The media response to the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape charges is predictably horrific. The salacious gossip can maintain itself for weeks: the victim lives in a complex for HIV-positive residents (no wait! She doesn’t); wears hijab; and is “pious and respectable.” No, you say, she’s not unattractive—she’s actually got great breasts? A full 57% of French […]

In the last few years, the international emphasis on locating social rights within the Qur’an has primarily been driven by and for women. NGOs in Morocco, Malaysia, Jordan, Afghanistan, Tunisia, and countless other Muslim countries have rallied communities, encouraging them to look critically at the patriarchal structures that have dictated Qur’anic interpretation to date. Through […]

Just when I thought we were past discussing the experiences of Muslim women in dichotomies and distorted imagery, CNN pulls out this gem about Afghanistan’s most talked-about talk show: “Niqab.” “The Mask,” as American media have translated it, features “Afghan women [who] dare to speak out on [the] taboo subject of abuse by husbands.” This […]

A recent addition to the thousands of Tumblrs intended mostly for the edification of their own creators, Badass Muslimahs began as a project in mid-October 2010. The site’s creator, Sara, has little besides a small blurb to describe her Tumblr’s purpose—but then, words are not really the currency of Tumblr. (Founded in 2007, the microblogging […]

The Real Girl’s Guide to Everything Else, Strike.TV’s peppy new Web series, first struck me as ludicrous. Fast-paced and low-budget, it’s riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies, becoming more fantastical as the first season progresses. The writing lacks depth, the characters lack development, and the show’s thesis whacks you across the head with startling regularity. […]

In the latest hijab shake-down, Imane Boudlal was taken off the schedule as a hostess at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel because she insisted upon her right to wear hijab to work. Boudlal, a Moroccan-born Muslim woman, already wore the hijab at home, but said that she learned of her Constitutional right to wear it to […]

Dear Maureen, I hear you’re back from your jaunt over in Saudi Arabia. Kudos to you for making it back from that big, bad place. Somebody get this woman the gin and tonic she deserves! First, a secret: I am so tired of frothy, pop-culture media and art about the question of veiling. It’s really […]

Salam, everyone! My name is Sara, and I’m a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. My family is of Indian descent, but my parents and grandparents all lived and grew up largely in East Africa, and I was born in Toronto, Canada. I lived in the Ivory Coast for a few years […]

Those of you who have been following debates surrounding academic freedom might remember the story of Dr. Samar Habib (pictured below right), whose “Women in Arabic and Islamic Literature” course was cut from the University of Western Sydney schedule largely due to complaints by Muslim organizations like the Australian National Imams Council and Muslims for […]