Friday Links | September 14, 2012

Last updated on: September 13, 2012 at 7:50 pm By anneke

Poverty and harsh conditions have led Syrian refugees to take drastic measures in order to save (the honor of) their daughters, marrying them off, even at a very young age. While many husbands are from Jordan, home to many Syrian refugees, there is now a trend too in online trafficking in Syrian brides, who are taken from refugee camps in Jordan to be married off to virtual strangers. Potential husbands hail from all over the Arab world, and agencies specializing in finding Syrian wives... Read more

The 2012 Annual ISNA Convention Reviewed

Last updated on: September 11, 2012 at 12:08 pm By Azra

At the beginning of September, I attended the annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention in Washington, D.C. The event brings many well-known speakers, a bazaar, art exhibits, the always popular “speed marriage interviews a.k.a. the matrimonials,” and various entertainment acts from across the ISNA, Muslim Students Association (MSA), and Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) organizations. The convention brings several thousand attendees. Going into the weekend-long conference, I wasn’t sure what to expect. While I’ve attended the conference... Read more

Muslims at Catholic Colleges: Aliens From Outer Space Are Thriving on Earth

Last updated on: September 10, 2012 at 6:54 pm By merium

The other day, I stumbled across a piece on the increasing number of Muslim students at Catholic colleges in the United States. The New York Times article is the result of interviews with students and administrators at several American Catholic institutions. Also accompanying the article was the usual array of pictures depicting Muslim women in colorful hijabs on campus, further underscoring the author’s thesis of “thriving Muslims” at US colleges. While I appreciate the author’s attempt to highlight an emerging... Read more

Friday Links | September 7, 2012

Last updated on: September 7, 2012 at 1:00 am By anneke

Palestine’s religious authorities have announced reforms of divorce laws, which would make it easier for women to end the marriage. A court in the Maldives has sentenced a 16-year-old girl with 100 lashes and eight months house arrest, which will take effect once she turns 18 (?), for having sex with a 29-year-old male. His sentence is 10 years prison. An Egyptian hijab-wearing woman has been barred entrance to a private beach in Egypt, because of her “modest” swimsuit and... Read more

More about Sexual Harassment in Egypt

Last updated on: September 5, 2012 at 9:47 pm By emanhashim

It is no secret that sexual harassment is a very dangerous phenomenon in Egypt streets. What is striking is that it is getting worse, not better. I have been suffering from street sexual harassment for years, and wrote 2 years ago that I no longer had any tolerance for it. I described how I would attack men in cars with rocks if they had stopped to harass me. Earlier last year, the day it was announced that Mubarak had stepped... Read more

When Barbie Became Muslim

Last updated on: September 4, 2012 at 10:55 pm By eren

Growing up in Mexico City in the 90’s meant for me that I grew up in a completely different context from my parents. Since my parent’s generation did not have the luxury of foreign products, due to the economic restrictions on international goods, my parents grew up with yellow pencils made in Mexico and traditional ceramic and fabric dolls with braids and ribbons. Later, the economic shift towards neoliberal models and NAFTA brought along McDonald’s, Walmart and, of course, Barbie!... Read more

From the unibrow sidekick to the feisty heroine

Last updated on: September 4, 2012 at 1:40 pm By Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor Nasia Ullas (@mrsmumshad). I live in Kerala, the only state in India which boasts a 100% literacy rate, which I often think comes with its boons and banes. We Malayalees are all too opinionated, go on strikes at the drop of a hat, and discuss politics way too much. We also claim to make realistic cinema which sweeps away all the Indian national cinema awards every year. This seems to mean that usually... Read more

Maryam Talks Back

Last updated on: August 31, 2012 at 9:19 am By Guest Contributor

This post was written by guest contributor Sya. At the beginning of Ramadan this year, a KONY2012-like video started making rounds on social media. It gave a twist to the white saviour trope with a dash of neo-colonial religio-cultural imperialism and condescension. I’m referring to #SaveMaryam, an initiative from Mercy Mission Worldwide to raise awareness about Muslims converting to Christianity in Indonesia. In the campaign video, Maryam is a 16 year-old Indonesian who converts to Christianity because the support from... Read more

Friday Links | August 31, 2012

Last updated on: August 30, 2012 at 11:46 pm By anneke

Alaa Morely, the Syrian woman who stated in an interview on Syrian television in June this year that she had fabricated news reports for Al-Jazeera, has fled to Turkey, where she tells about her forced confession. A New Zealand museum will ban men from watching a documentary featuring unveiled Muslim women, as per request of the film maker, Qatari Sophia Al-Maria. This restriction has led to several complaints and some claim it is discriminatory towards men. According to a statement by Human... Read more

Rebels By Accident: Telling Muslim Girls’ Stories in Young Adult Fiction

Last updated on: August 29, 2012 at 10:39 am By merium

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time in my life when I wanted to pray. My mom always made me think that as Muslims, we should. But as soon as I stopped caring about what Mom thought, I stopped praying altogether. But today—right now—I really want to pray.” (Rebels by Accident, p. 150) Rebels by Accident introduces us to Mariam, a 15-year-old Arab-American teenager who finds herself in jail after police raid a party she had crashed with her... Read more