive on issues of gender justice. She has famously said, “The Prophet (PBUH) was a feminist. If your Islam makes you silent in the face of a woman’s oppression, check your sources, not your heart.” Smith argues that true liberation requires economic independence. To that end, she launched the Sakinah Community Cooperative in 2020, a worker-owned grocery and café in a Detroit food desert. Drawing on the Islamic prohibition of riba (usury/interest), the cooperative is funded entirely through zakat (charity) converted into qard hasan (benevolent loans). Members pay back over time with no interest, and profits are reinvested into the community.

For those inspired to learn more, follow the work of the Black Muslim Feminist Collective and support The Rose House Initiative. In a fractured world, Smith’s vision of a just and merciful community is not just beautiful—it is necessary. Sharifa Jamila Smith, restorative justice, Black Muslim Feminist Collective, The Rose House Initiative, Sakinah Community Cooperative, Islamic economic justice, spiritual activism. sharifa jamila smith

Unlike many public intellectuals who seek the spotlight, Smith has historically operated as a "behind-the-scenes" strategist. She is best known for her role in developing women-led grassroots initiatives in urban centers such as Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Her focus has consistently been on three pillars: , economic cooperatives rooted in Islamic ethical finance , and spiritual healing from racial trauma . The Formative Years: Finding a Path at the Crossroads Sharifa Jamila Smith’s journey into activism was not linear. In her early twenties, she worked as a public school teacher in a low-income district on Chicago’s South Side. It was there that she witnessed the "school-to-prison pipeline" firsthand—a reality that would shape her life’s trajectory. Disillusioned by a system that punished rather than nurtured, she turned to faith. Smith’s unique position is her insistence that one

Her influence can be seen in the rise of other Black Muslim women leaders—from prison abolitionists to halal food cooperative founders—who cite her workshops and writings as their starting point. A new documentary, “Roses in Concrete,” featuring Smith’s work, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is expected to bring her story to a wider audience. In an era of clicktivism and performative allyship, Sharifa Jamila Smith represents the opposite: slow, deliberate, spiritually grounded, and community-accountable work. She does not seek viral moments; she seeks structural change. She does not posture for political power; she redistributes resources to the least of these. To that end, she launched the Sakinah Community

Converting to Islam in her mid-twenties (or, as she often puts it, "returning to the faith of her African ancestors after European colonialism interrupted it"), Smith found in Islam a framework for justice. She studied under several traditional scholars, but it was her time at a small community masjid in Atlanta where she began to formulate what she calls "Liberation Tawhid"—the concept that the oneness of God demands the oneness of humanity’s material and spiritual well-being. 1. The Rose House Initiative Perhaps Smith’s most celebrated project is The Rose House Initiative , a transitional home for women exiting incarceration. Founded in 2014 in a converted brownstone in Detroit, The Rose House is not simply a shelter but a full-spectrum reentry program. Residents receive job training, mental health counseling, and, uniquely, classes on Islamic finance and cooperative business models.

On the other side, secular progressives sometimes chafe at Smith’s unwavering faith-based framework. They argue that her reliance on religious language and Islamic law may alienate non-religious allies. Smith’s reply is characteristically direct: “If your liberation doesn’t have room for my hijab, it’s not liberation. It’s just a different cage.” As of 2025, Sharifa Jamila Smith is still very much active, though she has intentionally stepped back from direct media attention to mentor younger organizers. She currently serves as a senior fellow at the Healing Justice Institute and is reportedly working on a book tentatively titled “The Uncolonized Heart: Black Muslim Women Leading the Way.”