Naseem Hameed: Pakistan’s Muslim Golden Girl

May 7, 2010

“It was the most joyful moment in my life… tears flew down my cheeks, and I bowed to Allah right there.”
These are the words of a triumphant, Naseem Hameed, the Pakistani Muslim athlete who became the pride of her nation when she won gold in the 100m sprint at the 11th South Asian Games in [...]

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Who are the Arab Jews?

May 5, 2010

I am absolutely enchanted with the Arab Jewish culture – it seems like such a potent blend of flavors and sounds. It all started when I made a couple of Mizrahi (Arab Jewish) friends in the US. They kindly introduced me (sonically) to Om Kolthoum, and fed me some of the most extraordinary hummus I’ve [...]

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Brazil: A Top Destination for Muslim Tourists

May 4, 2010

Holiday season is kicking off for many of us, who are excitedly planning our Summer vacations. For many of us, choosing our ideal  destination includes looking for places our faith is understood and accepted.
Thanks to a great article in IslamOnline.net, I discovered that Brazil is becoming a popular holiday spot for Muslim tourists from around [...]

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The Cost of Love for Mona Awad

May 2, 2010

I was really touched by an article I read in The National yesterday – and thought I’d share it.
Mona Awad, a 42-year old expat Jordanian Christian secretary stood at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the UAE on October 15th waiting for the man she was engaged to marry – whom she had met a month [...]

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The Saudi Arabian Poetry Reality TV Show and the Heroic Housewife

April 29, 2010

Niqab-wearing Saudi Muslim housewife Hissa Hilal caught the attention of the Arab world this month, when she shot to the finals of televised Arabic poetry competition, Million’s Poet.

The bizarre hit reality TV show is based on Nabati, an obscure form of Gulf Arabian poetry with ancient Bedouin roots, which is now delivered in modern Gulf [...]

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Oprah does Egyptian Marriage, Divorce & Premarital Sex

April 26, 2010

Oprah Winfrey: Icon, idol and household heroine for girls around the globe… America’s best loved talk-show dame recently interviewed Egyptian women about marriage, as part of a series on women in different parts of the world.
The female guests on this edition of the popular talk show were as follows: Ms. Injy Elkashef, a 37-year-old journalist [...]

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Asia Alfasi: Arab British Cartoonist and Rising Star

April 24, 2010

Roll-up, Roll-up! Yes folks, I have (yet) another Arab heroine. A brilliant young female Arab artist whom I recently discovered through some friends in the UK.

Asia Alfasi is a British comic writer, who draws on her Libyan roots and the Arab and Muslims cultures, meshing them with Japanese influence in her magnificent manga-esque creations.
A World [...]

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Australian Muslim Women Work it All Out

April 23, 2010

Here’s an interesting and rather ingenious initiative: Ismahan Abdulkadir, a female Muslim resident in Chadstone, Australia had the bright idea of applying to the local government for a grant to run a Girls Only Gym.
And she got it: $2000 Australian to set up the program and give young Muslim women the chance to exercise freely [...]

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Setting her Sights High: Elham Al-Qasimi’s Bid to Become the First Arab Woman to Reach the North Pole

April 21, 2010

On April 10th, 2010, Dubai-born Elham Al-Qasimi bid farewell to her career as an investment manager in order to pursue her life goal of becoming the first Arab woman to reach the North Pole!

Her two-week expedition began at the Borneo Russian ice station and will culminate in the North Pole on April 24th. This intrepid [...]

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The Indian Festival that Unites Hindus and Muslims

April 19, 2010

I recently blogged about the history of Islam India, and then, while reading the travel section of The Guardian I stumbled across a beautiful article on the largest southern Indian pilgrimage festival in which Hindu pilgrims commemorate a Muslim warrior.
Guardian travel writer William Dalrymple jumps right into the thick of extraordinary menagerie of sound and color, following [...]

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