muslim women

Community

Muslim Men: Please shut up about women!

A recent Pew Research Center study indicated how “people” in various Muslim countries “prefer” Muslim women to dress. The results are varied from fully veiled dress to no veil at all. There seems to be no turning away from public interest in Muslim women and the flurry of commentaries from public intellectuals has begun. Beyond the polemics of discussions on Muslim women, I’m interested to interrogate the notion of “preference” in this matter and ask, “Who are these ‘people’?”

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Politics

All hijabbed out

I can’t believe I’m doing this. So early into my blogging career and here I am. Writing about hijab. I said I wouldn’t, because heck there’s so much more to talk about. But, here I am.
Hijab – a piece of fabric that so obsesses the world vis-a-vis Muslim women that we are now facing a full on “World Hijab Day”, which is today, Saturday, February the 1st.

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Politics

World Hijab Day: An open invitation to all women

How is it that a piece of fabric can impact the socio-political paradigm of the world? In the last decade, Islam and Muslims have no doubt taken a beating in the court of public opinion and women who don the headscarf, or hijab, have endured the brunt of the abuse. The Western media frames these women as cloaked, both literally and figuratively, in oppression, desperate to liberate themselves from their dictatorial husbands and fathers by removing a cloth which symbolizes 1400 years of injustice.

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Community, Culture

Drinking, dating and hijabs: The perils of college life for Muslim women

I climbed out of the car and heard the raucous laughter and booming music spilling out of the open windows and doors of the house party. My Christian and Jewish friends and I were welcomed as the innocent, new freshmen on campus. Red cups full of beer were passed around; I shook my head when one came my way. The guy holding it glanced at me with hazy eyes. “What?! No beer?” he said incredulously. “No, not for me!” I yelled back at him over the music. He shook his head dumbfounded and moved on to a more willing participant.

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9/11, Culture

Hijabi for a day

February 1, 2013 marked the first World Hijab Day, a day organized by New Yorker Nazma Khan to allow women to experience the hijab firsthand. Citing discrimination from Muslims and non-Muslims alike, she conceived of the idea so that those who have never worn hijab themselves could walk in the shoes of women who have.

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Culture

“Hip Hop Hijabis”: An interview with Muneera Rashida and Mette Reitzel

This past month, filmmaker Mette Reitzel has been campaigning tirelessly to raise funds for a documentary on Muneera Rashida and Sukina Abdul Noor. These two female British Muslims are founders of the “Poetic Pilgrimage,” a movement involving the intersection of social justice, spiritual growth, and creative and cultural expression. Altmuslimah’s Sarah Farrukh asks Rashida and Reitzel about the history of the “Poetic Pilgrimage,” the challenge of being “hip hop hijabis,” and the significance of this film.

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Community, Culture, Mosque

On (not) losing my hijab

By the grace of God, I met the end of 2012 in a state of blissful contentment. However, this didn’t come without struggle. I was reminded of a particular difficulty I experienced when I was cleaning out my inbox and I came across an unsent email. My heart felt heavy at the memory of how I felt when I wrote it. “It’s been a hell of a year, Sarah,” I thought. “What a way to mark your ten-year hijabiversary.”

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9/11, Community, Culture, Politics

Hijab and Havaianas

I am someone who defies convention. I converted to Islam shortly after 9/11. But that didn’t mean I would become a conventional Muslim. I wanted to know God in a way that made sense to me. Every time I pick up the Quran, I’m in awe and feel even more sure that this revelation is how God wanted me to become closer to Him. But that epiphany is far from beautiful and inspiring for the majority of non-Muslims and Muslims I meet. There’s a simple explanation: I don’t wear the hijab (headscarf). My decision not to wear it is not out of defiance, but because it doesn’t work for me.

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