“I don’t think there’s ever been a time in my life when I wanted to pray. My mom always made me think that as Muslims, we should. But as soon as I stopped caring about what Mom thought, I stopped praying altogether. But today—right now—I really want to pray.” (Rebels by Accident, p. 150) Rebels […]

The title of Juliane Hammer’s new book American Muslim Women, Religious Authority, and Activism: More Than a Prayer, refers to the much-publicised Friday prayer led by Amina Wadud in March 2005. As Hammer explains in the introduction to her book, “The 2005 prayer, itself part of a larger trajectory of events, debates, and developments, focused […]

The Crescent Directive was, for me, a fun but perplexing read.  The concept is simple and noble: it gives guidelines for American Muslims on how to lay a groundwork for action in our communities in order to improve our image in America. Written by Khurram Dara, the book starts out with looking at how Islam […]

On Sunday, November 13th, TLC is set to premier a new 8-episode series: All-American Muslim in the United States. As this comes from the same channel that brings American viewers Sister Wives and the Kate+8 debacle, I’ll admit my immediate thoughts surrounding the show are wary, to say the least, when it comes to its […]

This post was written by W.B. Abdullah. I remember when I first heard the title of the movie, Mooz-lum. It made me cringe, mispronounced by non-Muslims to the point of putting a muzzle on it.  I wouldn’t see it–why were my trusted Facebook friends suggesting a movie to me whose name had prejudice written all […]

Coming on the heels of a seemingly endless surge of anti-Muslim bigotry in the U.S., CNN picked the most opportune moment to air its special on Muslims, titled “Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door” with reporter Soledad O’Brien. After having been glued to the news in the last couple of weeks, following Rep. Peter King’s hearings […]

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…

This post was written by Margari Aziza Hill and originally published at her website. It’s taken me a while to make a statement on the Rima Fakih’s win. Out of the many reasons why, the one that stands out the most is that American Muslims tend to condemn non-practicing Muslims. Although the numbers of practicing […]

Editor’s Note: Readers, since this has been a busy week of travel for me, I haven’t been able to put together a regular Friday links. But we’ve got a treat for you! Enjoy Raaz’s interview with G. Willow Wilson! In The Butterfly Mosque, G. Willow Wilson presents her own personal experience of her conversion to […]

After reading Ali Eteraz’s Children of Dust, I bemoaned the lack of examples in literature—and even in the public discourse—of healthy relationships and interactions between Muslim men and women.  In films, literature, the blogosphere, and even in the everyday interactions of Muslims, interactions (especially romantic relationships) are often presented in a negative light: Muslim women […]