Fadilah Ali As a young girl growing up in a small Muslim-majority town in South Nigeria, I never found it necessary to explain my hijab. It felt as natural as a shirt or a sock. The thought to question it did not occur to me until I got to university and encountered harsh opposition. Fellow students wanted to know why I wore something that made … Continue reading Hijab: The Limits of Choice
This article is the first of a two-part series constructing an Islamic ethical framework around the concept of “strangers”. You can read Part II here. Aseel Azab-Osman This conversation starts with a simple premise: as human beings, whether consciously or not, we tend to historicise. We try to make sense of our current moment within larger contexts and timeframes, and we do so by relying … Continue reading Strangers: An Ethical Framework of Gharabah | Part I
Ayah Aboelela Warning: This article will contain spoilers of the 200-year-old novel. Why do so many Muslim women love Pride and Prejudice? It’s safe to say that women have always made up the majority of Jane Austen’s fanbase, yet her work has also found particular appeal amongst Muslim women. From a dedicated book club in Pakistan (where women dress up to attend Austen themed tea … Continue reading Pride and Prejudice and Principles
Nayla Majestya In contemporary public discourse on Islam, the emergence of revisionist approaches is widely noticeable. Historically speaking, within the intellectual tradition of Islamic theology, the efforts to change Islamic principles has been well-documented and well-countered. The writings of classical Islamic ulama like Ibn Taymiyyah and Al-Ghazali have provided ample counter-arguments to theologically-deviated propositions. However, every generation claims to face specific cultural problems that need specific … Continue reading The problem with Vernacular Islam
Nayla Majestya Being a Muslim in the liberal arts, I have lost count of the number of times I have been told to be ‘critical’. There is an underlying assumption that as I am visibly Muslim, I must be simple-minded and in dire need of ‘critical thinking’ to be liberated from my false beliefs. However, over the years I have realised that this advice is … Continue reading The Use and Misuse of Critical Thinking
The Qarawiyyin Project 