Author Soniah Kamal (An Isolated Incident) is out with a new novel, Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan. Here’s a quick summary: A scandal and vicious rumor concerning the Binat family have destroyed their fortune and prospects for desirable marriages, but Alys, the second and most practical of the five Binat…
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American Muslim women today are owning their narrative like never before. Author, Huda Al-Marashi, recently released her first book, First Comes Marriage, the “first Muslim-American memoir dedicated to the themes of love and sexuality.” Below, author Huda Al-Marashi shares an excerpt with us: Chapter 12: A Sudden Thrill of Control Nadia called…
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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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Dear M, I converted to Islam when I was very young, and feel that I chose my spouse only on the criteria of piety, without really considering other compatibility traits like common interests. We have been married for over a decade, and although he is a kind man and a…
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A few weeks ago, just prior to the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology met in Islamabad. The agenda for the meeting was packed, and 19 of the Council’s 20 members were present. The main issue for debate was the question of whether…
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Fifty top Pakistani clerics have issued a religious decree declaring that transgender people have full marriage, inheritance and funeral rights under Islamic law. The fatwa stated that a female-born transgender person having “visible signs of being a male” may marry a woman or a male-born transgender with “visible signs of…
Read MoreAs a Muslim woman of South Asian descent, now living in the U.S., I have to admit that I have a certain curiosity about how Muslim women live in other parts of the world. I long to know others like me – yet unlike me: do they go through the…
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I’m 33-years-old and still single. Well, the “still” is the lamentation some Muslims in the community add when they describe my status. The Muslim culture, not unlike most others, abides by a set of expectations when it comes to women, marriage and motherhood. A woman’s identity is strongly braided with…
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Dear M, [tweetthis] I am a 26-year-old unmarried woman with a graduate degree and an excellent job. Now that my academic/financial future is in order, I’m eager to marry.[/tweetthis] A friend set me up with good practicing Muslim brother whom she knows. When we met and chatted, I was completely underwhelmed….
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Note: An introduction to this piece can be found here. Anyone born into a typical Muslim family cannot avoid the central place that marriage occupies within the concept of a good Muslim life. Popular Muslim culture invests marriage with such religious significance that it is often described as comprising…
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