By Hasnaa MokhtarOver the past two years, I have met brilliant Muslim women from all walks of life thanks to the Muslim Girl family. Although we interact virtually, every writer, editor, artist or poet shines through her unique persona, marvelous achievements and zealous attitude. But Aya Khalil stands out from the crowd. Not only is she an extraordinary…
By Hasnaa MokhtarPolice found the remains of 17-year-old Nabra in a pond in Sterling, VA, after she was reported missing on the night of June 17, according to NBC Washington. Friends of the victim confirmed she was walking with a group of girls after leaving the ADAMS Center, a mosque in Sterling, after late night Ramadan prayers when she…
By Hasnaa MokhtarMuslim female basketball players made history today after months of petitioning the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to allow athletes to wear headgear for religious purposes. The federation announced today that FIBA’s first-ever Mid-Term Congress unanimously ratified the FIBA Central Board’s decision for a new rule that will allow players to wear headgear as of Oct. 1,…
By Hasnaa MokhtarIf Peter Selis, the white terrorist who opened fire on people of color at a party in San Diego on Sunday, was brown, had a long beard, and his name was Abdul something, Western media like the New York Times would have raved endlessly about his radical religious affiliations and racial background. The word terrorist…
By Hasnaa Mokhtar“Go back home now,” the virtual troll on Twitter screamed in caps. I was told that America did not celebrate a day for Muslim women. That I did not belong here. This invisible person hiding behind a keyboard somewhere believed that he or she has the right to exist, but not me. Because a month ago,…
By Hasnaa MokhtarWhen Lisandra Jimenez crumbled in the bedroom sobbing in fear of her life from an abusive husband, her 3-year-old son came wiping her tears whispering, “Mama’s okay? Mama’s okay?” That’s when she realized it’s time to protect her three boys by moving away from the violent marriage that lasted a bit too long. “I was a…
By Hasnaa MokhtarHonor is a fuzzy, funny concept. Its meaning is constructed differently when applied to contrasting bodies: supreme white humans versus Muslim brown flesh. The former signifies American patriotism at its finest. Whereas the latter typifies Muslim men as brutal savages who are blood-thirsty. When white men get jealous, they commit murder. Just murder. When Muslim men…
By Hasnaa MokhtarHe is not far away. He is watching over you. Place your fingers on the side of your neck. Do you feel a pulse? Allah ﷻ says in the Quran that He is closer to you than that vein you felt pumping blood into your body (50:16). Can you imagine the magnitude of this bond?…
By Hasnaa MokhtarA day after Donald Trump signed the shameful Executive Order (EO) to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the U.S., countless numbers of people are being detained at John F. Kennedy International (JFK) Airport. Among them are an Iranian scientist headed to a lab in Boston, an Iraqi who had worked for a decade as an…
By Hasnaa MokhtarIn honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Donald Trump walks in the footsteps of Nazi Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler to bring the past to life; he omits any mention of Jews or anti-Semitism from his statement and signs an Executive Order (EO) to suspend Muslims from entering the U.S. — including immigration and visas —…
By Hasnaa MokhtarYou remembered to roast the Turkey, mash the potatoes and get the perfect ingredients for the pumpkin pie. You made sure family members arrived on time and that you had your best china set for the big feast. But what you completely forgot – perhaps ignored – is the colonial legacy embedded in Thanksgiving. Today…
By Hasnaa MokhtarTo every Muslim scholar, to every Muslim preacher, and to every Muslim leader who consented to a Muslim man hitting his wife to “discipline” her, you have Hanan Seid’s blood on your hands! This is on you! The 26-year-old mother of two was shot to death by her husband, Ahmed Mohamed Abdela on Oct. 23 in…
By Hasnaa MokhtarTo qualify as “marriage-friendly” material, a Muslim woman is expected to be: Martha Stewart in the kitchen. A combination of Hoover feather duster and mop in cleanness. Scarlett Johansson in sex appeal. Virgin Mary in modesty. Mother Teresa in devotion. Malala Yousafzai in activism and literacy — only for bragging purposes. Octomom in making an…
By Hasnaa MokhtarSaudi women took Twitter by storm using Arabic and English hashtags that call for ending the Saudi male guardianship system. The social media campaign started after the Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on July 16, 2016, titled “Boxed In: Women and Saudi Arabia’s Male Guardianship System.” HRW interviewed 54 saudi women and seven…
By Hasnaa MokhtarMy alarm went off at 4 A.M. I dragged myself out of my snuggly bed. I headed to the bathroom, freshened up, and performed wudu in preparation for my date. I laid my prayer mat toward qibla. “Allahu Akbar.” I started my tahajjud night prayers. Immersed in a profound, one-on-one conversation with God, I humbled myself…
