By hiraismailContributors: Nihal Mubarak, Akilah Abdul-Rahman, Hanan Issa and Hira Ismail The “Hear Our Voices” podcast is Spoken Word Poetry themed, featuring writers from the Muslim Girl blog, as well as a guest writer. This set of poems engages with issues of self-love, social justice and empowerment.
By hiraismailBlood boiling No Churning in my veins Over and over inside and out Gut squeezed Lungs caved They’re back The Nazis are back. Truth be told they’d never Left But here they are in open daylight Angry eyes Shouting opened mouths My blood turns and turns Freezes and heats Thought I’d only see them In…
By hiraismailIn June 2016, 49 people were killed at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida by Omar Mateen. This club was considered a haven for the LGBTQ community, especially for LGBTQ people of color. The shooting proved the lethalness of anti-LGBTQ sentiment. After Orlando is an artistic response to the shooting, using theatre to commemorate the lives of the victims. It…
By hiraismailA Muslim woman, who wishes to rename unidentified, reported experiencing a violent attack on the morning of April 10 in Milwaukee. According to her account, a man pulled up to her in a car and demanded she take off her hijab. When she refused, he got out of his car and swung her to the ground….
By hiraismailI wrote this speech in my senior year of high school for Academic Decathlon. I was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and all he stood for, and by Mahatma Gandhi and his message of resistance. I wanted to add my voice to his and all those who came before him. To dream a little….
By hiraismailFor those of us who love to read, we find our ways. Growing up, I mastered the art of reading in absolutely any situation: while eating, while stretching, doing chores, mopping the floor, you name it. I once finished half a book while walking on a treadmill because I needed to handle the stress the plot was causing me. Today, the sight of a library or…
By hiraismailI’ve always loved to act. Dolls with my sisters, whom we had dance in ballrooms and save the earth from alien invaders. At the playground with my closest friend, turning the slide and monkey bars into the Titanic in high, tinny voices. The stories were endless: Harry Potter infused with Hindi films, play-acting spies, singing…
By hiraismailA recent ad for Amazon features a Muslim and Christian man visiting each other, hugging, drinking tea, and conversing at the Christian man’s house. They both stand up to say goodbye with difficulty, holding their knees in pain. Each notices the other’s strained knees and laugh together at their mutual difficulty before parting ways. The…
By hiraismailThree girls between the ages of 13 and 19 were hit by lead-based pellets in “Rumhoo village” and the “Pulwama district of Southern Kashmir,” and a fourth was struck in the “village of Chitragam Kalan in the southern district of Shopian,” both in India-governed Kashmir, according to Al Jazeera. Pellets were shot by Indian police,…
By hiraismailThe Illinois Tactical Officers Association (ITOA) held a 5-day long SWAT training and weapons expo in Hoffman Estates, Ill., from Oct. 9-13. They have a long-time affiliation with the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM). ITOA invited extreme-right conservative Dr. Sebastian Gorka to speak at the…
By hiraismailUnited Nations Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, convened in Gaza on Sept. 21, for an international seminar about Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the humanitarian context of the Gaza Strip. With the support of the government of Japan, UN Women intends to tackle the specific abuses that women in…
By hiraismailA Muslim woman’s home was set on fire on Sept. 6 in Windsor Mill, Md. She arrived home to find her gas stove aflame with an as-of-yet unidentified object, and put out the fire. If she had been involved in the scene any later, her apartment may have suffered severe damage. This is the latest in…
By hiraismailThe ICNA Council for Social Justice recently sponsored a billboard to go up in Baltimore City with the words “Black Lives Matter Muslims Against Racism” displayed brilliantly across it. Above the words, an array of skin tones is painted, from dark to fair, cognizant of the diversity in color that the black race engulfs. The…
By hiraismailAn issue that has tentatively made its rounds is the one of the Dakota Access Pipeline. While larger media outlets have not taken up the story, the voices of the Standing Rock Sioux refuse to be dismissed. Thousands of protesters have gathered against the construction of the pipeline, environmentalists and tribe members alike, in North Dakota….
By hiraismailOn the night of September 11th and the eve of Eid al-Adha, a mosque in Florida, the Islamic Centre of Fort Pierce, was attacked by an arsonist. Mosque attendees were unable to attend celebratory Eid prayers there the following morning. The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s office suspected the arson to be deliberate. Security cameras on…
