South African Muslimahs Speak about Headscarves at Airports

Last updated on: February 12, 2012 at 10:29 pm By safiyyah

Over the Christmas and New Year season, Quraysha Ismail Sooliman, South African Muslimah scholar and lecturer in Political Studies at the University of Pretoria, was on her way out of the country with her family. At Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, she and her daughters were stopped at passport control, and one of her daughters was asked to remove her headscarf in order to be properly identified. The same happened upon their return, when her second daughter was asked... Read more

“Interrupting” the Location of Discourses Regarding Muslim Women

Last updated on: February 13, 2012 at 8:09 am By diana

Azra reviewed this film for MMW back in August. In light of a recent appearance on The Colbert Report, heightened press, and an anticipated television premiere tomorrow night on PBS, we are taking a closer look at one of the film’s stars, Ameena Matthews. The South Side of Chicago, infamous for its crime infestation, history of racial segregation, and sex districts, is home to prominent names such as Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and now, Ameena Matthews. Her right hand bears... Read more

Friday Links | February 10, 2012

Last updated on: February 10, 2012 at 11:47 am By anneke

February 6 is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM/C (Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision); while this is not an “Islamic” practice per definition, it affects the lives of many Muslim women and girls around the world. The UN published a report on this day that almost 2,000 African communities banned the practice in 2011. Kenyan MP and FGM survivor Sophia Abdi Noor calls for alternatives rites of passage to replace “the cut.” Girls in migrant communities are at risk too. In the UK, Senegalese hip-hop artist... Read more

Book Review: Love, InshAllah

Last updated on: February 10, 2012 at 10:53 am By merium

“I wasted years because I didn’t think I fit into their conception of Islam or God. And I don’t. But God is greater than all that. There are as many ways to Him as there are people on the planet.” (Ayesha Mattu, “The Opening,” p. 54) For some writers, Love InshAllah is about reconciling their American Muslim identity with the complex socio-cultural mores surrounding romantic relationships. For others, however, the book is about strengthening their relationship to the Almighty. What... Read more

Maya Khan’s Marriage Police

Last updated on: February 7, 2012 at 5:43 pm By sana

When your everyday news consists of the purported collapse of your government and a small but unfortunate obsession with treating the ill with fake drugs at a major regional cardiology institute, it seems that very few things will actually cause you to upchuck any remaining disgust floating around in your metaphorically ulcer-ridden stomach. Fortunately for Pakistani TV station Samaa, Maya Khan was able to do just that. Okay, so maybe I’ve got too much of a flair for the occasional... Read more

Using Islamic Identity Against Victims of Sexual Violence

Last updated on: February 7, 2012 at 5:55 pm By sharrae

As right-wing pundits are gaining momentum in North America, minority groups are unsurprisingly being targeted. Among the questions being raised is: when does “national security” trump the need to address an instance of sexual assault against women? Muslim women, especially those who wear the hijab or niqab, experience a unique sense of vulnerability in the post-911 world. Two cases come to mind when pondering the parallels between the state’s fixation on curbing terrorism and the frustration that can be felt... Read more

NiqaBitch Did it Better

Last updated on: February 5, 2012 at 4:27 pm By nicole

As MMW’s Artsy Niqab Spotter, man my hands are full! If I’m not checking out French performance artists or Swiss campaign posters with minarets and niqabs, there are just so many people using niqabs as their accessory du jour and not enough time to write about them all. I can’t keep up! So I had to make a choice, and our latest candidate in the “Let’s Play Dress-Up Like Muslim Women and Call it an Edgy, Disruptive Political Statement” is... Read more

Art of Words: Women Calligraphers Then and Now

Last updated on: February 9, 2012 at 10:26 am By tasnim

A few days ago, Lubna Shaikh posted this calligraphic collage craft idea for children on Suhaibwebb.com, in honor of the remembrance of the birth of the Prophet. Lubna writes that there is a need to “seek creative ways of imparting the knowledge of our deen” to children, to help them cultivate a personal connection with the religion. The connections between calligraphy, education and religion are deep-rooted in Islam, from the first revealed word of the Quran, Iqra (Read). The prophet’s... Read more

Friday Links | February 3, 2012

Last updated on: February 2, 2012 at 3:50 pm By anneke

Many Egyptians have watched the YouTube video “Message From Iranian Women to Tunisian and Egyptian Women,” which warns Egyptian and Tunisian women about their position after the revolution; the resemblance with the Iranian revolution is called “uncanny.” In Southern Lebanon, Al Akhbar visits Jamila Nasser, the mother of activist Anwar Yassine, eight years after he was released from prison. She played an important role campaigning for her son, while he was imprisoned. After a 17-year old girl escaped from her... Read more

Revisiting the Revolution: How Far Have Egyptian Women Come?

Last updated on: January 30, 2012 at 6:29 pm By diana

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011: the day thousands of Egyptians—Christians and Muslims, men and women, young and old—lined the streets of Tahrir Square in non-violent, civil-resistance in attempt to overthrow the regime of then President, Hosni Mubarak. A year later, Wikipedia hosts a page titled “2011 Egyptian Revolution;” Egyptians mourn the loss of their sons, brothers, and husbands; and Americans have moved on to follow the never-ceasing Republican debates with hardly an indication of Egypt on their radar. On the other... Read more