“Oh Canada […] The true north, strong and free.”  – Canadian National Anthem Her eyes met mine sporadically while we stood in the packed subway train in Toronto. It was the month of Ramadan, the month that encourages Muslims to put forth that much more effort – to show sisterhood and warmth to those that […]

Transgender identities and trans* embodiment are topics that are generally ignored within many communities, and the Muslim community is no exception, and transgendered people are oftentimes pushed to the margins. Art, film, music and other forms of artistic expression, unlike more fixed modes of understanding, can often open up a conversation that communities and individuals […]

Bismillah. Originally intended to be posted in the start of Ramadan, this post has taken an unusually long time. The first draft was cathartic, yet it took longer to go into depth and dig deeper.  I am left in a position where I unapologetically want to share my truth – a truth that may, with […]

Revolution never arrives without its victims. The lives it changes and swallows within its jaws are the same lives who endured decades of violence, decadence, and impoverishment by the very systems that it wishes to replace. The revolutions in the Middle East deeply reflect the contradictions between the joy and pride of toppling a dictatorship […]

In our roundtable on the Foreign Policy “sex issue” I spoke about the responsibility one has when representing, speaking or acting on behalf of one’s own community.   Among other reactions to that issue, Mona Eltahawy’s article garnered various responses from Arab women, expressing their disapproval of Eltahawy’s claim to speak on behalf of Arab women. […]

Around 4,000 academics, scholars and activists gathered from March 16-18th at Pace University’s annual Left Forum conference. As a recent Occupy activist, I was ecstatic to come across a conference that centers on issues of capitalism and imperialism, along with panels that focus on the importance of feminist discourse to envision an alternative world. The […]

Have you ever dreamed of being a hijabi in couture, strutting the runway in the fashion metropolises of Milan, New York or Paris without having to unravel that scarf you hold dear?  Well, maybe you haven’t, but if you have, you’re in luck: thanks to Muslim fashion designer, Nailah Lymus, your dream may be in […]

As right-wing pundits are gaining momentum in North America, minority groups are unsurprisingly being targeted.  Among the questions being raised is: when does “national security” trump the need to address an instance of sexual assault against women? Muslim women, especially those who wear the hijab or niqab, experience a unique sense of vulnerability in the […]

See Part One here. Oh it did NOT just go there… My blood began to rise during the lecture of Dr. Abdal Hakim Jackson within the session, “Changing the Present, Dreaming the Future.” Mid-way during his lecture, Dr. Jackson beseeched us sisters to “calm down for the next 30 seconds.” He then asked the audience what […]

Editor’s note: I would like to welcome Sharrae, MMW’s newest contributor!  Sharrae starts us off with a two-part post on the Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference held in Toronto ever December.  MMW has covered previous RIS conferences in 2008 and 2009 (part one and part two).  Check back tomorrow for even more RIS-related coverage. For […]