Altmuslimah has officially launched its photographic campaign - aimed at providing an alternative to the dominant media image of oppressed Muslim women and angry Muslim men.
The purpose of Altmuslimah's visual campaign is to present Muslim men and women multi-dimensionally, figuratively speaking. The collection highlights the literary contributions of empowered Muslim American women; telling portraits of tenacious Muslim females, young and old; warm, loving Muslim men; the purity of spiritual devotion; and the dynamics of positive gender interaction in Islam.
Popular consent for aggressive collective policies [is] built on the successful leveraging of widely held public understandings that Arabs and Muslims have some kind of inherent leaning toward violence and terrorism and that those who do not actively engage in violence probably silently support it ... Notions such as these had been graphically reinforced in the American media and popular culture through images that represented Arab and Muslim life principally through portrayals of evil men and mob scenes contextualized by themes of anger, violence, and rote behavior ... Such scenes conveyed the idea that Arab and Muslim societies lack the capacity for individuality, diversity, rational thought, or choice and instead characterized by wide-spread organic solidarity and collective unanimity. A complementary schemata was that Arabs and Muslims lack the very human values and feelings shared by other groups, for example, that they feel joy upon death. In other words, they are not like “us.”
Mona Eltahawy, an award-winning syndicated columnist and an international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues, also highlights the over-simplicity of the imagery in mass media:
Angry Bearded Muslim Man is the favorite. Whenever the Muslim world is supposed to be upset or offended, invariably that story is illustrated by images of Angry Bearded Muslim man: marching (usually in Pakistan), shouting (fists raised in the air in righteous anger), and burning something (an American flag, an Israeli flag, preferably both!)
His female counterpart is Covered in Black Muslim Woman. She’s seen, never heard. Visible only in her invisibility under that black chador, burqa, face veil, etc.
In those images you have conveyed all you want to say about Muslims: the men are angry, dangerous and want to hurt us; the women are just covered in black.
As Louise Cankar told Altmuslimah, "Altmuslimah's efforts to expand the available imagery of Muslims is critically important— because those who seek continued Muslim exclusion from American life and its discourses, and a host of other societies and discourses, benefit from simplistic, one-dimensional images of Muslims that cast them as 'others', as people not like 'us'. As long as it remains socially acceptable to portray Muslims in these negative and deceptive ways, our societies will be unable to move forward: to step up and out of the politics of hatred."
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We're now featuring animated slideshows on our main page - check out the upper right hand corner of the site. Every other week, we'll feature a different video that will include photos and artwork from artists across the world. Interested artists: please send us your images at asma.uddin(at)altmuslimah.com, and we'll make the video for you!
Altmuslimah would also like to help spread the message by offering the embed link to other sites interested in featuring our photos. If you are a blogger or run a web magazine or other website, and are interested in supporting this mission to change the dominant image of Muslim men and women, please contact us.
Paintings from the Breaking the Veils exhibit:
Muslim men are kind, loving .. and colorful! Check out the resplendent diversity of our men:
The many faces and personalities of an incredibly diverse community. Featuring ladies first, here are the many faces of Muslim women:
Muslims from around the world celebrating their religious holiday. Eid Mubarak!
Muslims making a difference in our nation's capital - co-ed interaction for a greater good:
Our current video is a bit on the playful side. Muslim modesty can be fun, after all!
This campaign is a photo documentary of a photo documentary! Check out Sadaf Syed's iCover: a day in the life of an American COVERed girl.
This video showcases both Lucy Marryat photographic journey of Oman, and Yoshi (Yusuf Misdaq's) musical talent:
This video features the cast and characters of Wajahat Ali's The Domestic Crusaders:
Asma Shikoh's quintessentially American-Muslim art is the focus of this video:
Our previous video showcased the joy and camaraderie of IMAN's Community Cafe in New York City:
In our third video, you'll see select photos from Derek Brown's exhibit: Iran 2008: Faces and Places from Inside Iran:
Our second video showcased Heba Amin's artwork from the children's book, Extraordinary Women from the Muslim World:
Our first video featured the photography of Paula Lerner:
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Conceptions of sexuality among American Muslim women - Ten AltMuslimah members/readers gathered on Sunday, February 21, 2010, with the goal of discussing the nature of Muslim women’s sexuality, and how American Muslim women’s social needs may be different. Whether formal or casual, the group agreed in the value of women’s support networks, especially considering the rising prevalence of domestic violence in our communities. A quick brainstorm of ideas brought up the possibility of periodic casual women’s nights, which are actually common in more active American Muslim communities. (March 1, 2010) (1 comment)
News briefs for week of March 1, 2010 - This week Washington, D.C. women storm the men’s section of a local mosque, a women in hijab is fired from her retail position in California, a women’s terrorist group is said to be uncovered in Egypt, Malaysia looks to hold a conference on women’s caning, Pakistani women’s clothing is highlighted, and Iran’s first female Olympic skier is profiled. (March 1, 2010) (0 comments)
News briefs for week of February 22, 2010 - Saudi religious police crackdown on Valentine's Day merchandise, Three Malaysian women are caned for extramarital sex, Saudi to permit female lawyers to argue cases, New Jersey Muslim man throws baby over a bridge, and Baltimore sixth-graders go on a field trip to an Islamic center. (February 22, 2010) (0 comments)
News briefs for week of February 15, 2010 - This week, death threats for dehijabing in Spain, a ballet showcasing Muslim women’s historical accomplishments, France continues the burqa ban debate, a Pakistani woman is recognized in California, Muslim scholars question full-body scanning and Obama names an envoy to the Muslim world. (February 15, 2010) (0 comments)
News briefs for week of February 8, 2010 - This week, a study finds that abstinence-focused sex education in American schools can persuade youth to delay sexual activity, sixteen-year-old Turkish girl buried alive for talking to boys, French authorities deny citizenship to man who forces his wife to wear a full veil, and female government leaders have done little to advance women's rights in Southeast and South Asia. (February 8, 2010) (2 comments)
News briefs for week of February 1, 2010 - This week stress on female virginity is put on blast, a women’s rights book is allowed onto Malaysian shelves, and the burqa debate continues in France and Denmark. (February 1, 2010) (0 comments)
Readers' blog
Will you be my (halal) Valentine? - Why does Valentine’s Day spark such contentious debate among American Muslims across blogs and social networking sites? What underlying emotional buttons does this commercialized cultural holiday push among American Muslims? While other holidays, such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, generate a few tired and tepid discussions centered around the idea that “everyday should be Mother’s and Father’s Day,” Valentine’s Day, like the very concept of romantic love it celebrates, generates much more passionate responses. These debates touch on many topics including what love means or should mean to Muslims, the relationship between culture and religion, and the current state of romantic relationships among Muslims. (February 22, 2010) (1 comment)
Living up to the legacy - By historical account, being a Muslim female meant being virtuous, loving, knowledgeable, and empowered by her faith. Well it’s centuries later and although we cite to the legacy of Islam, we fail to live up to it or keep the legacy alive. (February 4, 2010) (1 comment)
Bridging literacy and cultural gaps in Pakistan - In addition to bridging cultural and socioeconomic gaps, the American International School System in Pakistan acts as an experimental model and incubator by incorporating some of the education reform principles advocated by grassroots organizations, education specialists and writers, and governmental agencies like the Ministry of Education. (January 3, 2010) (1 comment)
Islam and manhood - The infamy of Islamist terrorism over the past decade has created an image of the Muslim man as intrinsically prone to violent behavior, even if directed toward the self rather than the other. The image of the angry, flag-burning, chanting Muslim man has come to symbolize male violence. However the photos fail to explain that, firstly, the anger, in many instances, is justified, secondly, that the chants rarely spill over into to physical violence, and thirdly that violence is not exclusive to Muslim men. (December 25, 2009) (5 comments)
It’s not about the niqab, it’s about credibility - The question, which we all should consider now is why Al-Azhar scholars are not obeyed by the public any more? The simple and direct answer to this very complicated question is because Al-Azhar lost its credibility in the eyes of Egyptians. (October 17, 2009) (4 comments)
One woman’s journey toward pleasing Allah - Understanding the purpose and reasoning behind abaya is not something a Muslim girl learns the day she is born. For many, like myself, it was a slow and steady journey; one that required much research and reflection. (September 25, 2009) (4 comments)
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