This post was written by guest contributor Shireen Ahmed. A version of this post was previously posted on her blog. Every year there are a group of women who celebrate, support and participate in World Hijab Day. This year February 1, 2013 marked the day where women all over the world would be “invited” to […]

“Let me begin with a story. A story from your history. One that I hope will stay in your minds as you think about our common future.” These are words taken from a speech recently delivered by Justin Trudeau, a well-known Canadian politician, to the thousands of Muslims in attendance at the most recent Reviving […]

Last July, Mexico had elections. Six years ago, the Mexican conservative government was accused  of electoral fraud to maintain power, while this year the party that ruled Mexico for over 70 years through undemocratic elections has returned to power. Very much like the “democratic” regimes in the Middle East, Mexico has never really known democracy. […]

It’s that time of year again: the weather is getting cooler, the leaves are changing colour, my students are stressed about midterm season…  and for the past couple weeks, the Pink Hijab Day invitations have been popping up in my newsfeed. Pink Hijab Day is an annual event, taking place in October each year (this […]

At the beginning of September, I attended the annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention in Washington, D.C.  The event brings many well-known speakers, a bazaar, art exhibits, the always popular “speed marriage interviews a.k.a. the matrimonials,” and various entertainment acts from across the ISNA, Muslim Students Association (MSA), and Muslim Youth of North […]

During the past three decades, global perceptions of Somalia have for the most part been shaped by images of the country as a disaster area, ravaged by poverty and war. Somalia seems to appear in the news only in the context of humanitarian assistance appeals or of Al Qaeda-inspired militias carrying out their heinous acts […]

In April of 2011, 20 year-old Jessica Mokdad was allegedly gunned down by her stepfather Rahim Alfetlawi. The media uproar over the murder was immediate and, unsurprisingly, cloaked under the sensationalized trope of “honor killing.” While Mokdad’s family, including her biological father, stressed that Alfetlawi had issues of control and was not acting out of […]

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 […]

Editor’s Note: As previous RIS-themed posts have noted (see our post from 2008, two posts from 2009, and two posts from the 2011 Convention), the lack of women scholars is a persistent problem at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit events.  Here, Sumaya, a guest contributor to MMW, outlines some of the reasons that this is […]

Yesterday, we posted Sharrae’s analysis of gender issues at the 2011 Reviving the Islamic Spirit Convention.  Although I wasn’t able to attend the Convention, I did make it to the Knowledge Retreat, a six-day series of classes with several of the RIS scholars.  There is much to say about the Retreat, but one moment in […]