In early February, a story broke about a briefing being given to Belgian soldiers departing for Afghanistan. In this briefing, the speaker notably made the following points, as related by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir: “[Having a] girl to a Muslim usually means that the man has poor sperm quality. I’m not joking. Manly men make […]

Very seldom does Muslim media produce quality critical analysis of issues facing Muslim women. But emel magazine published a series of articles doing just that to tie in with International Women’s Day, They are, thankfully, not the run-of-the-mill articles about “why hijab” or “how to be the perfect (insert womanly role here)” that a lot of […]

Mona Sahlin, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic party (SAP), is known by many names among her opponents. Though Sahlin is not Muslim, one of the most common nicknames for her is “Mona Muslim.” This appellation might suggest a cartoon character, or perhaps a Sesame Street muppet, but behind it  lies a deepening anxiety about […]

Welcome to the Islamic freak show! Where women can be bought in bulk, wear one-eyed veils to avert temptation, and brides come with gift receipts! In a sensationalist news article, the BBC covers the unfortunate story of an Arab ambassador that decides to have his marriage annulled upon seeing that his new wife was “cross-eyed […]

Last week, I reviewed Emma Tarlo’s book Visibly Muslim: Fashion, Politics, Faith. This week, I got the chance to speak with her further about the book and her experiences writing it. Sara: Was there any inter-generational tension involving “newer” hijab fashions? Emma Tarlo: With most of the people I interviewed, their mothers did not wear […]

In February 2009, Aasiya Hassan, co-founder of Bridges TV, was murdered by her husband.  Thanks to a groundswell of community organizing in remembrance of her life, Ms. Hassan’s story continues to be told a year after her death. Domestic violence is one of the last taboos in the American Muslim community.  Too often shrouded in […]

I was thrilled when I heard that Oprah Winfrey interviewed Egyptian women about marriage for an episode of her show about marriage around the globe. Oprah has always been such an inspiration for a lot of women, me included. I was so excited for her to highlight my world and how women like me get […]

In her new book, entitled Visibly Muslim: Fashion, Politics, Faith, Emma Tarlo captures the diversity in the way that Islam is practiced against the backdrop of multi-cultural Britain. Refreshingly, the book did not aim to answer whether or not covering was a part of Islam, and neither did it represent the views of Muslim women […]

This was written by Iman al Khaddaf and originally appeared in Asharq Alawsat. Are you on Facebook under your real name? This is the question that continues to haunt a large number of Saudi Arabian women, despite the fact that internet social networking sites rely primarily on factual personal information. However, a recent study carried […]

A recent Gulf News article entitled “Feminism in the Arab World” aims to give a picture of, well, feminism in the Arab world.  It interviews professors and students about their experiences of feminism, female leadership, and the status of women in Arab countries. While the analysis and interviews are interesting (you can go read that […]