The truth is that although I was raised Muslim, I came to feminism before I truly came to Islam. That says more about how each was presented to me than it does about the inherent value of either feminism or Islam. I am telling you the chronology of my allegiances…
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My son, Ibrahim, arrived small yet mighty in a Central Asian hospital one February morning, a miniature version of his Afghan father; brown skin, dark hair, a broad brow. On the inside, he carried my O- blood. I knew that this child was cut from the same cloth as my…
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Dear M, I am 37-years-old, and am a well-educated, professional woman. I have been divorced for ten years and the loneliness is killing me. My daughter just turned 18 and is heading off to college so I feel it is a good time to for me to remarry. I have…
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Dear M, I am 41-year-old, twice divorced Muslim woman. I met a man online who is a kind, successful and intelligent practicing Muslim. He has proposed, and I have no reason to decline except that he happens to be married. His wife has serious medical problems which prevent them from…
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My father grew up in India. He was raised in a conservative family and lived in a patriarchal culture. His sisters and mother lived lives that revolved around the home– raising children, preparing meals and hosting guests. However, more was expected of my father. He was, after all, the eldest…
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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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if you stay awake for an entire night watch out for a treasure trying to arrive you can keep warm by the secret sun of the night keeping your eyes open for the softness of dawn try it for tonight challenge your sleepy eyes do not lay your head down…
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My girlfriends and I talk constantly about how difficult it is for us to find suitable husbands nowadays. “We’re amazing,” we reassure ourselves, half-jokingly, half-sincerely. “Anyone would be lucky to nab us!” Maybe we are all amazing, but there is something a little extra that I bring to the table–I…
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We turn to screens for nearly every decision. Where to eat. Where to vacation. Where to eat on vacation. Where to get treatment for the food poisoning you got at that restaurant where you ate on vacation. Where to write a negative review calling out the restaurant that gave you…
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