This post was originally published at wood turtle. Finally, here’s the fourth post in my series on the media stereotyping of Muslim women. It was an absolute joy to speak to these phenomenal women and it was so exciting to pick their brains. If I had the power, I would have invited everyone for a massive party. […]

This post was originally published at wood turtle. This is the third post in my ongoing series on the media stereotyping of Muslim women. There are amazing media makers in the Muslim blogosphere and this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the fabulous people out there challenging stereotypes. In fact, I’ve had to split […]

This post was originally published at wood turtle. This is the second post in my series on the media stereotyping of Muslim women. While some media argue that (identifiable) Muslim women are more likely to suffer Islamophobic attacks than men, I also recognize that Muslim men and non-Muslim men are also recipients of racial and anti-Muslim violence. This post looks specifically at […]

I grew up with a mother always insisting that I be an educated, professional woman. Her reasons were many, including that being a professional would help me retain a certain amount of flexibility and independence should crap hit the fan of life. I share the experience, not because it’s the exception, but because it’s common […]

Eid Mubarak!  I hope that all of our readers celebrating had a wonderful holiday. MMW’s Ramadan series this year featured 23 posts, written by MMW writers and guest contributors writing from 12 different countries, on issues of food, community, family, solitude, epiphanies, and struggles.  Click here to go back through any of the posts you […]

Help I’m alive… We’re late. My favourite popular imam has already begun leading the second rakat for Qiyam ul-layl, the night prayers. We dash from the car and run across the street, our feet soon gliding upon smooth marble floors at the largest mosque in Kuwait. My sister-in-law leads the way. One hand holds a chair for our pregnant cousin […]

Thick tendrils of white smoke curl around my fingers as I add more bukhoor to the incense burner. Nasheed music wafts softly from the living room, creating a calm, somber atmosphere. My children have just come back from the balcony, certain that the new moon made her appearance despite heavy storm clouds. We smile at […]

Moroccan novelist Mohammed Berrada’s Lu’bat al Nisyan (The Game of Forgetting, 1987) begins with “In the Beginning was the Mother.”   The main character in the novel, Hadi, is a leftist journalist suffering from a midlife crisis, disillusioned on the communal level by the deteriorating political situation in Morocco, and devastated on a personal level […]

I can’t remember when I first learned that “Paradise is under the feet of mothers.” But I do remember the first time my parents quoted the story when the Prophet was asked who has greater right, the mother or the father, and replied ”Your mother, your mother, your mother, then your father.” This three-fold reiteration […]

Ramadan for me personally has always been a month of compassion, congregation and contemplation. However, last year in Ramadan, my entire days and nights revolved around caring for my then-one-month-old twins. Time passed by like a whirlwind; I have vague memories of feeding, burping, changing, and rocking babies to sleep – all the while trying […]