social media

Minority communities and the mighty tweet

The tweet is mightier than the sword.

Social media campaigns by members of minority communities are responding to racism and stereotyping in the media, and getting results.

For instance, last week, Asian American activists launched #CancelColbert in response to an offensive tweet posted by The Colbert Report’s Twitter account. They were hoping to achieve a similar outcome as American Muslims had with Alice in Arabia, an ABC pilot television programme that was cancelled following a Twitter offensive that highlighted the show’s stereotypes of Muslims.

Read More

Wa’Mutasima!

A couple of years ago, while discussing the Arab spring uprisings and their implications, a good friend commented to me, “Isn’t it interesting that all these men are risking their lives protesting for their rights and dignity, the same rights and dignity they often withhold from their own women?” It was an astute observation about the broad dynamic between Muslim men and women today in many countries across the world.

Read More

My Islam: An interview with activist blogger Amir Ahmad Nasr

Social Media Activist-Blogger Amir Ahmad Nasr, a digital revolutionist, recently spoke to Associate Editor Shazia Kamal Farook about his new book “My Isl@m: How Fundamentalism Stole My Mind—and Doubt Freed My Soul”—a work that chronicles his path to finding himself through cyberactivism.

Read More