Ann Curry’s report for Dateline, titled Inside Iran, debuted tonight. I didn’t catch the whole thing, so I watch it in parts on the NBC website.

I couldn’t decide how I felt about it, so I had to make a list:

I liked:

• the Irani technopop in the soundtrack! They had some of my favorites, like Rezaya (included below).
• the focus on similarities between the U.S. and Iran.
• the amount of high-profile women highlighted and interviewd in the program: Dr. Minoo Moraz, Nasrine Sotoudeh, Tahmineh Milani, Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, etc.
• Ann Curry’s Tehrani-style roosari (headscarf).

I hated:

• the predictable focus on the scary people shouting “Death to America”, the ubiquitous shots of anti-American murals from the Revolutionary period.
  
• how Curry kept saying, “Tay-ran.”
• who is this guy translating for Khatami?!
• how the report played up the differences between Iran and the U.S. in a way to make them seem insurmountable and morally-reprehensible (“Look! Rafsanjani is holding a gun while he preaches at Friday prayer! How unlike us and how awful!”)

Despite the many positives in the program, the tried-and-true formula for reporting on Iran left a long-lasting bad taste in my mouth. For all the talk of change in Iran and hope for the future, the report kept going back to suspicions that have remained the same for decades: the Iranians are not like us, they hate us [insert footage of flag-burning], they want to hurt us [insert footage of crowd shouting, “Death to America”], they want nuclear weapons, they make women wear things on their heads [insert footage of women walking in chadors]. Dateline, it’s been done. Over and over.

Like Khamenei said, “If you change, we too will change.” So put up or shut up, Dateline.

Latoya & I posted a roundup of our favorite links from a recent blog carnival about white privilege and the ummah. Check it out!

In it, I discuss Iranian women in politics. Check it:

Iranian women are not only present, but in demand, in national politics. And it’s not for what they’re wearing or who their husbands are.

…we are not cool with torture.

Hussein Rashid writes a powerful statement denouncing torture from an American Muslim persepective. I, with many other American Muslims, have signed the statement in solidarity with its message. Check it.

When I found out that Delara Darabi had been executed on Friday, I felt defeat. I went through the motions, disseminating the news through Twitter, Facebook, and MMW.

I felt defeat again when I checked my news feeds the next day and noticed that few news outlets had broken the story. Outside of Twitter, very few in the blogosphere had reported on the story. In fact, outside of the Iranian blogosphere (which is ablaze with news of Darabi), MMW was the first one in the feminist blogosphere and one of the first in the Muslim blogosphere to report on Darabi’s execution. But instead of taking pride in my news breaking skills, I felt more defeat: where was everyone else who cared? Where were all the other reporters and bloggers? Why, after each passing hour, was there silence about Darabi? In the majority of the large news outlets, the story was not that Darabi had been executed, but that “human rights groups condemn” her execution.

I felt like something was over, and I was on the losing side of it.

But that’s what’s behind all this: Darabi’s execution, the lack of following governmental protocol (like informing her lawyer), the hurried burial without her parents’ notice or consent–this is all designed to make us go away. It’s designed to make us feel like we lost; it tells us to shuffle home and find something new to occupy us.

But according to DelaraDarabi’s Twitter account, her body may have showed signs of torture, and Iranian officials would not allow an independent examination before her burial. The suspicious circumstances around her execution and burial point to something larger that must be exposed.

Though Darabi has already been executed and buried, this is not over. Other Darabis exist, in prison cells and in courtrooms. Other women are mistreated, tortured, and beaten while in prison systems the world over, just like Darabi was. Whether she was the victim of judicial politics, a corrupt prison system, or fate, Darabi’s case stands as proof that we still have much work to do.

Confession: I hate Twitter. I just don’t think people need to know what I’m doing/thinking every minute of the day. And I don’t see how it’s any better or more useful than Facebook status updates or text messaging.

I put MMW on it last week. For pageview reasons, I told myself.

And this week, I myself caved to the Twitter revolution.  I will of course be putting up links to stories and such, but I predict it’ll mostly be random annoyances and observations. Which, as a matter of fact, I am strangely enjoying sharing with you all. Won’t you join me?

Best. Weekend. Ever.

The cannoli I had in NYC. Yum!

Despite the shuffling and confusion that goes along with conferences, this was by far the best one I’ve ever attended. The conference itself was a wonderful blend of different types of Muslims from differing political and religious viewpoints and endeavors. We talked about race, we talked about the future, and we talked about what Islam is for us.

I was dwarfed by the immensity of the work that many of the other MLTs are doing. Human rights, civil rights, women’s rights, film, the arts, etc. The words “incredible” just aren’t enough for these people.

Now, to the dishing and name-dropping! Forgive me if I leave out anyone—I met so many people this weekend that my mind can’t possibly remember everyone, and I have a feeling I didn’t get everyone’s contact information.

I finally met my AltMuslim/AltMuslimah pals Asma Uddin, Shahed Amanullah, al-Husein Madhany, Hussein Rashid, Zeba Iqbal, Haroon Moghul, Abbas Jaffer, and Jordan Robinson. Meeting these people, whom I literally correspond with every day, was marvelous. Putting faces and personalities to names always makes me happy. I also met some big names briefly: Mona El Tahawy, Reza Aslan, Irshad Manji, Kamran Pasha, Mazen Asbahi, and Shelina Zahra Janmohamed—names that I see on a regular basis, but haven’t previously made much contact with.

But I brushed the stars out of my eyes to hang with some incredible MLT people: Faisal Mirza, who is mobilizing Dutch Muslims online in an incredible way; Kauthar Umar, the director of New Muslim Cool, is doing incredible works in the arts; Famile Arslan, who is doing amazing human rights work; Zeenat Rahman, co-creator of The Hijabi Monologues; Asmaa Alariachi, who is bringing Muslim viewpoints to Dutch airways; Maria Ebrahimji, the editor of a forthcoming book about Muslim American women’s experiences (which you’ll hear more about later, because I’m in it) and an editorial producer for CNN; Sofia Latif, who works for Detroit’s Arab American community; Ayesha Mattu, a philanthropic consultant and an ethereal writer; Kamran Memon, who helps educate Muslims about their civil rights; the marvelous Azizah Kahera of Azizah magazine…and those are just a few of the amazing thinkers and doers I met this weekend.

And, after all the MLT madness was over, I got to meet more lovely faces! I met up with Racialicious peeps Latoya, Andrea Plaid, and Joseph Shahadi for a wonderful dinner (and a belated birthday hug for Andrea!) where we chatted about everything from race (duh) to the job market, and had a wonderful time. I regret only that the dinner was so short.

My time in NYC was amazing and has definitely shaped my outlook for the future. Watch for exciting changes as I attempt to live up to the MLT code.

I am humbled and inspired by my surroundings. Not just the history, immensity, and diversity of New York City, but more importantly, the Muslims I am meeting here. The conference is full of energy and warmth.

I am a little “starstruck” with all of the big Muslim names that are wandering around. But more than these passing celebrities are the people I am getting to know. I have met and spoken with some of the most intelligent, inspiring, and just-plain-wonderful people, from all over the world. These people work hard at being good parents, being good friends, being good lawyers, doctors, artists, journalists, you-name-its.I will shamelessly name drop after I’ve had a chance to digest this conference (as well as write out any critiques), but for now, my heart is filled with the beauty of friendship and a kind of familial warmth that doesn’t usually come easily after only a few hours of knowing each other.

I also learned tonight, in the cab ride home, that Bea Arthur has died at the age of 86. I bring this up not only because I grew up watching The Golden Girls, but because she was one of my first feminist role models from television. Her work on Maude and The Golden Girls helped make take-no-crap femininity part of my idea of womanhood, and though she leaves plenty of no-guff sisters behind, her death definitely leaves a gap. May God keep her.

I’ve been named as one of the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow! It’s exciting and humbling, and I follow in some pretty impressive footsteps: past MLTs include Azhar Usman, Mona El Tahawy, and Zarqa Nawaz.

I’ll be in New York City this week to attend the conference and meet a Who’s Who of awesome Muslim colleagues. It’s going to be busy weekend full of excitement, new people, and awesome ideas!

MMW has been nominated in the Canadian F-Word Blog Awards. F is for feminist, naturally.

We have been nominated as Best Feminist Blog–International. The first round of voting starts today (April 11th) and goes until April 14th. We’re up against some very great blogs, so head over and give us some love at the polls!