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Essay Competition | Hands along the Nile

How is community development in the Middle East important to the U.S? Why is it particularly crucial to focus on Egypt? If you have an idea of what the answers to these questions are, this is for you! http://www.handsalongthenile.org/events/HandsEssayContest.pdf THE 2009 ESSAY CONTEST (Deadline July 4th) Applicants are required to submit an essay (no more than 2,500 words) on the following topic: How is community development... Read More →

How does your garden grow?

A perennial women’s issue is financial empowerment, for which there are no quick and easy answers as our circumstances, situations, standards and goals are unique. Advice on personal financial management abounds through the internet, cable shows, talk radio and bookstores, never mind through family and friends…even infomercials! Many of us can name at least one of the recent personal finance best-selling authors. As... Read More →

President Obama’s Foreign Policy a Shift from “Clash” to “Cooperation”

If President Barack Obama has accomplished anything in his Cairo speech and recent foreign policy gestures, it is to refute the “clash of civilizations” theory that has tainted American foreign policy for too long. A major source of irritation I share with many Muslims is when Western leaders condescendingly refer to the tension between themselves and the Muslim world as an age-old conflict between the two... Read More →

Milestones of Humanity (Part 2)-An Example of Disbelief: Wife of Abu Lahab

Bismillah An Example of Disbelief: Wife of Abu Lahab We discussed in our first post that we will cover both believing and disbelieving women in the Qur’an to learn lessons from both. Allah ta’ala discusses the ultimate end of one woman in the Qur’an: the wife of Abu Lahab. Umm Jamil, also known as Arwa bint Harb, who was the sister of Abu Sufyan (radi Allahu anhu) was known for her staunch disbelief... Read More →

David’s Heiress

Me and running don’t always see eye to eye. Some days it hurts more than others. But it doesn’t mean I don’t do it. I deal with it and I keep running because not everything that is good for you always feels good for you.” - Lance Armstrong. ::: This is a story for Muslim women, about a young woman of their own, named Sarah. Do you know her? To you, she’s just another Muslimah. She’s of average height and weight.... Read More →

Preserving Our Arabic Essence

Naiyerah Kolkailah I was visiting a friend during my first few months of living in Doha, not knowing that I would soon discover a bewildering surprise at her house. Two children to Arab parents were left under her care while their mother performed `Umrah. The youngest, Salma, was a beautiful two-and-a-half year old girl with fair skin, blue eyes and curly brown ringlets around her cheeks. I attempted conversing with her... Read More →

The F-Word

    Say the F-word in a circle of Muslim men or women you’re on your way to being an outcast. Say the F-word while donning a hijab and you will confuse most non-Muslims. The muffled mockery, accompanied by quizzical looks and condescension, goes something like this: “as though you, with your outdated religious beliefs, would have any idea what rights or freedom even are.” But maybe I misheard –... Read More →

Milestones of Humanity: Women in the Qur’an (Part 1)

By: Amatullah Bismillah The Qur’an and Sunnah are filled with accounts of the lives of humanity’s greatest men and women: the Prophets of Allah and the righteous. Allah ta’ala says: لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ مَا كَانَ حَدِيثًا يُفْتَرَىٰ وَلَـٰكِنْ تَصْدِيقَ الَّذِي بَيْنَ... Read More →