Back in July, I wrote about Afshan Azad’s abuse by her father and brother. When they threatened to kill her for having a Hindu boyfriend, she fled to London; her father and brother were questioned and charged by police. Though Azad attempted to drop the charges, her brother and father were tried in court last […]

In a recent article by heralded Muslim Feminist Mona Eltahawy in the ever-tabloid Toronto Star, asks to be allowed to confuse you, the reader, by virtue of the apparently contradictory label self-assigned to her socio-political and religious beliefs. The point of article, as it become somewhat clear-ish in the last few sparse paragraphs, is to shed light on how despite her unorthodox views on Islam, and particularly gender in Islam, the faith “belongs” to her as much as to any other Muslim, more orthodox than her or not. This perspective frames her support for the Mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, Park51; a support caught between ” [televangelist] Bill Keller’s right wing: bigoted and xenophobic [..and] the Muslim right wing, which uses Islam…to fuel its misogyny.”

Angelina Jolie is known more for being the sexier half of Brangelina and her patchwork family, but her luscious lips and film projects are a close second.  The latest controversy regarding the actress’s directorial debut flick in Bosnia is about a Muslim woman. The yet-to-be-titled film is set in Bosnia on the eve of the […]

Last month, Tory councilor Gareth Compton was arrested and later released on bail for writing a message in Twitter that said: “Can someone please stone Yasmin Alibhai-Brown to death? I shan’t tell Amnesty if you don’t. It would be a blessing, really.” Compton has apologized for the Tweet and has declared that he was quite […]

Lauren Booth, half sister of Tony Blair’s wife Cherie Booth, a human rights activist and a British journalist working for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s state channel PressTV, caused an gasping uproar when she converted to Islam a little less than a month ago, after having an alleged spiritual experience while at the tomb of Fatima Masuma in the Shi’ite holy city of Qom.

This week, Roshonara Choudhry was convicted of attempted murder for stabbing her local MP twice in the stomach during a constituency surgery. She has received a sentence of life imprisonment, to serve at least 15 years. The judge also informed her that, had her attack proved fatal, she would have received a Whole Life Tariff […]

Dr. Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang Sissoho are two prominent women’s human rights defenders in the Gambia. They are the executive director and program coordinator of the Gambia Committee for Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), which has been active in fighting for the promotion of gender rights, mainly fighting against the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM). […]

Spearheading the healing of a slowly crippling nation, ABC News has decided to take it upon itself to play the role of facilitator between American Muslims and the generally more acceptable genre of Americans. ABC has broadcasted an assemblage of insightful (see: inciteful) shows aimed at answering those hard-hitting questions that no one else seems to be asking – as indicated by the aptly-entitled Holy War: Should Americans be afraid of Islam? hosted by the ever identity-complex laden Christiane Amanpour.Three additional…

Several weeks after Eid al-Fitr, it’s a good time to analyze the recent media embroglio about women and Eid prayers in South Africa. The ways in which South African Muslims interact with the media has changed drastically in the last few years with the rise of social media, and this has reflected itself especially in […]

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 […]