Iran’s leading women’s magazine, Zanan, has been forced to close after 16 years. Damn. Zanan staunchly promoted feminist ideas using oblique language to fly under the censors’ radar, and editor Shahla Sherkat has endured years of harassment by government censorship agencies. Meet Rabiah Hutchinson, named “Australia’s most watched woman” because the Australian government accuses of […]

MMW thanks Jessamy for the tip! Recently we were directed to a series of television commercials airing on Egyptian TV. These commercials, made by Terrorism Has No Religion, are aimed at countering terrorism and Muslim extremism. In their words, Terrorism Has No Religion’s message is: To reveal the true and ample doctrines of Islam, and […]

Recitation of the Qur’an can be a spiritual experience for even those who don’t understand Arabic. The sounds and rhythms of the words remind listeners of the Qur’an’s poetry. For those who do understand Arabic, the experience is only more profound. In the Muslim world, the professional Qur’an reciter (qari’) releases tapes and CDs and […]

On my post yesterday, I touched on veil fetish art. While researching, I came upon artist Makan “Max” Emadi, whose series “Islamic Erotica” touches upon some very similar points. His paintings highlight the alternate concealment and exposure of Muslim women’s bodies and put them in different arrangements. In an interview with myartspace>blog, interviewer Brian Sherwin […]

The original view of Middle Eastern/Muslim women was that of a lazily sensual harem woman reclining on a couch. Most recently, it has morphed into a cowed housewife bullied by her religion and the men in her life. From these icons arises a newer image of Muslim women: one that combines the two. I’ll term […]

NPR, or National Public Radio, currently has a series playing in regards to Muslim women, mainly those living in Europe – a continent in which Muslims are notorious for poor integration. The series, entitled Exploring the Status of Muslim Women in Europe, begins with an introductory story about the integration of Muslim women in Europe […]

One day, out of idle curiosity, I entered the phrase “Muslim women” into Google. Links to Wikipedia articles and organization homepages appeared, but what caught my eye was the row at the top: “Image results for Muslim women,” with a selection of three. My slow Internet connection made me wait for the pictures to load. […]

According to this news story, “sexy bombers” in the Philippines seriously threaten the nation’s safety. What makes these bombers sexy? They’re Muslim women. Yeah, that’s it. The story doesn’t mention why they’re termed sexy: do they wear sensual perfume and heavy makeup to entice victims? Do they wear revealing clothes so that victims are disarmed […]

I thought since I haven’t written about Little Mosque on the Prairie for awhile, why not now? Last night’s episode dealt with crushes. Layla, Baber’s daughter, has a crush on a boy in her Qur’an class. She confides in Rayyan and Amaar on the condition that they not tell her father. Amaar wants to inform […]

The Egyptian film Heen Maysara (حين ميسرة) was released on Eid last year. Since then, it’s been making headlines in the English-speaking blogosphere. Could this be due to the film’s popularity at the box-office? Perhaps people are intrigued by its look at the slums of Cairo? But no. The coverage is on the negative attention […]