The publishing world is slowly coming around to the fact that stories are more authentic when they are written by the people living them. 2018 thankfully continued to give us female Muslim characters in children’s fiction, young adult and adult fiction. This year is looking to give us even more. Huda Fahmy’s Yes, I’m Hot […]

I’ll never forget March 21st of last year. It was Mother’s Day here in Amman and across the Middle East. I spent my mornings driving from school to school attending my children’s performances.  Once I was done, I planned to take a cake to my grandparents house and celebrate with my grandmother since my mother […]

Trigger Warning: This post contains mention of sexual assault. There was an excerpt of Saints and Misfits by SK Ali before the book was published in Entertainment Weekly. It  read: “I stand and cringe at the sucking sound as my swimsuit sticks to me, all four yards of the spandex-Lycra blend of it. Waterfalls gush […]

After our roundtable on Nouman Ali Khan and spiritual abuse, multiple women have accused  scholar Tariq Ramadan  of rape and sexual abuse. In addition, the Harvey Weinstein scandal has triggered responses by  victims and survivors sharing their accounts of sexual violence almost daily. This included the social media campaign #metoo, in which  some women  voiced […]

Lately reading the news from around the world has felt like swimming in a wave pool. Every time you get over a wave and find your footing, another one comes and knocks you off your feet. It’s hard to rejoice in anything positive.  Having fun seems like a betrayal. Attempting to create art feels like […]

When the opportunity arose to review Ishara Deen’s God Smites and Other Muslim Girl Problems, I jumped at the chance. My interest in YA fiction and overall NEED for #ownvoices made the choice an easy one. The book did not disappoint. I finished it in one day. I just couldn’t put it down. The overall […]

I have a confession to make. When I was a teenager, I lied to my parents. This may not seem like a shock. I was definitely not the only teenager to have done it. My reasons for lying usually were to hang out with friends. I never really saw it as a big deal. I […]

Muslim Mothering: Global Histories, Theories, and Practices edited by Margaret Aziza Pappano and Dana M.Owen is a compilation of essays focusing on what it means to be a Muslim mother. In the introduction, Pappano and Owen reveal that this “volume seeks to show how Muslim mothers experience mothering in their own words” (pg. 3). The […]

Muslims are no strangers to division. There are disagreements over culture, sects, schools of thought, dress. It’s no secret that we can’t agree on much of anything. And Ramadan and Eid are no exception. Because Ramadan follows the lunar calendar, it changes every year. Muslims are supposed to look to the sky for the new […]

My kids are fasting again this year. Officially, 3 of my kids are fasting. Unofficially, all 5 are fasting. Basically, the 5-year-old and 7-year-old are fending for themselves. Truth is, besides iftar I’m not making food. I’m just not. That’s why cereal was created. Besides the “How much longer to go?” question about a 100 […]