Category Archives: Islam

Women’s March and the Selectivity of Anti-Trump Feminism

Posted on January 21, 2017 by

Women’s march in Washington Photo via Slate magazine Hundred of thousands of women in America and other countries are protesting against Donald Trump’s presidency. It is refreshing to see women from all walks of life, including many celebrities, standing up against … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Islam, Politics, Short Comments, women rights | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Saudi Clerics and Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2016 by

In an interview last November, Saudi cleric Khaled Al-Felaij said Muslims are forbidden from greeting Christians and Jews on their holidays. He labeled Jews and Christians as infidels and explained that their celebration were “based upon falsehood, heresy, and polytheism,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Short Comments, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reflection on Trump’s victory and the crisis of the liberal camp

Posted on November 12, 2016 by

“To the Egyptian lady sitting in the last row, if you want Trump, you can have him.” I was attending a political conference that featured a heated debate on the US presidential election, and these words from an American delegate … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Islam, Politics, Short Comments, women rights | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Sharia Courts in UK – A Minefield

Posted on November 2, 2016 by

A meeting of the Sharia Council of Britain at its east London headquarters Getty Yesterday, I spoke briefly on BBC World Service Radio about Sharia Council courts in Britain, which coincided with an inquiry started by the Home Affairs Select … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Politics, Short Comments | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Iran, chess, and the psychological bullying of non-hijabi defiant women

Posted on October 16, 2016 by

A poisonous debate has erupted since Nazi Paikidze, a 22-year-old American champion chess player, announced her decision to boycott next year’s World Chess Championship competition in Iran. A stream of articles published criticism about her decision to boycott and her … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Iran, Islam, women rights | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

The Washington Post on the murder of Nahed Hattar, quoting my piece

Posted on September 28, 2016 by

In The Washington Post, Ishaan Tharoor wrote an excellent report on the murder of prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar, and quoted my piece on the writer’s murder. In his post, Tharoor highlighted how an Egyptian TV host Hani Nahhas outrageously … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Islam, Jordan, Middle East, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nahed Hattar, Jordan, and the Muslim World

Posted on September 25, 2016 by

Nahed Hattar, a 56-year-old Christian Jordanian writer has been murdered. He was shot three times outside a court in Amman, where he was facing charges of sharing a cartoon deemed to be “offensive” to Islam. Hattar was arrested in August … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Jordan, Middle East, Politics, Syria, Terrorism, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Muslims, France, and the war on shorts

Posted on September 10, 2016 by

  Photo via UK’s Independent/ Getty Images In the wake of the Burkini war, a violent skirmish of altogether different proportions has surfaced in France. In the southern French city of Toulon, two women wearing shorts were verbally assaulted as … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Short Comments | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Essentializing Islam will not stop Islamophobia

Posted on September 4, 2016 by

( A woman wearing Niqab in France- Via AFP) The cynical glee with which the Western media publicly flaunts — and generalizes — the practice of Islamic customs has become a disturbing pattern. The Hijab, Nigab, and Burkini have now … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Middle East, Politics, women rights | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

The Right Not To Wear A Burkini

Posted on August 21, 2016 by

The ban on the Islamic burkini, or full-body swimsuit, on the beaches of the French Riviera has triggered heated debates and controversies. For some, it is a ban on freedom of choice; for others, the ban is a symbol of … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Read, Egypt, Islam | Tagged , , , , , , | 117 Comments