A political ad that portrays a pensioner hobbling forward for a share of the national budget only to be overtaken by a crowd of burqa-clad women pushing baby carriages has been rejected by a Swedish TV channel on the grounds that it promotes religious hatred. The campaign ad for the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) party […]

One of the most anticipated Ramadan series this year was 3ayza Atgawez, (“I Want to Get Married”), based on a blog-turned-bestselling-book by Ghada Abdel Aal. The series stars Hend Sabry as Ola, an Egyptian pharmacist under pressure to marry having reached the age of thirty and facing the social stigma of spinsterhood. Each episode focuses […]

Khadidje, Fadumah, Ruqaya, Fippan and Bettan are all characters created by blogger Gina Dirawi, a Palestinian Swede whose comic videos mocking racial and other stereotypes have become something of a sensation on the Swedish blogosphere. The following her blog has generated is large enough that she is currently blogging in affiliation with Swedish national television […]

When Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale, a feminist dystopia set in a world run by a totalitarian theocracy, she said that she hadn’t “invented anything,” but taken her inspiration from fundamentalist Christianity in the United States, and the Islamic Revolution in Iran, among other things. In the context of the war on Afghanistan, Mary […]

The prolific and eclectic Danish writer Suzanne Brøgger has more than twenty works to her name, most of which have at one time or another been labeled as provocative. Brøgger became an overnight celebrity in Denmark back in 1973 with the publication of her acerbically-titled book of essays Fri os fra kærligheden (Deliver Us from […]

Becca Swanson, bodybuilder, power-lifter, and pro-wrestler (who has been called “The Strongest Woman on the Planet”) writes on her site that she has “a burning desire to show the world my powerful physique laced with beauty and femininity.” This self-consciously anti-oxymoronic statement reflects the fact that female bodybuilders have often been subject to the most […]

“I got married secretly in a mosque,” says Elisabeth Elhazza. Her words are the title of an article in Tara, a Swedish women’s magazine, which gives an account of Elisabeth’s marriage to “seven years younger Khairi Elhazza from Libya,” how he proposed, and how “Elisabeth said yes without hesitation and stepped into what was, for […]

Who is She in Lebanon, an online database with profiles of notable contemporary Lebanese women, was launched by IWSAW (the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World) on the 2nd of March. The project, which was created in partnership with KVINFO, aims to provide an easily accessible database of prominent Lebanese woman, documenting their […]

Mona Sahlin, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic party (SAP), is known by many names among her opponents. Though Sahlin is not Muslim, one of the most common nicknames for her is “Mona Muslim.” This appellation might suggest a cartoon character, or perhaps a Sesame Street muppet, but behind it  lies a deepening anxiety about […]

Hi, all. I am Tasnim, a new contributor. I have been a guest contributor a couple of times, and an avid reader since I first discovered MMW, so I am looking forward to writing as a member of the team. As I live in Sweden, I hope to focus mainly on Islam and the representation […]