I was nine years old when I made one of my first major pleas of repentance to God. It was Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. Kids are not required to fast until they hit puberty, but even in kindergarten, I hated being left out of Ramadan and begged my parents to let me fast. To put an end to my whining, they told me that if I didn’t eat anything between my meals, it would count as a “half-fast.”
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Working moms often carry heavy loads of “mom guilt” when trying to balance work and childcare. Much of the guilt is rooted in worries that being away from their kids somehow harms them in the long run. Now, studies show that children of working moms –especially daughters of working moms–…
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It’s Mother’s Day, and everyone on my social media feed is posting mushy things about their moms. As I scroll through Facebook I’m reminded that “paradise is found below your mother’s feet” and “God can’t be everywhere so He made mothers,” and that moms are saints and/or angels. I see…
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I am thirty-seven, single and childless. The latter two of these three descriptives are taboo within the Muslim community. Whether you live in America, Pakistan or Egypt, if you are not attached to a husband and with a brood of children in tow, you are an outsider. Extended family and…
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Have you ever searched for a recipe on Pinterest, only to find that it tasted awful? If the answer is yes, you are not alone! Last year, I attempted to make banana pancakes, a recipe I had pinned…what a disaster! Not only did the banana pancakes fall apart in the…
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Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are arrogant and boastful. (Qur’an,…
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altMuslimah (“altM”) will be celebrating its 6th birthday this March, on International Women’s Day. For six years, we’ve been providing cutting edge commentary on a variety of issues pertinent to gender-and-Islam, starting and normalizing discussions the community was previously afraid to broach. As we begin our 7th year, we…
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Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu, I have been asked by many Muslim parents to compile a list of online Islamic shops that sell items for children. Alhumdulillah, I do have a few of these shops following me on Instagram, and I thought it would be beneficial for me to list them for…
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<< From the Altmuslimah Archives >>
I’m irked by all the “Merry Christmas” cards, the Facebook pictures and the stories of my Muslim friends actively celebrating Christmas. This past December they were baking cookies for Santa, trimming trees and exchanging gifts–all decidedly un-Muslim activities.
<< From the AltMuslimah Archives >>
“Stay At Home Daughters” sounds like a slogan for Wahhabi Islam, but is actually an extension of the American Christian Patriarchy Movement. Stay-At-Home-Daughters (SAHD) encourages young women to relinquish higher education and employment outside of the home and devote themselves to their fathers until they become wives and mothers.