J’adore Chador: Majida Khattari’s Art

Last updated on: May 5, 2010 at 12:00 am By nicole

Le Monde, France 24 and Le Nouvel Observateur covered Franco-Moroccan artist Majida Khattari’s Parisian runway show/art exhibit in April. Her show was titled “VIP” (for Voile islamique parisien) and took place at Paris’ Cité Universitaire. The show was atypical of Parisian shows in its choice of subject: a series of veils. Her choice of subject isn’t by accident. Since 1996, Khattari’s work has in some way related to veils of all kinds–and now, in the middle of the debate over France’s proposed “burqa... Read more

Queen Bees: Queen Rania on Oprah

Last updated on: May 4, 2010 at 12:00 am By diana

When I heard that Queen Rania of Jordan appeared on The Oprah Show not too long ago, I was a bit skeptical. Don’t get me wrong–there isn’t much to dislike about Queen Rania. Oprah said it herself: Queen Rania is a “gorgeous mother of four” and “international fashion icon” whose mission is to “make the world a better place for women and children.” I just had one fear: that the discourse of cosmopolitanism would take over, and a Muslim woman... Read more

Skin Deep: Jessica Simpson’s The Price of Beauty

Last updated on: May 3, 2010 at 8:49 am By ruqia

Anyone who’s heard of Jessica Simpson knows that she’s not portrayed in the best manner when it comes to the media. Criticisms about her weight and failed relationships are constantly on top of entertainment news. For this reason, Jessica Simpson now has her own show on VH1, called The Price of Beauty, where she travels around the world to experience different cultures and understand the true meaning of beauty. In the most recent episode, Jessica traveled to Morocco, where she... Read more

Friday Links — April 30, 2010

Last updated on: April 30, 2010 at 12:00 am By fatemeh

Belgian politicians have voted overwhelmingly to ban the wearing of full face veils in public. Several Afghan schoolgirls have been poisoned. May Allah keep them and give them justice. More here and here and here. A Saudi woman who was granted a scholarship to study abroad has lost custody of her son because of it. A woman has been fined for driving while wearing a niqab in the first case of its kind in France. More from NPR. Emine Erdogan... Read more

The Ladies in Red: Shepard Fairey’s Propangand-art

Last updated on: April 29, 2010 at 12:00 am By diana

I must admit, when I first saw my brother and sister walk in with these t-shirts on, my first thought was, “Awesome! Where can I get one of those?” If you live in California, the graphic style should be all too familiar. Shepard Fairey’s stickers, stencils, and prints can be seen plastered on sidewalk newspaper stands, electrical boxes, billboards, and on the sides of trains all across Los Angeles and Orange County. It’s all a part of an experiment in... Read more

Desert Romance: Exoticization and Interfaith Marriage

Last updated on: January 22, 2019 at 5:01 pm By tasnim

“I got married secretly in a mosque,” says Elisabeth Elhazza. Her words are the title of an article in Tara, a Swedish women’s magazine, which gives an account of Elisabeth’s marriage to “seven years younger Khairi Elhazza from Libya,” how he proposed, and how “Elisabeth said yes without hesitation and stepped into what was, for her, an unfamiliar and strange culture.” The image of Elisabeth and Khairi in Tara magazine. “‘Now I am one hundred percent Libyan,’ she says.” The... Read more

A Conversation with Elif Şafak

Last updated on: April 27, 2010 at 12:00 am By Sara Yasin

Turkish novelist Elif Şafak (pictured below) ties her diversity of experiences and her background into her storytelling. Writing in both Turkish and English, Şafak’s writing is rich with history: her last novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, received several glowing reviews. Her latest novel, The Forty Rules of Love, tells the tale of a discontent 40-year-old Jewish woman, weaving her story in with that of Rumi and his relationship with Shams of Tabriz, his spiritual mentor. I had the opportunity to... Read more

Kuwait’s “Arab Times” Apparently Amused by a Maid’s Rape

Last updated on: April 26, 2010 at 12:00 am By Guest Contributor

This was originally published at Migrant Rights. On April 10th, Kuwait’s Arab Times reported about the rape and kidnapping of an unnamed Indonesian maid by a police officer. This report is an appalling example of the regional papers’ disregard to migrant and women’s rights. Kuwaiti press in general (except for Ben Garcia, a staff reporter at the Kuwait Times) is quite insensitive in its reporting about human rights violations of migrant workers. For example, Kuwaiti papers very rarely report the... Read more

Friday Links — April 23, 2010

Last updated on: April 23, 2010 at 12:00 am By fatemeh

A 16-year-old schoolgirl has been banned from classes in Spain after refusing to remove her headscarf at school. File this under “Duh”: The Washington Post reports that Afghan women believe European countries’ efforts to ban niqabs and burqas are appalling. European dress code link dump! The Associated Press, Bikya Masr, AFP, Al Jazeera, CNN, ThinkSpain, and The Gazette. The New York Times highlights Mashid Mohadjerin’s photographs of Tajik women. Malaysia has dropped almost 30 spots in the Global Gender Gap... Read more

Cómo Orientalista: Telemundo’s El Clon, Part II

Last updated on: April 22, 2010 at 12:00 am By diana

Yesterday, we introduced you to Telemundo’s El Clon, its premise, and two of its prominent female characters. Today, we’ll look at two more female characters, some of their male counterparts, and examine how the telenovela uses the Qur’an. Zoraida is the maid in Uncle Ali’s house. She is responsible for protecting Latiffa and Jade, and in doing so she is consequently assigned the task of guarding Uncle Ali’s honor. When Jade is suspected of losing her virginity, Ali severely reprimands... Read more