http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png http://jezebel.com/tag/islam http://jezebel.com/tag/islam

The government of The Netherlands has announced plans to ban the wearing of veils that cover the face of the wearer that will take effect within the year, citing the need to see people's faces when greeting them on the streets. The French immediately scoffed at the announcement, as the law is just a French knock-off. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880542&view=rss&microfeed=true

Look, I'm no PR expert, but it can't be good for your brand to have folks writing stuff like, "I proudly admit to hating Islam" on your official Facebook page. After pulling ads from TLC's All-American Muslim, Lowe's issued a tepid apology on Facebook, which read, in part, "It appears that we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from virtually every angle and perspective – social, political and otherwise – and we've managed to make some people very unhappy. We are sincerely sorry. We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, across our workforce and our customers, and we're proud of that longstanding commitment." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5867980&view=rss&microfeed=true

Hind Ahmas, a 32-year-old French mother, is facing two years in prison and a $42,000 fine because she refuses to accept the government's new ban on wearing the burqa or niqab in public. Ahmas was banned from her own trial yesterday because she wouldn't remove her veil, and during the proceeding she was ordered to spend 15 days learning about her civic duties. She responded, "There is no possibility of me removing the veil ... I'm not taking it off. The judge needs citizenship lessons, not me." Ahmas is expected to become the first woman sentenced to jail under the ban, and she plans to bring her case before the European Court of Human Rights. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5867943&view=rss&microfeed=true

There are already reports that France's "burqa ban" is inciting more harassment of Muslim women, and now it's giving other countries horrible ideas. Yesterday, the Canadian government announced that from now on Muslim women must take off or lift their veil when taking the oath of citizenship. We expected so much better from our supposedly-sensible neighbors to the north. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5867538&view=rss&microfeed=true

The whole point of TLC's All-American Muslim — which follows families living in Dearborn, Michigan — is to humanize folks who live in the U.S. and practice Islam. They have close-knit relationships, love football, and feel anxious about the first day of school, just like any other Americans. But home improvement retailer Lowe's has pulled ads from the program following a complaint from the Florida Family Association. The Florida Family Association is allegedly devoted to "improving America's moral environment." Yet the group calls the show "propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5867200&view=rss&microfeed=true

All-American Muslim's Nina Bazzy does not wear a hijab or abaya — she prefers her ensembles to be tight and short. She's a successful party planner, and wants to open a club, but her parents consider that to be preposterous, because she is a woman. Her mother told her that a woman needs to be home with her family; when Nina asked if it would be different if she were a man, the answer was yes, of course. It was interesting to watch the dynamic between Nina and her mother as Nina tried to get dressed to go to the mosque. She obviously wants to please her parents, but she also loves her low-cut stretch tanks and high heels, and feels like there's not a lot of freedom for a traditional/conservative Muslim woman. When she and the other castmembers sat on a couch discussing the rules of Islam and its restrictions as a religion, Coach Zaban said, "I feel that it's very simple and easy to follow." The camera cut to Nina, giving a subtle stinkeye. Coach Zaban doesn't have to cover his hair. No one is telling Coach Zaban what kind of business he can and cannot run. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5865135&view=rss&microfeed=true

On last night's episode of All-American Muslim, we spent some time with Samira, who is struggling to conceive a child. She visited her imam — the leader of her mosque — to talk about IVF, but he had bad news, saying that if she used her husband's sperm, it would be okay, but using some other man's sperm to get pregnant was forbidden by God. (Samira and her husband both have fertility issues.) Samira decided that in order to be blessed with a child, she needed to try and please God — by wearing a hijab, which she hasn't worn since 9/11. She stopped wearing a headscarf after 9/11, she says, because "there are still people who view Muslims and view Islam as something that's scary." Samira still worries about going on vacation or being "in the middle of nowhere," and having people "freak out" because she is wearing a hijab. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5861498&view=rss&microfeed=true

20-year-old college student Aliaa Magda Elmahdy has sparked outrage in Egypt by posting naked photos of herself to her blog as a protest against the country's conservative culture. She says she's upholding the spirit of the revolution, but in addition to conservative Islamists, she's angered liberals who believe the scandal will hurt them during the country's parliamentary election next week, the first since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5860723&view=rss&microfeed=true

So, former SNL star (and current loon) Victoria Jackson got together with three of her conservative friends to combat media's liberal bias with a new online talk show called PolitiChicks. Here's the first episode, which features some enlightening discussion about Muslims and gays and gay Muslims and how they're all destroying America and oh god please make it stop. [via @aurosan] More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5860447&view=rss&microfeed=true

TLC draws in viewers by offering a glimpse into the lives of unusual people. There are the Duggars, Freaky Eaters, Hoarding: Buried Alive, The Little Couple, the saving-obsessed ladies of Extreme Couponing, and, of course, the makeup-spackled youngsters of Toddlers & Tiaras. But last night, All-American Muslim premiered, and the the program seemed to focus on how normal the residents of Dearborn, MI are. We were introduced to five (very) different families, and the only thing they have in common is religion. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5859270&view=rss&microfeed=true

Air France has decided that the misguided French ban on wearing face coverings in public is only in effect on land. According to the company's lawyers, flight crews can't tell a Muslim woman to remover her religious garb since, "The law can only be enforced by police and other public officials on the ground." Airline employees say they have no problem with a woman wearing a burqa on a flight as long as she's been through security. "Security on board a plane does not have much to do with whether one's face is visible or not," said one pilot. "Besides, on long-haul flights a lot of passengers hide their face with eye masks when they go to sleep." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5857669&view=rss&microfeed=true

Malaysia's Obedient Wives Club aims to solve all the problems of the world by getting wives to sex their husbands more frequently. But their efforts were stymied recently when Malaysian authorities banned their book, a compendium of offensiveness titled, Islamic Sex: Fighting Jews to Return Islamic Sex to the World. The Club teaches that most wives fulfill just 10% of their husbands sexual needs (it's unclear how they arrived at this figure), and that wives should act like "first-class whores" in the bedroom to keep their husbands satisfied. In the wake of the ban, they say a planned followup book may be released as "an internal newsletter, or an internal bulletin" instead. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5856383&view=rss&microfeed=true

In 2006, Souhair Khatib went to a jail in Orange County, California to ask for more time to complete her community service. She wound up being jailed for several hours, and deputies made her take off her hijab, though she told them it's against her religious beliefs to remove her head scarf in public. Her case was dismissed twice when courts found that a holding cell is a some kind of special zone where laws that allow prisoners to wear religious garmets don't apply. Today the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed her case, and ruled that she can go ahead with her lawsuit against the jail. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5846329&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Richland School District in Pennsylvania was planning to stage the musical Kismet in February, but switched to Oklahoma! after parents complained about performing a show about a Muslim poet so close to the anniversary of 9/11. Administrators admit there's no objectionable content in the Tony Award-winning musical, but Superintendent Thomas Fleming says he wants to avoid controversy. The AP reports: More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5842351&view=rss&microfeed=true

France instituted a ban on wearing face coverings in public in April, and the first fines may be handed down this week. In the past six months, authorities have been hesitant to enforce the measure, and many police officers are simply looking the other way when they see a woman in a veil. While the ban was ostensibly enacted to keep women safe, its biggest effect to date has been to increase the street harassment of Muslim women. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5842000&view=rss&microfeed=true

Slutwalks started after a Toronto cop suggested women could avoid rape by not dressing like sluts. They went way beyond Toronto, but it appears that the women of Jakarta had a more local example for their miniskirted march. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5841709&view=rss&microfeed=true

Due to a shortage of mosques, some Parisian Muslims have taken to praying in the street. However, the French far right doesn't like it — and a new law will ban the practice. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5841024&view=rss&microfeed=true

Fifteen people were arrested in a "melee" that occurred at a Rye, New York amusement park after a group of Muslim women were denied entrance to some rides because of safety regulations banning any kind of headgear. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5836245&view=rss&microfeed=true

New Delhi, , August 5: An Indian Muslim prays after breaking the Ramadan fast at the Jama Masjid. Muslims around the world are marking the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where the devout fast from dawn until dusk. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5828480&view=rss&microfeed=true

TLC — the network that mostly offers shows about what the New York Times refers to as "abnormal families" — is working on a series called All-American Muslim. Hmm. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5823866&view=rss&microfeed=true In Malaysia, religious courts exist to try Muslims, while other citizens can use civil courts. This causes problems, like this one: Kamariah Ali was born a Muslim, but now follows a religion called Sky Kingdom. Under Muslim law, she faces jail for apostasy. She wants a civil court to recognize her as non-Muslim so she can avoid this charge, but the court has refused. Result: Ali will have to go before a Muslim court for the crime of not being a Muslim anymore. The mind reels. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5823067&view=rss&microfeed=true

Saudi Arabia's religious police have begun arresting women who are protesting against their country's ban on female driving by getting behind the wheel. But advocates of women's right to drive say the arrests won't stop them. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5817006&view=rss&microfeed=true

Najwa Bin Laden, Osama's first wife, said the favorite part of her day was "the sleeping time." And it wasn't because her days were so miserable; it was because bedtime was when she had her husband all to herself. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5809479&view=rss&microfeed=true

This morning, two women were detained at a protest of France's veil ban outside Notre Dame Cathedral. France's ban on women covering their faces — effectively preventing women from wearing the niqab or a burqa — goes into effect today. Violators of the ban must pay a fine of 150 Euros. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5790810&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Staten Island boy charged with a hate crime for trying to rip off a classmate's hijab apparently had an accomplice — a 13-year-old girl also charged with a hate crime. The girl — and her school — have a history of infractions. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5788981&view=rss&microfeed=true

Whoever is minding George W. Bush's legacy these days sort of knows what they're doing: Here he is with Laura on Greta Van Susteren's show, talking about a conference for the rights of women. Just like Hillary Clinton! Sort of. And from a distance, Bush even has the added advantage of looking like a bleeding heart next to the nakedly evil Republican congressional leadership. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5787948&view=rss&microfeed=true

Iman Obaidi, who burst into a hotel dining room filled with foreign journalists Saturday, is probably not the only woman victimized by government thugs, it is a depressingly safe assumption to make. Although the journalists were unable to independently verify her story — they are essentially under lock and key of Qaddafi's regime — her courageous attempt to reach them and the sheer multiplicity of excuses made by the government tell their own story. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5786294&view=rss&microfeed=true

"Mubarak is gone. Misogyny might be a tougher foe," concludes Jenna Krajeski in a New Yorker account of yesterday's march of women in Tahrir Square, which did not go as planned. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5780200&view=rss&microfeed=true

Muammar Gaddafi isn't just a ruthless dictator who is currently brutally suppressing protests around Libya. He also has a bizarre track record of female bodyguards, lecturing Italian women about converting to Islam, and indirectly financing Beyonce concerts.

More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5768513&view=rss&microfeed=true

Qaddafi's public rambling today has told us nothing about what will happen in Libya, nor whether the bloody reprisals against protesters will end. But as the dust settles on Tunisia and Egypt's unusually peaceful revolutions, women inside and outside of those countries are asking what's next for them. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5767110&view=rss&microfeed=true

Organizers estimate that more women have been turning out to protest in Egypt than in past actions. And women are also prominent at the movement's fore. Meanwhile, an eight-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia breaks it down for Mubarak. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5748699&view=rss&microfeed=true

As the world struggles to understand the events and implications of civil unrest in Egypt, one person has emerged as a major authority in Western media: Mona Eltahawy. Let's find out more about her. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5747762&view=rss&microfeed=true

Recently, Maryland seventh-grader Maheen Haq was forced to sit out during the first half of her basketball game, after league officials cited concerns over her hijab as a safety hazard. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5740119&view=rss&microfeed=true

A woman who was arrested for refusing to take off her hijab at a Georgia courthouse is suing. She says, ""I hope that no person of faith will ever have to experience the type of egregious treatment I suffered." More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5713514&view=rss&microfeed=true

Under the practice of adhl, some women in Saudi Arabia are forced by male guardians—often their dads—to remain single. This is actually against Islamic law. Now some Saudi women are saying "fuck this," and suing their dads. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5700237&view=rss&microfeed=true

A Pakistani woman sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam will be pardoned after the accusations were found to be baseless. She has said that the charges were fabricated by women who didn't like her. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5697583&view=rss&microfeed=true

Princess Hijab is a street artist in Paris who uses dripping black paint to cover models in subway ads, giving them niqabs. Veils. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5687564&view=rss&microfeed=true

Tony Blair's sister-in-law, journalist Lauren Booth, made waves when she announced she was converting to Islam. Now, she explains that decision — and her frustration at having to. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5680895&view=rss&microfeed=true

Claiming that it violates rules requiring "strict segregation of the sexes," Saudi Arabia's top Islamic clerics have called for a fatwa ending the immoral culture of female cashierdom. Geez, is there anything these cleric guys say Saudi women can do? More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5677936&view=rss&microfeed=true

Two self-described web-activists called Niqabitch are making a splash in the French (and European) media landscape. To protest France's burqa ban, they're mixing things up a bit and throwing together a niqab with a miniskirt. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5659357&view=rss&microfeed=true