The Good, the Bad, and the Entertaining.

News and views on all-things Muslim for April 6- 13, 2015.

 
(image from abc7news.com)

This week we have some great news: Mokhtar Alkhanshali escaped from Yemen; and some devastating news: Mohamed Soltan’s guilty verdict.  I also bring to you more links that provide relevant studies, some sighs and hopefully some smiles.

Check out the links and please let me know if you think I should add anything!

Articles About Muslims:

A depressing read: More Than Half Of Americans Have Unfavorable View Of Islam, Poll Finds. The best thing about the report is that “Younger Americans are the most likely to have positive views on Islam, be interested in learning about the religion and have Muslim friends.” So here’s to being hopeful!

(image from commons.wikimedia.org)

In other news, Unicef reported that at least 77 children have been killed in conflict since March, and also warns of looming malnutrition crisis. The Guardian article, Third of fighters in Yemen are children, says Unicef tells us what we may have already known but with numbers we may have not.

Her family in peril, Virginia woman takes on the role of lead advocate is an article about Hanaa Soltan, the sister of Mohamed Soltan. This article gives us a picture of this amazing, strong woman and her struggle of running a “normal” household while advocating for her family. Sadly, a few days after this article, her brother was sentenced to life imprisonment “for supporting an Islamist protest against the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in the summer of 2013.,” according to a New York Times article American Among Nearly 40 Sentenced to Life in Prison for Egypt Protests.

So, Bill Maher compared One Direction’s Zayn Malik to Boston marathon bomber. Guardian published a piece called, Zayn Malik and the pains of being a Muslim pop star, an article that breaks down Maher’s limiting viewpoints and the nuances we should be aware of.

Article by Muslims:

Nafeez Ahmed’s Unworthy Victims: Western Wars Have Killed Four Million Muslims Since 1990 is a compelling read. Last month, the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PRS) released a 98 page study concluding that “the death toll from 10 years of the “War on Terror” since the 9/11 attacks is at least 1.3 million, and could be as high as 2 million.”

A great piece about identity and writing by The Muslim Protagonist Symposium co-founder Haris Durrani: Writing Beyond Words on AltMuslimah’s new section, AltMen.

Cool Links:

Women-only ‘pink rickshaw’ hits the road in Lahore. Zar Aslam , a Pakistani woman, launches rickshaw service after being fed up with being groped and harassed by male rickshaw drivers. While it is sad that she was abused, it is awesome that something positive came out of her experience.

(image from wikipedia)

Wajahat Ali wrote a great piece I think everyone should read: My Top 30 Do’s and Don’t’s for Covering Muslims and Islam in the Media. It is everything we have all thought about but didn’t have the time or ability to eloquently convey. Thank you Wajahat.

Videos to Watch

Sabina Khan-Ibarra is a freelance writer and editor. She regularly contributes to her blog, Ibrahim’s Tree which she created after the loss of her infant son in 2011. She created Muslimah Montage as a platform for women to share their stories. Sabina currently lives in Davis, CA and working on her memoir. Follow Sabina on Twitter: @muslimahmontage