“No, sister, you can’t go in that way! There’s a back door around the corner.” I can’t tell you how many times those words were said to me over the years as I tried to enter through the front door of many a mosque around the United States. There seems to be this unwritten, yet nationally recognized and practiced, tradition of leaving the worst space for the separate women’s prayer hall. From collecting funds to replace the soiled carpet and repaint the chipped walls, to silently walking in the front entrance and ignoring the disapproving glares as they make their way to the balcony rather than submit to the back prayer room turned childcare, through the years I’ve seen women protest against this dismissive treatment in a variety of ways. (9 comments)



“Who here has read Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s book Infidel?” For the first time in three years, not a single person raised their hand. At book club meetings, church gatherings, women’s groups, and Islamic presentations across this country, countless hands usually shoot up in the air in response to my question. My predominantly non-Muslim American audiences love to embrace Hirsi Ali’s experiences as applicable to Muslim women the world over. Why are they so quick to believe one ex-Muslim woman’s autobiographical tale? (9 comments)

There are few concepts in the Muslim psyche that paint an image as vivid and forceful as the era of the Jahiliyyah, the Period of Great Ignorance, that preceded the advent of Islam. It is considered by Muslims to be a dark, ungodly, forsaken time when men and women believed in many deities, lived lives of tribal partisanship and warfare, showed immense racism, inflicted oppression on the poor and meted out gruesome treatment to women. (4 comments)

For far too long Muslim women have been the recipients of proposals, rather than the instigators. A friend of mine broke it down for me the other day in a brutally honest statement: the men go and find wives and the women sit at home waiting for husbands to find them. However much the defiant teenager in me argued against this, I have to admit, my friend was right. At 22, I am not exactly a veteran of courting á la Muslim, but I will unashamedly admit that I have been husband-hunting since the age of about minus seven. Not because I am obsessed with the prospect of getting married, but quite the opposite. (2 comments)

On February 12th, 2009 and the days following it, we – as Muslims, as Americans, and as citizens of the world – were shocked and overcome by profound grief when informed of the brutal murder of Sister Aasiya Zubair Hassan, general manager and co-founder of Bridges TV. We learned, incredulously, that her husband – a man who made it his career goal to dispel negative images about Islam – decapitated his wife of many years. (6 comments)

Tahmena Bokhari is a Muslim, a Canadian, a feminist, a social worker, an educator and holds the title Mrs. Pakistan 2010 (not to be confused with Miss Pakistan World). Bokhari’s accomplishments are as varied as they are impressive, and perhaps seem contradictory to many. She holds a Master’s degree in social work and has worked at a number of women’s shelters and on a series of humanitarian initiatives. She currently teaches social work at two different colleges, and also acts as a diversity consultant, all the while competing in beauty pageants. (1 comment)

I recently spoke with “HijabMan”: a persona, a brand, and a recognizable part of the tapestry that is the Muslim community. He was recently named one of the world’s 500 Most Influential Muslims, in addition to having his designs appear on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. I asked HijabMan about his story and had him reflect on the meaning of manhood for Muslims today. (11 comments)

To the victor go the spoils is the concept that has been used over history to legitimize wartime rape. This tradition of objectifying women during conflicts has not ceased during modern times. Despite the introduction of modern laws of warfare, armies exploit sexual violence systematically as in the cases of the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and the current situation in Darfur. (0 comments)

Like any other social media platform, Facebook hosts a wide range users, some looking for intellectual stimulation, and some others looking to seek companionship. One has to be no less careful with Facebook friends than with next door neighbors, perhaps more so given the 400 million active users that it boasts about. You could waste your time uploading doppelganger pictures onto your profile or fill your status bar with the meaning of your name from urbandictionary.com. (1 comment)

When I accepted Islam in July 2006, I was welcomed with open arms by the diverse Muslim community in Atlanta. However, as I learned more and more about this beautiful deen, I also began to feel troubled by the intolerance and narrow-mindedness of many in the local and national community who chose to concentrate only on certain areas of social service, especially those that made them “look good.” Meanwhile, fellow Muslim men, women, and children are still crying for help, but being avoided and neglected by their Muslim neighbors, brothers and sisters. (0 comments)

In thinking back to my school days, perhaps my scariest (and simultaneously most amusing) memories have to do with gym class. Yes. Gym class. Always the last to be chosen on every team, I not only was one of the worst players, one of the last to finish the mile run, and definitely NOT a favorite of my gym teachers, I also was the awkward and funny looking “brown” girl wearing pants underneath her shorts because her religion called for it. How’s that for a prescription for low self-esteem and self-image? (1 comment)

The aftermath of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s conviction nearly two weeks ago in a New York courtroom has seen several protests in her home country of Pakistan. On February 13, students from universities all over Islamabad congregated at Aapbara Chowk and demanded her release, while pointing out the silence of human rights groups. A day earlier, Lahore’s Liberty Chowk saw students and faculty members of several educational institutions come together to protest against Dr. Aafia’s continued detention. Many other protests have been witnessed since the verdict was announced. (2 comments)

The prophet (saw) said: “The sun and the moon are two signs from amongst Allah’s signs and they do not eclipse because of the death or life of anyone.” Although October was designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month back in 1995 by leading organizations across North America, for Muslims February seems to be a pivotal month for raising awareness of the presence of Domestic Violence in the Muslim community. The tragic death of sister Aasiya Zubair Hassan on February 2009 served as a catalyst for the birth and rebirth of programs and organizations addressing this social evil. (0 comments)

Western and Eastern authors have historically painted a picture of the Muslim world as one in which the sexuality of Muslim women flourishes behind closed doors. It seems that in these secluded spaces a secret is passed from generation of women to generation of women about how to actively create a vibrant sexuality within the private sphere. In light of the public-private distinction that is the essence of this sexual presence, I often wonder about the health of Muslim women’s sexuality here in America, where the social distinctions between private and public are disappearing in the face of reality television shows and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. (3 comments)

How important is a Muslim American cultural imperative? Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah says, “identities that are rooted in deep cultural contradiction are easily thrown into states of confusion and doubt.” He suggests a “sound cultural nexus” is needed to remedy this identity crisis. The media (and sometimes even us consumers of the message) like to focus on the fringe as the only ones confronting singular expressions of faith. While the former expressions are one patch in the quilt that makes up the dynamic nature of the Muslim American community, they shouldn’t receive a disproportionate amount of attention. (3 comments)

Something decidedly medieval is in the air in Saudi Arabia. Fears of black magic and curses cast by Indonesian domestic helpers have spread across the country, and Saudi employers increasingly feel the need to hire private investigators to check their domestic workers for suspicious behavior and evidence for witchcraft. Investigators, mostly foreign women from neighboring countries, are paid to search for photographs, hair, or clothes belonging to the employers before the domestic helpers are repatriated, reports Arab News. The employers do not do this themselves because they feel it is immoral and something Islam prevents them from doing. (0 comments)