Hujrah Wahhaj Brings Her Father’s Legacy to The Mic – The Artful Muslimah

What is your background as a spoken word artist? When did you begin writing and performing poetry?

When I was about 12 years old I would sing along to the songs I heard on the radio, mostly rap. I would position myself in front of the mirror, grab a brush as my microphone and “perform,” as if I was really on stage. I didn’t begin writing my own poetry until 2005, while I was visiting family in Atlanta, Georgia during a rough time. They had an Eid celebration hosted by a poet who was fierce. There, I saw young Muslims with incredible talent get on stage and perform. They were modest, God-fearing and super talented. It was such a new experience for me. I knew that day that I had found my voice. They gave me permission to be a fierce poet, and an even fiercer Muslimah. I left Atlanta a changed woman. That night I wrote an entire album from the energy the Muslim artists had brought. I began performing shortly after that and people continue to love it. They give me incredible feedback mostly and say I inspire them. That is the true blessing.

On your blog you say that your dad took you along to his “fiery speeches and lectures” but that you “just looked forward to the road trips and the free food we ate at the various venues.” At what point was there a ‘click’ for you, when you knew that you were also like this, that you also had the urge and means to inspire?

This actually transpired when I was working as a secretary for my dad at his masjid. I had to deal with people from all walks of life with unbelievable circumstances. The majority of the time I was dealing with people in crisis and as my dad’s secretary I had to intercept, and help find fast solutions to solve their problems. Alhamdulillah, I had a natural ability to make people feel comfortable enough to open up and share with me. I always listened intently to their words, deciphering the real message (what they were not saying) and then offered solutions based on that. Alhamdulillah, people were coming into my office on the verge of suicide in some cases and left with new found hope. It was then, I realized I had my dad’s passion and zeal and my calling was to help save and motivate the masses.

You must look at our own uniqueness and find strength in your journey. Your personal path was written for you to do something great, something phenomenal.

How is poetry and spoken word different or not different from straight forward lecturing?

Spoken word and lecturing, to me, is the same. I have a message or a story that I want to tell. Whether it is lecture-style or spoken in poetry, I deliver it so that it pierces the heart and penetrates the soul. I’ve been to many lectures where the information may have been excellent but the delivery was so boring that the audience was lost. Having watched my dad give fiery lecture after lecture, my expectations when I hear a lecture are high. I want it to be good and beneficial, but I’m looking for it to move my soul. If either one is lacking it just does not hold my attention long enough and it becomes useless to even attend. I look at each of my performances this way. Whether it’s my radio show or performing a poem or lecturing, I want people to walk away so pumped up, ready to make a move towards change. I am not satisfied unless the majority of my audience has been moved in such a way that they cannot go home the same person as they were when they came.

In the piece ‘My Journey’ you write “Two choices speak up or sit in the corner over there, because she told herself all her life its immodest to speak her opinion, impolite to raise her voice, or share her inner wisdom, so she stagnates herself suppresses what she has to offer, but her core, her inner most being is burning,…” Have you personally experienced this dilemma? How has your family – especially your mom and dad – felt about your own journey as a woman who stands and speaks up?

I was very passive when I was younger, I wanted to be liked so I would bite my tongue and let people walk all over me. I would agree to do things I really didn’t want to because I thought I was being a good Muslim. I wouldn’t dare critique anyone else other than myself. It came to a point in my life where I was getting sick all the time from not being unable to say “No.” I remember thinking one day, this makes no sense. It doesn’t matter if people don’t validate me because I say no. What’s most important is my health. Slowly but surely I started pulling back and getting the courage to be more assertive. Alhamdulillah, now I’m much better at expressing my needs and wants and keeping everything in my boundary lines. People respect you more when you speak up for yourself. My parents are extremely supportive of me speaking up about my journey. In fact, my mother used to tell me from when I was a little girl that I was supposed to be on stage, that I had a lot to say. The day I stopped fighting my power and inner wisdom and accepted that Allah swt placed me here to inspire the masses and spark change, was the best day – I truly found myself.

Have you experienced any adversaries – people not supporting you, as a Muslim woman, to stand and speak up?

Alhamdulillah, I must say I haven’t had any adversaries thus far about my art or my profession, but I know it’s inevitable. You cannot please everyone and I do expect to have my share of naysayers just like anyone else. You have to be bold and courageous, believing in your work in order to sustain yourself should the naysayers come after you. Alhamdulillah, my blessing is that I no longer seek validation from humans. I seek validation from Allah (SWT). When I want to make a move or a decision I plug deeply into Allah (SWT), making Istikarah, seeking His guidance and approval, and when He gives me His stamp of approval I move with confidence and clarity. You must find your comfort and repose through the Creator. It’s the only way to sustain yourself in a world that could break you down if you let it.

Tell us about Q.U.E.E.N. What are you doing with this program currently and what is your vision for it?

Q.U.E.E.N. Quest for Unity through Empowering and Enlightening the Next generation is an initiative I started to save our young women ages 11-18 from becoming statistics. I founded Q.U.E.E.N. in NY in 2009 and relocated to Atlanta, GA in 2011. Q.U.E.E.N.’s goals are to empower our young women by developing character and leadership building skills, finding and developing their natural talents and gifts, helping them find their voice, passion, and purpose, and raise consciousness and awareness of those who are less fortunate, in extreme poverty, and destitute. Q.U.E.E.N. creates a safe, nurturing, supportive, and stimulating environment for young Muslim women to express themselves, and find their place in this world, and to help contribute to the world around them. Q.U.E.E.N.’s vision is to unite all young Muslim women across the globe, and to have a chapter in all major inner-city states and eventually in every country. Q.U.E.E.N. girls are taught lifelong skills such as cooking, sewing, writing, and individual talent development. They are also given leadership roles and are held responsible for weekly tasks and goals. Insha Allah, Q.U.E.E.N.’s future endeavours include, but are not limited to: soup kitchens, visiting the sick, charity events, fundraisers, and trips to Africa to help those who are less fortunate. We strongly encourage young women over the age of 18 to volunteer with us as peer mentors as they will be develop and grow along with our girls.

What are some of your thoughts about Muslims, especially young Muslims, and expressing themselves through various forms of art?

Young Muslims must express themselves. We live in a world full of boundaries and guidelines. We can’t keep telling our young people “No, no, no. Haram, haram, haram” expecting them to not dibble and dabble into the very same things we are trying to stop them from doing. If young Muslims are encouraged to express themselves, especially artistically, they will develop a sense of passion and belonging. Right now they feel like outsiders, this is why the Muslim girls take off their khimars at school and the young Muslim brothers prefer to have non-Muslim nicknames. They feel like they don’t belong and are trying to find their way. Giving them a platform to find their way and express their thoughts and concerns artistically is lifesaving. They can begin to find power in their voice, becoming trendsetters and leaders instead of followers. Young Muslims, I encourage you, to step into your Light now. Find out what it is that you like, that makes your heart sing, that makes your soul dance, and then go and do it. If you have to get creative and find a way to make it halal, then seek out daleel, do proper research – by all means, do it.

It is not okay to stifle our children’s creativity because all that suppressed energy has to come out and it will unfortunately in destructive ways, which could cost your child’s soul. Expressing yourself creatively and artistically is the difference between living and existing. None of us should merely exist, we should all be living. We were not created to be free floating atoms, aimlessly flaring about. We must stand up and make a choice to be Great. We must realize we were sent here to this place to do a specific job. No one else can do the job you were written to do. You must look at your own uniqueness and find strength in your journey. Your personal path was written for you to do something great, something phenomenal. The sooner you stop stifling yourself, the sooner you begin to peel back your layers and express yourself creatively, and the sooner you will begin to move up your ladder of success. Step into your light, step into your greatness no matter what your current circumstances are, regardless of your age or status. If no one else ever did it, let me be the one to tell you, I give you permission to be great, better yet Allah (SWT) has given you permission to be THE BEST!

To learn more about Hujrah’s work, including her recently released spoken word CD “Warrior of Love: I’m Here Now” visit her website http://www.hujrahwahhaj.com/, but the best way to connect with Hujrah and follow her prodigious works is through her Facebook page.

Brooke Benoit is an American artist who is home-educating her 5.5 children in Casablanca, Morocco. Her current most-used mediums are dirt, seeds, worms, balsa wood, and glitter paint.

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This article originally appeared in the May 2012 issue of SISTERS Magazine- The magazine for fabulous Muslim women.

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Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. An Anthology

Please check out, share and submit! to this, insha Allah, upcoming anthology Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. on WordPress, on Facebook, on Tumblr…

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Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim

Ruminations on Being, Creating, and Believing

Bismillah al Rahman al Raheem

This is a call for submissions for a new project, the anthology Artist Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. As you well know art and all its various forms, such as poetry, performance, film, illustration, fashion, are often misunderstood and even demonized in the greater Muslim community. The intent of this project is to reflect on the experiences of creative/creating Muslimahs to (insha Allah) dispel some of these myths as well as to inspire others to maximize their God-given talents and the blessings available through doing so.

As this project hopes to reveal (notice we didn’t say “unveil”!) a wide scope of the artists and artistic happens, both visual and literary, across the ummah, we are open to accepting a diverse array of writing styles, including and by no means limited to essays, dialogues, creative non-fiction writing and poetry that is directly relevant to the subject matter. We would also like to include some inspiring, entertaining and/or insightful interviews of artsy sisters. You are welcome to put together an interview for submittal, contact us for suggestions of sisters of interest, or run by us ideas of potential interviewees.

Works which include excerpts from Quran, hadith, and other Muslim Maxims are of course welcomed in this project, however if your style or preference does not include such, your work is also welcome as we strive for inclusion of a diverse representation of believers, respecting the individuality in each Muslim point of view. This is not an anthology of “Islamic Art,” rather it is an anthology of Muslim Women Artists. In the spirit of inclusivity we ask that writers consider their readers and therefore cannot accept any work which includes vulgarity or explicit depictions of sex. Submissions from Sisters of Color are especially appreciated.

We would love to hear about issues related to being a Muslim woman artist, such as:

• Internal and external struggles with accepting yourself as a artist
• Rectifying your culture, art and religion
• Epiphany-like moments related to being an artist
• Art and dawah
• Art as ibadah
• Art as rizk: Being a working (as in selling) artist
• Accepting yourself as being a creative being or non-working (as in selling) artist
• Creativity and your community
• Reflections on historical Muslim arts and artists which inspire you
• Anything else related to your being an artist, a woman and a Muslim

Submission Guideline Details:

• Email all submissions both as .doc and pasted in the content of your email to intersectionsanthology@gmail.com
• Maximum 5,000 words
• Include a 2-3 sentence biography
• If you have one, include website or blog url
• Submissions due March 1^st, 2012

Information about compensation, copy rights and similar will not be available until a publisher has been secured, minimally each accepted entry will receive a copy of the anthology.

Please help spread the word! Share the submission guidelines for Intersections:  Woman, Artist, Muslim on your blog, website, social networks and with all of your creative sisters.

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Review of Beyond the Kitchen: Muslim Women on Balancing Life, Family and Work

 Being that I am one of those typical Super Sisters striving to juggle multiple roles while clinging to my deen, Huda Khattab’s latest book completely had me at the title-Beyond the Kitchen: Muslim Women on Balancing  Life, Family and Work. Khattab’s work—extensive research, interviewing Muslimahs and writing this book—grew from her personal search for practical education and career solutions for her own young daughters. Khattab, a British-born convert now living and working in Canada, has bound her findings on Muslimahs’ successes into “a celebration of the diversity of interest and skills to be found among Muslim women.” Sharing the experiences of dozens of sisters, Beyond the Kitchen offers insight and tactical suggestions for some of the challenges unique to Muslim women who must, as Katherine Bullock explains in the foreword, “balance our need to work with our obligation to live a lifestyle in conformity with what Allah (swt) has laid down for us.”

Amongst the book’s participants I found many sisters carving paths similar to sisters whom I have known, and there are even a few high-profile Muslimahs whom I have heard of who shared their experiences. A would-be opera singer who converted her creative energy and skills into developing Muslim media is an especially interesting and inspiring account, though even the most seemingly typical occupations and endeavors demonstrate the complexities and possibilities open to working Muslim women. Academic in its methodology, Beyond the Kitchen is thoughtfully revealing read. I love personal narratives, especially those of Muslim women, and delightfully Khattab includes along with these narratives a brief account of the kinds of “jobs” performed by early Muslimahs, such as trade, agriculture, medicine, animal husbandry, literature, and scholarship:

In an interesting vignette, it is reported from ‘Amra bint al-Tubakh that she went to the market with her slave woman and bought a fish that was so big that its head and tail appeared from the basket in which she carried it. ‘Ali passed by and asked how much it had cost, commenting that it would fee her family well.

These vignettes remind us that direct buying and selling (along with other occupations) have always been possible, practical and necessary options in the lives of many Muslim women. Being a housewife may be the Islamic ideal in some circles, but the sisters in Beyond the Kitchen are frequently either realistic, “As a convert, I also am aware that the ‘traditional’ ideas, that your family will always support you even if you are divorced or widowed, aren’t applicable in my case” or they have been hit with reality, “Some respondents were the sole breadwinners in their families, such as Naz whose parents’ health problems prevent them from working.”  Khattab also found that Muslimahs are drawn to work for non-financial reasons, such as “self-fulfillment, intellectual stimulation” and “to make a contribution to society.” For others, working beyond the domestic sphere simply enables their families’ lifestyles to go further than the barebones that only one income may provide.

Although Khattab attempts to reveal a varied cross-section of working Muslimahs, one commonality most share is higher education. Though some work in the fields they were trained for, others needed to return to school to obtain a skill set. Let it be a counsel to other sisters, insha Allah, that an education of some sort is invaluable for Muslim women to be hirable or effectively trained for self-employment, which can be an ideal situation giving sisters the kind of freedom they need to keep their earnings and their time uncompromised. In keeping with her own advice to “think outside the box,” Khattab offers practical and Muslim-friendly suggestions for obtaining skills other than the standard go-to-college route which, though ideal, is simply not an option for every sister. Mentorship is something few sisters encountered but, Mira, a nurse and midwife encouraged that, “We should think of how we as women and sisters can help each other. We need mentoring between each other, advice, support . . . We should really be supporting and nurturing and loving and give advice.” Absolutely. Mentorship is an Islamic ideal many of us can informally practice; certainly we say it all the time, “Want for your sister what you want for yourself.”

Flexibility is another commonality amongst the participants, and undoubtedly a trait that women quickly pick-up when they become mothers. Several of the participants, and even Khattab, parlayed their work and life experiences into wahm (work at home mom) situations when they had children. Adaptability is also a challenge for converts who must transition their new Muslim parameters into their (usually) secular workplaces or carve out any entirely new route in self-employment. As someone who has worked many jobs and attended university both as a Muslim and before being Muslim I know firsthand that being Muslim in non-Muslim work environments does make a difference in how I was treated as well as some difficulty in being hired in the first place. Khattab mostly avoids dabbling in the details and daleel of Islamic do’s and don’ts in the work place by allowing the sisters to explain how they approach issues, such as interacting with the opposite sex, transitioning to hijab, dealing with non-Muslim holidays and bigotry. There’s no whitewashing here, participants from outside The West also reported incidents of discrimination for being practicing Muslims in Muslim-majority countries and how they dealt with these challenges.

A thorough and well balanced demonstration of the particulars working Muslim women face, Beyond the Kitchen even takes a peek into the kitchen and domestic realms of sisters and offers sage advice and resources for better managing around the hearth.  I have come across some of these resources before when during times of my own domestic crisis I have frantically turned to Google for help—have we all heard of The Fly Lady?—but in staying outside the box, Khattab dispenses lots of more good sense. Beyind the Kitchen’s appendices are just as relevant and prudent as her narratives.

Although her participants glean a great deal of insight into their personal experiences of striving to balance work, life, family and deen, an area beyond the scope of Khattab’s book are the detailed practicalities of being self-employed and/or a wahm. Next month, insha Allah, we will look more closely at some of the myths and pitfalls around wahming and self-employment. Ideally Beyond the Kitchen would be a great resource for all parents of young Muslimahs and it would also be of immeasurable benefit to new(ish) converts who are trying to forge their way in balancing their new religious obligations with their worldly needs and responsibilities. The sisters in Beyond the Kitchen demonstrate that there is no one way to do it, but plenty of routes worth trying while looking for your own right way.

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This review originally appeared in the February 2011 edition of SISTERS Magazine. “Work at Home Muslimah: The Great WAHM Myths, Realities and Possibilities can be read here.

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My Hijrah Diary in SISTERS Magazine

I’ve been meaning to tell ya’ll that my Hijrah Diary is being chronicled in SISTERS magazine (The Magazine for Fabulous Muslim Women). It started up in November and should run for several months insha Allah. Here’s a lil’ excerpt from last month:

January 27:  We have 840+lbs of luggage allotment—nearly a ton! — and I can’t decide whether to take the bake ware or not. And I still don’t know if we will be living in the north or south and whether or not to pack for winter or spring! I HATE stuff. If Hassan asks me one more time “not to take too much, but be sure to take ____”, I’m going to a mountain top with my sheep BY MYSELF! Well, I’ll take the baby too, of course. And I’m so mad at myself for being attached to all this glittery distraction, though the bake ware is hardly glittery anymore. I know almost all of it is available there. And if it’s not, then surely I don’t need it because Moroccans don’t need it. Right? Except for the kids’ paperbacks. I need those. And the half dozen books about and by Muslim women that I have bought and not yet read. And the Legos which I can’t afford to replace there. And my mini Pampered Chef spatula. AstagfirAllah.

Really, I know it’s not about stuff. I finally cried a bit today and I couldn’t blame it all on hormones. And I can’t blame it all on stuff.  The reality is that I’m leaving home and I feel like a big baby about it.

SISTERS went monthly last month (congrats Sisters!) and are regularly adding new content to their site, where you can read some articles, so check them (us!) out.

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The White Privilege & the Ummah Carnival: What Does it Mean to You, Them and Us?

The Carnival goes up this Friday, the 22nd, inshAllah.

The White Privilege & the Ummah Carnival: What Does it Mean to You, Them and Us?* *Them is non-Muslims, Us is the Ummah

Submissions (ideally) Due Wednesday May 20^th  but will keep adding as you come along, inshallah. Please leave a link if you put up a post on your blog, thanks.

For a hot minute I was worried that I would never get around to doing this, but I’m glad it did take me this long as I have had a chance to germinate some ideas that I would have otherwise not had time to ponder.

       The idea for taking a closer look at white privilege in the ummah came from a comment discussion with Jamerican Muslimah. At that time, I had mostly only thought about my white privilege in terms of how mine was revoked when I joined a religious minority (in the US) and put a little square of cloth over my head. **(I recognize now that my privilege was not revoked, but it certainly felt that way). I think this experience must be quite shocking for most new Muslimas and especially for white women who had taken so much for granted in western societies.

       I have mostly worked from home since I began covering and so when I did interact with society, as a Muslima, it was mostly fairly superficial, such as running errands and taking the kids to the park–where the other mommies don’t talk to me so much anymore. When I recently went back to school, I was quite shocked at the treatment I perceived that I was getting from my peers and professors to the point where I actually thought I may be getting a little paranoid or developing some kind of social anxiety disorder. Finally, I did an experiment where for the first several meets of my winter courses I fully “hijabed” in a cap and scarf to class, and sure enough it wasn’t me, it was them.

       Anyhoo, I digress. You see, this white privilege carnival could very easily be a giant rantfest about how if feels to have your white privilege card revoked **(or seemingly so), and though that could be very self-satisfying, I think there is a possibility for this endeavor to be much more thought-provoking.

       The White Privilege and The Ummah carnival will be open to all Muslimas—white, passing, woc, converts, indigenous Muslimas, 1.5 generation, etc. ** I was thinking just Muslimas, but will include brothers too. The topic is widely open to your interpretation and even rants about the loss of privilege are welcome. Here are a few starter ideas to get things going:

 Jamerican had made these suggestions:

•  Something I’d love to see a White Muslim woman blog about-confronting their White privilege in the larger society (suddenly becoming the ‘other’)
•  And also within the Muslim community (being the sought after White woman)
•  Using Muslim community White privilege to dictate norms to other- brown- Muslim women

       That bit about “dictating norms to other-brown-Muslim women” immediately raised some eyebrows, and I don’t think I would have been able to see those dynamics prior to her mentioning it, so inshallah I will try to address that somewhat in my post, but hope other folks will give it some good thinking about.

       It is fairly well known how sought after white Muslimas are, but I don’t necessarily think this works out well for many sisters. It would be nice to hear about these sort of experiences from a first-person perspective.

It would also be good to hear about:

• Being a white Muslima amongst the Muslims in the lands of the Muslims. Is it easier to go abroad? Are we treated better?
• The Great Equalizer? How does being Muslim affect race relations?
• Extra-attention/sensitivity doled out to the White shahada.
• How does class continue to affect white Muslims? What are the differences in experiences between white privilege for upper/middle class white Muslims and working-poor/poor white Muslims?
• Maintaining or discarding White American cultural norms. Fact Observation: Many white people are not trustworthy and they are arrogant—does that change or remain when we become Muslim?

        When I initially shopped this thing around, I got a wide range of responses including that white privilege doesn’t exist and also that white privilege ceases to exist once a white person becomes Muslim. I don’t agree with either of those positions, but  I would include posts written from those angles as all opinions are valid.

       For those of my siblings who are in doubt that white privilege does exist, I would like to share a couple my experiences with recognizing my privilege from my jilhaliya.

        When I was in my early twenties, myself and another prospective renter where looking at a fabtabulous studio to rent in a not-so-desirable neighborhood (the Tendernob/Upperloin). As we stood in front of the bay windows and the apartment manager gave as all the details, I remember thinking that I “had it.” The other prospect was a middle-aged Asian man with a noticeable accent. Though I suspected he probably made more money than me, he would probably do less damage to the place than me, and he would probably actually pay the last month’s rent rather than use the deposit—I knew I would get the apartment, and I did.

       A few months later I was taking a train trip across the country.  I was awakened to an announcement that we had crossed some state line and law enforcement officials would be randomly checking people’s luggage for contraband. Immediately two officers entered the car and started slowly moving down the isle towards me. In my backpack, stowed at my feet, was a cache of illegal material—to my relief, the officers didn’t even seem to look at me–instead they went straight to the two black men a few seats behind me. I didn’t know what it was called, but I knew right then that I had it.

       Need more explanation? Peggy McIntosh has written an excellent article that illustrates what it is, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” Please go read the whole article; here are a few from the list of 26 privileges. I have crossed out those that were revoked when I began wearing hijab:

 1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area, which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

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One of These Ladies is Not Like The Others…

On the backcover of Codepink’s book Stop the Next War Now, I was surprised to find this inconsistency. Can you pick out the lone contributor identified by her ________ rather than a title identifying her humanitarian work?

This book is a inspiring read–nearly a must-read, which makes it all the more frustrating that no one recognized how gauche it is to identify a woman by her “exotic place of origin” rather than her contributions to humanity.

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