15 November 2025 

The East London Mosque’s ELM Connex platform hosted another inspiring evening last week, bringing together community members, students, educators, and professionals for a thought-provoking exploration of faith, science, and the natural world. Held as part of the wider ELM Science Fair – which saw up to 3,000 visitors walk through the Mosque’s doors – the Connex event added a reflective and intellectual dimension to an already vibrant weekend of discovery.

The programme opened with a warm welcome and a reminder of the purpose of ELM Connex: creating a space where scholars, experts, and the community can come together to engage with ideas shaping our world.

The evening began with a short reflection by one of the organisers of the Science Fair, Miriam. She highlighted the energy and excitement of the Science Fair earlier that day. Miriam noted the enthusiasm shown by families, young people, and local schools who engaged with hands-on experiments, educational exhibits, and interactive workshops. 

The highlight of the evening was the keynote lecture by Dr Osaid Ather, titled Tawhid in Nature: The Cosmic and Human Pursuit of Oneness. Dr Ather is a UK-based physician and medical educator known for sharing effective study strategies for medical students and delivering lectures on diverse topics. He has gained recognition for his "active recall framework" to aid students in their studies and for giving talks that explore the connections between science, medicine, and spirituality.

Dr Ather explained how the principle of Tawhid – the oneness of Allah – manifests itself across the cosmos. He drew on examples from science, medicine, and the natural environment to illustrate the unity, harmony, and balance embedded in creation. From the fine-tuning of physical laws to the interdependence seen in ecosystems, he highlighted how the natural world reflects a divine order that calls humanity towards unity, purpose, and coherence. 

The lecture resonated strongly with the audience, offering a bridge between spiritual understanding and scientific observation. Dr Ather’s message underscored that the cosmos is not a collection of random, disconnected phenomena, but a single, interconnected system pointing towards unity.