Author: Fatemeh Fakhraie

Founder of Muslimah Media Watch. Content marketing nerd who likes figuring out how stuff works and writing about it. I learned everything about being an adult from The Golden Girls.

M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” Video

The ladies of MMW and I deconstruct M.I.A.’s newest music video:

Fatemeh: This song is bad-ass and I’m going to be listening to it non-stop for the next week.

BUT YEAH. It’s cool that M.I.A. is showcasing a prominent and prevalent Khaleej pastime (this is all over YouTube in Arabic), but is obviously exploiting it while using dancers in niqabs and the “locals” as props. Plus, I think the shots of burning detritus and huge-ass pipes just shore up the idea that the desert is nothing but and these places have nothing better going for them. I’d react more favorably to see this set in a Dubai roadway with lit-up palm trees and the Burj in the background.

Check out the entire discussion at Muslimah Media Watch!

Shahs of Sunset

The show doesn’t premiere for another month, but I’ve already got a lot to say after seeing the two minute “sneak peek.” Check out my first thoughts at Racialicious:

How will a program featuring first- and second-generation Iranian-Americans (or Persians, as they prefer) affect public opinion on Iran? On one hand, Iran is presented as evil, nuclear, and menacing in news reports and pop culture. On the other hand, Shahs features a bunch of vapid, rich Americans with Iranian ancestry—many of whom are refugees from the 1979 revolution. In the opening credits, cast members relate that, “When the revolution happened, we all had to pick up and flee the old country,” and “I’ve been a refugee since I was eight.”

Who’s afraid of a Muslim feminist?

I write about my Islam and my feminism for Common Ground News Service, and how they’re not so different:

People, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, often tell me that I can’t be both a Muslim and a feminist. At a recent book reading in Oregon, for example, a male audience member asked me, “How does that even work?” These questions demonstrate some of the rigid misconceptions individuals have about Islam and feminism; many people think that they’re mutually exclusive categories. In fact, as a Muslim feminist, I have found them to have more in common than people realize, especially when it comes to social justice.

Check out the entire piece here.

Good, old-fashioned Middle Eastern hospitality

Friends, I was in Sharjah, U.A.E. last week. And I enjoyed my time so much there that I barely missed my normal Thanksgiving servings of pumpkin pie.

I was in town for the Sharjah International Book Fair. It was a wonderful maze of book stalls in Arabic and English, with every type of book imaginable on display. Paradise, really. The book fair also boasted an excellent collection of authors that I was honored to meet, including Yahia Labibidi and Michael Rothenberg, the creator of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change movement.

Other fair goers and I were privileged to witness poetry nights at the Book Fair, hearing poems from Lababidi, Rothenberg, and local talent. Pictured right is a snapshot of the fair–I love the pop of that orange carpet!

The organizers of the fair were generous enough to set up a lecture for me at the American University of Sharjah. Yusra, a fellow  I Speak for Myself contributor, flew in to help me represent the book and we met for the first time despite working together for years at Muslimah Media Watch. We discussed MMW, multi-culturalism, and the need for more women’s voices in mainstream media.

The crowd was a wonderful one, full of bright young Emirati minds who asked wonderful and intelligent questions–I definitely enjoyed my time at the university!

The American University of Sharjah.

The American University of Sharjah's main building, where our lecture was located.


My time in Sharjah was blessed for a host of other reasons, as well. I was lucky to connect with several colleagues who are located in the area, and enjoyed some beautiful sunshine–a really wonderful change from rainy Oregon winter. And everyone–everyone–was incredibly kind and welcoming. Hospitality is a prominent facet of Middle Eastern cultures, and I definitely felt it!

Another reason I enjoyed myself so much is because, for the first time, I was in the religious majority. The Emirates is a predominantly Muslim country, even if the majority of its inhabitants are made up of expatriates and domestic workers from non-Muslim-majority countries. So I experienced new perks: I was awoken every morning by the beautiful call to prayer from the Al Noor mosque down the street from my hotel and enjoyed a (beef) pepperoni pizza at Pizza Hut! These things seem so little, but I enjoyed them immensely.

I can’t express all the gratitude I feel toward everyone I met in Sharjah. A “thank you” doesn’t seem enough–I enjoyed my time so much there, and hope I feel the Gulf’s sun on my face again soon.