At the end of 2019, in the middle of my son’s fifth-grade year, I visited his classroom for a parent/teacher open house. He was attending public school at the time and one of my concerns was the heavy use of county-assigned laptops in the classroom.
Many adults who were raised by Muslim parents were taught not to question authority. Inquiries like “Why do I have to clean my room?” were most likely met with inflexible responses like, “Because I said so.”
There was once a time when Muslim scientists and inventors were ahead of their counterparts, in the European Middle Ages. Amongst some of these were Abu Nasr Al Farabi, Ibn Sina, Al Battani, and Ibn Al Haytham.
For many, gratitude is foremost on our minds as Thanksgiving approaches. We reflect on the many gifts Allah has given us, including family, food, shelter, health, friendship, and most of all, our beautiful religion, Islam.
It is true that while many of us possess so much, beyond our basic needs, a sense of contentment never settles within us. As much as this is the case with tangible things like having a house, a car, fancy clothes, and a variety of food choices, it can take shape in the form of intangibles, too.
Just about every Muslim girl or woman who has worn a hijab or head scarf, has encountered someone who either curiosly or condescendingly asks “what is underneath”? Author Hena Khan has a beautiful response in her book Under My Hijab.