Laura El Alam I remember the first time I ever went to a mosque as a new convert. In my carefully-chosen outfit of loose pants, a long-sleeved blouse, and headscarf, I was certain that I’d fit right in with the women around me. After all, I felt extremely [...]
Laura El Alam New converts in the United States and other Muslim-minority countries often have questions about which kinds of meat are halal (permissible) to eat. Abstaining from pork is obvious, but what about the beef sold in supermarkets, or the chicken served at fast food restaurants? Are [...]
Habeeba Husain On the rocks of Sunset Cliffs beach in San Diego, on an airplane up in the sky, in the halls of Madison Square Garden during a Knicks game, or on the freshly cleaned green carpet inside the walls of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah—these are just [...]
For over 1,400 years, the Quran has moved hearts and minds with its poetic elegance and moral guidance. Yet beyond its spiritual teachings lies a linguistic miracle, a text that uses grammatical precision and structural ingenuity to convey timeless truths. For non-Muslims curious about Islam, these subtleties offer important [...]
For many outside the Islamic faith, the Quran is shrouded in mystery, a sacred text often referenced but rarely understood in depth. To Muslims, it is far more than scripture: it is the literal word of God, revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad over 1,400 years ago. Beyond [...]
Laura El Alam Those of us who embraced Islam as an adult have many years of life experiences behind us. The things we did and the people we spent time with shaped us into who we are. While not all of our pre-Islamic habits, friends, and behaviors were [...]
In a world where acts of charity are widely celebrated as expressions of human kindness, Islam introduces a unique and structured concept of obligatory giving called Zakah. For those unfamiliar with Islamic teachings, Zakah might initially resemble voluntary charity or even practices like tithing in other faiths, but it holds [...]
When the crescent moon appears, Muslims around the world pause. Homes buzz with excitement, mosques fill with light, and families gather with a shared mission. For 30 days, they fast from sunrise to sunset, pray late into the night, and give generously to those in need. To outsiders, these [...]
Habeeba Husain Growing up with a Jewish background, Nissa knew that a person who wanted to accept Judaism would be ritually turned away three times before a rabbi accepted the potential convert’s request on a fourth attempt. But she never imagined she herself would run into three different [...]
Laura El Alam This March, God willing, I will celebrate my twenty-fifth shahadaversary, a term coined by some of us converts to mark the day we made the testimony of faith (shahada) and officially embraced Islam. I will also, God willing, turn 50 this year, which will mean [...]
