Living Islam Out Loud: American Muslim Women Speak

by Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur

Overview

Living Islam Out Loud presents the first generation of American Muslim women who have always identified as both American and Muslim. These pioneers have forged new identities for themselves and for future generations, and they speak out about the hijab, relationships, sex and sexuality, activism, spirituality, and much more.

Contributors: Su'ad Abdul-Khabeer, Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil, Samina Ali, Sarah Eltantawi, Yousra Y. Fazili, Suheir Hammad, Mohja Kahf, Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, Asra Q. Nomani, Manal Omar, Khalida Saed, Asia Sharif-Clark, Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard, Aroosha Zoq Rana, Inas Younis

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807083833
Publisher:	Beacon
Publication date:	08/28/2005
Edition description:	None
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.49(w) x 8.54(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur was chief executive of Azizah, a magazine for Muslim women. In 2004, she was an integral part of a national movement to give women space and voice in American mosques, and in 2005 she co-organized the historic woman-led prayer in New York City. A frequent presenter on Islam and women, Abdul-Ghafur lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

SALEEMAH’S STORY

PART I: CROSSROADS

“How I Met God”
Samina Ali

“To Be Young, Gifted, Black, American, Muslim, and Woman”
Precious Rasheeda Muhammad

PART II: LOVE

“Remembering Love”
Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil

“My Own Worst Enemy”
Manal Omar

“Marrying a Believer”
Asia Sharif-Clark

“Finding Home”
Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil

“Fumbling Toward Ecstacy”
Yousra Y. Fazili

“On the Edge of Belonging”
Khalida Saed

PART III: THE STRONGEST OF FAITH

“A Day in the Life”
Su’ad Abdul-Khabeer

“Hijra from Harlem”
Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard

“The Muslim in the Mirror”
Mohja Kahf

“Being the Leader I Want to See in the World”
Asra Q. Nomani

“An Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in Mosques”

“An Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Bedroom”

PART IV: SOUL JOURNEYS

“A Meditation on the Clearing”
Sarah Eltanawi

“A Siren Song”
Aroosha Zoq Rana

“Blessed Divine Woman”
Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil

“My Son the Mystic”
Inas Younis

“My Sister’s Prayer”
Suheir Hammad

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CONTRIBUTORS

Editorial Reviews

"These are precisely the kinds of women whose voices we need to hear." —Leila Ahmed, Harvard Divinity School

"From the Islamic Bill's of Rights for Women in Mosques and in the Bedroom to the call for the Divine Feminine in Islam, this book reveals the diverse, complex, ambiguous, brilliant voices of women who are at once American and Muslim."—Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues

"This anthology presents the best of the new generation of American Muslim women." —Imam Rauf, author of What's Right with Islam

"A rich mosaic of experiences from passionate women that challenge us to redefine our understanding of Islam in general, and American Muslim women in particular. Grade: A" —Candice Levy, Girlfriends

From the Publisher

Muslim activist Abdul-Ghafur edits this book of essays and poems, all related to the experience of growing up Muslim and female in the United States. Two of the best and most absorbing essays come from African-American women: Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard, who grew up in Harlem and became a successful corporate attorney and public servant, and Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, who describes her childhood in the Nation of Islam as a dynamic, educational experience. But the tone of some of the other contributors can be whiny. Many seem marked by tragedy, varying from things unrelated to Islam (having an autistic child) to tensions arising from ethnic cultures (marrying a non-Muslim, enduring abusive semiarranged marriages). Some of the authors engage in vague spiritual discussions about the omnipresence of God and compare Islam to a forest, with male chauvinism being the weeds in the forest, but their ideas are too abstract to enhance one's understanding of Islamic spirituality. As with many anthologies, there is some repetition of ideas, not only within the book itself but also echoing themes from the authors' previous writings. Although the contributions are uneven, this anthology opens the door for other writers to explore the important and understudied topic of Muslim American women. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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