Being Black and Muslim in America isn’t easy. Whenever I meet someone new, curious about my racially ambiguous features dressed in modest Islamic clothing, including the hijab, they usually ask where are you from? I say Massachusetts. And then they say no, where are you from from? And I answer, I’m American, Black and Latina, and Muslim….
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Clue/Pssst: The secret is hidden in a woman’s body This is our month. March goes beyond International Women’s Day on March 8th. It includes for the rest of the world both the celebration of spring and Mother’s Day. It is a time for celebration of the beginning of life, and…
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Throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, Christian and Muslim communities have historically discouraged dating. Religious values and cultural pressure both demand that men and women do not spend time together until they are ready to get engaged, usually to a partner who they don’t know very well. Of…
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Editor’s Note: Most people think the term a “Muslim romance author” is an oxymoron, but Islamic history reveals that stories of a romantic or sensual nature are very much a part of our tradition. After all, sexuality, love and marriage are as much a part of a Muslim’s humanity as they are…
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What inspired you to write this book? You’ve shared on social media that it was a decade-long project: take us through that journey briefly. Huda: I took my first stab at drafting a memoir at the height of the Iraq War. I knew I wanted to do something to put…
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The elephant in every room Into which I stride All eyes on Miss Never the Bride Walking down the lonely aisle of life Holding a wilting bouquet of pride Faith in God, Hope in community lost Receiving judgment, hurtful thoughts, Wrecking ball stares Pity for a state no one cares…
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<< From the AltMuslimah Archives >>
“He is educated, Mashallah …a lawyer, and the age difference is just right. I talked to his mother, too. She was absolutely delightful, she agreed with me on everything! She is sending his picture through the e-mail right now.” Barely able to contain her excitement, my mother grabs her reading glasses and positions herself before the monitor. It is the Moment of Truth.
Can religious Muslims choose to wait for love or must they settle down with the most practical match? We all grapple with this question, especially if we hit our late 20s and have not yet married. What is it that I really want? We all desire both love and marriage,…
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Ask M answers your questions about online courtship and wedding night anxieties.
There are hundreds of romance novels in a category that some have named “Plain Jane and Hot Stud,” a theme that was equally popular when Jane Austen wrote “Pride and Prejudice.” Tall and good-looking, endowed with a “noble mien,” Mr. Darcy initially denigrates Elizabeth Bennet’s appearance: “She is tolerable, but…
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