Every year, millions of visitors undertake pilgrimages to religious shrines dedicated to Sufi saints.  The Indian sub-continent in particular is home to several such mausoleums.  Women and men from various ethnic groups and religious denominations visit the shrine(s) and pray, often finding solace in the presence of a blessed personality.  Many undertake visits in hopes […]

Courts in the Swiss canton of Thurgau have overturned on appeal the cantonal school district’s decision to forbid two Albanian girls from wearing the headscarf to school.  The story begins in 2011, when two 14-year-old girls were forbidden from wearing their headscarves to classes.  What ensued was a two-year legal battle that saw the school’s […]

Nurul Izzah Anwar comes from a political family. She is the current Vice-President of the Malaysian political party PKR (People’s Justice Party), and is also the daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, a former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister who was jailed in 1999 and banned from politics until 2008 for charges of corruption and sodomy (but arguably because he was […]

“A reporter must ignore critics and write the truth, Mustafa said. ‘Even if it is a tiny little drop in the ocean, you know you have made a contribution,’ she said. ‘So then you can have a clear conscience.’” – From an article on Zubeida Mustafa by the International Women’s Media Foundation The past couple […]

Last week, the Toronto Star reported on the first helpline in Canada specifically for Muslim women. The project stems from the Women’s Resource Centre, which is part of the Mercy Mission organisation. At the moment, this program is only available in Ontario, specifically in the Toronto area. Noor Javed, the author of the article, interviewed […]

This is my marriage contract, certifying that my husband and I went through a “marriage ceremony peformed under Islamic rites”, and that he had agreed to certain “special conditions” otherwise known as ta’aliq. We didn’t pay much attention to the conditions provided to us by the kadi (judge) from the syariah court, dismissing it as […]

France is and will always be my special soapbox, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when crap like this comes out. On November 1st, the magazine ran a cover with a niqabi (OF COURSE) on the front, with the headline “Cet Islam sans gêne” (This Brazen Islam), with a sub-headline of examples of where […]

“Oh Canada […] The true north, strong and free.”  – Canadian National Anthem Her eyes met mine sporadically while we stood in the packed subway train in Toronto. It was the month of Ramadan, the month that encourages Muslims to put forth that much more effort – to show sisterhood and warmth to those that […]

On a recent grocery store run, my father and I overheard an interesting exchange between two male store attendants about Malala Yousufzai, the 14-year-old activist from Pakistan’s northern Swat region who was targeted recently for her outspoken views on education.  While one of the attendants bemoaned her fate, his friend, a young Pathan, speaking with […]

Who would choose, on a day dedicated to honouring women in his country, to completely discount all previous work done by its women? That’s exactly what Najib Razak, the incumbent Malaysian prime minister, said during his speech during the National Women’s Day celebration on October 2. In addition to being the prime minister, Razak also holds […]