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ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Sarah Jawaid Washington, DC
Sarah Jawaid is an urban planner and environmentalist residing in the Washington, DC area. She works on transportation, water supply and infrastructure policy issues. Aside from her urban planning research, Sarah advocates for environmental issues from a faith-based perspective and arts programming for youth in under-served populations. Her interests include community engagement, personal growth, and art. Sarah's writing has appeared in Khaleej Times, Marrakech, Avocado Jungle and has been translated into Arabic, French, Indonesian and Urdu. She is originally from Southern California where she received a B.S. from the University of Southern California in Public Policy and an MA in Urban Planning from the University of California, Irvine. Sarah can be contacted at sarah.jawaid[at]alumni.usc.edu
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 | | Counseling Generational change in accepting mental health needs By Sarah Jawaid, September 29, 2010 Seeking professional counseling in the Muslim community has long had a stigma attached to it. Looking deeper into the intracommunity dialogue, we see that various cultural groups rationalize mental health education differently. For example, in South Asian communities, if an individual shows signs of needing mental attention, black magic (hoaxes or curses) is often suspected as the culprit behind the mental illness. It wasn't until my own experience in a powerless state, where I needed external guidance to work through my emotional distress, did I fully understand the necessity of reevaluating harmful societal norms and liberating oneself of those misconceptions. ( 2 comments) |
 | | From the Editors' Blog A fearless leader: An interview with Vandana Shiva By Sarah Jawaid, August 6, 2010 Officially labeled as the worst accidental oil spill in history, the Gulf of Mexico disaster continues to find coverage, albeit waning due to media appeal. With the end seeming far away, I am left wondering what I, an ordinary citizen, can do to help against environmental degradation committed by corporations, the government and consumers. I turned to one of my heroes, Dr. Vandana Shiva, for her thoughts. Dr. Shiva is an environmental activist, writer and physicist from India. Her work has inspired many writings and movements. I asked Dr. Shiva about her thoughts on environmentalism, the career challenges she faced being a woman, and what citizens can do to help the cause. ( 4 comments) |
 | | Beauty Part 2: Stories from You: Unlearning the obsession with fair skin By Sarah Jawaid, March 19, 2010 “I often have to wonder [what] my great grandfather, who converted to Islam from Sikhism in Delhi, would [say if he were to] see all this. He broke from his family, lured by the egalitarian and authentic message of Islam. How would he feel if he knew, generations later, [that] his son would be confronted by educated, religious Muslims who are obsessed with skin color?” ( No comments) |
 | | Media Comedy and identity intersect: An interview with writer Sameer Asad Gardezi By Sarah Jawaid, March 10, 2010 Muslim screenwriters are still a rarity in Hollywood, but that may soon be changing. I recently conversed with the quick-witted Sameer Asad Gardezi, winner of the Writers Guild award for his work on ABC’s Modern Family. His previous projects include writing for the groundbreaking Aliens in America on the CW network, which sympathetically portrayed a young Muslim immigrant. The USC film school graduate shares with us his perspective on identity politics, the unique opportunity Muslims have in reshaping representation, and his advice to aspiring Muslim writers and artists. ( 5 comments) |
 | | IMAN's Community Café A state of mind: An American Muslim narrative at the Apollo By Sarah Jawaid, February 5, 2010 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) |
 | | Beauty Loving the skin you’re in: Unlearning the obsession with fair skin By Sarah Jawaid, December 16, 2009 Looking into the mirror, I stare at the reflection of my chai-colored forehead; I pause and consider the shades of color slowly descend down my face. Peeking through the brown, a soft pink highlights my cheekbones and the dimples around my crooked smile. The protected skin around my eyelids is the much coveted milky cream color that incites the unwelcome thought of discontent at the shade of my skin. ( 12 comments) |
 | | Co-gendered Activism Creating a space for healthy gender relations By Sarah Jawaid, November 20, 2009 Washington DC's Muslim Public Service Network (MPSN), a summer public service fellowship program, and DC Green Muslims, a community Islamic environmental group are two examples of activism in co-gender Muslim environments. We speak to two young activists to find out how this type of activism works within an Islamic framework and why it can be one way to promote healthy gender interactions while working for the common good. ( 4 comments) |
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