Contrary to prevalent discourse among many Muslims, the Biden administration does not deserve a gold star for repealing the Muslim ban. Amid a national round of applause by those whose political interest does not extend beyond American borders, I withhold my praise. This week, the Biden administration made clear through…
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Hamza Yusuf has once again stirred-up controversy via his choice of political affiliations. According to an article that appeared in The Guardian on July 8th, the founder of Zaytuna College will be joining a commission at the behest of the Trump Administration that intends on reviewing the role of human rights in…
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“Islam is a political ideology that wants to overthrow the U.S. Constitution.” “Islam is an ideological illness.” These are just a sampling of statements and accusations I come across on a daily basis in my role as a researcher on Islamophobia. While such pernicious declarations are most visible on social…
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Ramadan decorations are up, new clothes for prayer hang in closets, and menus for family gatherings await deployment at iftars. As Ramadan approaches, Muslims of all nations are preparing for its annual observance. Throughout this scared time of fasting and spiritual introspection, the faithful share a heightened observance of the practices…
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It is said that poverty wears a woman’s face. Today, protest also wears a woman’s face. In contemporary Arab movements for rights and justice, women are at the forefront. This is not unusual, as women worldwide have long been leaders in advocating for peace. In recent days, it has been…
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Farah Pandith served as the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, appointed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009. In this role, she created Generation Change, which gathered young “change makers” together to work on issues such as violent extremism; Viral Peace, an online counter-extremism initiative; and Hours Against Hate, a…
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Ramadan of 2018 came to a close two weeks ago and the holy month reminded me of a tragedy—a wholly preventable one—that took place during Ramadan of 2015. Three years ago about 1,000 Pakistanis died during Ramadan. They died because piety was thrust upon these impoverished day-wage workers. You see, Pakistani dictator…
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With young women more likely to be unemployed than young men, women more likely to experience the most severe forms of spousal violence than men and the likelihood of women being more food insecure than men increasing, according to the United Nations, it’s no secret that females everywhere require some…
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On Monday, May 22, the world was yet again rocked by a terrorist attack. The attack followed a script we have become all too familiar with — a terrorist set off a bomb in a crowded public place, killing and wounding dozens of people. This latest attack was at an…
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My connection with Manchester happened purely by accident. I initially started out my undergraduate degree in London. But after a family crisis sent my family and I into a domestic violence refuge, push came to shove and we were eventually forced to relocate to my mother’s home town of Bradford….
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