I came across an interesting Associated Press article a couple of days ago titled Egyptian women break new ground at the mosque by Canadian journalist Hadeel Al-Shalchi. The article discusses how Egyptian women are beginning to not only frequent mosques more, but to use their time there to socialize, learn about Islam, and participate in […]

Dr. Sherene Razack has a theory called Interlocking Systems of Domination, which says that people can be oppressed in different ways and in interlocking and interconnected ways. The various ways in which people are oppressed cannot be detangled from each other and therefore, the oppression that we face must be examined as a whole, as […]

A recent Reuters article vaguely described sexual harassment in Libya by blaming it on “antiquated male attitudes that decades of gender equality reforms have failed to dislodge.” While it is true that Libyan law sets the foundation for female equality, it was never properly enacted. To say that there have been “decades of gender equality […]

Like a lot of people, I’ve spent the past couple of days glued to my TV set and the papers, monitoring the horrible situation in the Gaza strip, and the Arab world’s increasing disenchantment with Egypt. So far, according to the UN, at least 373 Palestinians have been killed and 1,720 are injured. Of those […]

American hijabis often have a lot to think about when they step outside their doors. Will we be denied a job because of hijab? Will we be asked to take off our hijabs at work or school? Will our hijabs make us a target for racists and xenophobes? Will we be pulled out of line […]

Iktimal Hage-Ali, 24 is a Lebanese-Australian woman whose life reads like an episode of E! True Hollywood Story. Hage-Ali, a former member of the government‘s Muslim Community Reference Group was arrested for conspiring to sell drugs on Nov. 22, 2006, eight days before she was named New South Wales’ Young Australian of the Year award. […]

regardless of their difference in religion, Egyptian women share the same struggle when it comes to paving political careers.

‘Eid Mubarak to everyone! ‘Eid ul’adha is a reflective time for Muslims all over. There’s the story Abraham and Ismail’s sacrifice to God and what that sacrifice means in terms of our own relationships to God. There’s also Hagar’s story of being in the desert and actively asking God to help her find food and […]

Natasha Bakht, a law professor at Ottawa University, has recently published a book called Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada. I haven’t gotten my hands on the book yet, but from an article published in the Toronto Star this past weekend, it looks promising. Bakht describes her book in the Star article, saying: I […]

Recently, there has been much discussion in the media over the use of the term “honor killing”. Is the term racist? Does it implicate Islam for killings that are not religiously sanctioned? Are “honor killings” really domestic violence that is no different from domestic violence that occurs in every society? The National Post published a […]