Who Invented Black Friday? Written by Zawareen Zakaria 2020 has bore witness to the dwindling of sales and consumerism overall due to the nature of the pandemic and the resulting closure of stores and restaurants worldwide in efforts to curb the spread. However, despite the increasingly concerning rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, with [...]

Staying in Unsafe Relationships Written by Zawareen Zakaria October has been designated as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month for several decades now by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It evolved from a remembrance spanning from one day to one week during the 1980s, as conceived by the aforementioned organization, and the designation of the [...]

Who Invented Diapers Written by Zawareen Zakaria Diapering is a practice done worldwide for centuries. Most cultures have adopted some kind of method of covering the genital area not only for privacy purposes but also for cleanliness and comfort. The latest of methods that have been widely adopted for such swaddling means is the disposable [...]

School Like Never Before Written by Zawareen Zakaria The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every walk of life and every facet of life, including how schools and classes are organized across the world. While the beginning of the pandemic has seen classrooms going virtual, the last several months have seen school administrations, teachers, parents, and students [...]

Hurricane Laura & The Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Written by Zawareen Zakaria Early Thursday morning, on August 26th, Hurricane Laura touched down on the border of southwestern Louisiana and left behind in its path sixteen fatalities and massive destruction as it moved along. Aerial photography highlights entire neighborhoods submerged in water and ruined facilities caused [...]

Lessons from ‘Ashura Written by Zawareen Zakaria The Day of ‘Ashura is an incredibly important date in Islamic tradition that is commemorated worldwide. The name is derived from the word “‘Asharah,” which means ten in Arabic, because this day falls on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar and [...]

As the full-time schools scrambled, using spring break to encourage teachers to shift into remote learning, many Sunday schools were left without enough resources or time. For families who cannot afford private Islamic school, these Sunday school programs offer the snippet of faith and faith-based knowledge for young children.   This article is to provide [...]

Muslim Americans in the Fight Against Mental Health Stigma Guest Author: Sarika Antora, MA Psychology, MD Candidate at Drexel University College of Medicine Although arguably one of the most plaguing issues of our time, mental health often takes a backseat in conversation if present at all in the Muslim world. At a time where Muslims [...]

Every day we are constantly reminded that Allah SWT is the Most-Forgiving and the Most-Merciful. However on the day of Arafah, Allah displays how he is Al-Ghafar and Ar-Raheem.    On this day, you and I can be like a newborn: pure and sinless. It is only a matter of seeking Allah’s mercy.   It [...]

What’s with all the meat?   Every year, crowds of Muslims flock to the farms for their sacrifice of meat. It must be an odd scene, seeing some of the families still dressed in their finest clothing from the morning Eid prayer, waiting on a line, tip-toeing just to glance over at which goat they [...]

Not a lot of us get that Ramadan-spiritual-high during Dhul Hijjah. There is no communal taraweeh. There isn’t a community-fasting momentum, unless you’re of the ones who come from really practicing households or friend circles and everyone decides to do the fasts. There is no ibadah all night as a family, looking out the window, [...]

“It was just an idea. That we have to do something about this.” says Halal Halabi. Early during the COVID-19 Pandemic, there was a shortage of PPE everywhere. With unanswered questions about the airborne aspect of this virus, everyone needed masks and healthcare workers were reusing masks. The shortage led CDC to announce mid-March, “In [...]