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Editors blog
Sexuality Conceptions of sexuality among American Muslim women  By Anjum Malkana, March 1, 2010 |
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. ( 1 comment) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of March 1, 2010  By Rabea Chaudhry, 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. ( Zero comments) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of February 22, 2010  By Shazia Riaz, 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. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of February 15, 2010  By Rabea Chaudhry, 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. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of February 8, 2010  By Shazia Riaz, 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. ( 2 comments) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of February 1, 2010  By Rabea Chaudhry, 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. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of January 25, 2010  By Shazia Riaz, January 27, 2010 |
This week, Muzzammil Hassan changes his defense and says he was the victim; Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui is on trial in New York for shooting at U.S. officials while in custody in Afghanistan; a limited burqa ban in France may be easier to pass on the grounds of security than a total ban; and a Malaysian court ends the ban of book on challenges facing Muslim women. ( Zero comments) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of January 18, 2010  By Rabea Chaudhry, January 19, 2010 |
This week, the burqa ban discussion continues in France, attempts to outlaw hair straightening are rejected in Indonesia, FGM finds new opponents in Mauritania, and Hamas’s Islamic veil project is highlighted. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of January 11, 2010  By Shazia Riaz, January 12, 2010 |
This week, a €700 fine for burka clad women to be voted on in France, Coptic girls continue to be kidnapped and converted to Islam, a battered women's shelter provides refuge for Muslims in Baltimore, the culprits who maimed a Pakistani woman receive unusual and severe sentences, and world religions play a key role in the oppression and liberation of women according to the Elders. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of January 4th, 2010  By Rabea Chaudhry, January 5, 2010 |
This week, violence against women in Gaza is highlighted along with a Canadian Muslim women calendar. Muslim punk music and niqab bans continue to ruffle feathers and a Chinese professor speaks out about the Uighur, predominantly Muslim, minority. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for December 28, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, December 30, 2009 |
The attempted Christmas Day airplane bomber may have written 300 posts on the Internet about his struggles, brainwashed boy flees the Taliban just before pulling the pin on his suicide vest, and an increase in gender segregation in Iran is reported. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for December 21, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, December 22, 2009 |
This week, the widow of Ayman al-Zawahiri takes up the call of her late husband, a story on Muslim women bankers, a variety of opinions and analysis on veiling, and a book that led five young Americans to join the Taliban - The Pact ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of December 14, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, December 14, 2009 |
This week, men don headscarves in Iran to mock authorities, an artificial paradise created by the Taliban to recruit young male would-be suicide bombers was seized, Indian investigators conclude that two Kashmiri women drowned and were not raped and murdered by Indian police as claimed by local residents, and in the view of the Christian Science Monitor, Muslim women are not required by the Qu'ran to observe a head covering. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of December 7, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, December 8, 2009 |
This week, Muslim women’s experiences on Hajj were highlighted, as was the growing trend of niqab in Egypt. Azizah magazine’s publisher is recognized, as are Muslim women’s rights to support after divorce in India, and the plight of Afghan women was reported on by Reuters. ( Zero comments) |
NEWS BRIEFS News Briefs for week of November 23, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, November 30, 2009 |
This week, a collection of photographs from around the world of men, women, and children celebrating Eid ul Adha, Rifqa rally is held in Ohio for the runaway Christian convert, first "gay honor killing" in Turkey continues to stir civil clash, concerns are rising in the US over rate of Muslim "honor killings," and Hamas bans women dancers and scooter riders. ( Zero comments) |
News Briefs News Briefs for week of November 16, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, November 23, 2009 |
This week, artist Shepard Fairey portrays the many faces of Muslim women, a Muslim woman’s headscarf is pulled on at a grocery store, burqa-clad Barbies will be auctioned off in London, 200 models are encouraged to convert to Islam, a female-only bank opens in Iraq and Lubna Hussein tours Europe to gain support for Muslim women. ( Zero comments) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of November 9, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, November 16, 2009 |
Ghadafi hosts a soiree with hundreds of Italian women in an attempt to convert them to Islam, The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh held its second annual Women's Conference, six American Muslim men in the military discuss complications Fort Hood raises for Muslim soldiers, and Afghan mullahs attend a workshop on birth control. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of November 2, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, November 9, 2009 |
This week, Major Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of going on a shooting rampage in Texas, Sikh and Muslim women join together in California to address discrimination against religious head coverings, and women in the Aceh province of Indonesia can no longer wear tight pants. In Kuwait, female lawmakers will not be forced to wear the head covering while in Malaysia male members of a political party take an oath to divorce their wives if they change party affiliations. Pakistan holds its first-ever Fashion week, and Muslim women in India are barred from receiving micro loans. ( 1 comment) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of October 26, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, November 2, 2009 |
Last week in the news, female Saudi cartoonist challenges societal views of women, New York husband gets his neck slashed by Pakistani wife for religious abuse, women must wear socks (but not bras) in militant controlled parts of Mogadishu, and Kuwait rejects call to require women MPs to cover heads. ( Zero comments) |
News Briefs News briefs for week of October 19, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, October 23, 2009 |
This week, The New York Times published a story that Somalia’s al Shabaab group began publically whipping women for wearing bras, NPR published a piece on Dalia Mogahed, Kuwaiti courts give women the right to travel without their husband’s permission and continue to debate whether female MPs should have to wear the hijab, police in Arizona are looking for an Iraqi man accused of running over his daughter, and two more Sudanese women were sentenced to 20 lashes and fines for wearing trousers. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of October 5, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, October 10, 2009 |
This week, in Egypt, bans on virginity kits and burqa cause a stir. In Canada and Italy, burqa bans were also proposed. And in a Lebanese paper Naomi Wolf asserts that Muslim women are not in need of being saved by the West. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of September 28, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, October 4, 2009 |
Saudi King fires cleric for criticizing breakthrough gender mixing initiative at a new university in Jeddah. Egyptian scholar is demanding death penalty for those caught importing virginity faking kits. Iranian Nobel laureate to deliver speech on women's rights in Colorado. Afghanistan's burqa boxers train for 2012 Olympic Games. ( Zero comments) |
NEWS BRIEFS News briefs for week of September 21, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, September 28, 2009 |
This week, New York’s Robina Niaz was celebrated for her work helping Muslim women victims of domestic violence, a woman takes off her niqab to testify in Spanish court, Irshad Manji critiques a book for going soft on Islamic fundamentalist’s deplorable treatment of women, a 32-year old Malaysian woman may become the first woman to be caned in the country while the Ashaari sect in Malaysia starts a Polygamy Club to revive the practice. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of September 14, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, September 19, 2009 |
This week, sharia law is extending to Indonesian province and is (yet again) enforced in Malaysia, psychiatric plea likely for Muzzammil Hassan's January trial, new site, "Flying While Muslim," recently launched, America's first Special Representative to Muslim Communities is sworn in, Jerusalem sees increased rate of Arab-Jewish dating, and Abercrombie is under fire for rejecting hijab ( 1 comment) |
women's leadership Everywoman quiz  By Asma T. Uddin, September 16, 2009 |
Many myths exist about how quickly women are moving up the ladder. With this Everywoman Quiz, you can test yourself and your friends on how well women are doing. The facts will help you discard the pervasive "good girl" myths about women's inevitable rise. ( Zero comments) |
Veils The fight of the century: Chesler vs. Wolf  By Fatemeh Fakhraie, September 14, 2009 |
Phyllis Chesler and Naomi Wolf have gotten themselves into a battle royale over…the veil. What’s most interesting about this “debate” is that neither women has qualifications that make her opinions hold weight. ( 4 comments) |
Media and Islam The media’s role in demonizing Muslim men and women  By Asma T. Uddin, September 11, 2009 |
Clearly, a media alternative is needed – one that explores gender in Islam in all of its nuance and complexity rather than demonizing or simplifying it. Because media distortion happens both through biased reporting and exaggerated, selective images, the counter-response must be similarly multifaceted. ( Zero comments) |
NEWS BRIEFS News briefs for week of September 7, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, September 11, 2009 |
This week, Sudanese journalist Lubna al-Hussein is freed after serving one day of her sentence for wearing pants, the LA Times ran an opinion piece questioning if the hijab really is liberation, a piece in the New York Times discussed the challenges that Muslim women in hijab face when exercising, a Muslim woman in France testifies in favor of a burqa ban and pig-free cosmetics are created for Muslim women. ( Zero comments) |
NEWS BRIEFS News briefs for week of August 31, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, September 4, 2009 |
This week, burka: the new attire of choice for -- thieves? After three decades, Iran announces its first female cabinet minister. Microfinance helps save a Pakistani women from her husband's beatings. And, Hindu and other friends of Rifqa Bary's family say the allegations against her father are unlikely and crazy. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of August 24, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, August 28, 2009 |
This week, a hijab-based lawsuit against a judge, Mali's president refuses a law that requires mutual respect between spouses, Uzbeks unofficially ban hijab, and harassment charges against a man who attempted murder of two Muslim women. ( Zero comments) |
NEWS BRIEFS News briefs for week of August 17, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, August 22, 2009 |
This week, a Singaporian model is caned for drinking alcohol, high female voter turnout in Afghani elections, Indian Muslim women are trained in boxing, and more burqini rage in France. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of August 10, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, August 14, 2009 |
This week, a converted teen fears her Muslim parents will kill her. Also, burqinis banned in French swimming pools, a Muslim Power List forms for 2009, and props for our own Fatemeh Fakhraie in USA Today. ( 5 comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of July 27, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, August 2, 2009 |
This week, Sudanese women arrested for wearing pants, gauging the few burqa wearers in France (a few hundred, perhaps) and using burqas to escape threats while running for office in Afghanistan. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of July 20, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, July 25, 2009 |
This week, an Islamic response to sex education for 5 year olds, the differences between honor killings and domestic violence, and what the price of oil has to do with the oppression of women. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of July 13, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, July 17, 2009 |
This week, more post-Sherbini hijab solidarity (and a plea against its politicization), greater rights for women in polygynous marriages in South Africa, and no Eid public holidays in New York City schools, says Mayor Michael Bloomberg ( Zero comments) |
The cudgel of faith  By Hussein Rashid, July 14, 2009 |
What do Sarkozy and Mullah Muhammad Omar have in common? A penis! (They do not share one penis. They each have their own penis. They share the context of the penis-owning.) What does all their thinking? A penis! Why? Because they worship it. Omar worships from fear and Sarkozy worships for a promised reward. ( 6 comments) |
American photographer depicts Islamic world in 40,000 snapshots  By Mehmet Demirci, July 14, 2009 |
Altmuslimah Contributing Photographer Derek Brown was recently featured in Today's Zaman. Brown -- who took around 40,000 photographs in 30 countries with large Muslim populations throughout his project -- summed up his journey as “an extraordinary experience that I will remember until the end of my life.” ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of July 6, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, July 11, 2009 |
This week, the horrific murder of "hijab martyr" Marwa el-Sherbini and mass protests in China over ethnic tensions between Uighur Muslims and Han Chinese after 184 are left dead. ( Zero comments) |
Altmuslimah staff Photographer Derek Brown joins us  By Asma T. Uddin, July 10, 2009 |
Derek Brown is one of Altmuslimah's first featured photographers. Check back soon to see some of his awesome photography from the Muslim world. In the meanwhile, Derek will be exhibiting at Gallery H this Thursday. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of June 29, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, July 4, 2009 |
This week, an American Muslim woman takes over US outreach to Muslim communities, the rise of the influence of jilbabs in Indonesia's elections, and the Neda effect on the perceptions of Iranian women worldwide. ( Zero comments) |
Photographic Campaign Altmuslimah wants your photos!  By Asma T. Uddin, July 2, 2009 |
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. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of June 22, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, June 26, 2009 |
This week, insurgents in Thailand recruiting through football, couture abayas in a Paris fashion show (sorry, Sarkozy), and a Turkey court case over a football referee who outed himself on television. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of June 15, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, June 19, 2009 |
This week, women on the front lines of Iran's post-election protests, the French consider a burka ban, and a Muslim waitress in Britain who refused to wear a revealing dress for her job (and was awarded £3000) is caught wearing one on Facebook. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of June 8, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, June 12, 2009 |
This week, the Iranian elections take place - and women make their mark. Also, a story on a women's club in Phoenix and Hama's matchmaking efforts in Gaza. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of June 1, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, June 8, 2009 |
This week, an Iranian presidential candidate condemns non- hijabis, the murder of two Muslim women leads to major protests in Kashmir, a delegation of Pakistani women toured the U.S., and Obama speaks about hijab. ( Zero comments) |
Events The painted gala  By Asma T. Uddin, June 3, 2009 |
The Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (CAMP), and the altmuslimah.com team, invite you to altmuslimah's launch party - the social event of the year! ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of May 25, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, May 29, 2009 |
This week, a hijabi runs for office in Italy, imprisoned daughter-in-law's fight back in England, and the status of women scholars around the world grows, from India to Egypt. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of May 18, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, May 22, 2009 |
This week, women are elected to Kuwait's parliament, an award for Muslim Women's Network founder Shaista Gohir in the UK, a video profile of "Bad Girl of Islam" Asra Nomani, and remembering Indian feminist Dr. Sakina Hasan. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of May 11, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, May 16, 2009 |
This week, an Islamic American Idol, an Islamic (inner) beauty pageant in Saudi Arabia, women-led protests against the Taliban in Pakistan, and a tour of female Muslim musicians concludes in Birmingham, England. ( Zero comments) |
Journalism Iranian women in politics  By Fatemeh Fakhraie, May 13, 2009 |
Iranian women are not only present, but in demand, in national politics. And it’s not for what they’re wearing or who their husbands are. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of May 4, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, May 8, 2009 |
This week, a Saudi expatriate's campaign to promote debate about women drivers, a female architect in Turkey designs that country's newest mosque, and thousands more flee fighting between the Taliban and Pakistani forces in the Swat valley. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of April 27, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, May 1, 2009 |
This week, a "let's get her fat" protest in Saudi Arabia (along with the divorces of child brides there), an interfaith effort to prevent deportation of a Muslim student and his family, and cruel and unusual torture in Iraq. ( 1 comment) |
News briefs News briefs for week of April 20, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, April 24, 2009 |
This week, a "veiled" Muslim woman appointment to the Obama team, interfaith marriage leads to trouble in Egypt, and a new book on the Muslim experience is discussed in San Francisco. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of April 13, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, April 17, 2009 |
This week, Afghan women take to the streets to oppose new marriage laws, the Saudi's begin to turn the law against unregulated child marriages, more from the Talibanized Swat Valley of Pakistan, and a Pink Eid in Amsterdam ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of April 6, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, April 11, 2009 |
This week, a Muslim high school student is awarded $350,000 after being harassed for wearing a hijab, and a study of European Muslim women finds that they tend to be highly integrated into the larger European society. ( Zero comments) |
The politics of hijab Covering the headscarf  By Asma T. Uddin, April 8, 2009 |
In the end, the point isn’t about how much of a difference the hijab makes – the point is, rather, that perhaps we’re using the wrong litmus test when defining our religious obligations. An Islamic mandate to wear the hijab need not be legitimated by cultural, sociological proofs; rather, we submit to God’s commands because He commanded us to do so. ( 4 comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of March 30, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, April 3, 2009 |
This week, a disturbing video from the Swat region of Pakistan, discriminatory laws against Muslims in India and Afghanistan, and a rise in domestic violence in Gaza, following Israel's attack on the strip (and since Hamas rule began two years ago). ( Zero comments) |
Women in media “Girls only”: Arab women live and on-air  By Ahmad Ghashmary, March 27, 2009 |
In a very short period of time, Amany Al-Tunisi's Egypt-based radio station "Banat wi Bass" (Girls Only) has succeeded in attracting a huge audience all over the Arab World. The station and its audience represent a growing desire among Arab women to make their voices heard. ( Zero comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of March 23, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, March 27, 2009 |
This week, Gallup's new findings on American Muslim women, South Africa's new Muslim Marriages bill, a women-led boycott of Saudi lingerie stores (where only men serve as staff), and Britain's list of the most powerful Muslim women. ( Zero comments) |
Fashion Cool to be modest  By Asma T. Uddin, March 26, 2009 |
Our feature on Eva Khurshid shows that whereas mainstream women’s fashion continues to tend toward immodesty, we can help push the trend in another direction – and make it cool to be modest. ( 1 comment) |
News briefs News briefs for week of March 16, 2009  By Shazia Riaz, March 20, 2009 |
This week, gang-rape victim Mukhtar Mai gets married, Iran sends a female skier to the upcoming Winter Olympics, and the UAE's campaign to counter the prevalence of "manly" women. More news briefs for the week of March 16, 2009. ( Zero comments) |
Interpretations Re: The ambivalence of a toothbrush  By Hussein Rashid, March 19, 2009 |
The difference that Mona and I have on the interpretation of verse 4:34 of the Qur'an is really related to our basic theological orientations. In addition to bringing to light the issues involved in gender roles, it also highlights the diversity of systematic traditions in the Muslim world. ( Zero comments) |
Family law More bricks in the wall  By Fatemeh Fakhraie, March 18, 2009 |
Outdated family laws are a major source of concern to Muslim women, as it’s often women who get the short end of the stick. As a result of family laws that have been misguidedly interpreted or carried out, many women lose the custody of their children, receive no mahr or alimony in divorces, are given no legal options in the instance of rape, and worse. ( 1 comment) |
Interpretations Our innate dispositions  By Asma T. Uddin, March 16, 2009 |
How do theological definitions work in the context of gender relations? How can we believe that we as humans tend toward goodness, and somehow still not only oppress others but also try to argue that such oppression is religiously sanctioned? ( 5 comments) |
News briefs News briefs for week of March 9, 2009  By Rabea Chaudhry, March 13, 2009 |
Every day, issues related to gender intersect with our society, politics, economics, and culture. Altmuslimah is your source for up-to-date news and commentary on these critical intersections. Here are our news briefs for the week of March 9, 2009. ( Zero comments) |
Saudi Arabian society Punishing the victims  By Asma T. Uddin, March 10, 2009 |
It was reported yesterday that a Saudi court punished a 75-year old Syrian woman with 40 lashes, four months imprisonment, and deportation from the country. Her crime? Saudi’s morality police found her in her home with two unrelated men. The men claim they were there to deliver bread to the elderly woman. ( 1 comment) |
Launch day Welcome to Altmuslimah  By Asma T. Uddin, March 8, 2009 |
Welcome to Altmuslimah.com – what I hope will become the go-to place for compelling comment on gender issues in Islam. Our editorial team consists of individuals who have for a long time wanted a space to discuss critical – and often controversial – gender-related matters that are both personal and public. What makes Altmuslimah different is its combination of journalistic and academic perspectives with deeply private looks into our identity struggles vis-à-vis both Muslims and non-Muslims. ( Zero comments) |
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Editors' blog 
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) |
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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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