Mo Salah’s GQ Middle East has cover stirred quite the controversy. In Arab and Muslim communities, men and women are judged based on two entirely different systems. Women are policed every step of the way and their lives are dissected under a patriarchal microscope. Men, on the other hand, are…
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B If you were to pass me on the street, you would never suspect I’m a Muslim: I don’t wear hijab. I have platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. And I am heavily tattooed. I grew up in Texas and was raised Southern Baptist. I use the word “y’all” a…
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The news of Sadiq Khan winning the mayoral race in London spread like wildfire in Muslim circles. WhatsApp groups, Twitter, Facebook, texts and emails were full of surprise and pride. In a time of rising Islamophobia in the western world this news was welcome validation that Islamophobia can be overcome….
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Muslim women’s voices across the globe continue to rise up to call for change. The days of Muslim men or Western women defining the Muslimah agenda is over. For decades we have seen organizations and individuals rise that promote authentic Muslim women voices. Join us as that conversation continues –…
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I came to Islam in 1993, influenced by social consciousness in Hip Hop. Artists like Rakim, Sista Souljah, and Public Enemy, all of whom who were popularizing Islam, nudged me closer to the faith through their lyrics. I watched Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992) one year before my conversion, and soon after…
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With so many voices and opinions on the Internet, launching a blog is a great way to share real stories, join the global conversation and add to the online narrative of Muslim Americans. When it comes to “Muslim” blogs, you will find ones that focus on anything and everything, from storytelling…
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I spent Thursday night glued to my phone, refreshing Google News every five minutes. News of an active shooter on the Umpqua Community College campus in Oregon had hit Thursday afternoon, and by early evening, the shooter’s identity was still unclear. At the end of the workday, I shifted from…
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The past six Ramadans, I rise before the sun does. It’s not to eat suhoor, nor do I prepare it for my husband. I trudge by him as he groggily slurps down a bowl of O’s, we exchange a look of mutual exhaustion. It’s a call that summons me awake, reminding me that there’s something greater than sleep. Motherhood.
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I am greeted with an exuberant “Salaams” from Jameel Syed, a Detroit-based marketing executive and muaddhin (the person designated in a masjid to recite the call to prayer). He and his campaign manager, Yahya Sultan, are traveling across the United States visiting 50 mosques in 50 states so Jameel can…
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That was me, over and over again as I obsessed with friends and strangers alike about my upcoming trip to Pakistan. Even as I said the words, they felt strange. I am an American-born and bred Pakistani, but I visited Pakistan nearly every year of my childhood. As an idealistic…
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