Silma Ihram

Silma Ihram was born Anne Frances Beaumont, and grew up in the suburb of Balgowlah, on Sydney's Northern Beaches. At the age of five, Ihram was sent to boarding school She then completed a bachelor's degree in Marine biology at James Cook University. Despite the Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist influences from her up-bringing, Ihram became Baptist finding them to be "very inspirational." In 1976, during an extended trip to Indonesia, Ihram had a "personal revelation that I had to become a Muslim" and converted to Islam, changing her name to Silma Ihram. She was followed soon after by her Irish Catholic husband. She subsequently returned to university, this time at the University of Sydney, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Southeast Asian Studies and Modern History. She established the first Muslim Women's Shop and Centre in 1979. ==Career in education==

In the early 1980s, Silma Ihram, then the proprietor of the Muslim Women's Shop and Centre, approached her old school, the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney, looking to enrol her daughters. It was reported that her request for the school to allow her daughters to be accepted as Muslims, including the wearing of a Hijab with the uniform, was rejected. Subsequently, and also due in part to the lack of Muslim schools in New South Wales, Ihram looked to establishing her own independent school in South-western Sydney. In 1983, Ihram and her then husband, Siddiq Buckley, set up the Al-Noori Muslim Primary School at Greenacre, The school was forced to move nine times in four years, to such places as a house in Lakemba, a Hall in Canterbury, and a marquee in the Buckley's backyard. According to Ihram, this was due to an inability to "get registration from government without development approval from the council" as "no council would accept us." Despite the setbacks and racism faced by Ihram, enrolments at the school were strong, and Muslim education was given a foothold in Sydney. The school was eventually awarded $1,094,430 in damages by Justice Clifton Hoeben, finding the Federal Airports Corporation, and subsequently the Bankstown Airport Ltd, owed the school a duty of care to disclose a report that the land was contaminated with sewage waste. However, the judge said the $5.1 million Noor Al Houda was originally seeking in damages was "unrealistic" as the cost of moving was only an estimate. As a witness, the judge determined that Ihram: Ihram's campaign to pressure the Government to find a new home for the school became a subject of debate following up to the 2003 state election. Aided by her second husband Baheej Adada, screened at the Sydney Film Festival, ==Political career==

Silma Ihram was elected to the Federal Executive of the Unity Party in 2002, and appeared on the New South Wales State Ballot for the Upper House. Ihram reportedly decided against running for the seat of Lakemba, an area with a large Muslim population, as she felt she would be labelled a "token Muslim" candidate and wished to not be linked to controversial and much condemned Muslim leader, Sheik Taj El-Din Hilaly, the former Grand Mufti of Australia and New Zealand. As she explained to The Sun-Herald, "Auburn is far more multicultural and less religious and there are more opportunities to help the local community." Ihram represented the Democrats again in November 2007, this time as a candidate for the Division of Reid in the Australian federal election. ==Today==

Silma Ihram is married with 6 children until assisting in the founding of the Australian Muslim Women's Association in 2011 where she is the Project Manager and remains an education consultant in the area of education and Muslim community relations. She frequently partakes in forums and debates regarding issues pertaining to education, racism and Australian Muslims, and also often contributes opinion pieces and interviews with media sources. Ihram has expressed her ambition to set up an international harmony college, a multi-religion school where the faiths of all students would be respected. ==Awards and committees==

In 2001, Silma Ihram was a recipient of the Centenary Medal, and in 2005 was named Muslim Woman of the Decade. She was also awarded for her "contributions and efforts in the community", at the 2006 Women of Faith Dinner & Awards, hosted by the Affinity Intercultural Foundation. Ihram has held a number of executive posts with Muslim organisations in Australia, including vice-president of the Australian Council for Islamic Education in Schools in 2004, and most recently President of the Australian Muslim Women's Association. ==Publications==

Silma Ihram is the author of two books, Bridges of Light, and Islamic Parenting. She is also the producer of an educational video in Arabic, called Their First Years. ==See also==