Men of Real Honor: An Open Letter to Somia el-Alfy, Ahmed el-Fishawy’s Mother



By Ginan Rauf In a column that appeared in the Egyptian newspaper sawt al umma, you raise an important question about what you call a “new religious project” or mashru din jadid. Your comments seem to imply--and please correct me...

Explore



I want to explore the woman as a concept, not just a body.

A Plea for Truce in the Hijab Wars



As a feminist who cares about women’s freedom but who is dealing with women with whose ideology you totally disagree, you have to listen to what empowerment is to them.

A Woman Leads Prayers? What's Left of Muslim Men's Dignity?



I can't explain it. Only we Middle Eastern men are capable of looking at women who are covered under lumps of unforgiving black sheets and feel aroused.

Erudition as dead-end: Hina Azam and the perils of legal dogmatism



By Hussein Ibish Dr. Hina Azam’s A Critique Of The Argument For Woman-Led Friday Prayers, which challenges the legitimacy of the March 18 mixed-gender congregation prayer in New York City led by Dr. Amina Wadud, is a perfect example of...

Letter to the Lord



By Hesham Hassaballa Most Magnificent Lord and Creator: All praise and thanks is due to thee, O Lord, the Light of Whose Countenance illuminates the heavens and the earth. All praise and thanks is due to thee, O Lord, Who...

Showdown with Satan?



Half way through my first rakat I felt someone come and join me to my immediate right. And half way through the rukuh I realized that it was a woman.

First Fruit of the Prayer



I don’t care how conservative you are, how much you say you’ve never wanted to be imam: Every girl has been to that place. That place of bewildered pain at the misgiving that you might be rated less worthy by God.

'My daughter didn’t come into this world to be punished': An Interview with Hind el-Hinnawy



I felt the baby was like a little angel and I wanted to be a mother. Motherhood was very important to me and I was going to make sure that nobody punished my baby or deprived her of her rights. I had the right to choose and I felt that God was on my side right from the very beginning. My daughter didn’t come into this world to be punished.

March 18th Photo Album



By Hijabman Click here to view more....

This Luminous Path of Islam Cannot Be Dominated by One Gender



This luminous path of spiritual liberation that is called Islam cannot be dominated by one gender, or one class or one ethnicity. The prophet Muhammad, may Allah shower glorious peace upon him, is the Mercy to all the worlds.

Huggable Islam



The jamaat was mostly segregated with women on the right and men on the left, kind of blurred in the middle. I sat in the back by HijabMan and looked at all of us, and felt alright.

Slave Girl Inspires Muslim women



The search led her to conclude that there's nothing in her religion that allowed people to judge her or her child and that she could live a normal life, like any other mother.

Thank You Sheikh Gum'a



By Ahmed Nassef While most North American Muslim organizations remain either silent or come up with bizarre arguments against it, Mufti Sheikh Ali Gum'a, Egypt's top Islamic authority, has declared that woman-led prayer of mixed-gender congregations is permissible, so...

The Waiting Room



Dedicated to the hesitators who care about the issue but won't declare their support for today's Jum'ah.

What a Damn Shame!



There is much truth to the seemingly intractable association of Islam with violence and misogyny.

A Prayer Toward Equality



By standing behind Amina Wadud today, we will be clearing the deck of distractions and acknowledging the egalitarianism that permeates Islam.

Going Backwards: How the Venerable Al-Azhar Is Shutting Women Out



It’s truly a pity that such an uplifting place such as Al-Azhar is controlled by misogynists who fail to uphold Al-Azhar’s honorable reputation and the ideas of equality between genders as found in the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet (PBUH).

The Secret of Why Only Men Can Lead Prayer: An Interview with Saudi Scientist Dr. Muhammad bin Saad an-Nutfah



Since most women are born without a right testicle, they are barred from achieving the level of Quranic knowledge required to lead prayer.

Muslims in the West Must Be More Vocal for the Sake of the Young



How much choice did Shabina have in this? Listen to what the judge in the case that Shabina lost had to say about the influence of her brother: "One wonders why it should have been her brother who articulated what she was perfectly capable of saying herself."

Modi’s Operandi: American Business and Genocide Linked Again?



It is a shame that an American business organization, motivated by ethnic loyalty and greed has decided to overlook heinous crimes against humanity to honor him in exchange for investment opportunities in India.

A Statement from the Organizers of the March 18th Woman-led Jum’ah Prayer



Fundamentally, this event is about Muslim women reclaiming their rightful place in Islam. It is not about any specific person or personality. Our sole agenda is to help create Muslim communities that reflect the egalitarian nature of Islam.

Not Heroic Enough?



The abysmal situation of Muslim women in their societies is fundamentally linked to the decision to organize this woman-led prayer. In many parts of the Muslim world, women are treated as inferior on ideological and theological grounds.

No, We Don’t Have More Important Issues: In Support of Women-Led Prayer



I demand to know where the Muslim Women’s League stands on this issue. I demand to know where the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) stands on this issue. I demand to know where the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) stands on this issue. And KARAMAH, the American Sufi Muslim Association, Women in Islam, Azizah Magazine, and other groups who speak for Muslims and Muslim women. Please tell us clearly what you think.

The Trouble with Irshad Manji?



I found myself agreeing with a lot of what she had to say. I also found myself disagreeing with a lot of what she had to say. The most important point, however, was that I listened to what she had to say.

What Would the Prophet Do? The Islamic Basis for Female-Led Prayer



The March 18 event is an excellent opportunity to outline the evidence in support of women’s position as spiritual equals and leaders, as well as responses to some of the most commonly used arguments against women leading congregational prayers.

A ‘Hindu’ Disciple on his ‘Muslim’ Sufi Master



Some people ask me, "You were born in a Hindu family, then why do you live in a dargah and eat and sleep with Muslims?" But I tell them that just as the sun shines on every-body and the winds blow across every one's fields, so also the same God has created and looks after every human being.

I Deserve Nothing Less Than Glory



"Wallada" by Hend Al-Mansour (Henna silk screen on wool - 2004) By Walladah Al-Mustakfi (1001-1080 C.E) Walladah was a famed Andalusian poet, sponsor of literary salons, and the daughter of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Mustakfi (976-1025 C.E). For the sake...

Iddah



By Aisha Sharif It’s five in the morning and Uzair is beating down Asma’s front door. She’s still his wife. Where is your gun, Asma? No fooling around. Uzair’s wives welcomed Asma. They never felt burdened. This month has been...

I am Woman - Celebrate Me



I am Christian, Muslim and Jew I bleed the same as you

Make History! Reclaim Our Faith! Endorse Now!



We are calling on everyone in our community to speak out loud and clear in favor of reclaiming our faith of justice and compassion for all people, women and men, by endorsing this event, either individually or on behalf of your mosque or organization.

A Rush to Judgment: Copts and Muslims Need a Reality Check



To say the Coptic community’s fears and insecurities are unjustified is to ignore the trends of modern history in the Middle East.

Looking for the Good Jew



Piece of cake, let’s go find those non-Zionist and non-pro-Zionist Jews.

In the Fight Against Terrorism, Some Rights Must Be Repealed



In the post 9/11 world where supposedly “everything has changed,” perhaps it is time for Americans to reconsider the value of public gun ownership.

Will a Muslim woman ever be more than what she wears?



I felt like screaming with anger and frustration when I heard about Shabina’s case because once again a Muslim woman is in the headlines only because of what she wears. When will this madness end?

Our Wittenberg: A Historic Call for Compassion Posted on a Mosque’s Door



This kind of thing is seen as crazy only because it hasn’t been done yet, at least not on the proper scale. Thanks to the Asras brave enough to carry it out, it gets less crazy every time. Someday Shibli will know better mosques than his mother, and wonder why it was ever seen as radical at all.

99 Precepts for Opening Hearts, Minds, and Doors in the Muslim World



The Inspirer. It is not for human beings to judge who is faithful and who is not.

Not Your Mullah's Iran: An Interview with Azadeh Moaveni



It’s a window onto a debate and a world where Islam is being dealt with in an intellectually honest way, and onto a society where the Islamic experiment did not go very well.

The Mullah with X-Ray Eyes: An Excerpt from Lipstick Jihad



I pulled my inkiest, roomiest roopoosh out of the back of the closet for ironing, and wondered whether I was sick, looking forward to a trip that should instill a normal person with dread.