Kosovo’s Athletes at the London Olympics

Last updated on: July 2, 2012 at 1:46 pm By Lara Alamad

While there has been much publicity about whether Saudi Arabia will send any female athletes to the London 2012 Olympics (the latest news is that they have allowed women to compete), there is another Muslim-majority country that definitely won’t be sending any female athletes. Actually, they won’t be sending any male athletes either, because this country does not exist. Or rather, it has only been recognised by 80 countries worldwide, and therefore does not exist in the eyes of the International Olympic... Read more

Revolution and Resistance in Egypt and Syria

Last updated on: July 2, 2012 at 12:13 am By sharrae

Revolution never arrives without its victims. The lives it changes and swallows within its jaws are the same lives who endured decades of violence, decadence, and impoverishment by the very systems that it wishes to replace. The revolutions in the Middle East deeply reflect the contradictions between the joy and pride of toppling a dictatorship and the disheartening emotions of chaos and uncertainty. In the process, deepening class, sexual, ethnic and other social divides can bring a nation to its... Read more

Friday Links | June 29, 2012

Last updated on: June 28, 2012 at 11:39 pm By anneke

A group of Syrian women from the city of Homs have announced the formation of an all-female armed organization, the first of its kind in Syria. The group is not affiliated with any existing organization and will be fighting against the current Syrian regime. The victory of Algerian women during the election concerns some Algerians; the quota system, which was just introduced last year, is under increasing scrutiny. The abortion-debate in Turkey is getting very heated and complex, with the... Read more

Words of Witness: Women Journalists Document Egypt’s Revolution

Last updated on: June 27, 2012 at 4:50 pm By diana

Amidst masses of anxious men stands a woman in a grey and pink headscarf, armed with a to-do-list doubling as a journalist’s notepad, and a pink pen. This woman is 22-year-old Heba Afify and she is determined to document the voice of her people. Afify is the charming protagonist of a documentary titled “Words of Witness.” Part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, the 68-minute film by filmmaker Mai Iskander follows Heba Afify as she captures the stories of... Read more

The “Muslim Kristallnacht” and a Swiss Twittergate

Last updated on: June 27, 2012 at 10:34 am By nicole

One of the more colorful Muslim figures in Switzerland making the media rounds the past few months is Aziz Osmanoglu of Basel, who was recently on trial for hate speech charges. The court case was based on Osmanoglu’s statements made to a Swiss TV show, which essentially added up to saying that it was “Sharia-compliant” to beat a recalcitrant wife if she refused to have sex. Specifically, he said, “A man needs sex. That is why he can, as a... Read more

Book Review – Obama and the Middle East: The End of America’s Moment?

Last updated on: June 25, 2012 at 1:04 pm By merium

In Obama and the Middle East: The End of American’s Moment?, a new book by one of the foremost scholars on Middle East politics, Fawaz A. Gerges looks at America’s progress (or lack thereof) in the Middle East. Paying special attention to President Obama’s policies in the region, Gerges argues that the United States is losing influence in the Middle East and that President Obama’s strategy for the region merely resembles those of past administrations. Rising world multipolarity and the... Read more

Re-Humanize Me: Risky or Repetitive?

Last updated on: June 25, 2012 at 12:27 am By Krista

A couple weeks ago, I was walking with a friend, when she abruptly stopped listening to me and turned to look at a bulletin board we were passing. I followed her gaze, and… oh. Uh. Wow. Poster image for “Re-Humanize Me.” Via Deha Vasana. Advertising a contemporary dance theatre performance called “Re-Humanize Me” at Montreal’s Fringe Festival, the poster features a woman in niqab in an Indian dance pose – with one bare leg peeking out from her abaya. When... Read more

Friday Links | June 22, 2012

Last updated on: June 21, 2012 at 8:12 pm By anneke

Popular singer Ghazala Javed has been killed in northwestern Pakistan, along with her father. Ghazala Javed was a Pashto-language singer in her early twenties. While government sources insist that her ex-husband was the culprit, it is still not clear who is responsible for her death. May Allah give her everlasting peace and justice! Hoda Badran, a prominent Egyptian women’s activist fears a regression in the battle for social and political equality for women in Egypt. Another article is equally pessimistic,... Read more

Fashion in Russia: “Proving” that Muslim Women are Beautiful, Smart and Fashionable

Last updated on: June 19, 2012 at 11:58 pm By eren

Earlier this month, the Russian capital held the first Islamic Style festival. The festival was organized by the Council of Muftis in Russia and aimed to show a “correct” image of Muslim women’s clothing. The Muftis, perhaps concerned with mainstream media showing Muslim women as weak and oppressed, decided try out fashion world by encouraging Islamic fashion designers to come out and present their work. Rushan-hazrat Abbyasov, deputy chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, and member of the... Read more

Book Review: More Than a Prayer

Last updated on: June 21, 2012 at 12:08 pm By Krista

The title of Juliane Hammer’s new book American Muslim Women, Religious Authority, and Activism: More Than a Prayer, refers to the much-publicised Friday prayer led by Amina Wadud in March 2005. As Hammer explains in the introduction to her book, “The 2005 prayer, itself part of a larger trajectory of events, debates, and developments, focused and changed existing intra-Muslim discussions and reflections on issues ranging from women’s interpretation of the Qur’an, leadership, mosque space, and religious authority to gender activism... Read more