The Best of 2013

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:14 am By Posted by The Editors

2013 was a whirlwind here at www.patheos.com/blogs/loveinshallah! We brought on gifted writer Deonna Kelli Sayed as co-editor as well as several wonderful monthly columnists, launched an advice column, created space for poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and featured countless guest posts by readers like you! Here are some other highlights from our year: Most popular posts In It Started with a Wink, writer and lawyer Nura Maznavi shared her journey to the altar, along with some witty and wise advice for readers searching for... Read more

How the media failed women in 2013

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:14 am By Posted by The Editors

There was a lot to celebrate this year for women in the media. But some things aren’t changing fast enough. We appreciate this powerful video from the people behind the film “Miss Representation.” Watch and join the campaign. Read more

Advice: I didn’t say yes

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:14 am By Posted by The Editors

Dear Love, InshAllah: I am 29 years old and am under a lot of pressure from my parents to get married. My parents are very conservative. We never spoke about girls, so there was never an opportunity for me to find out what girl they would like for me nor I was able to tell them my thoughts on what I was looking for. Through a few social contacts of my parents, we met a few families who were looking... Read more

Patience vs. Oppression

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:14 am By Posted by The Editors

She sat across from me crying into her hands. I rubbed her back trying to console her. The more I rubbed the longer her sobs became. “I juu-usst need to be patient.” Her eyeliner was starting to smear. She needed support. She needed a friend, not someone to scold her and ask why she stuck around so long with a man who was abusive, even while they were courting. She ignored the signs. Her silence gave him the idea that... Read more

Time For Changes, Time For Life

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:14 am By Posted by The Editors

Eds. Note: Introducing our newest monthly columnist, Alan Howard, with his meditations on life after the death of his dear wife Joan one year ago. Look for his column the last Tuesday of every month! I haven’t written in quite a while. I have been in mourning since my wife’s death last December, but also struggling for a sense of normalcy. The truth of the matter is that this new and scary part of my life – the part of my... Read more

10 Honest Thoughts On Being Loved By A Skinny Boy

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:14 am By Posted by The Editors

“I say, ‘I am fat.’ He says, ‘no, you’re beautiful.’ I wonder why I cannot be both.” That’s how Rachel Wiley opened her slam poem, “10 Honest Thoughts On Being Loved By A Skinny Boy,” at the 2013 National Poetry Slam. Check out the powerful poem below. Read more

Rad Brown Dads

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:15 am By Posted by The Editors

We’re loving this new Tumblr, Rad Brown Dads, an homage to the beauty, struggles, and power of parents of color. Check it out and submit a picture of your rad brown dad! Read more

On The Alleged Flaw That Is My Independence

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:15 am By Posted by The Editors

On a recent flight out to San Francisco, I comfortably nestled into my emergency row window seat that I had swapped for my beloved aisle seat just so that my fellow passenger could sit across the aisle from his wife. As the flight took off, we struck up a conversation and he told me about how he and his wife have been traveling the world ever since they both retired. Next on their docket is a tour of South Asia,... Read more

Salaam and Merry Christmas!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:15 am By Posted by The Editors

I was raised in a conservative Muslim household. We prayed five times a day and 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 embrace. Halloween was an annual debate- some years, we celebrated it wearing costumes, joining parades and even trick-or-treating. Other years, we stayed home, watched movies and ate candy we bought from the store. Christmas was never part... Read more

Haram: A Play

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:15 am By Posted by The Editors

“Art is a message from the soul, wrapped in a envelope of beauty.” -Dr. Maher Hathout Dr. Maher Hathout is a widely known physician, public intellectual, interfaith advocate, and community activist – he’s also an artist. His poetry and short stories – written over the past 60 years – have been collected and translated from Arabic to English, and is currently being developed into a stage play, “Haram.” Haram is an abstract drama that tells the tale of the universal struggle... Read more