When Lebanese writer and poet Joumana Haddad’s I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of An Angry Arab Woman was published in 2010, it was described as a bold treatise, intentionally designed to be revolutionary, written in manifesto style. Recently, a revived interest has situated it in more superficial terms as “a provocative new book which “lifts the veil” on what the “Arab Spring” really means for women,” with Haddad as the liberated Arab woman telling all about her unliberated sisters. In fact, this theme is so familiar some have made the mistake of describing Haddad as the brave provocateur Muslim woman, along the lines of Irshad Manji, despite the fact that Haddad is an agnostic who who grew up in a conservative Catholic family.

SAN FRANCISCO (MMD Newswire) December 1, 2011 -- As a Muslim growing up and living in the West, A. M. Amana has seen Muslims become the target of unfair criticism. In "Prejudice Unveiled: The Myths and Realities about Islam" (ISBN 1463701128), he attempts to break the myths, misunderstandings and misconceptions about Islam for those in Western cultures.

A unique magazine has just been launched in the Netherlands: the Head Book, a glossy all about Muslim headscarves. Contrary to general belief, this piece of clothing is nearly always worn voluntarily.

Nine out of ten Muslim women in the Netherlands decide for themselves whether or not to wear a headscarf, according to a survey to mark the magazine’s launch. One of them is the Dutch-Moroccan journalist Boutaine Azzabi. Her enormous collection of head scarves ranges from traditional to fashionable and colourful. In the Head Book, Azzabi models 100 of her headscarves and shares the stories behind them.

Addiction
A shirt addiction, a handbag addiction – we’ve heard about them before. But apparently it is also possible to have a passion for headscarves. Jan Knaap, who initiated the ‘Head Book’ project, knows this from experience.

“For a short time, I had a Moroccan child minder who wore a headscarf and I noticed that she had so many different headscarves. I started to wonder how many she actually had.”

It turned out she had 50. Mr Knaap asked girls working in the supermarket the same question. Some of them turned out to have more than a hundred. Mr Knaap:

“These girls have a lot more headscarves than the average Dutch person imagines, which made me think. Especially as my friends and acquaintances believe Muslim women have 4 or 5 headscarves or one for every day of the week at the most. This is characteristic of the one-sided image of the garment. It is seen as a symbol of oppression. This project is meant to broaden that image. There are more truths than one.”

Headscarf debate
The headscarf is still a topic of much debate in the Netherlands. Can a women be refused a job because of her headscarf? Are girls allowed to wear a headscarf at school? The anti-Islam party Freedom Party (PVV) even proposed the introduction of a ‘headscarf tax’. This proposal turned out to be hot air.

Six out of ten Dutch Muslim women between the ages of 15 and 35 wear a headscarf. Most women make a conscious decision whether or not to wear one around the age of 19. Mother’s do not have much influence. In only half of the Muslim families where the mother wears a headscarf, do the daughters follow her example. And daughters make different choices: one of them may decide to wear a headscarf, the other may not.

Haute couture
Jan Knaap noticed that many Muslim women were very enthusiastic about the idea of a glossy about the headscarf. But in the end they decided they didn’t want to pose. But Bouaine Azzibi was prepared to show her whole collection.

The headscarf is a visible sign showing someone’s identity or religion. But it is also a fashion accessory that doesn’t always come cheap. Fashion houses like Chanel and Gucci have already discovered the market and are selling haute couture scarves.

Source: RNW

Salahuddin Khan’s first novel, “Sikander,” may be about everyday Muslim people, but the award-winning book is anything but ordinary.

Have you ever reflected on the many forms that religious experience takes, the various archetypes of the spiritual life? I don't mean designations like bishop, rabbi, imam or swami, but more essential patternings that may run across traditions and cultures. There's the hierophant or high priest or priestess, the hermit, the shaman, the healer, the humble servant, the prophet, the ascetic, as well as some less complimentary types -- but let's not go there. And then there's the Way of the Lover, the person who is simply in love with God and, as a consequence, in love with people, with nature, with all of creation as an expression of God.

ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s five OFF-SET questions is Maria Ebrahimji, who along with Zahra Suratwala, edited the new book, “I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim.”

As the title suggests, and the author explains, there are two Jerusalems: the earthly and the heavenly, the mundane and the imagined. And it has lived many lives.

The co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, Mortensen walked out to a thunderous ovation from a packed audience in traditional Pakistani garb, a shalwar kurta. Mortenson, who started building schools in the northern areas of Pakistan after a failed attempt at reaching the summit of K2, talked about how important it is to educate girls to bring about change in society. “You can drop bombs, build roads or put up electricity wires, but unless the girls are educated, a society won’t change,” he insisted.  Currently, the Central Asia Institute, Mortenson’s brainchild, has built and operates 178 schools in the rural and generally unstable areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Around 68,000 children are enrolled in the numerous schools and close to 54,000 are girls. In his talk Mortenson pointed out that the real fear of terrorists is not a bullet, but the pen, because education can empower people and give them courage.