Iran has a long-standing history of artistic expression, with its unparalleled contributions in a myriad of art forms: from calligraphy to architecture, music to literature and cinema to tile work. Within this context, it’s preposterous (almost blasphemous!) to even mention the uproar and applause that the nude posing of Iranian actress and pianist Golshifteh Farahani has brought about. ()

As the Republican presidential primary race heats up, more people seem interested in Ron Paul than ever before, and Muslims are no exception. Many Muslims find Paul’s foreign policy and civil liberty positions attractive—so much so that some analysts even believe he could carry the Muslim vote. But upon closer inspection, Paul’s agenda has far less in common with Muslim interests than most people realize. ()

After having written my undergraduate dissertation on depictions on Mexican First Ladies in political cartoons, I gained some insight into what it means to be a woman portrayed in editorial cartoons. Despite how funny political cartoons may be, they might also carry very strong messages, and these are often gendered. ()

<< From the AltMuslimah Archives >> I always find it disturbing nowadays when I hear someone, female or male, say, “Be a man.” It is an expression that is not only commonly used in our language, but also rarely confronted. “Women are dumb,” Bryan* said, “they already have a thousand things going on in their mind about you, so when you ask her out, set a specific date and time; don’t leave it open-ended.” I think I almost choked on my dinner as I heard him advise my friend, Dave.* ()

On 28 November 2011, the Dean of the Department of Letters, Arts and Humanities of Manouba University refused to give in to pressure from a group of protesters using violence to demand that classes be accessible to young women wearing the niqab, or face veil. Faced with this refusal the protestors erected barriers to block the professors and students from their classrooms and prevent classes from taking place. ()

Those who claim Islam is anti-female point to the alleged injustice of its rules of inheritance. The Qur’an commands parents to give their daughters half the amount of inheritance their sons receive (Qur’an 4:11). Does that not seem unfair in 21st century America, with all its notions of equality? As an American estate planning attorney, I can assure the reader that neither this mandate nor Islamic inheritance rules in general are outdated or unjust. Indeed, these rules are more relevant and fair than the system of inheritance that exists in America today. ()

<< From the AltMuslimah Archives >>
The choice to divorce requires us to ask difficult and legitimate questions, and listen to each other’s honest answers in order to make a decision about what to do when they have run out of ideas to repair the relationship. These questions reflect the difficulty of the decision, and its effect on the multiple areas of their lives. There are no easy answers, and sometimes no perfect solutions, when these dilemmas are on the table. ()

Many Western pundits would like you to believe that the movement behind the Arab Spring consists of nothing more than a few angry young revolutionaries and an army of bearded Islamists. This is, of course, far from the truth. Revolutionaries of all ages, and all walks of life, have risked their freedom and their lives to bring about change in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, and beyond. Yes, they are angry and many are supporters of Islamist policies, but their messages are diverse and their successes have been staggering. ()

The American perception of Muslim women is sadly narrow: We imagine heavily cloistered beauties, submissive to their male counterparts who, we assume, they married because of an agreement between parents rather than love. To expose readers to the true spectrum of Muslim American dating experiences, Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi compiled "Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women," [$15.95, Soft Skull Press] an anthology of romantic relationships, gay and straight, arranged and spontaneous, monogamous and not. ()

After reading a couple of reviews (on FilmJabber and Afterellen.com) about Circumstance, a recent film by Maryam Keshavarz, I decided to give the film a shot. Circumstance is a drama set in Iran, where gender and sexuality are heavily controlled by the political regime. The film depicts the story of Atafeh and Shireen, two sixteen-year-old friends, whose friendship extends to the sexual and romantic in an environment of underground adventure in contemporary Iran. ()