Last week the intense battle against ISIS in the Syrian town of Kobane made headlines everywhere. Mayssa Abdo, a female Kurdish fighter, is said to lead the battle of the Kurdish troops against the Islamic State. Another Kurdish fighter, Rehana, is said to have killed over a hundred ISIS fighters single handedly in Kobane. Kurdish Shirine […]

The past month has been controversy ridden for the South African Muslim community, as news of the inauguration of the ‘Open Mosque’ in Cape Town has forced Muslims to tackle issues of gender equality, sexual orientation and religious freedom. Community radio stations, national broadcasters, newspapers and social media have been abuzz with news of the […]

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated the second Monday of October. Coming from Mexico, Thanksgiving has never meant very much to me. In fact, it tends to be a reminder of how complex and honestly messed up settler-Indigenous-immigrant relationships are in Canada. Whereas some Canadians have tried to differentiate themselves from Americans by tracking the history […]

Last weekend marked one of the major holidays on the Islamic calendar, Eid ul-Adha. The Egyptian women’s council offered a hotline for females to report sexual assault during the four days of the holiday, during which harassment usually is more prevalent. One teenager was killed defending women from  sexual harassment in Egypt last Sunday. Over […]

On September 23, an American-led campaign was launched to attack different targets that belong to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, referred to as ISIL. A number of Arab countries announced their participation in the campaign, among them Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Two days later, FOX News discussed the participation […]

A few months ago, I wrote about the “rediscovery” of Noor Inayat Khan, from the 2011 campaign to commemorate her, to the biography, Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan by Shrabani Basu to the planned docu-drama, which at the time I had not yet watched. I have since watched the one-hour film, which is […]

When I was 19 years old and just exiting from the rebellious teenage years, I stepped out of the house with my hijabi sister. I was newly de-jabbed (the first tentative attempt of many), and feeling awkward and – for lack of a better description – naked. My neighbour happened to step out at the […]

This week, the execution of an Iranian woman was postponed for ten days. Reyhaneh Jabbari was scheduled to be hanged last Tuesday for killing the man who tried to sexually abuse her. Online abuse aimed at Pakistani women often turns into violence in the “real” world; activists are calling on social media companies to be more […]

This post was written by Laila Alawa (@lulainlife). A few weeks ago, the online world blew up in response to the allegations – and later, leaked video – of an American football player, Ray Rice, beating his then-fiancée into unconsciousness. Within the online Muslim American community, the topic was hotly discussed and debated. Nuances were examined, resources […]

A week ago I came across #MuslimApologies, a hashtag that aimed to respond to the idea that we, Muslims as a collective, have some kind of responsibility to apologize for the actions of extremists and violent movements such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, etc. The Washington Post picked up the story showing that #MuslimApologies is just another […]