Reprinted from the Islamic Monthly. One would have thought that a 15-year-old girl shot in the head for speaking out in favor of education for girls would be hailed as a hero. Unfortunately, there is no dearth of people who have scathingly criticized Malala Yousafzai. Yousafzai makes many Pakistanis proud…
Read More
After a horrific and massive assault on a university in Pakistan, some scholars responded with alarm that the Taliban seem to increasingly be targeting schools, with a dramatic spike in the number of attacks in recent years. Why do groups as different as the Taliban, Boko Haram, the White House’s…
Read More
2015 was an extraordinary year for Muslim women. After being routinely consigned to the sidelines or discussed only for their dress choices, in 2015 Muslim women spoke up on issues ranging from the refugee crisis in Europe to the civil rights movement in America. TV shows and movies showcased the stories of exceptional…
Read More
First, what didn’t make the list. A recent CIA torture report revealed unconscionable and largely ineffective brutality toward prisoners in Gitmo – rectal feeding, waterboarding – that hardly came as a shock to Muslims. Nor were we shocked by The Intercept’s July investigation into FBI and NSA surveillance of Muslim…
Read More