quran

As someone who has struggled to accept themselves, I now embrace my identity as a woman. But I still understand that we aren’t given as many rights in this country. 

We all change our culturally tied names to make them more palatable for the United States. A name is a beautiful thing — it should never be thrown away.

Religion is a choice for me as a Muslim, and it should be for anyone. It is a spiritual belief and should be respected just as we respect people’s political ideas, identities or sexual orientations.

My mom had picked me up from school that day, and she told me that I was to miss a month of school. At 12 years old, I was receiving the opportunity to trek to the other side of the world, stay in Saudi Arabia and complete the spiritual and religious journey that is the hajj.

To me, Ramadan is a month of magic. It is a time of reflection, of making future plans, of reminding myself of the values that keep me grounded.

Everyone’s relationship with God is different, but people somehow think that I also need to speak for all that falls under Islam.

I stumbled upon a meme and took a good three minutes to chuckle at it and read the comments.

Nowadays, I participate in Ramadan because I look at the month as a sort of juice cleanse for the soul.