Headscarves are the hot talking point in French politics again. But on this occasion, we aren’t talking about girls getting kicked out of high school or women getting kicked out of mayors’ offices. No, the latest uproar comes about Ms. Ilham Moussaïd, a candidate from the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) in France’s upcoming regional elections […]

Last week, I reviewed Emma Tarlo’s book Visibly Muslim: Fashion, Politics, Faith. This week, I got the chance to speak with her further about the book and her experiences writing it. Sara: Was there any inter-generational tension involving “newer” hijab fashions? Emma Tarlo: With most of the people I interviewed, their mothers did not wear […]

Following a long trial, this month Aafia Siddiqui was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder of U.S. soldiers and FBI agents while being held in custody in Afghanistan in 2008. Known as “Lady al Qaeda,” she was identified in 2004 as the only woman among seven most wanted al Qaeda operatives. […]

In Malaysia, where we are swamped with mixed messages from religious authorities and pop song lyrics, those of us lucky enough to find love are bound to run into trouble. Just a week short of Valentine’s day, three women and three men were caned under Shariah law for committing “illicit sex.” This marks the materialization […]

Daily Nation profiles the gender issues that a Muslim woman man has been living with since he was born. Islam Online gives us the story of a Parisian niqabi whose life will be affected by the burqa ban. On the difficulty and danger that female Gazan journalists face. Parveen Abidi believes that the All-India Muslim […]

Sahrawi activist Aminatou Haidar has recently been awarded the first annual International Jovellanos “Resistance and Freedom” Prize, bestowed by the governments of the Spanish regions of Asturias and the Balearic Islands, in order to “acknowledge the civic values of people from anywhere in the world who have distinguished themselves through their struggle for freedom and […]

Based on his über-liberal political views, I assume Bill Maher has an open mind, and therefore understands that fashion transcends cultures. But for the sake of being a douche, he pretends like he doesn’t in his parody of niqabi women in a skit called “Muslim Dior,” part of his But I’m not Wrong comedy show. […]

This was written by M. Lynx Qualey and originally appeared at Arabic Literature (In English). After all the kerfuffle about how many Arabic Booker nominees use the girls’ room instead of the boys’ (and how this is proof of literary discrimination), I appreciate Syrian author Abeer Esber, writing on Qantara: “In my view, this gender […]

In February 2009, Aasiya Hassan, co-founder of Bridges TV, was murdered by her husband.  Thanks to a groundswell of community organizing in remembrance of her life, Ms. Hassan’s story continues to be told a year after her death. Domestic violence is one of the last taboos in the American Muslim community.  Too often shrouded in […]

Abdul Malik Mujahid, a prominent imam and community activist in the Chicago area, has written a 9-point plan for ordinary muslims (based on a khutbah he will deliver today) to take concrete steps against domestic violence. I am reprinting the document in its entirety with permission: 1. Organize “In Memory of Aasiya: Domestic Violence Awareness […]