They tell you that to just focus on yourself. The instructions are to become a good Muslim. You pray and you fast. You do not talk to girls or smoke or hit the clubs. You remain virgins while focusing on your careers and education. First you get the bachelors degree because no parent wants a salary of less than $80,000 a year. Every parent you know insist that it is for the best that you save up money and get... Read more
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. -Desiderata, Max Ehrmann It is that time of year when people reflect on love. Maybe it is because of the polar vortex, the unusual mass of Southern snow, or the slow tide of winter, but love occupies my mind. Most specifically, I wonder when I will be on someone’s mind; when it will... Read more
Doves Don’t turn from me because of what you see Shall I release the doves for you? They’re in my pockets with the rabbits Believe in the existing but unseen (more…) Read more
We had a fabulous reading of Salaam, Love at the historic Eso Won Books in LA last night. Thank you so much to all those who braved the 60 degree California winter weather to join us. 🙂 A special thank you to our MC for the evening, Love InshAllah contributor Tanzila Ahmed! Check out more pictures from the event, here. Next up – Boston! View our full book tour schedule, here. Read more
A huge thank you to our San Francisco readers who ventured out in the rain last night to our SOLD OUT launch party for Salaam, Love! We’re incredibly grateful for your love, support, and wonderful discussion. A special thank you to our MC for the evening, Zahra Noorbaksh, and to the California Institute of Integral Studies for hosting the event. Check out more pictures from our event on our Facebook page, here. Next up – Los Angeles! View our full book... Read more
I remember being handed thin, dry, misspelled pamphlets on the life of the Prophet (saws) or the Companions that instilled little more in me than the desire to escape the confines of Sunday school. Plus, we had to walk seven miles to school. Uphill. Both ways. Kids nowadays? With fabulous writers and designers like these, they’ve got it made, inshAllah! Read the beautifully illustrated “Angels” and “The Conference of the Birds” by Bostonian Alexis York Lumbard. She also has an... Read more
“All is change with time / the future none can see / the road you leave behind / ahead lies mystery!” – Stevie Wonder, “All in Love is Fair.” My mother told me the other day, “You know, I think your brother’s autism saved our marriage.” Being single in a time of intense want—for a fulfilling relationship, my own marriage, my own family—has made me hyperaware of other people’s marriages. Over the years, I’ve noticed that many marriages, at one... Read more
Before I became a parent when mothers shared stories about their children’s first day of nursery school, their eyes glistening, their voices catching as they described walking away from the school building and leaving their children behind, I tried to empathize, but truly, all the emotion over what is essentially, a part of life, befuddled me. Until, of course, as with most things parenting related, I had children of my own. Though my eldest was signed up for nursery school... Read more
Today is our official pub date for our second book! Deepest gratitude to Ayesha Pande, the Book Doctors Arielle Eckstut & David Henry Sterry, the wonderful Beacon Press team, and our 22 inspiring writers. Special thanks to the women of Love, InshAllah – this second book wouldn’t exist without your courage to write the first. And a big shout-out to the awesome LoveinshAllah.com global community of readers and writers – your love & support mean so much to us! Salaam, Love is now available... Read more
It was last summer, and I was sitting on a panel, with Asian American leaders speaking about identity politics and civil rights. We had arrived to the Q&A portion of the panel, and the moderator had just asked us, “Who is your civil rights hero?” The other panelist responded, with answers like Grace Lee Boggs or Yuri Kochiyama. I took a deep breath, and responded, “Right now? Malcolm X. Because I’m trying to re-appropriate what it means to be a radical... Read more
Love, InshAllah
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