MVSLIM Team
Akke Rahman made history after he became the first British-Bangladeshi Muslim to scale Mount Everest earlier this month. Despite the incredible outcome, it was not easy for Rahman as he faced mentally and physically challenging moments that made him doubt embarking on this journey.
The 39-year-old from Oldham, United Kingdom, headed out to the China-Nepal border during Ramadan and managed to reach the summit on May 13th, approximately 10 days after Eid. Speaking exclusively to MVSLIM, he told us that this period was one of the most difficult for him mentally, as he was missing his family when the day of celebration rolled around.
“I thought my passion for climbing would help me overcome missing my family but 2 days before Eid it hit me so hard I didn’t leave my tent for 2 because I was missing them so much,” he said. “You can physically exceed the requirements for climbing but mentally have to be really strong.”
But that wasn’t his only test. Pretty early on after his first rotation of the area, he slipped and fell into a crevasse and was left hanging by only his safety line. At that moment, it seems as though he could only think about the pessimistic comments people told him about undertaking such a dangerous journey.
“I was hanging there for about 45 minutes thinking about all the negative thoughts and all the things that people told me about not coming,” he said.
Thankfully though, he was rescued by members of the Sherpas group, who pulled him to safety.
Despite those difficulties though, Rahman made it to the top of Everest and in doing so, managed to raise more than £80,000 ($101,000) for Orphans Shelter Foundation.
“I have a passion for climbing and inspiring people to get out and look after their physical and mental wellbeing,” Rahman said. “But this climb was more about wanting to help the poor and needy and raise money for them. Peak Humanity for RFC, that’s was what it was all about.”
When talking about the future of positive Muslim representation and being a good role model, he talked about how he hopes his achievement will inspire the next generation of Muslim youth: “I hope and pray this climb pioneers the way for others to try anything they want, there should be no limitations based on ethnicity and background.
“Personally it hasn’t sunk in at all. I know I climbed Everest in 21 days on one rotation, but right now, after just a day of getting home, it feels like I just climbed any other mountain.”
Congratulations to Akke Rahman on his amazing achievement!