By Humeira KazmiThe moment I came across this image – a Black man’s face in a children’s book for learning the basic Urdu alphabet to enunciate the letter ﺡ (H sound in English) – I knew I had to say something. It says H for Habshi. Technically, if the book were for learning ABC’s, this would be…
By Ayaan OmarI don’t want to be eloquent today; I don’t want to code switch or tone it down or be the diluted brand of Black that is easiest for you to digest. I don’t want my safety or acceptance or respect to be dependent on how well spoken I am, how well I assimilate, how well…
By bintaBismillah. A few months ago, according to Netflix, 1.5 million viewers became infatuated with the Netflix Original Series Love Is Blind. I saw the memes, but I purposely didn’t want to watch it because I didn’t think it would be worth my time. One day, I decided, “What the heck, why not?” and gave it…
By imaanasimYesterday, Trump tweeted out an edited video of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments about 9/11. From Omar’s entire speech, he picked out four decontextualized words—“some people did something”—which he used to further fuel his Islamophobic propaganda and racist agenda. It seems to me that many white, conservative men like Trump are intimidated by strong and powerful…
By vanessaelshamy“We are all one Ummah.” We hear this sentiment a lot, and don’t get me wrong– I love it. I just wish it were true. Unfortunately, our Muslim communities, particularly the older generation, are overwhelmingly oblivious (or complacent) to the racism prevalent in our communities. As in our overall society, Black Muslims are sometimes treated as “less than” other Muslims by…
