If they thought Ahmed brought a ‘bomb’, why didn’t they evacuate the school?
When they say they thought 14-year-old MacArthur High School student, Ahmed Mohamed, brought a bomb to school, they are lying. They are lying through their teeth. Let’s examine the facts. This young...
View ArticleWhy should Indian Muslims and Christians be barred from taking part in the...
I vividly remember the time I spent during my school and college days with Ghulam Farid, one of my best friends. He was like family to me. We have, however, not been able to catch up ever since I moved...
View ArticleThe importance of the Battle of Karbala and our ignorance towards it
With the Islamic month of Muharram upon us, I wanted to take the opportunity to implore Muslims (and whomever might be interested) to check out some of the events happening in their municipalities on...
View ArticleThe scariest costume you can wear this Halloween is ‘racism’
A fake ‘Sheikh’ nose, blackface, and a Mexican sombrero? Let me guess: you’re going to that Halloween party tonight as a ‘Howling Racist’. Halloween has little relevance to the lives of most Pakistani...
View ArticleWhy did my daughter always pick a petite doll with lustrous blonde hair?
It is pertinent for children to grow up with a realistic idea of beauty. I know and support this because being a mother of a five-year-old daughter; I have closely witnessed how the toys we choose and...
View ArticleDo we really want to find out if Trump is another Hitler?
On a page that is dedicated to sharing glimpses into people’s lives, the unexpected took place on March 14, 2016, when ‘Humans of New York’ founder Brandon Stanton exposed his own sentiments in an open...
View ArticleWhy are Emojis so… sexist?
“Mummy, I can’t find an emoji of a female architect or ski-instructor online,” said my confused daughter. It was so true. If I was a frustrated looking at images of a dainty ballerina, a salsa dancer...
View ArticleZootopia: When sly foxes and funny bunnies go after dark matters
Zootopia is the latest Disney 3D animation production that tells the story of a rabbit named Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) who wants to change the stereotypes between predators and their prey. Along the way,...
View ArticleTip of my tongue: Navigating the silences of being Chinese and female
Memories murmur. In my flesh, in the flesh of the world. My migration story, beginning two decades ago in 1995, is made up of many of these murmurs and some have taken years to unearth and delve into....
View ArticleAzealia Banks and our obsession with her attention-seeking “hairy curry...
My niece is a huge ‘One Directioner’ (is that what they are called?) and was heartbroken when the boy band lost one of its key members, Zayn Malik. We insist on a special connection with this young...
View ArticleNo China, this ad IS racist and we are not being ‘sensitive’ about it!
The pursuit and appreciation of fair skin has always been considered to be a desi obsession but this week, an advert shown on Chinese TV showed that this unhealthy preoccupation with fair skin...
View ArticleMommy tips: How to raise a mini activist
When we hear the word “activist”, we immediately think of khadi clad, jhola carrying men and women braving water cannons and lathi charges. But an activist is one who campaigns for social change of any...
View ArticleDreams of my Muslim son
Long before I came to the United States, I was fascinated by the American electoral process. I grew up in Pakistan in the 80s, during the brutally repressive military dictatorship of President Mohammad...
View ArticleWashington may be broken, but it’s not broken enough to let thugs like Trump...
It seems just like yesterday when a far-right Republican, who I had the misfortune of knowing, told me that he’d rather vote for a donkey than vote for President Barack Obama. That was back in 2012...
View ArticleI’m with Hillary
When Barack Obama was elected as the President of the United States, I remember watching in awe; not just because of his oratory skills, but because there was finally a black president. Eight years on,...
View ArticleHe punched a Bangladeshi man and got arrested – would Pakistan have done the...
Whether you are a football fan particularly following West Ham United or prefer Asian shopping or dining at Green Street, then you are expected to have travelled to and from Upton Park Underground...
View ArticleDid the biased media coverage of the US elections ensure Trump’s victory?
On April 6, 1994, a missile shot down an airplane carrying Hutu leaders Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprian Ntayamira in Rwanda, unleashing the ethnic majority Hutus against the minority Tutsis on a...
View ArticleLessons from Nelson Mandela
“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with...
View ArticleIt is time for Trump to say, “I won the campaign, guys, you can stop the...
Donald Trump ran an unscripted and an unpredictable presidential campaign and took American politics to an unchartered territory, one that was hideously troubling and rocked the very core of our value...
View ArticleIf a Trump and a Muslim American can put aside their differences, why can’t we?
Recently, the Huffington Post covered an incident where a Muslim American comedian, Mohammed Amer, sat next to Eric Trump on a flight. A fellow passenger warned, “I wouldn’t even sit next to him if I...
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