It’s been 20 years since the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay. Adapted from the bestselling memoir Guantanamo Diary, The Mauritanian reveals how America’s intense need for retribution in the aftermath of 9/11 resulted in the imprisonment and torture of hundreds of Muslim men at Guantanamo Bay. More importantly, though, it highlights why President Joe Biden must indefinitely close the notoriously violent prison.
Tag: Islam
War in Afghanistan Has “No Islamic Justification”
In an interview, the president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars said that the war in Afghanistan has no Islamic justification. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Raissouni said that the killing of Muslims is a “great sin” and that carrying out suicide attacks against Muslims is “prohibited” in Islam.
Muslim Men, Take This Opportunity to Learn from Muslim Women
For the first time in many of their lives, Muslim men can’t go to the mosque. They can’t feel the peace and serenity, the connection with God. They must create this for themselves at home, a place that is now a hive of activity; adults home from jobs, children home from school. Muslim men are experiencing, for the first time, what women have come to expect.
Rest in Power: Remembering Fatima Mernissi, Acclaimed Moroccan Feminist
Renowned Moroccan sociologist, author and Arab Muslim feminist Fatima Mernissi died on November 30 in Rabat, Morocco. She was 75. Born in 1940 in a harem in Fez to an affluent family, Mernissi attended Quranic and nationalist schools, followed by graduate studies in sociology at Mohammed V University in Rabat, and the Sorbonne. In 1973, […]
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Beyond the Headscarf: Let’s Discuss Social Justice Issues Muslim Women Actually Care About
Reprinted with permission from Bitch Three months ago, I found myself in the middle of an FBI interrogation. Josh*, a white gay male Republican Christian friend of mine who loves Ann Coulter, had never met a single Muslim person until he met me. So, in the summer of 2013, after over a year of communicating […]
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 […]
We Spleen: Pat Robertson’s Marriage Advice
Pat Robertson has never been a friend of feminists, but he’s just proved that he’s the absolute last person you should go to for marriage advice—unless, of course, you’re looking for an excuse to beat your wife. The televangelist, most notable for denouncing gays and lesbians, linking the destruction of Hurricane Katrina to the legalization […]
France’s New Minister of Women’s Rights Misses the Mark
When newly-elected French President François Hollande appointed Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, 34, to the high-profile positions of minister for women’s rights and spokesperson for the government, Muslims in the nation were optimistic. So optimistic that some polls estimate an astounding 93 percent of French Muslims helped boost Hollande into office. In a new era of socialist administration dedicated to […]
Women and the Egyptian Revolution: An Interview with Mona Eltahawy
This week, a cover story in Foreign Policy magazine, “Why Do They Hate Us?”, ignited an explosion of praise, criticism and feverish discussion about women’s rights and gender equality in the Arab world. The piece elicited responses from across the globe and the political spectrum, cracking open one of the region’s most pressing issues–one that […]
Breaking the Breast-Cancer Stigma in Saudi Arabia
In October of last year, more than 4,000 women in black abayas topped with pink ponchos gathered together in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to form a giant ribbon in support of breast cancer research–the largest human awareness ribbon to date. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the country–nearly one-quarter of all cancers–so the campaign […]