Author Archives
inquisitive, feminist, womanist, altruist, truth-seeker, healer, human being...
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Learning from the Nation by Jameelah X. Medina
One thing about the Nation of Islam (NOI) mosques that I have always enjoyed in comparison to mainstream Islamic mosques is that the gender separation is side-by-side rather than front-to-back with the women always in the back on the same… Read More ›
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LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent by Jameelah X. Medina
In January 2015, I presented at the LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent‘s third annual forum in Harlem, NYC. As an ally, I was honored to be invited. The theme of the forum was “Ain’t No Hurt Like Church Hurt.”… Read More ›
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Mr. Big Man by Jameelah Medina
This past week, I have discussed with college students the time I was wrongly arrested and harassed by an Islamophobic Sheriff Deputy several years ago, which led to a successful court case against my county spearheaded by the ACLU. I… Read More ›
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Nature: The Best Muslim and My Favorite Muse by Jameelah X. Medina
Now that spring is upon us, it started me thinking about the beach. I love the ocean. Like me, lots of people get that back-to-the-peaceful-womb feeling when looking at the ocean. As I thought about the ocean, I realized I… Read More ›
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The Power to Interpret for Myself by Jameelah X. Medina
My father always encouraged us to interpret scripture for ourselves. We read text, learned mainstream interpretations, and then he would ask for our authentic self-generated interpretations delivered in the form of book and chapter reports due to him. Growing up,… Read More ›
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Cosmic Struggle and The Longest Nights by Jameelah X. Medina
Since my college years studying Spanish mystics and their numerous writings, I have secretly been fascinated by the summer solstice. Years later, my hidden fascination with the winter solstice began. For exactly one year now, I have exclusively been using… Read More ›
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Thinking about Global Activism and Social Change, Personal Intentions and Spiritual Consciousness by Jameelah X. Medina
The events in this world begin with the individual. The world’s occupations trace back to the individuals who create them and those who ignore or support them. The world’s genocides trace back to the individuals who create them and those… Read More ›
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Seeing the Humanity in the Inner Child by Jameelah X. Medina
Article 6 1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. Article 37 States Parties shall ensure that: (a)… Read More ›
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We Rose for the One Billion on V-Day by Jameelah X. Medina
Every February I gear up to participate in local V-Day 1 Billion Rising events where activists rise up to end violence against women and girls. This year’s theme was the journey to justice, and there were two local events. I… Read More ›
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The Winding Road of Life by Jameelah X. Medina
A while back my family and I went up to the mountains to Lake Arrowhead Village. My metaphorical thinking took me on a fantastic mental voyage replicating our way up the mountain. I give thanks to Allah for the power… Read More ›
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Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim and Ar-Rahm by Jameelah X. Medina
[The Most Compassionate, Beneficent, Ever-Merciful and the Womb] In the Islamic tradition, there are numerous Names of Allah of which 99 are said to be known. Of these 99 Names or Attributes of Allah, two open the Qur’an in the… Read More ›
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Size Islam: Where do I fit in? by Jameelah X. Medina
Size Islam: Where do I fit in? Reading Laury Silvers’ recent post caused me to reflect upon not only how my body is gendered in worship as a Muslim woman, but how my body is displaced, inconvenient, and often seen… Read More ›
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Letter to Allah by Jameelah X. Medina
Would we eat without the pangs of hunger? Would we drink without feeling thirst? Would we sleep without feeling fatigue or drowsiness? Would we cry without feeling sorrow? These are some questions I’ve asked myself when I wonder why so… Read More ›
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Tug-of-Warring over the Female Body (Part 2 of 2) by Jameelah X. Medina
Cover up! No, get naked! Haraam [Sin]; cover yourself! Be free; show some skin! AstaghfirAllah [seeking forgiveness from God]; aren’t you ashamed?! Damn, aren’t you hot in that?! The Muslim woman’s body feels like a battleground with essentialized feminism on… Read More ›
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They Don’t Know Me by Jameelah X. Medina
A spoken word piece… They think I’m uneducated, relegated to the sidelines of life, desecrated and infected mind with cultish, hocus pocish, dogma of misogyny; my worth based solely on my progeny!?… They think I’m silent, ruled by a tyrant,… Read More ›
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Tug-of-Warring over the Female Body (Part 1 of 2) by Jameelah X. Medina
Cover up! No, get naked! Haraam [Sin]; cover yourself! Be free; show some skin! AstaghfirAllah [seeking forgiveness from God]; aren’t you ashamed?! Damn, aren’t you hot in that?! The Muslim woman’s body feels like a battleground, especially during times like… Read More ›
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Women as Stairways to Heaven by Jameelah X. Medina
In mainstream Islam, the ways and sayings of Prophet Muhammad are second in importance only to the Qur’an. There are two prophetic sayings pften quoted when speaking about the high status of women in Islam: 1) “Whoever has two daughters… Read More ›
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At the Intersection of Gender, Religion, and Race by Jameelah X. Medina
Since 9/11, many Muslim women in the USA are in a similar predicament as what African American and Chicana women found themselves in decades ago during the Black Power and Chicano Power Movements. African American and Chicana women stood along… Read More ›
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Waking up Muslim on 9/11 by Jameelah Medina
I have often stated that I went to sleep as an African American woman on September 10, 2011 and woke up Muslim on 9/11. It may seem odd to say this since I am a third-generation Muslim; however, my reason… Read More ›
