islamophobia
Honored to Speak at CAIR-Chicago’s 19th Annual Event
I feel incredibly honored to have been a speaker at CAIR-Chicago’s 19th Annual Event – THE NEXT LEVEL at UIC; My favorite organization with the most respected mentors and inspirers. I will cherish my scarf and name tag for life. Please go to cair-chicago.org and give generously! #civilrights #socialjustice #Islamophobia #inclusion #mediarelations. My intro begins […]
Self-Defense Training in Naperville for the Muslim Community
The Circular Force Self Defense Academy is excited and proud to announce in partnership with The Islamic Center of Naperville the formation of a new training group . Classes will be held out of the gym at the Odgen mosque on Saturday’s from 3:30 -5 pm beginning with first free session on Saturday June 18 […]
There was No Place for a Muslim Journalist in 1980s America
I shared this piece at the Daily Kos: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/1/17/1912291/-There-was-No-Place-for-a-Muslim-Journalist-in-1980s-America?_=2020-01-17T15:56:33.864-08:00 I was a Muslim American kid of the seventies with a writing bent that delighted my third grade Chicago Public School teacher, Miss Hale. A teen of the eighties who penned sappy poetry and wrote for my high school yearbook, people asked, “What do you want […]
9-11-2019
Today, I woke up with that oppressed, obligatory feeling that I’m somehow supposed to feel responsible for the events of this day, 2001. I was 8 months pregnant with my first child and getting ready to go on a sales call when I watched the planes hit the towers on WGN. I remember clutching my […]
You Are Enough – Writing Contest by Positive Writer
I am participating in the Writing Contest: You Are Enough, hosted by Positive Writer. Dare to Be Your Authentic Self by: Yasmina Blackburn I sat down to write the most important piece of writing in my lifetime. Invited for work I was doing for a not-for-profit organization in my hometown of Chicago called MyJihad, I […]
3 Heroes in Portland
The climate of Trumpistan (aka America) is one where the most dreadful things like hate speech and incitement of violence are dying to become normalized. So much so- people are dying. Trump’s America is killing people. When a white, extremist terrorist who will not be named on my blog- no notoriety here- walked on a […]
French Burkini Ban Podcast
The day after I published this podcast on the burkini ban, French courts ruled this practice unlawful. Some mayors still want to enforce it. Regardless- the global uproar on social media and the media had a huge affect on this outcome. France could not deal with the backlash. If you think your voice doesn’t matter, […]
Muslim Activist Banned from Facebook for Responding to Trump’s Islamophobia
Be careful what you wish for. Donald Drumpf seems to be projecting his fear of actually reaching his goals of moving into the white house which would put him in a precarious situation. He would actually have to stop pretending to know things and would actually have to know things and talk coherently. Not just […]
Digesting Orlando Narratives as a Muslim American
“Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur’an, 5:32) Any human being murdered is a travesty and a grave tarnish on the human race. Since taking one life is equivalent to taking the lives of […]
Bernards Township, NJ Gives Lame Excuses to Stop Mosque
Dear Bernards Township, New Jersey, Did you ever hear of the Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000? Better yet, have you ever heard of The Constitution? Or how about common decency? It’s disheartening to read about another mosque on U.S. soil whose attempts to exist are being stopped because of planning […]