Racialicious has been running a series on interracial dating and I gave my thoughts and experiences on the matter on the “Outside of Constructs” panel, which features plenty of awesome mixed-race people.

Check it out!

People may assume that my dislike of Richard Dawkins is because he’s an atheist and I’m a Muslim.

But I couldn’t care less that he’s an atheist.  My issues with Richard Dawkins are with his disgusting sexism.

Some recent comments he made about sexism in the atheist movement really got under atheist feminists’ skin. But also mine. And so I wrote out my thoughts at Muslimah Media Watch:

Dawkins is injecting Muslim women “over there” into an issue that concerns us as well (sexual harassment and sexism in belief systems), but uses us to derail this issue.

I included some great links to what other feminists are saying about the issue, too. Ms. Magazine is reading it! So should you.

I am really excited to announce that the first digital conference on Islam is taking place today! Muslimah Media Watch is a proud sponsor of the event, which will take place at 8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time tonight, and I am a proud speaker!

Go to the website to sign up today! You’ll be able to see the full list of speakers, which include journalists, activists, and a few MMW writers. There are a lot of great thinkers to share their thoughts on where Islam is headed in the age of new media–all in one place and at your convenience!

International Women’s Day is almost here, friends!

And to celebrate, I’m going to do one of the things I do best: talk!

I’ll be giving a presentation titled, “More Than Meets the Eye: Muslim Women & Global Media Culture” for the World Affairs Council of Oregon on March 7, 2011.

If you’re in town, come check it out! And remember to use next Tuesday to make the world a bit better for the women in your life.

I review Sabah: A Love Story for Muslimah Media Watch:

Arsinée Khanjian stars as Sabah, a Muslim woman in her forties who has never been married and dutifully takes care of her mother, while her controlling brother keeps everyone under his thumb. The movie is billed as a cross-cultural romantic comedy, featuring serious cultural clash moments while attempting the comedy and warmth of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. But while the movie aimed high, it fell short.

Check it out!

My thoughts on Jennifer Jajeh’s play “I Heart Hamas” are cross-posted at Racialicious. Check out the discussion there!

I write an op-ed for CNN’s “Muslim in 2010” series. I concentrate on media obsession with Muslim women’s appearances:

Muslim women are more high profile than ever in 2010. However, a problem remains: news stories about them are fixated on appearance.

Most major stories about Muslim women revolve around how they look and what they’re wearing — not who they are and what they are doing.

Check out the entire thing at CNN.

Have you seen this week’s cover of Time magazine?

The ladies of MMW and I get together to discuss why we’re not down with it:

Fatemeh: Aisha consented to having her picture taken; I have no qualms with her decision. However, I have major issues with Time positioning her on the cover with the headline “What happens if we leave Afghanistan.” It assumes that  the US presence is keeping Afghan women safe (which Aisha’s mutilation disproves) and without the U.S., Afghanistan will be a terrible place, especially for women.

Read the entire thing at Muslimah Media Watch!

I did.

And the ladies of MMW and I wrote about it!

The film reinforced the standoffish attitude westerners have to Muslim-majority countries. Samantha’s middle finger isn’t a valiant push against conservatism, it’s a big “Eff you!” to intercultural respect. Rather than realizing that they were guests in a country that has different rules from their own, the fearsome foursome acted like Abu Dhabi was a sandbox at the playground where they could play “Arabian Nights” themed-dress up.

Check it out!