here on Jez, people were posting how strange it was for her to be frolicking at a Mosque in Dubai, and in my head I was like, girl is half Arab, it makes sense to me—I look completely caucasian/euro and am half Moroccan and get crap all the time about this kind of thing. Here’s a really cool thing about henna in…

I went to high school in the 90s (during the Iraq war) and faced a ton of discrimination from my fundamentalist Christian (public school) principal and the teacher who ran the school newspaper (who was Lesbian, and assumed that I was homophobic based on faith alone—she never bothered to ask me—I come from a family of…

Sure. anyone can be a feminist. Literally. If they self-identify as such. I may not agree with their interpretation of feminism, but I’m not out to question what they have a right to call themselves.

Yup—pretty much. If you institutionalized your point of view you would be directly impinging on my freedom of self-expression and freedom of speech. Basically any sentence that starts with “you don’t get to be.....” does that. I accept you for what you are, you say what I am doesn’t exist.

Religion can and does evolve. See also Orthodox vs. Reform Judiasm. Doctrinal evolution.

Right—so you take away only one of my civil liberties...

Please read this article—I think it would be more constructive to the debate we’re having.

Defining your belief system, and your belief that religions can evolve and doctrines and theologies can change over time is not an excuse for anything. What is clear is that I respect your right to be a non-believer and you don’t accept my right to believe. Should I really go into the history of institutionalized…

Because the arguments you present are what ISIS literally uses as a tactic for recruitment purposes and I have absolutely no illusions about the radicalization of Muslims within broader Muslim community. Plenty of articles on this. Let me know if you want to read any of them.

No telling me what I can and can’t define myself as is oppression, better? I’ll stop the discourse now because I see that you’re opinion won’t change. I won’t change my faith. I am human. I am a feminist. I am a woman. I am Muslim. I will care about your opinion and who you are because that’s what liberalism means to…

Let’s change the word proponent to believer or member of a faith. Because I’m not actively proselytizing to anyone. I am, however, standing up for my right to define myself as I choose in the face of what I see as an attempt to oppress or suppress my beliefs in another exercise of self-righteous Western moral…

This is a silly, silly game to play, but since we’re at it, let’s go. I support the LGBT Muslim movement (one exists FYI). Gay Muslims exist. I would direct you to some of them, but you may then choose to negate their sexual identities. Your turn. Why do you support a brand of atheism that chooses to negate my right…

I do give a damn. How do you know I don’t?

Why not? Because she chooses to maintain a spiritual identity relative to a faith that can go through doctrinal changes just as any other (see also Judiasm) and an socio-political identity simultaneously. So riddle me this: would you rather bash liberal Muslims who are defining their feminist identities or just…

I heart you endlessly for this.

The delightful thing is that I’ve read enough to know that an oppressive atheist and/or culturally superior secular liberal is no longer a misnomer. Le sigh. Thanks for eradicating my intellectual identity in one sentence. And you thought only Islam could do that!

HAHA! Takes me back to my undergrad days when in a class on feminism I was asked how I felt “as an oppressed woman.” Modern feminism has a LOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go.

Preach!

Thanks for posting this. To the original commenter please google “this is what a radical muslim feminist looks like” and check out my favorite T-shirt. I would wear it every day if I could but the socio-political climate these days makes me a bit wary of doing so. Also look up Nawal Saddawi (an Egyptian and radical…