Once Know As the “City of Peace” Now Strives for Peace! A Carnival in Baghdad!

A carnival celebrating peace has emerged in the city of Baghdad. This carnival is a new development, which began in 2011 with the help of volunteers and organizers. Noof Assi said, “after searching the words, Iraqi Laughing, and the search engine coming back with zero results she knew the city once known as “the city […]

Peace through Play

In the United States, many children start to play sports at a very young age. As early as 5 or 6, American children are thrust into sports like soccer, football, tennis, basketball, softball, baseball, and more. Team sports are especially emphasized for young people, because they teach you important skills and valuable lessons about the […]

Don’t Take Them!

Recently, there have been constant reports about frequent hostage crises in the Middle East. These kidnappings have increased each year and spread to places where footholds of (typically) terrorist groups reside. It is not unheard of for hostages to be sold or traded to other groups in return for other individuals, goods, or territory. The […]

Never Say No To Panda

The advertisement business is a competitive market that strives for consumers’ attention. Many companies fail to acquire the interest of their buyers through ads, but there are always those companies that win peoples attention through a memorable commercial, usually from humor or something cute like a puppy. The “Never Say No To Panda” campaign has […]

A Religious Journey

2:60 Eat and drink from the provision of God, and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption If you have grown up in a religious household your whole life, try to imagine the complete opposite, or if you have never followed a religion you might be able to relate. I grew up in […]

I Shall Not Hate

“I shall not hate” is a book by Izzeldin Abuelaish that talks about his experience with the Israeli-Palestine conflict. He is an infertility doctor that travels back and forth from Israel, where he works, to Gaza, where he lives. He talks about the immense difficulties of crossing the border and how many times he was […]

The Angel of Kobane

Her name is Rehana. She is not just a girl, but she’s a brave warrior. She fights alongside the Kurds and protects her people from ISIS, killing over 100 IS terrorists in Northern Syria. In her famous picture she wears a smile, a peace sign, and a military uniform. Rehana’s image has exploded across social […]

All About them Babies: Part 1

Childbirth is a woman’s issue. Childbirth is a woman’s issue. Childbirth is a woman’s issue . . . I’ve seen this phrase countless times during my research for this post, and maybe it’s just me, but something about these five words put together in this order is extremely unsettling. My first response to this sentence […]

Guided by Faith and Without Any Fears

The Pilgrimage For those of you who don’t know, Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and over two million Muslims make this pilgrimage annually. The pilgrimage slightly varies for different countries depending on the position and sighting of the moon (CNN). The trip to Mecca for Hajj is a special time […]

Muslim Feminists as a Minority

Dominant: to utilize your power and influence over others. In every country and culture, there are dominant groups according to a number of different characteristics. The most common differentiating factors include culture, race, gender, and religion. In the United States, there are many dominant groups, including caucasians, straight individuals, and Christians. These groups tend to […]

Expression through Henna

For over five thousand years the art of henna (Arabic) or mehndi (Hindi) has been used as a way of enhancing beauty. Legend has it that Mohammad used henna to dye his beard and that the henna flower was the Prophet’s favorite. The plant has since been associated with positive magic and “provides a link […]

Middle East: Home of the Billionaires

Have you ever seen pictures of the Palm Islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and wondered how those beautiful islands were crafted into what they are today? Money and geographical location has allowed the Palm Islands to exist. Dubai alone is home to nine out of the seventy-eight Middle Eastern billionaires. With this wealth, and […]

A Culture, not a Costume

Ohio University has a well-known reputation for having one of the largest Halloween celebrations in the United States, and yes, the pressure of a perfect costume is oh so real. Every year around this time, I scramble to come up with a costume that’s original and entertaining. As I browsed the web last week for […]

Are we Talking about the Same Jihad?

The linguistic adaption of a word from one language to another brings a whole host of inconsistencies and incompatibilities. I once had a friendly taxi driver who was shy to say his name. I considered this to be a silly thing to avoid, but he said Americans seem to like him less once they knew. I […]

Video shows discrimination against Islam

A video has lately spread on youtube, showing a veiled young girl walking down the street, and then gets hit by a man passing by. The man knocks her down to the ground, and then runs away. Now the reason he did it is obviously the religious difference he could spot, as she was veiled […]