Film

A Latinx Muslim Narrative

I am a documentary filmmaker from Los Angeles with a focus on social-justice issues like gender equality, immigration and healthcare reform. Like many of my creative peers, I believe the tradition of storytelling is vital because it affirms one’s own experiences and reflects back narratives that makes spaces for others to exist….

Read More

New documentary by Muslim filmmaker explores artists in the US

AltMuslimah recently interviewed filmmaker  Usmaan Z. Chaudhry about his upcoming documentary on art and artists in the U.S and how they shape our country’s cultural identity. What is your documentary about and when will it release? Through the eyes of artists from diverse backgrounds, my documentary aims to demonstrate how…

Read More

Alternative Narratives Against Alternative Facts

I’ve been thinking a lot about empathy, lately. Starting here: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I’ve often wondered if we are born to be empathetic, or if is it something that has to be proactively cultivated within ourselves. Humans are intrinsically programmed to…

Read More

To be united- or not to be?

Like so many others, I was delighted when Mahershala Ali’s nabbed the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor this year. The fact that we had mutual friends, and that he belonged to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was just a happy coincidence. Despite my joy, I waited for the backlash I knew…

Read More

Religious authenticity in the face of anti-Muslim sentiment

Art helps create and sustain social and political transformation. Sometimes that transformative power is more about the artist than the art—or, in the case of Mahershala Ali’s Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor in Moonlight, about national recognition for that artist. Ali’s win gave the spotlight to his performance, yes,…

Read More

Muslim Ms. Marvel Issues Reign of Terror

You might know Kathreen Khavari, an Iranian-American actress, as the voice of Muslim Ms. Marvel in the popular Avengers Assemble cartoon series. She is also unleashing a Reign of Terror in response to Donald Trump and the current state of America. Reign of Terror is a three-part YouTube series that follows a focus group seemingly organized to discuss…

Read More

American filmmaker quotes Qur’an

Popular American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola speaking at a press conference at the 15th Marrakech International Film Festival (MIFF) quoted the Qur’an, specifically Surah Al Fatiha giving emphasis to the message of peace, mercy, tolerance and love advocated by the Holy Book. “If you know the Qur’an, the first words…

Read More

Disney Pixar: Sanjay’s Super Team

Disney-Pixar recently released the teaser for the upcoming Sanjay’s Super Team. The animated short—the first from the studio that features an Indian-American family as the main characters—focuses on a young boy who would rather spend his day watching superheroes on TV than partake in his dad’s religious meditation. The seven-minute…

Read More

Ten Questions with Nadia Manzoor of Shugs & Fats

It began as a project for MTVDesi in 2013:  comedienne Radhika Vaz and writer/performer Nadia Manzoor debuted the humorous musings of two hijabi Brooklyn implants, Shagufta and Fatima, in a show called “Shugs & Fats.” The project is now a web-based series highlighting their “quest to reconcile their long held…

Read More