Is it possible to capture the lives of queer, gay, lesbian and bisexual Muslims in the span of a 81 minute film without essentializing their lives into either “oppressed” or “liberated”? Is it possible to do so while representing other aspects of their identities? Is it possible to recognize the vast differences in the experiences of gay men and gay WOMEN? Apparently, it is in A Jihad for Love. Parvez Sharma’s film (trailer shown below) has been getting a lot... Read more
The pen is mightier than the sword. Or the voice is mightier than the bullet, as the case may be. Except that if you’re Muslim, and you use words like “explode” or “hit,” it seems that all possibilities for metaphor might fly right out the window. The very talented Sofia Servando Baig, a Muslim spoken word artist, was recently profiled in an article the Toronto Star (and has written her own response to this article here.) Her spoken word pieces... Read more
Raquel Evita Saraswati reports on the victims of acid attacks, giving great information for how to get involved against them. The Star profiles hijab style. CBS news gives their take on female suicide bombers. So does Farhana Ali for Al Arabiya. And more from The Middle East Times. Saudi Arabia opens the debate on whether women should be able to become muftis. Muslim American Representative Keith Ellison speaks to Muslim women in Washington, D.C. The Chicago Tribune and IslamOnline cover... Read more
We hope to have a longer analysis once Ethar is available in mid-August, but the issue is too hot not to talk about right now. The issue I’m speaking of is the Turkish soap opera Noor, which has become hugely popular in the Arab world despite having flopped in Turkey. It’s been getting all kinds of press lately, being described as the reason for a recent “rash” of divorces, nasty condemnations from muftis, an increase in Arab tourism to Turkey,... Read more
This was written by Lindsey O’Rourke, and was published in The New York Times Opinion column. We’ve republished it here because it has some very good insights about female suicide bombers and media coverage. For more insight, read Faith’s viewpoint, also published today. FOUR more Iraqi women carried out suicide bombings in Iraq this week, bringing to at least 27 the number of such attacks this year in that country involving female terrorists. Anyone reading the newspapers or watching television... Read more
Women suicide bombers have been receiving increasing coverage in the media in recent years. Just this past week, at least three articles have been written about women suicide bombers in Iraq. The coverage of women terrorists in the Western media is often colored by gender expectations and stereotypes of women as well as the usual fear of Muslims. One of the most problematic aspects of coverage of women suicide bombers is the focus on personal motivations. News stories about women... Read more
We want to talk about sex and sexuality. Particularly, its politics. Particularly the power it has over us, the power to keep us quiet about violences that happen in our homes, the power to kill us with diseases we are not educated about or cannot prevent; how it is used for coercion and how it is meant to be an expression of pleasure, love and respect. We want to talk about sexual rights and sexual health, sexual orientation and gender... Read more
When I first heard people mentioning that Anthony Bourdain, who has a travel show called No Reservations, was doing a show in Saudi Arabia, I think I cringed almost instinctively. I mean, non-Muslim American white guy, going where? Eek. I expected all sorts of clichés about oppressed women (living under oppressive clothing and oppressive laws), “fanatical” Muslims (such as the kind that pray five times a day), and so on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gokw7TScjRw&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0 I have to say that upon watching the show... Read more
This was written by Jehanzeb and originally appeared at his blog. This has been edited for length; you can read the entire post here. While I believe there is very little known about the images and roles of women in comic books, the subject of how Muslim female characters are portrayed is even smaller. In part 1 of this essay, I looked at how the character of “Dust” was depicted in a popular American comic book (X-Men). In part 2,... Read more
The Guardian looks at fall fashion in headscarves. Also, a slideshow on Dubai’s fashion week. Samaha reviews A Jihad for Love. Via TalkIslam. Feminocracy discusses the recent discrimination against two Muslim women by a McDonald’s. The Guardian profiles Asmaa Abdol-Hamid. Via Hijab Style. A woman is sentenced to death for prostitution. Prostitution that her own husband forced her into. Here’s what you can do. Via Feministe. The U.S. News talks about an increase in female suicide bombers. So does the... Read more
Muslimah Media Watch
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