Spotlight: Deonna Kelli Sayed, writer, ghost hunter, and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Deonna Kelli Sayed lived in Bahrain for several years where she conducted creative writing workshops, helped establish a grassroots artists’ organization, and wrote for lifestyle magazines. Upon returning to the United States in 2008, she became fascinated with paranormal reality TV and starting “ghost hunting” . These shows – and this weird avocation – intrigued her. She realized that America’s contemporary supernatural interest has a great deal to do with a post 9/11 identity. She wanted to explore this and wrote... Read more

Spotlight: Aisha Saeed, attorney, teacher, and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Aisha Saeed is an attorney, teacher, and currently a stay-at-home-mom with her beautiful twenty-month-old son Waleed. She is represented by Taylor Martindale at Full Circle Literary Agency and has written two young adult multicultural novels which she is currently revising and planning to shop to publishers this year. In addition to writing fiction, she has also been blogging for the past seven years at www.aishaiqbal.blogspot.com. An excerpt from Aisha’s story, “A Leap of Faith”: “Reading Pride and Prejudice and discussing it with... Read more

‘A candid, courageous & soul-stirring collection’

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Book blogger A Muslimah Writes offers a detailed review of Love InshAllah, calling it “a remarkably candid, courageous, and soul-stirring collection.” Read more, here. Read more

NYT: ‘Lifting Veil on Love and Islam’

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Co-editors Ayesha Mattu & Nura Maznavi welcome readers from the New York Times article “In ‘Love, InshAllah’ American Muslim Women Reveal Lives” and invite you to explore our website, meet our 25 sassy and sexy contributors, and get your very own copy of “Love InshAllah” ! Read more

Spotlight: Najva Sol, writer, multimedia artist, and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Najva Sol was born in Maryland, then moved to Iran for a few years in early childhood. She’s studied a broad range of subjects, from poetry to photography to sociology in an effort to best understand and tell the stories of herself and her community. She involved in work with her art collective, Lowbrow Society for the Arts, which curates incredible events and provides support for emerging artists (especially LGBTQ/people of color/women). She has also been working on a queer... Read more

Spotlight: Asiila Imani, doula, writer and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Asiila Imani was raised an “army brat,” the eldest of three of a career army officer. She was born in Kentucky and graduated high school in Hawaii, living in 9 other states in between. On her own, she continued to wander, adding another 5 states to her list. Finally, she married and has lived in Southern CA since 1992. She has two granddaughters via her stepson. She dabbles in reflexology and homeopathy and occasionally works on both ends of life... Read more

Spotlight: Safiyyah Levine, artist, prison chaplain, and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

S.E. Jihad (Safiyyah) Levine is the daughter of Polish immigrants. Her father’s family were Ashkenazi Jews, and her mother’s family were Roman Catholics. She practiced Judaism until her parents divorced, and then her mother converted the children to Catholicism. When she was old enough to choose for herself, she returned to Judaism. However, Catholicism had an important impact on her, introducing in her a love for Prophet Jesus. She embarked on a long journey to make sense of religion, exploring... Read more

Spotlight: Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed, writer, community organizer and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Taz Ahmed is a political organizer, cultural writer and an activist who enjoys dancing in a moshpit every now and then. You can find some of her writing on the South Asian American blog www.sepiamutiny.com An excerpt from Taz’s piece, “Punk-Drunk Love”: “We had rendezvoused in New York City only four weeks earlier, at midnight on my thirtieth birthday. It had been a one-night make-out thing, with nothing defined the next morning. Though we’d never met in person before, we had felt as if... Read more

Spotlight: Suzanne Shah, poet, med student and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

An excerpt from Suzanne Shah’s story, “Kala Love”: “Mika’il was a search result. Literally. When I came home from college the summer after Abbu died, Ammu still wouldn’t let me out of the house. I wasn’t ready to talk to men, but out of boredom I browsed MySpace all day, searching for black or Latino college-age Muslim men within a three-hundred-mile radius. I never looked for Bengalis, or any other desi. Ammu called me kali, which means “darkie,” and made... Read more

Spotlight: Molly Elian Carlson: Minnesota girl, activist and Love InshAllah contributor!

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 11:19 am By Posted by The Editors

Molly Elian Carlson was born and raised in Minnesota around the Twin Cities. When she was in her teens she became very active in the Latino community as she had grown up with Latino friends and become fluent in Spanish. She attended a Spanish-language, mainly Mexican, Catholic church and became very involved in Latino-rights and community activism. She is still active, but now works giving dawah about Islam in Spanish. An excerpt from Molly’s story, “A Cariene Kind of... Read more