Abdulmalek (Malik) Merchant is the founding publisher and editor of 3 independent online initiatives — Barakah (2017) and its two sister websites Simergphotos (2012) and Simerg (2009). With a 40-year IT background in the UK, USA and Canada, he now engages in small family-related projects and is passionate about his websites. His profound interest in literature and community publications, ignited in his childhood years in Mozambique and Tanzania, was inspired by the work of his late parents, Jehangir (d. May 2017, aged 89) and Malek Merchant — Mrs. Merchant — (d. January 2021, also 89). They both devoted their lives to the service of the Ismaili community, its institutions and the Imam-of-the-Time, Their Late Highnesses Aga Khan III and IV, as missionaries and religious education teachers in Mozambique, Tanzania, Pakistan, the UK and Canada.

Malik’s global experience, from his childhood in Africa to his IT career in the UK, USA, and Canada, has shaped his broad perspective and adaptability. In the UK, Malik edited the flagship Ismaili magazine, Ilm, with his father. At the same time, he was still a student completing his computing degree at the Polytechnic of North London. After consulting in London, UK, and Salt Lake City, USA, Malik settled in Canada at the end of 1980, first in Edmonton and then Ottawa. His passion from his younger days, combined with the growing popularity of online literature, encouraged Malik to launch his first website, Simerg, in 2009 in Ottawa. A resident of Ontario since 1983, with interim stays in Philadelphia, Burlington, Vancouver, and Toronto in between, he relocated to Alberta in January 2022. He has an animal-loving daughter, Dr. Nurin Merchant, who practices veterinary medicine, and two younger brothers, Fahar and Alnoor. Malik can be contacted at mmerchant@barakah.com or mmerchant@simerg.com. You can follow him on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.

CONTACT

For all inquiries and submissions, please write to Barakah’s publisher/editor, Malik Merchant, at mmerchant@barakah.com OR to mmerchant@simerg.com (for articles published in Simerg or Simergphotos). When you email us, please include your full name, address, and telephone number. This information is necessary for us to respond to your inquiry. We will not respond to anonymous letters. We will endeavour to respond to authentic inquiries within 24-48 hours.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Barakah’s TOC can be accessed via hyperlinks HERE or the HOME PAGE.

Last updated: January 6, 2026.

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