“This is the true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped,  to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.” Those words have forever ushered in MTV’s “real” drama-filled saga, The Real World. The Real World has long been known […]

This was written by Beverly M. Weber for Muslimah Media Watch. “She became a victim of Islamophobia and xenophobia.  She responded with dignity and exemplary civil courage.” – Plaque in memorial to Marwa el-Sherbini, located in the foyer of the Saxony Provincial Court The murder of Marwa el-Sherbini in July 2009 sparked an intense, long-overdue […]

My parents sent me to an Islamic school from the age of five to thirteen; it was their effort to keep me safe from the dangers of succumbing to the evils of “Western decadence.” During that time, we were a captive audience for many kinds of experimental lectures meant to keep us on a clearly-defined […]

Muslim girls at the London School of Fashion examine faith and fashion. More on “Islamic fashion” here. Spain’s parliament rejected a proposal to ban the niqab, while Syria has banned the niqab from educational facilities. Sumbul Ali-Karamali explores the burqa ban from an American perspective. More on the Syrian ban here. On how garment factories […]

Noorain Khan’s piece on bad burqa puns, which MMW reposted yesterday, came as I have been coincidentally trying to pull together an explanation of exactly what is wrong with headlines that use these puns.  (For those unfamiliar with the structure, here’s an easy formula:  “behind/beneath/under/beyond” +”the” + “veil/hijab/burqa/niqab.) Read her piece first for a great list […]

This post was written by Noorain Khan, and originally published at Jezebel. Every time news about another hijab/niqab/burqa ban hits the press, editors rejoice: this is their chance to coin THE ultimate veil pun. Problem is, there’s simply no such thing as a good veil pun. Plays on words that seemed clever in 1996 (or […]

It is said that in Islam, marriage is half the faith.  Yet marriages are increasingly breaking down in divorce or marriage in name only, and examples of healthy marriages in keeping with our deen are becoming scarcer. I was curious to read Suzy Ismail’s When Muslim Marriage Fails–I wondered, do Muslim marriages fail for the […]

While the front pages of newspapers feature Muslim women in flowing black abayas, burqas, and chadors, the often thrown-aside life and style sections are offering a very different picture of Muslim women: stylish! “Hijabistas,” trendy up-and-coming Muslim designers (predominantly from the U.K.), and fashion-forward hijabis are appearing on the covers of fashion and entertainment sections […]

You’ve probably heard that France banned the niqab. Some people like it and some don’t. More here and here and here and here and here. Bangladesh bans local elders from meting out punishments according to religious law, which will make it difficult for them to order the flogging of rape victims. The USA Today examines […]

Urban fiction novels have been filling up bookshelves across America for generations. Characterized by city settings and an incline towards the profane and dark, these novels are made to appeal to a mainly African-American reading audience. Urban fiction’s cousin, the Christian urban fiction genre, does not entirely exclude the profane, but instead inserts images of […]