Welcome to Letters from a Muslim Woman, a newsletter where I share the joys and challenges of being a visibly Muslim woman in a sometimes-unfriendly world. Here I explore the multi-generational immigrant experience, mental health, faith, and motherhood.
Maybe you’re curious about what it’s like to belong to a group of “others”. A group that is misunderstood whether willfully or subconsciously. Being a member of this group is something that affects your everyday. It touches on small inconveniences, like praying in stairwells and on buses. And it touches on large injustices, like knowing a community member who’s been disappeared in the war on terror, and fearing the consequences of speaking out.
What to expect
Paid subscribers will get a piece every Tuesday, including my more personal letters every second week, where I delve into the deeper stuff - Islamophobia, perfectionism, hypocrisy, whatever is on my mind whether it’s polished and resolved or still tender and unvarnished.
Free subscribers will get a piece every other week on Tuesdays.
If you aren’t in a position to take out a paid membership, but would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee below or simply share this post with a friend. It helps me more than you realize.
Who am I?
I’m a second-generation Muslim Canadian of Egyptian heritage, Ottawa born and raised. I’m a writer, a mother, a wife, a visible minority, IT analyst by day, and a writer by night.
Below is my first poem, written in 3rd grade.
Smartie on the Sunny Beach
Hot! Hot! I’m turning red!
If I don’t go, I’ll soon be dead!
My body’s hot and so’s my head!
Help! Help! Dying - dead.
