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altMen, Courtship, Marriage, RelationshipsOctober 18, 2011

There are just no good Muslim women out there

I shouldn’t take this any further. Apart from not being true, it’s a diatribe that obfuscates something deeper (just as the parallel, but unnervingly more standard retreat, “Where are all the good Muslim men?” does). The degree of intelligent, sincere, socially conscious, and admirable Muslim women I meet is staggering, many of whom in a previous life I wouldn’t have hesitated asking out to dinner to get to know better. Yet, I find myself simply put off by Muslim women. << From the AltMuslimah Archives >>

altMen, CultureOctober 14, 2011

Body-talk and the limits of Islamic erotica (Part 2: The artist)

Praise for Islamic Erotica is spreading throughout the blogosphere. Whether on liberal news sites or trash-talking hate blogs, the photographic and painted images of veiled U.S. icons and undisclosed Muslim women are circulating rapidly. Although the object of their discussions concern a variety of artists who, together, make up the phenomenon called “Islamic Erotica,” the central figure is Makan Emadi. Intrigued by his work, I visited the artist’s website to read more about his vision of Islamic Erotica. << From the Altmuslimah Archives >>

altMen, CultureOctober 13, 2011

Body-talk and the limits of Islamic erotica (Part 1: The fans)

In March of 2010, two popular blogs featured articles concerning a body of particular concern these days: the female Muslim body. Although the subject of discussion was “Islamic Erotica,” it was nevertheless the Muslim body that was speaking. Writing in The Daily Beast, for example, Betwa Sharma described how Muslim women’s bodies are talking about resistance. Exploring the prohibition of nudity in Muslim art, Sharma introduced her readers to a few aspiring artists whose representations of naked bodies have been branded as artistic acts of defiance against religious restrictions. << From the AltMuslimah Archives >>

altMen, International, PoliticsAugust 29, 2011

Muslim women in the push for peace

With the anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching and the awareness that terrorism is still a real threat for the United States, we should consider what we might do differently to make our country a safer place.

Looking back on the last 10 years, one thing is clear: the violence of terrorism cannot be defeated with more violence. Afghanistan and Iraq are convincing proof of that; both countries remain ravaged by terrorism and al Qaeda forces seem much more resilient than the architect of the war on terror, George W. Bush, ever imagined.

altMen, FamilyJuly 29, 2011

The Role of Men in Religious Terrorism

Since the capture of Anders Behring Breivik, the Oslo terrorist and murderer, at least two critical issues have emerged. The first is his sanity, or lack thereof. The second is that Breivik’s assaults may have been ideologically motivated. According to Breivik’s logic, the murder of 76 people was necessary to challenge the Muslim takeover of the West. It was also an act directed at some of the people who, in his mind, were making the conquest possible: liberals or, more specifically, the Labor Party.

altMen, Courtship, Family, Marriage, RelationshipsMay 15, 2011

Response to Sajid Hassan: Are Muslim men scared of professional single Muslim women in their thirties?

A recent article on altmuslimah.com entitled “Searching for Khadijah: A boy’s perspective” by Sajid Hassan garnered quite a bit of attention as evidenced by the long string of passionate comments it received, far more than most other articles on Altmuslimah. The article described the pressure that professional Muslim American women face from their families and their social circles to get married in their early twenties, because it becomes much more difficult to find a partner once they hit their thirties.

altMen, FamilyApril 18, 2011

Searching for Khadijah: A boy’s perspective

Even in these modern times, our community does not support the older generation of unmarried Muslim women who are struggling to find compatible spouses. These women are calling the community to account for this problem, and as a young man who sympathizes with them and seeks to marry one of them, I have encountered the same extremely negative attitude from the community.

altMen, PoliticsJanuary 30, 2011

The Davos challenge

Zeba: Hi Michael! Happy 2011! Did you see the article this month about The World Economic Forum’s gender quota at its annual Davos event? I cheered when I read it because with this quota, this year’s WEF is making a strong statement for women at their premier event known for bringing together global business and political leaders, along with selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the world’s most pressing issues.

altMen, PoliticsDecember 8, 2010

Where are the moderate Americans?

Michael: Hi Zeba. The mid-term elections are over and, as predicted, the Park 51 controversy is also finished. But now it’s time to turn to new controversies. The latest has to do with a new version of “the clash of civilizations.” This time, however, the battlefield is a university swimming pool. Apparently, George Washington University’s decision to grant Muslim women a “women-only” hour at the Lerner Health and Wellness Center reflects some civilizational divide between “America” and “Islam.”

altMen, FamilyOctober 5, 2010

Eradicate Masculinity

Advocating for the eradication of masculinity is not reactionary, nor is it self-hatred. It is a diligently honest and critical examination of the fundamental concept and construct of masculinity, how it is defined, particularly in mainstream North American societies, and how its normalization in daily life and culture is interrelated with homophobic, sexist, racist, classist, and oppressive social structures in white heteropatriarchal capitalist states.