No Outsiders: Why British Muslims must speak out for LGBTQ equality

The suspension of the No Outsiders programme that aimed to educate pupils about LGBTQ issues at Parkfield school following protests from parents has brought about the spectre of a return to Section 28. As Khalid Ibrahim writes, it is a state of affairs Muslim communities must resist The recent news regarding Parkfield school suspending the… Read More

Theresa May’s real Easter message: colonial nostalgia and hypocrisy

  By Ali Meghji  Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ. But Theresa May’s Easter message displayed another type of resurrection, that of a nationalism which reeks of Empire, colonialism, and religious superiority. The Prime Minister spoke of the role that Christian values have to play in British society. Yet, Christian values, just like any other… Read More

Angela Bassett, the genius that defies age

by Rooney Elmi Navigating the tricky “in between” identity of a first-generation American-Muslim roughly translates to exhibiting the daily cultural friction of managing tradition, Western upbringing, and religion in a post 9-11 landscape. For a while, it seemed as though I shared little-to-no commonalities with my parents, and my growing admiration for film converted into… Read More

Let’s tell stories about Pakistan

by Saadia Faruqi    Stereotyping hurts, there’s no doubt about it. I teach a class entitled “Muslims in the Media” at my local community college in Houston, Texas in which I parade a laundry list of academic media studies proving beyond a shadow of doubt the negative stereotyping of Muslims in mainstream media. Pakistan, being… Read More

Radical Pluralism: An Interview with Dr. Amina Wadud

by Naima Khan  This Friday 6th March, just ahead of International Women’s Day, the Inclusive Mosque Initiative (IMI), a UK-based group who convene inclusive spaces for worship and community work, have invited Dr. Amina Wadud to lead their mixed-gender Friday prayer (Jummah). It’s been 10 years since Dr. Wadud made headlines when she did the… Read More

VIDEO: Chapel Hill. Three. Shot. Dead. Muslim.

by Sultanah Parvin  and Shezana Hafiz. Tuesday 10th February 2015. Chapel Hill. Three. Shot. Dead. Muslim. And the news told us there is no terrorist, no radical, no community was responsible. What would that news report look like? Lets frame this crime differently. Lets frame this crime as Muslims are framed. #SpokenWord ‘The deaths of… Read More

‘Defining’ Terror, and Why ISIS Suits the West

by Chimene Suleyman ISIS have never shocked the West. Not really. They are an al-Qaeda template with a Twitter handle. There are only so many ways you can torture and kill someone, and it’s nothing Abu Ghraib hasn’t seen before. But is there anything that suits the West’s understanding of the Middle East more than… Read More