Readers Room

When I heard that Queen Rania of Jordan appeared on The Oprah Show not too long ago, I was a bit skeptical. Don’t get me wrong–there isn’t much to dislike about Queen Rania. Oprah said it herself: Queen Rania is a “gorgeous mother of four” and “international fashion icon” whose mission is to “make the world a better place for women and children.”

Le Monde, France 24 and Le Nouvel Observateur covered Franco-Moroccan artist Majida Khattari’s Parisian runway show/art exhibit in April. Her show was titled “VIP” (for Voile islamique parisien) and took place at Paris’ Cité Universitaire. The show was atypical of Parisian shows in its choice of subject: a series of veils.

The traditions rooted in beliefs about modesty and possession aren’t going to change because someone wrote an ordinance about acceptable clothing.

I am not naive to think that this process of change will proceed quickly, or will not suffer from set backs. But change is happening – driven by courageous Muslim women and men who are fighting back against narrow, restrictive interpretations of their religion that prevent a full role for women in society

My checking off the headcovering question on the matchmaker’s questionnaire made the search more interesting, but not necessarily more efficient.

Nadiah Mohajir has made a compelling case for why Muslim schools should offer sex education for their youth to avoid unfortunate misunderstandings and problems. But the question is – how can we do this? Is the syllabus really good enough to address these problems? As a teacher and a parent, I had my own concerns with the issue of sex education in Great Britain, and wonder how it can be incorporated into Islamic education.

My mom is an adult woman who is capable of making her own decision. I am not her guardian. I simply reject this notion.

There is no one way to define who a Muslim woman is and what she can achieve while holding on to her identity. Much can be learned from talking to Muslim women and listening to their stories.

Why does Valentine’s Day spark such contentious debate among American Muslims across blogs and social networking sites? What underlying emotional buttons does this commercialized cultural holiday push among American Muslims? While other holidays, such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, generate a few tired and tepid discussions centered around the idea that “everyday should be Mother’s and Father’s Day,” Valentine’s Day, like the very concept of romantic love it celebrates, generates much more passionate responses. These debates touch on many topics including what love means or should mean to Muslims, the relationship between culture and religion, and the current state of romantic relationships among Muslims.