Discussions on LGBTQ inclusion in Muslim communities are one of those things that make my blood boil because in my community, as in some others, Muslims who support same-sex unions and condemn homophobia tend to be disregarded. For many Muslims, the recognition of Muslims who may identify as queer or trans poses a challenge to […]

Last week, Christopher Majka posted an article on rabble.ca in response to Sheema Khan’s piece in the Globe and Mail entitled “Muslim men: Stop blaming women.” At the centre of the debate is: what is the best way to bring gender equality and rights to Muslim women? Is it at all possible? Should it be […]

Recently, Femen, the controversial Ukrainian feminist organization, has been established in France. Femen was founded in 2008 to protest sexism, patriarchy and violence while advocating for feminism. Its members became well-known for protesting naked against sexism, trafficking, religious institutions and sex tourism, among others.  The group, which has become internationally known, has also been able […]

I recently came across a short movie on the life of transsexual Muslims in Indonesia. In the last few years, MMW has covered a few different stories in terms of LGBT activism in Indonesia: issues concerning transgender and transsexual communities, the challenges faced by lesbians and the attempts to bring LGTBQ issues to the public […]

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 […]

Six years ago, I moved from Mexico City to Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. Although I moved here to study, my trip to the north resulted to be a whole religious experience. Having grown up in a nuclear family that had left Catholicism and had sought dogmatic atheism, I was largely unfamiliar with religious diversity. Thus, […]

Growing up in Mexico City, one of my first interactions with Arabs and Muslims was through the Lebanese community in Mexico. Although Mexico is a largely multicultural country and its cuisine has been largely recognized as a mix of different cultures, the dominant identity discourse these days is the mix between Indigenous peoples and the […]

As a person who interacts with a Western Muslim community that places great importance in women’s clothing and female modesty, I am rarely surprised by the focus on hijab as the sign of piety. Similarly, I have unfortunately gotten used to the obsession in some Western media with hijabs and black robes as symbols of […]

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post discussing the attempt among Muslim leaders in Russia to prove that Russian Muslim women are modern and fashionable, unlike Muslims elsewhere. Soon after, fashion made headlines again, this time in the case of Mali, with Yahoo! News reporting on Darkar Fashion Week 2012. The event, which takes place […]

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 […]