TIME magazine released its “100 most influential people” list this week. Of the 100 people, only one is a Muslim woman. Madeeha Hasan Odhaib of Iraq (pictured right) carries the honor of being the only influential Muslim woman of the year. An Iraqi seamstress-turned-district council member, she employs 100 women, and is cited as an […]

Last week, I was introduced to Chay magazine – a brand new Pakistani magazine (just about to publish their first issue) that covers the topics of sex and sexuality in Pakistan. The first of its kind in the country. Their mission statement states: Having observed in Pakistani society, a disturbing tendency towards fear and shame […]

Attention, Muslim fashion junkies in the Netherlands: you now have a magazine that caters to you! MSLM magazine is a project by the Media and Moving Art (MAMA) initiative. It aims to showcase the fashions of “A group of young fashion-minded women, mostly 2nd generation, Muslim, clearly stands out on the dutch society.” [sic] Not […]

The latest issue of TIME features a photo essay and article on American Muslims. From a magazine that featured a cover “Should Christians Convert Muslims?” (June 30, 2003) and headlines like “Does the Koran Condone Killing?” (Sept. 13, 2004), this latest coverage is markedly different. There’s nothing shocking, and it gives a hint to why […]

We didn’t know about this until it was published; thanks to Andi for giving us the tip! Muslimah Media Watch was profiled in Utne magazine as part of a larger story on feminist websites! The author got our name wrong, but any publicity is good publicity, right? Anyway, go read about us. While you’re at […]

The secret life of the Middle Eastern Muslim woman is a hot topic. In bookstores around the world, books line the shelves displaying covers of teasing confessionals — desert princesses, seductive eyes lined with makeup behind a niqab, life when related to a terrorist, the disturbing details of what Muslims do to their women. These […]

This post continues my look at the portrayal of Muslim women in young adult fiction. Marina Budhos is not a Muslim. She is not an immigrant. But the daughter of an Indo-Guyanese father and a Jewish-American mother, Budhos has had a strong interest in the stories of immigrant teenagers. Her book Ask Me No Questions: […]

If you’re looking for Muslim teenagers in young adult fiction, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many good examples. There are plenty of Orientalist novels about exotic Muslim girls in distant lands. A standard example is the narrator of Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind (Suzanne Fisher Staples, 1991), who at age 13 is forced into marriage […]

Browsing in Barnes & Noble yesterday, I came across a magazine I so desperately wanted, despite the fact that I have forbidden myself from spending money until I get my next paycheque (the price tag was too high for me to talk myself into it). Ah, the life of a graduate student! Anyway, the cover […]

This originally appeared on the blog epiphanies, written by Tasnim. Persepolis, the animated film based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, will be released in the US on 25 December. The film, like the novel, is in black and white and just as visually striking. Satrapi says that she sees “images as a way of writing” […]