I’m going to die a virgin. Possibly. If I died tomorrow. Or maybe a couple days from now. Well, very likely if I died in the near (and seemingly distant) future, I would die a virgin. It might not sound completely horrible, probably because you’ve already had sex and are past this awkward stage in your life. But take it from me, it’s always the last virgin in the village who gets thrown into the volcano or is fed to... Read more
A great NYT series – ‘Vows at 20’ – profiling couples who have been together for twenty years. This week, an interview with Susan and Marc Parent about what they’ve learned so far. It’s easy to get siloed into a social group with the same age, circumstances & experiences as us. While there is value in peer perspectives, we support more intergenerational contact and sharing when it comes to life, love & relationships. So much to learn from men and women along... Read more
I have been searching for this book my ENTIRE LIFE! This. Is. Beautiful. Officially buying this book for all my aunts, grandmother, and mother this Mothers Day. If only it was offered on Audio CD for the mothers who work in the home and office and cannot read on-the-go but can listen! Also buying this book as a gift for all my female Muslim friends for Eid/their birthday (depending on when I have the funds to do so). I have... Read more
Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of everything around you, until it all stops. That’s where I found myself eight months ago when I fell ill and it forced me to take a medical leave of absence. In and out of the hospital for months, doctors sent me home with painkillers and without answers. Eventually, my health reached a point where I could no longer work or do everyday activities like exercise, cook, or even drive. This was a struggle... Read more
When I think of my father sometimes I think of hot links- the halal ones he’d serve for breakfast then sell at the masjid on sunday. You see, my daddy had many hustles and one of them was hot links- fry em’ in a skillet in the morning then marry em’ to the buttermilk pancakes and grace them with smooth grits. They were sunday-morning muslim bliss best when thawed, and never too spicy- packed tight into the freezer and still... Read more
‘I had to share this – one of my non-Muslim friends said this a few days after reading the anthology: “I thought of the anthology on my home. I saw two women whose eyes I could only see, and it dawned on me that I finally saw these women as women. It was amazing! I hadn’t realized the assumptions I was making. Somehow they used to seem like the Other…a world I could never understand.” I’m the only practicing Muslim... Read more
Walking down the street, you watch the stereotypical Muslim Arab couple as they pass by you. The husband, in the crisp white dishdasha that marks him as a traditional Arab male, coupled with the starched patterned white shemagh that is crowned by a stiff black egal. The wife, covered in black from head to toe, ebony chiffon swirling around her as her feet move, invisible. His skin is the dusky brown of a Khaleeji Arab; his beard dark, wiry, and... Read more
“It’s our time.” She says, and I nod. I’m in Brooklyn, chatting with a Muslim photographer friend of mine about her boundary-breaking magazine idea, one I intend to work on. We are sipping tea & day-dreaming of an artistic army of Middle-Easterners singing out across pages and websites about all that we desire, using words and images to tell our truths. For all the feminism of our mothers, we are still the generation raised to say sex in hushed tones,... Read more
“How many times have you been properly in love?” It’s a question that Piers Morgan, British host of CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, is famous for asking each of his guests. The first few times I heard Piers ask this question, it forced me to look deep inside to seek the answer for myself. How many times have I been “properly” in love? Well, let’s see … as with all things in my life, there’s a pre-Shahadah answer, and a post-Shahadah... Read more
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... Read more
Love, InshAllah
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