March marks the commemoration of Women’s History Month and the recognition of International Women’s Day - a time to reflect on the progress that women around the world have experienced over time in gaining rights. Yet, the gender divide still rages on for many communities - especially in American mosques. 

Its automotive industry may not be so hot right now, but there’s always the next best thing for Detroit - Islamic art! Enthusiasts rejoice! The Detroit Institute of Arts has opened a permanent gallery of Islamic art, showcasing approximately 170 works of art from the Middle East, Central Asia, India and the Mediterranean region. 

Despite what we see on the news, not all political couples are doom and gloom. Take mayoral candidate and long-time Paterson resident, Andre Sayegh, and his Muslim-American fiance, Farhanna Balgahoom.

There is nothing that irks me more than a self-denying Arab - the kind of person who thinks that “Arab” is a dirty word, a label they don’t care to stoop beneath. I’ve met Egyptians who claim to be a race of their own - the same pure “Egyptian” race that Cleopatra and King Tut belong to. I once even met a girl from Lebanon who bristled with offense when I mentioned something about the two of us being Arab. ”I am not Arab,” she proclaimed. “I am Phoenician.” Yeah right, and I’m the granddaughter of Nefertiti. 

You know what I just can’t understand? Women who bring their beleaguered husbands and boyfriends shopping with them. These men walk around the mall as if they are being led into Hell itself. Especially the poor souls lingering awkwardly in lingerie shops, not wanting to look in any particular direction in case, who then inadvertently meet the eye of some lady holding panties up for size. 

February 2010 took the cake for most happening month ever! Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, President’s Day, Black History Month, Worldwide Fashion Weeks. Here’s another: last month (and into the early days of March), Muslims around the world are celebrating the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (born in 570 CE). 

Looks like Valentine’s Day is officially over, folks. Just when you thought it was only single American women facing the worst marriage drought in decades, Iraqi women have set a new precedent in spinsterhood. According to the World Food Program (why are they monitoring this?), there are just way too many women and far too few men to accommodate the blessed union of marriage for many Iraqis. 

Was anyone else pleasantly surprised to see some Mooselims walking in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics last week? I think all those stereotypes of Muslims as desert-dwellers must have infiltrated my brain, because my first thought was actually: “What the heck are those Muslims doing competing in the snow?!” But of course Muslims live all over the world - near mountains and rivers and plains (we really are everywhere. Bwahaha!). I watched the ceremony in a restaurant and I think I alarmed everyone around me by whooping my support for Morocco, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran. 

Jennie Goldstein and Mariel (real name: Mary Eleanor Theresa Katherine Francis!) Davis are two very nice white girls. They are from the Upper West Side and New Jersey, respectively, and have interests like the French language and musical theater. They went to good colleges and have friends who went on to become investment bankers and law students. But not Jennie and Mariel - oh no, these ladies took a most unexpected path after graduation; they work with me at an Arab-American (and predominantly Muslim) non-profit. How did two such nice white girls end up working with the Muslims?  And what is it like for them now that they’ve infiltrated our world? They give elan the inside scoop. 

Salman Ahmad, the legendary “King of Pakistani Rock” and founder of the popular band, Junoon, rocked the sold-out standing room only crowd at the posh Aicon Gallery in New York City on February 3rd. Salman was promoting his new book “Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution,” a journey of how Ahmad uses his junoon (passion) for music to strive and struggle (jihad) to bring about unity between the U.S. and the Muslim world, raise humanitarian awareness, and bring about positive social change in Pakistan.