There is a whole lotta ugly going on out there in the election coverage these days. (I’m thinking Canada, but this is true in the U.S. as well, and, come to think of it, likely anywhere else that might be having an election. But that’s a different story.) Montréal-Bourassa NDP candidate Samira Laouni (pictured below […]

At 13% of the population, Muslims are a significant demographic in India. However, relations between Muslims and other populations in India, most notably the Hindu population, have not always gone smoothly. Shabana Azmi is an Indian actor, social activist and ex-MP who spoken extensively on various issues impacting Indian Muslims. Some of her views have […]

So this is old. 2005 old. But I just saw it so I’m writing. I’m not the biggest fan of animated cartoon series like South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad. Mainly because I believe that there are so many underlying messages that you don’t notice you’re exposed to because they’re packaged in […]

Last year, the British program Dispatches went undercover in a Mosque in Britain to expose “radical” Islam functioning in Britain. I’m sure the main point of that program was to scare inform Britons about radical Muslims who lurk in every corner. The masjid in question is funded partly by Saudi (although many masajid around the […]

First, Ramadan mubarak to all MMW readers! I know that Fatemeh said that already, but I wanted to wish you a happy Ramadan myself too : ) We’re about a month late on this, but I wanted to cover an interview with Muna Abu Sulayman that was aired on One on One with Riz Khan. […]

“Mohannad is a hottie” is the answer I got when I asked my tween cousins why they watch the 175 episode Turkish soap opera Gümüş (‘silver’) that was renamed Noor (‘light’), dubbed in Syrian colloquial Arabic, and consequently spread like wildfire in the Arab world. It’s true that the Turkish ex-basketball player who won the […]

Last night, as I was flipping through the channels, I stopped on the Spike network, which is geared toward a male audience (well, most television is geared toward a male audience, but that’s a different soapbox). Perhaps I should say heavily geared toward a male audience. I mean, between the James Bond marathons, Axe commercials, […]

We hope to have a longer analysis once Ethar is available in mid-August, but the issue is too hot not to talk about right now. The issue I’m speaking of is the Turkish soap opera Noor, which has become hugely popular in the Arab world despite having flopped in Turkey. It’s been getting all kinds […]

When I first heard people mentioning that Anthony Bourdain, who has a travel show called No Reservations, was doing a show in Saudi Arabia, I think I cringed almost instinctively. I mean, non-Muslim American white guy, going where? Eek. I expected all sorts of clichés about oppressed women (living under oppressive clothing and oppressive laws), […]

Recently Mara Brock Akil, creator and producer of one of my favourite shows, Girlfriends, was featured on the August 2008 cover of Domino magazine (pictured to right). The show, initially about four, but then after a few seasons three, Black girlfriends, gained much critical acclaim for its content and its willingness to focus on serious […]