New Blossom from Deep Roots: Poland’s Muslim Community

12 May 2010

Today there are around 35-40,000 Muslims in Poland,  including Poles, Tatars, Arabs, Turks, Palestinians. The majority of Poland’s Muslims (around 11-13,000 people) live in Warsaw.
Despite being an overwhelmingly Catholic country, since the 1970s, Poland has also housed a small but swelling immigrant Muslim community. These newcomers join the country’s tiny, sporadic Tatar communities to make [...]

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Ae Fond Kiss: A Scottish Muslim-Catholic Love Story

9 May 2010

Ae Fond Kiss (Just a Kiss) is an unusual romantic drama set in Scotland. It tells the tender, often tragic story of forbidden love between Casim, a Pakistani-Scottish Muslim DJ and Roisin, an Irish teacher.
Set in Scotland, Ae Fond Kiss was directed by  the legendary Ken Loach and released in 2004. It won several awards, [...]

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Naseem Hameed: Pakistan’s Muslim Golden Girl

7 May 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?

5 May 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

4 May 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

2 May 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

29 April 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

26 April 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

24 April 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

23 April 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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