Rafia Zakaria
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ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Rafia Zakaria
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
Rafia Zakaria is the first Pakistani American woman to serve as a Director for Amnesty International USA. She is a lawyer and the Director of the Muslim Women's Legal Defense Fund for the Muslim Alliance of Indiana/The Julian Center Shelter representing victims of domestic violence. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Indiana University, currently working on her dissertation entitled "Negotiating Identity: Sharia, multiculturalism and Muslim women." She was the John Edwards Fellow at Indiana University for 2007-2008 which is the highest academic honor that can be achieved by a graduate student at Indiana University. Rafia writes a weekly column for the Daily Times in Pakistan and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Arts and Letters Daily, the Nation and the American Prospect. She is the only Pakistani American woman recognized by a joint resolution of the Indiana House and Senate for her work on women's rights. | |
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 | | | Afghanistan | |
Prosecute Taliban leaders for war crimes By Rafia Zakaria, August 16, 2010 By misusing concepts of Islamic law to instate a reign of terror, the Taliban are guilty of increasingly bloodthirsty killing campaigns that kill hundreds of Afghan civilians. It's time to hold them accountable.  ( 22 comments) |
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 | | | Pakistan | |
Everyday acts of intolerance By Rafia Zakaria, August 6, 2010 While there have been some military victories against militant strongholds in Pakistan's tribal areas, the social project of producing a radicalised Pakistan attracted to literal and intolerant interpretations of faith is flourishing. ( 5 comments) |
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 | | | American Muslims | |
Lost and leaderless By Rafia Zakaria, June 2, 2010 During the past year alone, many unfortunate opportunities have thrown up questions about the intentions of the Muslim next door, a situation complicated by the inability of the American Muslim leadership to accept its immigrant dimension. ( 16 comments) |
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 | | | Book: "Stones into Schools" | |
The fourth cup of tea By Rafia Zakaria, March 26, 2010 Greg Mortenson, whose Three Cups of Tea sold 3.6 million copies, has written a sequel titled Stones into Schools, which continues to narrate his ongoing efforts to build schools in rural Pakistan. ( 13 comments) |
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 | | | Religion and politics | |
The other Jewish lobby By Rafia Zakaria, February 12, 2010 The success of J Street and the presence of Jewish Americans working to monitor the fairness of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's trial show that views of Jewish Americans as a homogenous identity are erroneous. ( 4 comments) |
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 | | | The Burj Khalifa | |
Behind the glitz By Rafia Zakaria, January 15, 2010 The very dynamics of the architecture of the tallest towers and their historical symbolism suggest acts of defiance. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, now the world’s tallest building, takes the act of rebellion against physical limitations to new levels — literally. ( 3 comments) |
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 | | | Radicalization | |
Climate of suspicion By Rafia Zakaria, December 18, 2009 As the fever for establishing a connection between AfPak and American security rises with the recent arrests of Americans in Pakistan, American Muslims must contend with the burden of increased scrutiny and a tragic political silencing. ( 31 comments) |
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 | | | Virginity devices | |
A woman’s burden of proof By Rafia Zakaria, October 14, 2009 A new "virginity device" sold from China and marketed to Muslims in Egypt and elsewhere has conservative clerics up in arms. But what should be discussed is the hypocrisy that burdens women with proof of virginity while the men involved are ignored. Because of this, thousands of widows, divorcees and rape victims in countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are forced to live lives at the very margins of social acceptability. ( 60 comments) |
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 | | | Afghanistan | |
A military failure (or a moral one)? By Rafia Zakaria, September 30, 2009 As the McChrystal report demonstrates, the stagnation and moral dilemmas surrounding US policy in Afghanistan, exploited by groups like Al Qaeda, pins the United States in a military and political pigeonhole. ( 20 comments) |
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 | | | Women and the law | |
Of caning, flogging, and starving By Rafia Zakaria, August 24, 2009 In three different Muslim countries, a series of unrelated legal rulings appear to reflect the desire on the part of the Muslim public to have the State as a stand in for the conscience of the individual believer. ( 51 comments) |
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 | | | Clothing bans | |
Beyond the burqa By Rafia Zakaria, June 29, 2009 Curbs against some types of womens' religious attire - such as the proposed burqa ban in France - often have little to do with commitments to the emancipation of women and much to do with using women’s bodies as a platform for varying political agendas. ( 125 comments) |
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 | | | Iran crisis | |
Leave Iran alone By Rafia Zakaria, June 22, 2009 Despite the cacophony of mock-solidarity echoing from all echelons of the US neo-conservative establishment, when it comes to doing what’s best for the Iranian people and indeed for the world, the US must do nothing at all. ( 14 comments) |
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 | | | Obama's Cairo speech | |
The value of words By Rafia Zakaria, June 4, 2009 For all the ensuing media chatter on the necessity of following his beautiful words with beautiful deeds, President Obama deserves credit for his overtures to Muslims around the world in his groundbreaking speech in Cairo. ( 16 comments) |
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 | | | The Taliban | |
A response to modernity By Rafia Zakaria, April 13, 2009 In its rigidity, the Talibanised society mimics an authenticity that sounds and feels truly pure and Islamic and is greedily imbibed by a population that is hungry for answers.
( 83 comments) |
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 | | | Reviving feminism | |
Making a needed connection By Rafia Zakaria, November 24, 2008 Feminists have remained silent and unwilling to make the connection between exhibitionism of flesh and subjugation of flesh, a commonality that should be a rallying cry.
( 41 comments) |
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 | | | Religion and the state | |
Burqa and citizenship By Rafia Zakaria, July 22, 2008 To first exclude a minority through racism and xenophobia and then turn around and castigate those same immigrants for the "failure to assimilate" seems like a redundant and malicious policy ( 33 comments) |
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 | | | Women's rights | |
The perpetual minors By Rafia Zakaria, May 23, 2008 The Saudi veil of piety hides behind it a monarchical state with little respect for the dignity and equality of all human beings so firmly advocated by Islam.
( 11 comments) |
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 | | | Iran Elections | |
A worn out utopia By Rafia Zakaria, March 16, 2008 In evaluating the course of Iran’s path since the 1979 revolution, one must ask why a revolutionary force has became as administratively inept, increasingly repressive and suspicious of dissent as the order against which it mobilised?
( 3 comments) |
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 | | | Women in politics | |
The women on top By Rafia Zakaria, January 28, 2008 Feminists should not hold real examples of female leadership, such as the late Benazir Bhutto and Hillary Clinton, to a stricter standard than that applied to men who have the same aspirations ( 4 comments) |
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 | | | Bhutto assassination | |
Mourning an icon By Rafia Zakaria, December 29, 2007 Even though Benazir Bhutto was helped along by the political legacy of her father, her continued commitment to democratic politics and to the women of Pakistan demonstrated that silence and submission are not the only choices for Pakistani women. ( 13 comments) |
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 | | | Karachi suicide attacks | |
Not the same Pakistan By Rafia Zakaria, October 19, 2007 Violence and death are no strangers to Karachi. Yet, this act, come as it did at a time when national reconciliation is on the table, suggests the re-aligning of Pakistani politics along a paradigm different from in the past. ( 8 comments) |
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 | | | Book “Banat al Riyadh" | |
The subterranean life By Rafia Zakaria, August 25, 2007 Is Western feminism is truly applicable to women in Muslim countries? Raja Alsanea’s book “Banat al Riyadh” (Girls of Riyadh) explores this issue through the eyes of four Saudi women. ( 2 comments) |
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 | | | Labor & Economy | |
The tower that slaves built By Rafia Zakaria, July 31, 2007 Skyscrapers and fancy malls exist all around the world, but the Gulf States are unique in creating a system of labour exploitation where workers are treated as mere chattel. ( 13 comments) |
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 | | | Suicide Terrorism | |
Lives less worthy? By Rafia Zakaria, July 23, 2007 Perhaps the world can come to realise that the real war is between those who believe in the ultimate sanctity and value of a human life and those who do not. ( 37 comments) |
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 | | | Pakistan's Lal Masjid | |
The cult and the crisis By Rafia Zakaria, July 13, 2007 The Lal Masjid debacle raises the question of what exactly the relationship is between Islam and Pakistan, and between the state and the citizen. Is Pakistan a secular or a sacred state? ( 45 comments) |
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 | | | Honor Killing | |
Saving Banaz Mahmod By Rafia Zakaria, June 14, 2007 The case of Banaz Mahmod shows that some segregated immigrant communities exert draconian control over women in order to act out the frustration of feeling helpless in a foreign land. ( 4 comments) |
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 | | | Human Rights | |
Evil Guantanamo, but what about Evin? By Rafia Zakaria, June 3, 2007 Iran's Evin prison is the sordid site where hundreds of Iranian human rights activists, philosophers, journalists and student leaders are being imprisoned under chilling and ghastly conditions. ( 3 comments) |
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 | | | Human Rights | |
Righting Muslim women By Rafia Zakaria, May 29, 2007 The American Right follows the condescending strategy that naïve Muslim women will somehow forget the tragedies unleashed on them when thrown a few comforting words. ( 7 comments) |
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 | | | Human Rights | |
Criminal silence on Darfur By Rafia Zakaria, May 15, 2007 Because of the intra-Muslim nature of the conflict, the suffering of the Darfuri people has failed to become the subject of religious sermons in the Muslim world. ( 16 comments) |
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 | | | Muslim Economies | |
Saudi Arabia’s schizophrenia By Rafia Zakaria, April 10, 2007 While economic prosperity and its attendant manifestations have come to Saudi Arabia relatively easily, religious, socio-cultural and political reform continues to be rejected. ( 11 comments) |
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 | | | Secular Islam Conference | |
The great pretenders By Rafia Zakaria, March 9, 2007 The speakers at the "Secular Islam Conference" reduced the necessity of dialogue between Muslims and Westerners to a profiteering activity that cashes in on fear and intolerance. ( 57 comments) |
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 | | | Pakistan's Hudood Ordinance | |
Veils and jails By Rafia Zakaria, September 1, 2006 The Hudood Ordinances of Pakistan expose how Generals past and present have used the regulation of female sexuality to their strategic advantage. ( 2 comments) |
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 | | | Honor Killing | |
Crime & abetment By Rafia Zakaria, August 9, 2006 European Muslims continue to remain silent on horrific crimes within the community, citing fear of fuelling Islamophobia as the reason. This should not be an excuse. ( 17 comments) |
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 | | | Commentary | |
Islam and reform By Rafia Zakaria, June 10, 2006 Unless any recipe for reform is able to win a constituency in the hearts of those that must change, it is likely to die an unceremonious death on the shelves of Western bookstores. ( 1 comment) |
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 | | | Hijab in Europe | |
Veil and a warning By Rafia Zakaria, February 10, 2006 The mysterious death of Norwegian politician Samira Munir is a chilling deterrent to Muslim women who speak out about the violence against women in their communities. ( 2 comments) |
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altmuslim this week - august 23, 2010 - This week, is there a connection between the heated rhetoric over Park51 and increased hate crimes against Muslims? Also, parallel struggles against anti-Muslim protests in Bradford, England and the innovation (and integration) on display in the 30 Mosques, 30 States and 30 Nights, 30 Grants projects.
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How Miss USA will push the secret Muslim agenda - A leaked memo confirms a nefarious plot to infiltrate America using the one weapon we can't resist: Total hotness. (May 17, 2010)
South Park: The controversy continues - In a special for Salon.com, our Associate Editor Wajahat Ali offers his take on the controversy over South Park. If you think South Park's Muslim brouhaha was messy, you should see what's going on in the neighboring town of East Park. (April 28, 2010)
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altmuslim review 033 - We're baaaaack! We speak about the ongoing controversy over Park51 and what means for the future of lower Manhattan. Also, a discussion with Farhad Chowdhury of the M100 Foundation, which seeks to change the way Muslims pay zakat (August 13, 2010)
altmuslim review 032 - Muslim writers everywhere! We speak about the new wave of Western Muslim literature and interview two authors with recently released books. Our own Irfan Yusuf talks about his memoir, Once Were Radicals and Reza Aslan tells us more about his second book, How to Win a Cosmic War (June 11, 2009)
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Recent and upcoming talks and offsite articles by altmuslim contributors
It's the occupation, stupid, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, June 4, 2010
Sex and the City 2's stunning Muslim clichés, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 28, 2010
Draw Muhammad Day: Collectively Punishing Muslim Americans, Shahed Amanullah, Huffington Post, May 25, 2010
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the proposed French ban on niqab (and fines for husbands who compel their wives to wear them) on May 18, 2010.
Even Controversial Views Should Be Protected by Freedom of Speech, Asma Uddin, The Huffington Post, May 7, 2010.
What I understand about Faisal Shahzad, Wajahat Ali, Salon.com, May 6, 2010
No freak out about South Park, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, April 23, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on the BBC World Service's World, Have Your Say discussing the South Park controversy along with Zarqa Nawaz (Little Mosque on the Prairie) and other guests on April 22, 2010.
Shahed will be a guest on NPR's State of Belief discussing Barack Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, April 17, 2010.
Zahed will be attending a panel discussion entitled " Are Islam and Free Speech Compatible?" in London, England on Friday, March 26, 2010 sponsored by The City Circle. He will be accompanied by Riazat Butt (The Guardian), Hamid Khan (Consultant in Offender and Youth Development), Abu Muntasir (JIMAS), and Dr Usama Hasan.
'Jihad Jane': not the usual suspect, Wajahat Ali, The Guardian, Comment is Free, March 18, 2010.
Al-Awlaki, a new public enemy, Zahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, December 30, 2009.
Islamophonic: Review of the year, Riazat Butt, Zahed Amanullah and David Shariatmadari, Cif Belief (The Guardian), December 18, 2009.
Fort Hood has enough victims already, Wajahat Ali, Comment is Free (The Guardian), November 6, 2009
The pitfalls of filming Muhammad, Shahed Amanullah, The Guardian, Comment is Free, November 4, 2009.
Children of Dust (published by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins), the first book by longtime altmuslim.com contributor Ali Eteraz, is released in the US, Canada, and the UK on October 13, 2009.
Shahed will be attending the m100 Sansoucci Colloquium in Potsdam, Germany, September 14-16, 2009. He will be moderating a panel discussion on the Danish cartoon crisis with Denis MacShane MP, Jasim Al-Azzawi (Al Jazeera English), and Flemming Rose (Jyllands Posten).
Associate Editor Wajahat Ali's play "The Domestic Crusaders" is having its premiere at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City, NY, September 11, 2009. The play will continue through Sunday, October 11, 2009.
Shahed will be moderating or participating in three panel discussions at the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention, including Muslim Journalists: The View from the Inside, Supporting Social Entrepreneurs and Civic Leaders, and Blogistan: Muslim Americans on the Web in Washington, DC, July 3-6, 2009.
State-sponsored Sufism, Ali Eteraz, Foreign Policy, June 10, 2009.
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Media appearances and analysis featuring altmuslim editors
Helping U.S. reach out to young Muslims worldwide - Soon after Farah Pandith was named last year as the State Department's first special representative to Muslim communities, she sat down with the editor of an independent Muslim website for her first official interview. Altmuslim.com, a forum for opinion and analysis about current issues facing Muslims, was a fitting choice. Pandith has said a strong focus of her work is to reach out to younger Muslims around the world, often those most likely to use the Internet for news and networking. (June 5, 2010)
Censorship is in the ascendant - Zahed Amanullah, associate editor of altmuslim.com, has argued in a national newspaper blog that, since the warning came from an unrepresentative group, the media interest was not justified. As for events of the past – the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, the Danish cartoons, the murder of van Gogh – they were "three incidents over a 20-year period from amongst 1.6 billion people. These things do happen. But we all need a bit of perspective." (April 30, 2010)
Muslims say new security rules unfair, ineffective - ''Muslims are doing their duty. Muslim parents are being attentive. It's the TSA that's not being attentive. It's the TSA that's not doing its duty," said Shahed Amanullah, an editor at the Web site altmuslim.com. "There's nothing more that Muslims can do than turn in their own families." (January 7, 2010)
US Muslims & media… Lost love - "We have a big problem; it’s that other people are shaping the story about us," Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com, told IslamOnline.net. (December 16, 2009)
Moves to Seize Mosques Spark Outrage - "I'm extremely skeptical that the link between these mosques and this organization is so strong as to merit the seizing of a considerable amount of assets that do a lot of good for the Muslim community," says Shahed Amanullah, a prominent Muslim blogger based in Austin. "The government better be prepared to make a very good case, because this is unprecedented." (November 17, 2009)
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