Editorials

Sadiq Khan: What’s Next?

The news of Sadiq Khan winning the mayoral race in London spread like wildfire in Muslim circles. WhatsApp groups, Twitter, Facebook, texts and emails were full of surprise and pride. In a time of rising Islamophobia in the western world this news was welcome validation that Islamophobia can be overcome….

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Anchored by Faith, I Rise

I came to Islam in 1993, influenced by  social consciousness in Hip Hop.  Artists like Rakim, Sista Souljah, and Public Enemy, all of whom who were popularizing Islam, nudged me closer to the faith through their lyrics.  I watched Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992) one year before my conversion, and soon after…

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Best Practices of “Muslim” Blogging

With so many voices and opinions on the Internet, launching a blog is a great way to share real stories, join the global conversation and add to the online narrative of Muslim Americans. When it comes to “Muslim” blogs, you will find ones that focus on anything and everything, from storytelling…

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The Lessons of History

I spent Thursday night glued to my phone, refreshing Google News every five minutes. News of an active shooter on the Umpqua Community College campus in Oregon had hit Thursday afternoon, and by early evening, the shooter’s identity was still unclear. At the end of the workday, I shifted from…

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Cloudy with a chance of suhoor

The past six Ramadans, I rise before the sun does. It’s not to eat suhoor, nor do I prepare it for my husband. I trudge by him as he groggily slurps down a bowl of O’s, we exchange a look of mutual exhaustion. It’s a call that summons me awake, reminding me that there’s something greater than sleep. Motherhood.

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Making 50 Calls to Prayer in 50 States

I am greeted with an exuberant “Salaams” from Jameel Syed, a Detroit-based marketing executive and muaddhin (the person designated in a masjid to recite the call to prayer). He and his campaign manager, Yahya Sultan, are traveling across the United States visiting 50 mosques in 50 states so Jameel can…

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