love

The wedding that never happened

I met him end of freshman year of college and he immediately pulled me in. The charming, funny, attentive types always get me. We hit it off and began skipping classes together, going to parks in D.C. instead, where we whiled away the afternoons chatting, laughing, and even chasing each…

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Reality check

A friend of mine recently went through the unexpected break-up. It was an emotional explosion because she and the boy had finally made it to the comfortable realm of “Islamic” dating, and the relationship had worked its way to the cliff point of marriage (it’s a plunge, and you gotta…

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10 Relationship Truths for Muslims

1. Do Muslims date? Joe- the art of coffee / Via m.alwecdn.net Our moms don’t like the word “date” SO we just “talk.” A LOT. With that one friend of the opposite gender. 2. Via giphy.com When everyone knows your “friend” is really your “boyfriend” but it ain’t halal until…

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Back to the motherland: From Jersey to Pakistan

There are days when I wish I never stepped foot into Pakistan. The leers from strange men older than my grandfather and the constant electricity shortages in above 100 degree weather can compel anyone to consider fleeing the country. And yet, I can’t help but love it. I was born…

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A married woman

When I was growing up, my Iraqi-born mother responded to my requests to travel alone, consider schools out-of-state, or stay out late with friends with the same answer, “When you get married.” Once I got married, I’d be somebody else’s problem. Then, it wouldn’t be her place to tell me no. Then, it would be my husband’s job to worry about me.Marriage, in my adolescent mind, was the only way to an independent adulthood. Western culture may have referred to marriage as settling down, but I associated it with freedom

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