By Jummanah Abu SamraIn case you missed it, Elizabeth Holmes, the founder, and CEO of Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company, is currently on trial and will be facing a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty. Holmes is accused of allegedly deceiving doctors, investors, and patients from 2010 till…
By Jummanah Abu SamraThe Maplewood Police Department (MPD) in New Jersey are conducting investigations after Tamar Herman, a teacher at Seth Boyden Elementary School, forcibly pulled off the hijab of the second-grade student Sumayyah Wyatt this Wednesday as she was pleading “No, no, my hijab, my hijab.” Wyatt’s mother, Zaynab, said that her daughter has become traumatized because…
By Jummanah Abu SamraDr. Aafia Siddiqui, who’s currently serving her unjust 86-year sentence at FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, is finally out of solitary confinement. On July 30, Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was reported to have suffered another assault by one of her inmates, who threw scalding hot water in her face. The hashtag #Free_Sister_Aafia was trending on…
By Jummanah Abu SamraHateful comments are literally everywhere. And more often than not, these disparaging comments and remarks come from family, acquaintances, friends, or, worse still, strangers we don’t even know and never heard of. Which is utterly bizarre. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, these people who hate on us aren’t necessarily bullies; they can be…
By Jummanah Abu SamraHave you been trying to pitch a publication? You may have been ignored multiple times — it happens to all of us. You may have had an idea that was absolutely brilliant, and yet, you just couldn’t put it the right words to catch the right person’s attention. You already did it all — you…
By Jummanah Abu SamraTomorrow marks not only the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, but also 20 years of unjustly forcing the Muslim community to be associated with Osama bin Laden and shoulder his burden when he himself was exiled from Saudi Arabia. What Caused All of This Mess? On September 17, 2001, Former President George W. Bush…
By Jummanah Abu SamraPorn is everywhere now, from billboards to imposed beauty standards. Our community is becoming more and more shuttered because of it. Marriages, relationships, and even kinships collapse just because of it — and guess what? Muslim or not, your gender, or assigned sex, has no role in your struggles with porn. And chances are, you…
By Jummanah Abu SamraIn case you’ve missed it, KUVRD’s educational posts have been going viral for a while now on Instagram. However, their mission doesn’t stop here. KUVRD is a streetwear brand that is all about “reviving Arab heritage” by making such authentic products as Keffiyeh, tatreez shirts, bucket hats, and jackets — and even more. In an…
By Jummanah Abu SamraThe situation with theTaliban capturing Kabul on Sunday, August 15th, and the hostilities committed against Afghan women has all eyes on Afghanistan — but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said in a statement issued on Sunday, “To say that today is anything short of a disaster would be dishonest….
By Jummanah Abu SamraIt’s been a little over a year now since the explosion of the Port of Beirut, and matters are only getting worse. Early on Sunday, August 15, a fuel tank exploded, killing at least 28 people, and injuring 79 others in northern Lebanon. “The corpses are so charred that we can’t identify them,” said Yassine…
By Jummanah Abu SamraEvery time we read news and/or analyses about the status quo in Palestine, we encounter countless subtle connotations and biased implications that are hard to be detected unless you read between the lines. And it goes without saying that, unfortunately, we unconsciously use these terms from time to time. Foremost is, such misleading terms, used…
By Jummanah Abu SamraPresident Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act this June 17th. This makes Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in Texas on June 19, 1865, a federal holiday. While Juneteenth marks “footsteps away from where President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation,” and while it is a…
By Jummanah Abu SamraSalaam means peace, and that’s how we greet. But the peace we don’t see on the streets of Paris, the place of Tour Eiffel, where the wrong goes by so well. You want protection? And so do we. You take on your armor, and say that it’s we who are trying to take on your…
By Jummanah Abu SamraPalestine has been gaining global attention due to the tensions that has been happening ever since the start of Ramadan when Israeli police officers started preventing Palestinians from gathering during Ramadan nights. Shortly after that, the attention has shifted to the ethnic displacement targeting Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. As of this…
By Jummanah Abu SamraSince the start of Ramadan on April 13, the tensions have been escalating between the Palestinians and the Israeli police who closed off the Damascus Gate using barricades to stop their Ramadan evening gatherings in East Jerusalem. Right-wing Israelis rallied on April 22 toward Damascus Gate, chanting “Death to Arabs.” To justify the deliberate violence…
