Re-thinking Disability in Islam

by Sya Taha __ Disability and Islam My sister, Syiqah, gets around on a wheelchair. When we used to attend Islamic classes in our younger days, the mosque we went to was not accessible. We had to gather two or three young men each week to carry her wheelchair down three big steps to where…

Read More

Editor’s Letter: Body Image

This editor’s letter is guest-written by Nurul Huda Rashid _ Pertumbuhan tubuhku / Seeds & the Soil   I was in primary school when I was made aware of the darkness of my skin. Its hairiness was identified as ‘gorilla’ and  I was told that I could never be as beautiful as a ‘Malay’ girl. The…

Read More

Behind Closed Doors

by Sutera Merah _ [Content warning for descriptions of domestic violence] _ “Alice, Can you help me cross the road, please? I don’t know how to do it with the girls.” It was a call of help to my counsellor.  I was at the crossroads of my life and literally standing at the intersection of…

Read More

Teaching ‘feel-good’ Islam: Toxic Positivity & Silencing the Oppressed

by Mysara Aljaru _ An ‘Islamic’ Toxic Positivity “You just need faith in Allah, you are where He wants you to be.” These were words I frequently heard growing up, especially from religious teachers in weekend madrasahs I used to attend as a child. It seemed reassuring at that time. Why wouldn’t it be, right?…

Read More

Knowing What We Know: The Education Of Young Girls

by Zubaida Ali _ Now that I am in my mid-fifties and expecting the birth of my first grand-daughter, I ponder at the thought of how she will receive her education in life. Not the academic education that will surely be given to her but the passing on of cultural knowledge such as beliefs and…

Read More

I Wanted to Teach Islam in a Madrasah

by Amber _ Part one was about an experience Thauria went through in a full-time religious institution (Madrasah). I am immensely grateful to have shared such important experiences with Thauria in our Madrasah for the past 12 years and I am so honoured that she invited me to write about my experiences as well. What…

Read More