As an unabashed Muslim-American manic-depressive, I ask my fellow Americans to reconsider how quickly they rush to blame the presumed other for fostering the ideology that inspired this attack.
Author: Melody Moezzi
Melody Moezzi is a writer, activist, attorney and award-winning author. Her latest book, the critically acclaimed memoir Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life, was recently released in paperback.
Listening to Domestic Violence Through a Wall
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Ms. Blog will be publishing a series of posts detailing the impact of domestic violence, including personal essays and more, throughout the month. “Bitch, I’m gonna kill you!” he yelled, so loudly that it woke us up in the apartment next door. There were no more words after that. The […]
H&M: Where Pseudo-Sustainability Meets Diversity Porn
The world’s second largest fashion retailer recently made a deliberate move to attract members of the world’s second largest religion, and people have taken notice. More specifically, H&M featured a Muslim hijabi woman for a split second in this video advertising spot that deftly disguises a sly cost-saving measure as an eco-friendly call for “sustainable fashion.” The […]
The Sisterhood of Generation I (Adult Children of Immigrants)
I’ve never met Raquel Cepeda in person, but we come from the same family. That is, the family of adult children of immigrants with our feet in two or more lands, inextricably torn between the lands of our ancestors and those of our descendents. Cepeda’s latest project, Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina, is […]
15 Days Left To Stop North Carolina’s Gay Marriage Ban
co-written with Tracy Hollister North Carolina has the dishonorable distinction of becoming the first state to put an anti-gay marriage amendment on a 2012 ballot. On May 8, voters in the state will weigh in on the North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which states that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union […]
Will Saudi Women Lose Their Virginity En Masse If They Start Driving?
My first thought is “no,” followed by a swift “none of your business.” But that wasn’t the conclusion of a recent report prepared for Saudi Arabia’s legislative assembly by a well-known academic. He predicted that if Saudi women were given the right to drive, those who had never had sex would quickly start losing their […]
You Can Protest with the Women Liberating the Middle East
On the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a group of feminists from across the Middle East have joined together as Women United for the Future of the Middle East to call for regionwide demonstrations in support of women’s rights. They’ve drawn support from the likes of GlobalSister.org, Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press […]
Muslim Dating Ads: What’s With the Racism?
Among other content, Islamic Horizons, the bi-monthly publication of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), runs personal ads. There are two sections: “Seeking Husband” and “Seeking Wife.” The personal ad below appears in the latest edition under “Seeking Husband,” and it is one of only two ads (among ten) in which a woman is […]
Childless by CHOICE, Get It?
I don’t want kids. Never have. I consider birth control the greatest invention of the 20th century and I’ve been taking it religiously for nearly a decade. No pregnancies to date, and in the rare event of one I’d be first in line at my local abortion clinic before that zygote even mildly resembled a […]
Better Muslim Than Gay
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about how much my people are under attack in America today. The thing is, though, as an American Muslim, I don’t really feel under attack. Annoyed? Sure. But attacked? No. Despite all the controversy surrounding the construction of the Park51 Center in downtown Manhattan, for example, the fact remains […]