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We must reaffirm hijab as a religious, spiritual practice — not merely a personal, social, cultural or political statement, and reconnect it with a vibrant inner spirituality. In a time when disciplined religious practice is considered nothing more than mindless ritual, we must also reaffirm the link between our spiritual state and deference to the guidelines and rules of our religion, and reconnect what we wear to our faith.

In our times, we have reduced hijab to a headscarf that serves as a badge of one’s Muslim identity, and have removed it from a larger understanding of haya’ and how this beautiful quality should cultivate our behavior in the public sphere and in our relationships with others.

The trend of hijab/hijabi fashion in particular has, in many ways, effectively divorced haya’ from hijab. The hijabi fashion trend has also taken no strides to changing spiritually unhealthy cultural norms, or to recasting definitions of beauty and a woman’s worth. Instead, in many cases, it has simply put a headscarf on mainstream fashion with all of its failings, including an extremely narrow and exploitative view of beauty and sexuality

One of the hidden treasures within the Muslim world is West Africa. In it contains a rich history of Muslim empires, arts and culture as well as resistance to colonialism. As these are aspects of Islamic civilization in West Africa that are unknown to many non-sub Saharan Africans, equally unknown is the rich history of Islamic scholarship in West Africa which continues to inspire the faithful today. Shaykh Uthman bin Fodio al-Fulani (may Allah sanctify his spirit), also known as Shehu Uthman dan Fodio, is one of those stars in the constellation in the history of Islamic scholarship in West Africa.

I never thought that I’d be a shaikh’s wife. Somehow, even though I grew up with a passion for studying Islam, and made sure to marry someone who had that too, I never pictured myself getting married to be known as the ‘wife of Shaikh So and so.’

As I reminisce on the years studying abroad, I can say that some of the women that I met and with whom I had the blessing of sharing time with had something of the spirit, the strength, and the light of our righteous predecessors. These women that we overlook in the masjid, often not even bothering to learn their names, known simply as “Wife of Shaikh X”, or “Imam Saab’s first wife” are some of the warriors in our ranks, who, if they did not sacrifice years of their life to be a source of nourishment for their husband and a pillar by his side, would perhaps be in the forefront of our community in any one of a number of roles. Instead, her journey, her sacrifices, and her struggles are often unknown to anyone except Allah, and that quiet sisterhood of others who have been through the same experience.

How many couples in our community are struggling and given insufficient advice, told that they will resolve their differences by simply focusing on their spirituality? And how many of them find that while they may see some temporary minor improvements, simply increasing their spiritual practice without giving any direct attention to their communication problems may in fact cause even more distance between them in the long run? If we truly want to see our marriages succeed then we must strive to inculcate Prophetic emotional intelligence in all individuals before they even think about marriage.

As we continue to debate the future of the American Muslim story, especially at this critical juncture, we must first realize that simply throwing around buzz-words like “narrative” and “storytelling” will not be enough. We need a systematic and focused effort to record, examine, and share the many facets of the collective American Muslim story(ies). This is more critical today than ever as Islam and Muslims are misrepresented, vilified and marginalized on a daily basis. We can only expect this trend to intensify in the days ahead. A confident, forward-looking American Muslim vision will have to invest in such an effort to discredit this rampant misrepresentation.

Should compulsion—rather than conviction—play a role in realizing the ideal of a virtuous community? Is there a role for the “policing” of other people’s religious belief and morality?

On a recent cross-continental flight I sat next to a man who was a supporter of Donald Trump. You can imagine the awkward position we were both in. Racist. Islamophobe. Misogynist. Those were a few of the adjectives that could have crossed my mind, while terrorist, anti-American, ISIS may have been on his. We both had to choose: tolerate each other for a few hours, passing the occasional disingenuous smile with meaningless pleasantries or address the elephant in the room and engage in a real conversation. We chose the latter.

Yes, we are all tested in different ways. But that doesn’t mean that the differences in our tests should make us less empathetic to the plight of others. We may think that Syria needs us, but the reality is — we need Syria. This is one test we all must learn from and face together.

Mostafa Azzam is the author of the first ever singable English translation of the Burdah, Imam Busiri's classic poem in praise of the Prophet ﷺ. He graciously granted an interview with ImanWire to discuss the book and its significance and his reflections on the project.

In a new America under the governance of Donald Trump, demands for our mosques to act in the public arena — from both our community members who are legitimately feeling great pressure, and our allies who want to support us — are likely to intensify. In this context, our leadership must ask this question daily: what does a Prophetic imagination of public action look like for mosques in this moment?

Is it just me, or is being a Muslim in the US a rollercoaster ride? There’s so much to discuss! Top on the list is, of course, the imminent Trump administration. Like many in this country, since November 9th I’ve alternated between stupefaction, acute anxiety and invigoration for the… interactions (?) to come. This is an ideal moment to reflect on the condition of the American Muslim community as news reports of cabinet picks and policy announcements regularly herald the challenges, long feared just beyond the horizon, that are now coming into view.

An avid runner and marathoner, Rahaf Khatib recently made headlines for being on the cover of Women’s Running magazine in October 2016. As a voice for promoting health and fitness in the community, she is an inspirational figure for both Muslims and those of other faiths. In this interview with Selma Chaudhry and Salam Aref, she discusses the story behind the magazine cover, her love of running, and the challenges she has faced.