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Ramadan 2013

Sujood in the Kitchen, Tears in the Mosque


Posted by woodturtle on 07 Aug 2013 / 1 Comment
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Help I’m alive… We’re late. My favourite popular imam has already begun leading the second rakat for Qiyam ul-layl, the night prayers. We dash from the car and run across the street, our feet soon gliding upon smooth marble floors at the largest mosque in Kuwait. My sister-in-law leads the way. One hand holds a chair for our pregnant cousin […]

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Ramadan 2013

Creating a Childlike Ramadan


Posted by woodturtle on 17 Jul 2013 / 2 Comments
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Thick tendrils of white smoke curl around my fingers as I add more bukhoor to the incense burner. Nasheed music wafts softly from the living room, creating a calm, somber atmosphere. My children have just come back from the balcony, certain that the new moon made her appearance despite heavy storm clouds. We smile at […]

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Cinema

Iron(y) Man 3: Saving Muslim Women


Posted by woodturtle on 02 Jul 2013 / 15 Comments
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Explosions, gripping fight scenes, artificial intelligence, funny one-liners, sexist playboy arrogance and close-ups of Robert Downey Jr.’s face overlaid with computer graphics are everything I expect when walking into an Iron Man movie. What I don’t expect are convenient and overused Hollywood tropes about Muslim women. So now you know my guilty pleasure. I’m a […]

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Comics/Cartoons

Beard Memes and the Proper Hijab Narrative


Posted by woodturtle on 05 Jun 2013 / 2 Comments
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This post was originally posted at wood turtle’s blog. The day my friend took off hijab was disappointing. While everyone was offering congratulations on the new look, I couldn’t help wonder if my friend was having a crisis of faith. And when I asked if everything was okay, I learned a secret truth that sent me […]

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Books/Magazines

Toddler Tales: Review and Giveaway


Posted by woodturtle on 03 Apr 2013 / 0 Comments
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This post was originally posted at wood turtle’s blog. Two years ago, Mohsina Nosarka contacted me asking for feedback on an Islamic book series she was in the process of writing and illustrating. As I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting children’s Islamic literature, I gladly obliged. And since our initial contact, I’m thrilled […]

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More than Breast Friends: Kinship and Muslim Milk Banks


Posted by woodturtle on 26 Mar 2013 / 0 Comments
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Breastfeeding may seem like the most natural thing in the world, but for a percentage of women it can be terribly challenging — especially if they cannot produce enough milk or refrain from breastfeeding due to medical reasons such as severe illness, accident, HIV infection, or taking certain medications that can harm the baby through breast milk. […]

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Tabloid Dawah, Make Me A Muslim!


Posted by woodturtle on 19 Feb 2013 / 0 Comments
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When I think of Britain, I don’t think of a society so “rife” with promiscuity and drunkenness that its very moral fibre is in need of repair. Call me naive, but I usually imagine red telephone boxes, Mister Darcy, imperialism, fish & chips, curry houses, and Doctor Who. But according to a mini-series from 2007 called “Make Me a Muslim,” Britain […]

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Pink Yemen Taxi‏


Posted by woodturtle on 30 Jan 2013 / 0 Comments
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In recent years, women-only taxi services offering convenient and safe transit have sprung up in major cities all over the globe. These “pink taxis,” driven by women for women, offer a variety of benefits — not only giving women the option of avoiding harassment by male drivers, but also offer employment opportunities, business ownership, and in some cases, empowered […]

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Highlighting Cases of Wartime Sexual Violence in Bosnia


Posted by woodturtle on 12 Dec 2012 / 0 Comments
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It’s been 20 years since the start of Bosnian war. All year, journalists have used this anniversary not only to revisit their coverage of the region, but also to highlight how communities and individuals continue to experience the aftermath of a conflict that uprooted families from their homes, saw widespread wartime sexual violence and resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 people between 1992-1995. Unprotected, a recent documentary […]

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Culture/Society

Oops, Your Jahiliyya Is Showing: Exposing the Convert Party Girl


Posted by woodturtle on 27 Nov 2012 / 0 Comments
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There seems to be nothing more exciting for tabloids than publishing pictures of white women in hijab. Well, unless it’s publishing pictures of white women converts in their racy, hedonistic, pre-Islamic days. Last month Amy Sall and Heather Matthews told their conversion stories to the tabloid press. And instead of using the stories to dispel […]

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