Culture

Culture

“Hip Hop Hijabis”: An interview with Muneera Rashida and Mette Reitzel

This past month, filmmaker Mette Reitzel has been campaigning tirelessly to raise funds for a documentary on Muneera Rashida and Sukina Abdul Noor. These two female British Muslims are founders of the “Poetic Pilgrimage,” a movement involving the intersection of social justice, spiritual growth, and creative and cultural expression. Altmuslimah’s Sarah Farrukh asks Rashida and Reitzel about the history of the “Poetic Pilgrimage,” the challenge of being “hip hop hijabis,” and the significance of this film.

Read More
Culture, Television

“Parenthood”: The agony and the ecstasy

In the course of parenting my two children, I have often found myself saying and doing things reminiscent of what my parents said to me: “You won’t even think to clean your room until I tell you!” The strange déjà vu experience translates over to the deeper conversations, too. “God doesn’t appreciate your being wasteful. Please finish your food.” I guess we are all in many ways the same — despite my kids growing up years after my own childhood, they play the same antics and end up hearing the same rebukes.

Read More
altMen, Culture

To be or not to Beyoncé

No performance in recent memory did more to spark dialogue on women’s empowerment, misogyny and sexuality than Beyoncé’s Super Bowl Halftime show this past Sunday. The mixed reactions show how Beyoncé’s seemingly conflicting messages can be a conundrum for many. For those whose religious traditions place an emphasis on modest clothing, it can seem that Beyoncé is wholeheartedly buying into the woman-as-object form of marketing and consumption.

Read More
Culture

Beyoncé’s soulful feminism

I happened to like Beyoncé’s halftime show at the Superbowl. But I also happen to like Beyoncé. Perhaps it’s because Beyoncé, whether she means to or not, promotes a pro-family version of feminism.

Read More
Culture, Film

Why I won’t be watching “Zero Dark Thirty”

The latest terrorist thriller “Zero Dark Thirty” was released today and has already received an Oscar nod for “Best Picture,” but I am not as confident about the film as the Academy appears to be. I have been debating whether or not I should buy my $10 ticket and watch “Zero Dark Thirty” in a theater. . . All that aside, my fear of watching the movie in a theater stems from my hijab. You may ask yourself, what does hijab have to do with it? To be honest: everything.

Read More
Culture

Nur Media’s “Ask A Muslim” series: Black muslims talk Islam

Finding black Muslim women in mainstream media circuits can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Most of the representations of Muslim people are confined to Arab and South Asian people, which are both the faults of mainstream producers and Muslim-owned media makers. However, it leaves other communities within the broader Muslim community feeling left out and underrepresented. So what does it mean to be a black Muslim in America? Nur Media decided to bring together black Muslims to talk about Islam and what it means to be Muslim in the West.

Read More
Community, Culture, Mosque

On (not) losing my hijab

By the grace of God, I met the end of 2012 in a state of blissful contentment. However, this didn’t come without struggle. I was reminded of a particular difficulty I experienced when I was cleaning out my inbox and I came across an unsent email. My heart felt heavy at the memory of how I felt when I wrote it. “It’s been a hell of a year, Sarah,” I thought. “What a way to mark your ten-year hijabiversary.”

Read More
Culture

Hey Autism, verily with difficulty there is ease

Spring break on the beach: Are we a couple of free-wheeling college students on Daytona Beach? Nah. We’re a family of five (seven with my in-laws included) who decided to come to a beach in South Carolina because it seemed the only place that everyone, especially our eldest son, would have some fun.

Read More