For Muslim Women by Muslim Women

A Safe Space to Embody Creativity While Adhering to Islamic Teachings

Written by Asma Bernier

Digital Art by Yasmine Swedan

What does it mean to be a Muslim in the West? Does it mean we are simply practicing our faith in a particular geographical area referred to as the ‘West’? Or is it more than that; is it more than a geographical area?

Muslims are continually facing challenges within Western society. These challenges emerge from dominant ideologies pervasive in media, institutions, politics, culture, and other areas. Dominant ways of knowing, thinking, and living are influenced by modernity. This, in turn, creates many misconceptions of Islam being ‘backward’, ‘barbaric, or ‘oppressive.’ These dominant beliefs of Islam are reflected in media representations of Muslims; the men are often portrayed as violent and the women are often “liberated” from their hijab. The hijab, in the Western view, is perceived as symbols of threat and submission to men. These Western attitudes and negative misconceptions of Islam expand globally and influence laws to ban the hijab and burqa, like in France and India. Much of the discourses surrounding Islam are negative and pose challenges to the Muslim community.

So, we loop back to the initial question of what it means to be a Muslim in the West. Do we shape Islamic doctrine to fit into dominant ideals? This has unfortunately been the answer to some. However, we propose an alternative answer, or the correct answer, to this query. We propose that as Muslims living in a predominantly ‘white’ area, where much of the dominant discourses of Islam and Muslims are meant to weaken us, we should remain strong, hold onto authentic Islamic practices and traditions, and to stand out. The desire to stand out and hold onto our religion despite these challenges we face as a community is what inspired the creation of ‘Al-Muselimah’. With this organization, our mission is to create a safe and welcoming space for Muslim women to exercise, and embody, their creativity while still practing Islam. To further develop a safe, strong, and welcoming community for Muslim women, Al-Muselimah was founded by four Muslim women: Sumaya, Yasmine, Doha, and myself (Asma).

Meet Asma

I am a Muslim, Arab-European, and a veiled woman living in Calgary. I have a passion for writing and aspire to be an academic scholar. Much of what I do is related back to Islam and my desire to become a more knowledgeable person. During the summer, I finished my honours degree in Communication and Media studies (COMS) at the University of Calgary. For my undergraduate honours thesis, I studied the ways in which veiled Muslim women influencers define Islamic modesty through their visual social media platforms. Throughout this research, I found gaps in communications scholarship. I identified gaps in scholarly representation of Muslim women from Muslim women. Finding this gap early on in my academic career was a success as much as it was disappointing. This further inspired me to pursue higher education and focus my research on Muslim women. Now, I am doing my masters degree in Communication and Media studies and aim to further contribute equity, diversity, and inclusivity within the field of Communication Studies. This work and desire to spread knowledge, represent and stand with Muslim women, and inspire others has translated to this organization.

Meet Sumaya

Sumaya, who currently works as a communications specialist after graduating from the University of Calgary with a COMS degree, is a painter and digital artist. She too is an Arab-European Muslim who wears a hijab. Sumaya’s identity and experiences have played an integral role in shaping the person she is today as both a Muslim and an artist. Growing up as a woman with intersectional identities, Sumaya felt misplaced and didn’t feel like she belonged to any specific group. This feeling alongside the gaps in representation of Muslim women in the media motivated Sumaya to find a space in society where she belonged. She began to create art that reflected the core of her identity and filled gaps in Islamic representation through her artwork. Sumaya continues to reflect Islam and its beauty within her work. She is continually inspired to create an inclusive space for Muslim women and Muslim creatives to represent themselves, which is why she holds this organization close to her heart.

Meet Yasmine

Yasmine is a Muslim, Lebanese-Libyan woman, who graduated from the University of Calgary for Graphic Design. She has been working as a graphic designer for 4-years now. As a Muslim graphic designer, Yasmine’s focus is to create art that relates to Arab/Middle Eastern culture, considering the misrepresentation of these cultures. Growing up, Yasmine realized that not many of her friends were Muslim, so she grew a desire to meet new Muslim women to befriend. Being surrounded by Muslim people is important to her as she can connect to them in ways she couldn’t with her non-Muslim friends. There was always this worry that she would adhere to the “Westernized” version, or idea, of Islam. This fear also emerged because she realized some Muslim organizations promote these Western ideals. This pushed her to co-create this organization where Islam is promoted in the correct way, free from Western beliefs and ideals. She wants to encourage other Muslim women to be creative, express themselves freely, and be part of a community all while adhering to Islamic teachings and practices.

Meet Doha

Doha is a veiled Muslim and Libyan woman, born and raised in Canada, who recently graduated with a B.A. of Science with a specialization in Biology. As a Muslim woman who grew up in the Maritimes, she faced many struggles. Being the only hijabi woman in her middle school, she continually experienced feelings of alienation and loneliness. These feelings persisted throughout her adolescence. Now, Doha finds herself surrounded by Muslim friends and has the chance to connect with others who wear the hijab. Since she wasn’t able to connect or identify with other people as she was growing up, Doha is passionate and grateful for this organization that creates a space for Muslim women to connect with others. She feels empowered to facilitate a safe space where Muslim women can feel a sense of belonging and feel comfortable operating within a space created specifically for them.

Al-Muselimah is a creative and comfortable space for Muslim women created by Muslim women. We want to continue spreading Islamic knowledge, facilitate discussions, and host events to exercise creativity.