By Laila Alawa and Wardah Khalid If you’re a part of the Muslim American community, you have probably heard of the cause recently heard ‘round the world: A petition, put together by three homeschooled Muslim middle school students in Virginia, asking the White House to have public schools recognize Muslim holidays. This is actually the second such petition to appear in the past several months, as the first failed to gather enough signatures to reach the White House. It reads... Read more
By Safiya Ravat Two Muslim women enter a mosque (no, this isn’t the opener of a lame joke). Both sisters join the prayer, enjoying the Imam’s melodious recitation over the loud speaker — the only communication they have with the walled off men’s prayer area where the Iman stands, leading the prayer. They kneel down and touch their foreheads to the ground. Some time passes and one sister begins to wonder why the prostration, typically no more than 10 to... Read more
There is no one in creation more worthy an example of this Quranic verse, “Indeed Allah loves those who are Muhsins – those who do beautiful things (2:195),” than Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). A Muhsin is one who is in a state of Ihsan and Ihsan is the highest spiritual state possible. It is the farthest station from this world in the journey towards God. God is everywhere. It is meaningless to talk of God as if He is in a... Read more
By altmuslim contributors If there were two mantras that flooded the Muslim landscape in 2013, “no more apologies” and “owning our stories” were it. From arts and culture to the Nobel Peace Prize to gender equality to legal victories, Muslims around the world made their mark in many positive ways. For every time Muslims collectively cringed (like with the Boston Marathon bombing), they also celebrated (like when Malala Yousufzai was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize). Indeed, it was a... Read more
By Afeefa Syeed At Christmas time I hum along to the Little Drummer Boy song. I always wanted to be that drummer who gave a gift to the new born King and makes Mary smile. And I’m reminded again that the more I learn and reflect about the many manifestations of Mary, mother of Jesus, the more I am in awe of her. Her story and place in history has been a source of strength for my soul and life,... Read more
By Sabina Khan-Ibarra I was raised in a conservative Muslim household — we prayed five times a day, we read the Quran daily, we fasted during Ramadan and we didn’t celebrate Christmas. We celebrated Thanksgiving, which as “thankful” Americans and Muslims, my parents didn’t hesitate to celebrate. Halloween was an annual debate- some years, we celebrated it wearing costumes, joining parades and even trick-or-treating and other years, we stayed home watched movies and ate candy we bought from the store.... Read more
By Zainab Khan When I decided to move back home from college, the thing I feared the most was that I would not fit in with the local Muslim community. The first Muslim community I knew intimately and loved deeply was not the one I grew up with, so returning home was like coming to a new community altogether. On my first day as a Sunday school teacher at our local mosque, I met a young volunteer (a senior in... Read more
By Aminah Sheikh I went to New York, last year around May to participate in the #Mipsterz video “Somewhere in America.” I anticipated meeting some like-minded hijabis* and making new friends. I emailed my photos to Layla** and Abbas Rattani (creators of the video) like many other women. They responded to me quite quickly and invited me to join the project. I happened to be the only cool Canadian. The shooting was long, tiring but really fun. We all got... Read more
By Rabia Chaudry On behalf of Muslims of the internet, I would like to extend a sincere apology to the young women in the “Somewhere in America” video that has been exploding heads online for the past 48 hours. The controversy became so heated and perverse it landed the video on Buzzfeed. Good on you for the exposure, but sorry for the context. I am really sorry that you vivacious, happy, dynamic, stylish, and I’m sure very bright young women... Read more
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The Danger of Being the First Token Hijabi to …
By Laila Alawa The undercurrents of this issue have been rumbling throughout the community this past year, and it’s time someone got up and spoke up about it. Granted, don’t read this if you’re looking for something sugary sweet and devoid of reality. I don’t have time to waste when it comes to an issue as tangible, problematic and immediate as this. Nor am I here to backbite, so if you’re looking for quick gossip, check out Perez Hilton. Last... Read more