Women

Muslim Women are People too

Nura Sediqe has a great article up on Muslim women. Read it. Ironically, the same religion that is demonized for oppressing women is the one that has historically produced great examples of women who have been empowered by Islam to serve as role models for communities globally, from Betty Shabazz to contemporary leaders such as Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of ISNA, the largest Muslim organization in North America. Or my own personal role model, my mother, Salmenna Sediqe, who was recently elected President of the Islamic community in Toledo, Ohio. She is a survivor of war who managed not only…

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Women

The White (Wo)Man’s Burden

Fatemeh F. drops some science: These wars actively undermined the work of feminist and women’s organizations within war-torn countries; in a time of conflict, everyone’s first priority is survival and winning, rather than concern about “women’s issues.” The Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan was founded for the societal and political advancement of Afghan women in 1977, well before the United States aimed to “liberate” them in 2001. Yet few feminist organizations recognized that RAWA, or any other group led by Afghan women, was fighting its own battle against the Taliban.

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Women

The New Orientalists

An upcoming article talks about lenses used to describe the lives of Muslim women (via Law and Humanities Blog): "Popular narratives produced from the west, particularly since 9/11, perpetuate negative stereotypes about Middle Eastern Muslim women. Native writers settled in the west also dish out heart-rending tales of women's oppression in fundamentalist Islamic societies, targeting a western audience long fed on tales of Islam's intolerance towards women. These 'New Orientalist' narratives, portraying Muslim women as hapless victims of Islamic fundamentalism, only serve to reinforce the stereotypes entrenched in popular western imagination. With Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran as a…

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Intra-faith Women

Child Marriage in Arabia

Brian’s comments are spot on. What is this reform of which you speak? After public outcry over the marriage of an 8-year-old to a 50-year-old, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Justice has vowed action: “The justice ministry aims to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls’, Justice Minister Mohammad Al Eisa told Al Watan newspaper, partially owned by members of the royal family… “The minister’s comments suggested the practice of marrying off young girls would not be abolished. The regulations will seek to ‘preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects…

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Women

Over 30 and Unmarried

My friend Zeba Iqbal has a piece at Goat Milk: Over 30 and Unmarried – Breaking a Stalemate. I’m not recommending it because she’s my friend, but because it’s brilliant. I only know about it because she’s my friend. I don’t normally hang out with brilliance otherwise.

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Books Religion Web/Tech Women

Who Speaks for Islam?

Against our tag line of “Islam doesn’t speak, Muslims do” John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed have published a book called “Who Speaks for Islam?” What I have read so far is really promising. Gulf News is running a series of articles about the book. Worth looking at: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Also, related: Muslim Women want Equal Rights Who are Muslims? and The Queen of YouTube

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Women

Al-Qaeda in India?

Read this story. Man tries to bury is two-day old granddaughter. What does this have to do with AQ? Man is probably Muslim (Abdul Rahman), but goes directly against Qur’anic commandments. Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin. (17:31) as he hides him from the people because of the evil of the good tidings that have been given unto him, whether he shall preserve it in humiliation, or trample it; into the dust. Ah, evil is that they judge!…

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