Islam and the Future of Tolerance is a dialogue about the possibilities of reforming Islam between Sam Harris, neuroscientist and New Atheist, (one of the Four Horsemen of the Non-Apocalypse), and Maajid Nawaz, a former Islamist turned reformist. As the book details, the idea for this discussion began in the wake of an Intelligence Squared […]

Typically, in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north, discussing personal and marital issues, like sex and domestic violence, is seen as going against the grain. However, an Instagram page is changing how Muslim women in Nigeria share personal problems. Hadja Lahbib’s insightful documentary, Patience, Patience, You’ll Go to Paradise!, focuses on Belgium’s Muslim community, where the older generation […]

Julia Joffe at Huffington Post recently interviewed several “Mothers of ISIS recruits”, whose “children abandoned them to join the worst terrorist organization on earth.” The interviews are heartbreaking and as several of the commenters note, the piece is difficult to read though it is beautifully written  (if that word can even be applied to this context). It […]

Upon learning about the Paris attacks and the #PrayforParis hashtag that emerged, I felt many things – but I was not shocked. Violence does not shock me. As a woman of colour and as an immigrant, it is part of my surroundings. I have become desensitized to violence. If you are like me and grew […]

  In the Skin of A Jihadist by Anne Erelle (not her real name) is a book about a French journalist pretending to be an ISIS fan and interacting with a French-speaking jihadist via Skype. This sentence occurs on the first page: “Do you really love me, Mélodie murmurs, her voice childish and frail.” That one […]

Following Malak Kazan’s lawsuit, the Police Department has announced that it will be implementing a new policy for women who wear a religious headscarf In case you haven’t had enough, here is another story on Muslim women fashion bloggers breaking stereotypes  The BBC asks how  London’s young Muslims view the 7/7 attacks, interviewing a group […]

I was breaking my twenty hour fast when I saw the footage from Sousse for the first time, a video taken by one of the hotel workers who is heard saying, repeatedly: “aleish, aleish tugtel fil naas?” (Why, why are you killing people?). The familiar accent, and the bewildered tone of the man speaking, brought […]

British Pakistani Azi Ahmed has written a book called ‘World’s Apart’, about her experience as a Muslim training to join the SAS (Special Air Service). Julia Hartley Brewer investigates the motivations of British Muslim women who are joining Isis, arguing that they are seeking “freedom” from family members who control their lives, expecting them to “live in […]

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, CEO of Muslimgirl.net, explains how Muslim women are ‘spoken over by the public’ and their voices ‘ignored.’ In a rare protest in Afghanistan’s male-dominated society, female rights activists in Kabul carry coffin of a woman beaten to death for allegedly burning Quran to graveyard. A Muslim […]

Various papers have been covering Canada’s niqab controversy after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper  said that the niqab is rooted in “anti-women” culture, with some Muslim women responding, saying they choose to wear the niqab out of religious obligation. Germany’s Constitutional Court has lifted a ban on female Muslim teachers wearing headscarves.  The Telegraph writes about hip-hop hijabis. In relation to […]