I lived through a revolution. I saw my 21-year-old brother holding a gun. I slept with a knife under my pillow. I have a close friend who was shot and is now blind in one eye. I was lucky. I didn’t have thugs break into my house. I wasn’t tear-gassed. I wasn’t shot at. But I […]

The images that Afghanistan conjures are usually ones that mirror front-page stories of newspapers around the world: armed Taliban crouching at the entry of a mountain cave, women in burqas, and images of public stonings are just a few that are constantly associated with the country. HBO is schedule to air a two-part documentary that […]

Parts of the blogosphere appear to be in a tizzy over a recent parody of Roy Orbison’s classic “Oh, Pretty Woman.” Now a hit on YouTube, Saad Haroon’s “Burqa Woman,” tells the story of a young man’s fumbling attempt to woo a woman in abaya and niqab, who, after much cajoling, reciprocates amorously via text […]

Most Arab women I know have at one point or another cursed an Arab man and his stubborn adherence to male chauvinism, something that rears its ugly head in patriarchal societies around the globe. This topic usually boils down to this: a man has problem with independent woman. In a song titled “Metlak Mish 3ayzin” […]

Channel Islam International, often considered to be the “more progressive” Muslim community radio station in Johannesburg, is broadcasting a radio drama series for the month of Ramadan. The show is titled “Redemption Road,” and aims to be a representation of South African Indian Muslim society and its idiosyncrasies while reminding listeners to their often-forgotten purpose […]

This June, one of the first all-women radio stations in the Arab world was launched from the most unlikely of places, the West Bank. Appropriately titled NISAA FM, (nisaa means “woman” in Arabic) this station is by women, for women. Maysoun Odeh, founder and manager of NISAA FM, describes the aims of the station: “NISAA […]

Europe’s controversial stance and inflammatory language surrounding the burqa puts Muslim women, veiled or not, in a tight spot. Instead of donning a low profile, some Muslim women are turning to music to speak their minds. European Muslimahs are defying stereotypes by promoting their art and pushing themselves front and center. Take Diam’s, a French […]

New voices are invading the airwaves in Southern California. The voices of local Muslim activists, community leaders, scholars and public speakers have come together for One Legacy Radio, the first English-speaking Islamic radio station in the U.S. It’s leaving listeners with high expectations as it aims to provide “thought-provoking material which inspires spiritual reflection and […]

“We have no girls here that work with their degrees. Our girls are pampered. Everything she wants is at her service.” “Assuming I agree that you work, what would we do about your beauty? Your job is taking care of my heart …isn’t it enough that you’re the president of the republic of my heart?” […]

This was written by Mandy van Deven and originally appeared at Bitch magazine. Since her 2007 album Dans ma Bulle (Inside My Bubble) debuted at the top of the charts by selling 50K copies in its first week, Diam’s has become the hottest emcee in France. Not the hottest female emcee, but the hottest emcee […]