Close your eyes and imagine every experience that led you to believe that you were not “man” enough or not a “good” girl. Now imagine all your experiences that you encountered in which you felt your Muslim identity negatively singled you out.
A sovereign nation can do whatever it wants with its justice system, even injustice. But when the root of the injustice lies in religious discrimination, then maybe we should care.
For those of you who know me, it may be surprising to know that I was at one time during my formative years hella “wahabi” status. I’m talkin’ straight up abayas to school, “sorry sir, I don’t touch men”, and yes, “girls who take off their hijab are not respectable.” Re-spect [ri-spekt]: to hold in...
Since birth, we are measured. We are born, we are weighed, and our height is taken down. We are watched closely, screened for every developmental deficiency under the sun, and placed in the proper class for our abilities. And that’s only the beginning. Once we’re in school, we’re quizzed, we’re tested, and we’re told that...
Muslims should be invested, if not in a Ron Paul 2012 victory, in Ron Paul’s candidacy for President. The momentum Ron Paul has can be utilized to give voice on a mass scale to debates which for far too long have remained boiling under the surface. I have identified four principles advanced by Dr. Paul’s candidacy which...
Fear not--the best thing about community is sharing, so that we have enough information from various perspectives to help us on our track through our undergraduate education and onwards.
Legacy. In the most technical terms, it’s simply what we leave behind when we’re gone. No matter where we go, we never leave a place – in a sense. Our legacy continues to live on in the spaces we’ve left behind and to affect them, for better or worse – including after...
Mohja Kahf--one such poet and novelist--is a pioneer, crafting a brand of literature that is both distinctly American, and distinctly Muslim and Arab. Her first book of poetry, Emails from Scheherazad, is both a sympathetic hand squeeze for Muslim or Arab readers as well as a voice any reader can connect with.
In a protest Wednesday that tied together growing frustrations at UC Regents over fee hikes and the tide of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has swept the nation, UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff vocalized their frustrations and came head-to-head with campus police and administrators.
There is still silence and denial in the Muslim community that domestic violence and sexual assault exist. Just because we are striving to follow Islam, the beautiful religion of peace and submission to God, does not mean we as Muslims are perfect.
When it is said that our society is judgmental, it is not our conscious behavior that is referred to, but rather the atmosphere we create through our subconscious. That is, the presumption that one’s sense of right and wrong is everyone’s sense of right and wrong, that one’s experiences are everyone’s experiences.
Affirmative action is not just "fair" – it is a moral responsibility and indebtedness that this country has towards those whom it has marginalized and continues to marginalize.
