Listen and judge: an interview on Islam, cultural pluralism, and the future of secularism
http://nothingismere.com/2013/10/28/listen-and-judge-an-interview-with-marwa-berro/ I’ve been meaning to write about the recent Washington DC meetup that I attended with members of the ex-Muslim and secular communities and Richard Dawkins. I’ve also wanted to write a little bit about the goals and struggles of the ex-Muslim cause, but unfortunately haven’t gotten around to either …
The ExMuslim Blogs and the Stories from Ex-Muslim Women project
Hello folks! I have two important and teeth-chatteringly exciting updates. A day I’ve been anticipating has finally arrived. I’m excited to announce the unveiling of a unique collaborative effort: The world’s first unified Ex-Muslim blog platform! Check it out at http://www.exmuslimblogs.com/ The Ex-Muslims of North America has created this website …
Why growing up in Saudi Arabia was awesome, and why I beg you not to go there
I was just reminiscing with Ali Rizvi about growing up in Saudi Arabia. We were foreigners, the children of expatriate workers. We lived in Saudi Arabia at different times; he is far older than I am, and he left in ’91 while I moved to Saudi in ’95. We walked …
Oppressor–a poem
So some of you might know that my current primary academic field is creative writing. I’ve never been good at poetry; fiction has rather been my forte, mostly because of how difficult I find it to achieve conciseness of image. This I’ve worked on for a while though, a persona …
4 Mistakes You Make When You Talk About Islam
Hello folks! I want to start off by checking in and and telling you that I had an exciting weekend in Washington DC, where, along with some of my dear and brilliant fellow members in Muslimish and the Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA), I met with secular activists and leaders …
Stop Pretending Your Right To Hijab Is At Risk: Totally accidental midnight rant
http://inkontheside.com/2013/09/23/how-to-dress-free/ Hello. It is nigh on 4am*, I am sleep-deprived, have been working for many hours, and saw something that inspired a little bit of rantiness and before I knew it a I had a spiel, substantive enough for a blog post, so allow me to give you the eloquence …
An Open Letter to the Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut Medical Center
Dear AUBMC Department of Psychiatry, This is an open letter from a former patient. The intent of this letter is to expose the unethical treatment of patients in your department due to violation of doctor-patient confidentiality, which is especially crucial when it comes to mental health, and to urge you …
Lady Gaga and the burqa: it’s personal
I’m nervous, you guys, because I’ve done a very personal thing. I’ve guest-blogged about Lady Gaga and the burqa over at Godlessness in Theory, Alex Gabriel’s Freethought Blog. And what I’ve done in this post is tell a very personal story. An excerpt: I’m not here to give yet another …
Quick Update: Facebook page and social media.
Between a Veil and a Dark Place’s new Facebook page. I have been prone to posting short updates, important and interesting links, and commentary on my personal Facebook page. Generally I’m better at consistently sharing cool things if I have more than 140 characters to say something about it, and …
How can we discuss Islam in better ways? A response to Alex Gabriel on Dawkins and Islam
This is in response to a post up at The Heresy Club discussing how and whether Richard Dawkins’ commentary on Islam is racist. The piece makes several powerful points–notably that while Islam is not a race it certainly can be discussed in racist ways that are both important and damaging …