On Friday, September 16, 2022 Mahsa Amini died in a Tehran hospital having been arrested by Iranian morality police on September 13 for wearing “inappropriate attire”. She was 22. Mahsa’s family claims she had bruises to her head and limbs… Read More ›
Women in Islam
If this be Madness … by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Shamima Shaikh (1960 – 1998) was South Africa’s best-known Muslim women’s rights activist. She was also a brave anti-Apartheid activist, notable Islamic feminist, community worker, journalist and devoted mother who died, 37 years old, from breast cancer. After the Holy… Read More ›
Women, Theology and Identity as Believer by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Like all my reflections, this is not intended to be conclusive, but rather, to share some impressions about theology and the way in which women are created or given an identity as believers. In the androcentric and misogynist narratives of… Read More ›
Latin Identities and Muslim Malinches by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente and Sumayah Soler
The myth says that Malinche, an Aztec princess, betrayed her people, her culture and faith, for the love and the desire to be loved and accepted by the foreign Spanish conquer, colonialist and exploiter. Her name, said with contempt, is… Read More ›
Progressive Islam: A Critical View from Latin Muslim Feminists by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente & Eren Cervantes-Altamirano
Progressive Islam(s) in the West, particularly in Canada and the US, have been defined as movements that primarily encompass Islamic feminism(s), LGBTQI affirming movements, anti-Conservative theologies, feminist theologies, women-centered liturgies, etc. From within this umbrella, we have seen calls to… Read More ›
Have You Seen These Muslim Women? by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
The photo that accompanies this article, or others similar, have been posted, shared and commented through social networks as expression of the inherent misogyny of Islam, with descriptions such as “DAESH taking women to sell in the concubine’s market” or… Read More ›
Khutba “A Call to Radical and Angry Women of Faith” by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
I am grateful to the Interfaith Group of Feminist Theologians and Women of Faith for remembering my spiritual affiliation and giving me the opportunity to lead this service in this fully of blessings month of Ramadan and share with you a reflection… Read More ›
All Male Panels and Feminist Movement Building by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Making visible gender inequities in the accessibility, acquisition, and transmission of knowledge is essential to breaking ceilings and barriers that prevent women from full participation. This is especially critical in religion, an area in which Patriarchy has bashed women in… Read More ›
Invisible Giants: On Women, Mosques, and Radical Activism by Juliane Hammer
At times, being ignored, erased, and made invisible, is more hurtful than open debate and disagreement. Such silencing and marginalization render the energy, activism, and work of so many people mute and, ultimately, they do not serve the communities and… Read More ›
Reconstructions of the Past 4: Hafsa bint Sirin (“Women’s Withdrawal is Women’s Piety”) by Laury Silvers
Despite the public roles women most likely played in the first century, hadith, biographical, and legal literature of the following centuries positioned women’s ritual activity at home as a norm for pious behavior. The earlier blogs noted that women were… Read More ›
Reconstructions of the Past 3: Hafsa bint Sirin (“Hafsa’s Hadith”) by Laury Silvers
If you’ve read Part 2, then you know we’ve been talking about how the literature demonstrates that there were attempts in the early period to bar women from mosque attendance and even attendance at the prayers for the two `eids…. Read More ›
Islam Is Out There, Among Women by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Last week I was touring the capital of my country, Chile, for conferences and workshops on Islam, Gender and Human Rights. One of the issues I address there was the tyranny of stereotypes Muslim women carry with us and the… Read More ›
Oh, Yes! On a Sexual Revolution in Islam by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
For centuries, religions have controlled sexuality. They have defined the legitimate options with regard to gender, sexual orientation, how to make love and its purpose. The religious discourse on sex imposes patriarchy, binarism, marriage, monogamy, motherhood and heterosexuality as sine… Read More ›
Enemy of (H)Islam by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
So, again, you, the most holy and enlightened man of the mosque have pointed your finger at me to declare, noisy and hysterical, that I am an “Enemy of Islam.” Then you, who preaches and recites best, have gone out… Read More ›
Islamic Feminism, Body Autonomy and Spiritual Liberation by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Women’s bodies are the preferred territory in which religious oppression becomes cruelly evident. Misogynist narratives in religions are always addressed to them: decency, honor, virtue, holiness, discretion, and shame are embodied in us, We pay for the absence of these… Read More ›
A Women’s Mosque: An Interfaith Space for Feminist Spirituality by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
If you thought that all I could do in regards to feminism and religion is challenge Patriarchy and tease around ladies and gentlemen of good temper and better reputation with my corrosive comments, this post may change your mind. As… Read More ›
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 ›
Five Years of Untamed Spirituality and Challenging Feminism by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
In Chilean tradition, the number five has an important meaning regarding the understanding of life. At 5, a person starts school and life in society. At 15, we celebrate the entrance into the young adulthood. At 25, it is expected… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
A Reflection on Feminist Theology and the Real Woman by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
The XVII Conference of Latin American Religious Alternatives is being held this week in Porto Alegre, Brazil. This event will bring together scholars and researchers from across the continent to talk together about religion, integration, and identity. I will be… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
Why I am an Islamic Feminist by Shehnaz Haqqani
While Islam has undoubtedly granted women many rights—some of which were radical for much of the world in the 7th century, such as the rights to divorce, consent in marriage, education, and financial independence—many Muslim women around the world are… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Taking Back the Caliphate: The Role of Muslim Women as Agents of Social Justice by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Whenever we talk of Muslim women, two dominant discourses reach our ears. The first is about women of the past who may serve as role models, such as Aisha, Fatima, and Khadija (ra). This perspective, which I call the historical… Read More ›
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 ›
The Crying of an Ant: Finding a Theory of Change by Najeeba Syeed Miller
Qur’an 27:18: Till, when they came upon a valley [full] of ants, an ant exclaimed: “O you ants! Get into your dwellings, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you without [even] being aware [of you]!” – 27:19: Thereupon [Solomon] smiled… Read More ›