This probably won’t come as a surprise if you’ve read any of my articles, but I am not a fan of organized religion. My own experience with religion has been negative. Most of my teenage years were spent trying to understand Islam and get closer to God, and I was
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Over the years, I’ve tried to balance my personal values and beliefs with Islam, but I’ve been mostly unsuccessful. It’s hard enough to balance feminism and faith, but even if I ignore the fact that Islam can be quite sexist and homophobic, I am still left trying to reconcile religion
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“Jihad” often conjures images of bearded men holding a gun in one hand and the Quran in another, ready to hijack a plane or blow up a building while crying, “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”), and hoping to get their 72 virgins in paradise. Although people commonly associate jihad with
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If I had to choose one thing that I love most about Berkeley, it would be its commitment to freedom of speech. Coming from a society that is extremely conservative and rigid, I don’t take this freedom for granted. In Pakistan, my views regarding religion were considered controversial and unorthodox.
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Growing up in Pakistan, I was surrounded by Islam to such an extent that I didn’t feel like I had the freedom to actually choose it for myself: It was something I was expected to follow instead of something I chose to adopt. Islam permeated all aspects of my life.
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As a Pakistani woman from a Muslim family, I find that people often preconceive how my life must be. Apart from the rather ignorant comments and questions that I’m used to —  “Oh, so you can actually speak English?” and “Do people in Pakistan still ride on camels?” — people
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Despite being one of the most prominent religions, Islam is still grossly misrepresented. The media often generalizes about Islam, portraying all Muslims as a single entity. And many of these generalizations focus on fundamentalism and terrorism, which don’t apply to most Muslims. But even after separating the extremist strains from
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When I woke up June 26, I discovered that the Supreme Court had legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. I could not have woken up to better news. Most of my friends were celebrating and supporting the Supreme Court’s decision, but I noticed that not everyone was happy. Some
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In my experience with Islam, the hardest part for me was trying to reconcile my feminism with my faith. Growing up, I adhered to two seemingly contradictory beliefs: I was an outspoken feminist who wanted complete equality for everyone, and I was also a practicing Muslim. Over the years, these
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Picture a woman wearing a long, shapeless black cloak, her arms, legs and hair covered by dark cloth, with only the face — or sometimes just the eyes — visible. Does the word “oppressed” come to mind? That is a common assumption regarding Muslim women who choose to wear the
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