The end of May was defined by the ongoing saga of COVID-19 as well as the brewing civil unrest from the death of George Floyd. As a Black American physician working on the front lines of the emergency room, this combination of calamities took its toll on my emotions. Naturally,…
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And whoever avenges himself after having been wronged – those have not upon them any cause [for blame]. The cause is only against the ones who wrong the people and tyrannize upon the earth without right. —41-42, Surah ash-Shuraa I am not Black; I am Brown, I am Muslim, I…
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In May 2010, the Regional Planning Commission of Rutherford County in Tennessee approved a request for the construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM). It was a straightforward request that, legally speaking, should have garnered no controversy. But in a post-9/11 context, and in light of the heated and…
Read MoreBefore the elections, we were told that our fears of a Trump presidency were unfounded, that we were overreacting, and should have faith in humanity. But in recent days, less than two months after the election, we hear stories daily that are horrifying and heartbreaking. We hear stories of Latino…
Read MoreOn the cover of a back to school catalog, Target Australia featured a woman in a navy blue hijab kindly smiling at a student. Target has since received a mixture of reactions. Shortly after a photo of the cover made its way to social media, voices of approval and disapproval rang…
Read MoreTwo young white Americans, talk to us about how being Muslim influences the way they think about, talk about and experience race.
Read MoreIn 2010, I was a fresh faced first-year Muslim student at Virginia Commonwealth University. I began my time at VCU with a sanguine outlook and an eagerness to bond with my fellow Muslim students, but the four years that followed would turn out to be the worst of my short…
Read More“To be an attorney, you need to have a certain look. And you just don’t have it.” “Why the f*** do you even wear that thing on your head?!” “The judges are going to be more critical of our team when they see you with us – It’s not personal,…
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Last Sunday Dr. Tamika Cross shared on Facebook an account of being side-lined by a Delta Airlines flight attendant who refused to believe that Dr. Cross was a doctor. Dr. Cross was on a flight where a passenger became unresponsive. When the airline paged for a doctor and Dr. Cross raised…
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Remember the clock kid, Ahmed? He was honored by President Obama for his ingenuity and scholastic achievement after he was put in handcuffs and arrested at his own school for the same. He lives with his family in Qatar now, because of safety concerns after he became a target of…
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