This slam poetry video is making the rounds and is too moving not to share. Amina Iro and Hannah Halpern performed this piece at the Brave New Voices 2013 Slam in Washington, DC There is nothing like a Muslim girl and a Jewish girl collectively breaking it down, powerfully explaining that the two identities have more in common than most realize. We also take this opportunity to send our Jewish friends warm Passover greetings, and we are holding a... Read more
There is so much buzz in the Muslim community right now between #hashtag activism and the emergence of several vibrant online communities. We want to introduce you to some digital conversations that which we feel are taking the narrative of Islamic identity and Muslim experience to a new level (even to offline potential). MuslimARC.org is the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative that highlights issues of race (and its construction) within the Muslim community by focusing on education, outreach, and advocacy. In February, MuslimARC sponsored Twitter... Read more
I am not always strong. There are times that I experience steep slopes of sadness. This doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, the sorrow arrives as crude, impolite explosions. I don’t have everything together, no matter what type of confidence seeps out of my writing. I spend most of my time struggling from paycheck-to-paycheck, too poor to actually date should anyone ever ask me out. I’m always in a suspended state of fear that this is all my... Read more
Eds note: Welcome our newest www.patheos.com/blogs/loveinshallah columnist, Huda Al-Marashi! Keep an eye out for Huda’s column, “Things I Wish I’d Known” the second Tuesday of every month! When I was growing up, my Iraqi-born mother responded to my requests to travel alone, consider schools out-of-state, or stay out late with friends with the same answer, “When you get married.” Once I got married, I’d be somebody else’s problem. Then, it wouldn’t be her place to tell me no. Then, it would... Read more
We are happy to spread the word about a new project by Saba Barnard that includes the numerious diverse faces of American Muslim women. Visit Technicolor Muslimah and consider being part. Call for Subjects I was included in a list of beautiful photographs of American Muslim women: If you scroll down to the comments section, there is a pretty clear and legitimate concern with this list – the women who have been left out. I spent 16 years in predominately white... Read more
“Do you have any children?” a nice woman making small talk asks me. I reply pleasantly, “No, I don’t,” but my inner monologue is racing. “Children? I don’t have children because I don’t have a husband. I don’t have a husband because I never had a romantic relationship with a guy. I never had a boyfriend, I’ve never even been kissed and I’m way older than Drew Barrymore was when she was in that movie with Michael Vartan! I’m older... Read more
When K turned on the new show Cosmos, I was hesitant. A show about the infinite universe? With cartoons? And the opening sequence. Something about it took me back to middle school when my science teacher, too busy grading to bother with teaching, stuck in a Bill Nye video. I picked up my moleskine and pen, prepared for boredom, except the show wasn’t boring at all. Neil deGrasse Tyson delved into time, the nature of the universe, and our place... Read more
The first time I walked up the sidewalk to the front door after “it” happened, I was surprised. I had expected my house to be covered by gloom, and fear of the oozing grief had pushed me away. Through the shadow wrapping around my hung head, my eyes caught the bright orange nasturtium flowers lining the flowerbed in front of my parents’ rundown California ranch house. They were lush, ballooning into the green grass. I paused, feeling the stark contrast... Read more
Oakland/SF Bay Area: Catch the fantastic Dis/Orient/ed Comedy show this Saturday, April 5th! Our readers get a special discount code “LOVELOVE” for $12 tickets (reg., $20). Code valid till 11:59 pm tomorrow (Tues)! Shows at 7 pm/9:30 pm, Oakland. Tickets at: http://disorientedcomedy.weebly.com/ Read more
We are thrilled that Love, Inshallah anthology contributor and Literary Momma columnist, Aisha Saeed, has announced her new book deal for the Young Adult novel, Written in the Stars. Read her celebratory thoughts on the matter here (and follow her on Twitter). Go, Aisha! This is the beginning of many wonderful things for you and we couldn’t be prouder! (more…) Read more
Love, InshAllah
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