Culture

Articulating the Muslim female experience: An interview with Tayyibah Taylor

Today we remember the life of an extraordinary individual who strove for the accurate representation of Muslim women, Tayyibah Taylor. Ms. Taylor inspired people from all walks of life, leaving her legacy with the award-winning publication, Azizah Magazine. She was a trailblazer and shining example, committed to a better, more informed world. In an interview from the archives, Ms. Taylor discusses gender, Islam, the magazine’s vision, and violence against women in the Muslim community with staffer Sarah Farrukh.

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The craft of high fashion: An interview with designer Barjis Chohan

Barjis Chohan is often considered one of the “first modest high fashion clothing designer with formal training.” Having received her training at the prestigious Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in London, she runs a successful U.K based fashion label called Barjis Fashion. Chohan has showcased her work at both London and Paris Fashion Week and is about to unveil her Fall 2014 collection.

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Let’s get (meta)physical

My friends call it my “deer-in-headlights” look. Not all of them recognize it, but a select few know it when they see it. Until a few weeks ago, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what brought on this feeling of unease in certain social settings. “I just feel….lost?” I tried helplessly to explain to one friend.

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A shade less: Not fair and lovely

I remember when my second daughter was born with darker skin color than the rest of the family and I was made to feel as a mother that she was somehow less than my other daughter, less lucky, less beautiful, less. As if she didn’t deserve to wear certain colors,…

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Twenty years of stomach shrinking Ramadan

“You really shouldn’t fast,” an Indian hematologist in Bahrain warned me after I had been fasting for eleven years. She cautioned me that my iron levels were alarmingly low. “I’m concerned with your liquid intake more than the food. Your stomach isn’t big enough to accommodate both.”



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Festoun: a brush of romance

Festóun’s apparel combines serene colors, crystal embellishments, and flowing fabrics all in the form of kaftans and chiffon belted dresses accompanied by a brush of romance in the sleeves. The woman behind these creations is Samah Dakhil, a designer and student at UC Berkeley who infuses her pieces with her Libyan heritage.

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