By Guest BloggerWhen people hear the words “inter-faith dialogue,” they often have thoughts of singing “kumbaya” around a campfire and fluffy conversations with people you don’t even agree with. But in reality, it is so much more. With Islamophobia casting its ever-luring shadow into almost every part of Muslim lives today, inter-faith understanding could not be more…
By Guest BloggerWe live in a world where women are constantly subject to questions about their attire. When there is prejudice against a certain community, often the first targets are women and what they are wearing. Threats of arson, thrown cups of boiling coffee, and online harassment from Australian politicians represent a few of the many real…
By Guest BloggerLet’s take a moment to consider the possibility of the Eid falling on a day that the world (including us) marks as a sad day in history — 9/11. Here are four recommendations I have compiled to help you if this should happen: 1. Don’t apologize, don’t pander, don’t posture. Eid is, first and foremost,…
By Guest BloggerAllah (SWT) tells us in the Quran: “Indeed, those who have believed and those who were Jews and the Sabeans and the Christians and the Magians and those who associated with Allah — Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah is, over all things, Witness.” (Qur’an 22:17) and, “Indeed, to…
By Guest BloggerA young woman sits on a beach bothering no one, she’s there to enjoy the sun like those around her. But what she doesn’t know is she’s about to make headlines all around the globe. This young woman is wearing the burkini, a swimsuit designed to protect the modesty of Muslim women who wish to go…
By Guest BloggerBeing divorced is hard to swallow, no matter what gender, religion, or race you are from; no matter how strong one acts, going through a divorce takes a huge toll on our lives, emotionally and physically. With that being said, divorce in the Arab culture is a tad dramatic. Despite the drama, I am proud…
By Guest BloggerIt was my mom’s week to carpool. In the back seat, my friend told me that her sister was visiting from college and gave her tampons to use. Naturally inquisitive, I asked a few questions about the difference between tampons and pads before confidently announcing to my mother that, I too, would start using tampons….
By Guest BloggerMany disabled children live between four walls in simple houses in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, Occupied Palestine. These disadvantaged children are not able to enjoy their rights due to life hardship under Israeli occupation and inaccessibility to education. Mothers had to act independently to draw a smile on their disabled children’s faces. As a…
By Guest Blogger“That night, I could hear him scream for me, even though he was far away and looked up. I woke up and I could hear him scream for me.” Farrehan starts crying as she tells me about how her 12-year-old son Shadi was treated when he had just been arrested in December 2015. “They took…
By Guest Blogger“Why aren’t we putting our military retirees on that border or in TSA? Get rid of all these hibi-jabis they wear at TSA?” asked an audience member at a Trump rally. Itemad “Angel” Almatar was arrested by Chicago police while trying to catch a train in Chicago. Both stories, among scores of others, highlight the…
By Guest BloggerI was supposed to go to Palestine last month. I spent the past four years doing full time organizing in support of the Palestinian struggle and it was pretty exciting thinking about actually visiting a land I have dedicated so much time talking about while meeting with people who have had so much impact on…
By Guest BloggerI had no intention this weekend of binge-watching Muslim couples talk about drugs, premarital sex, and porn addition. How I ended up here is entirely due to the 103-degree fever that left me plastered to my bed during those 48-hours. As I helplessly sat in bed flu-fighting, I oscillated between staring at my ceiling and…
By Guest BloggerAs a woman of color, I am often complimented on the pigmentation of my melanin. Surely, it is something that is out of my control, trivial to say the least, but has always been the crux of many of the conversations in most of my life. How wonderful it must be to wear bright colors — which…
By Guest BloggerLadies, take a seat because I’m about to spill some tea. For starters, Muslim boys. I’ve noticed that many of them go on dates, have romantic relationships, what have you. But the problem is, is that if a Muslim girl were to do the same thing, she would be talked about for ages in the…
By Guest BloggerSeveral years ago I decided to travel to Egypt to visit a friend that lived there. She mentioned planning to take me to Dahab, a place in Egypt on the Red Sea. So I decided to buy a Burkini. After a lot of research, I finally purchased one from a company out of Australia. This…
