Message International
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Essays, interviews and reporting from the magazine published by ICNA since 1989 — a place to expand your horizon on faith, family, society and humanity.
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Making Your Muslim Community Latino-Friendly Beyond Hispanic Heritage Month
Is your Islamic center Latino-friendly? If you find yourself not sure how to answer that question, it may be time to take a closer look. Latino Muslims represent the fastest-growing…
Islam, Ikigai, and Intention: Living a Purpose-Driven Life
Today, consider this: Were your actions driven by purposeful intentions, or were you simply reacting to the immediate demands of the day, surviving and holding on by a thread?” How…
Transforming Your Reality
”This is the fourth and final article in a series entitled “Under the Throne of Allah: Dua and Dhikr.” Take a minute, take a few deep breaths, and focus on…
My Brother is Gay: Navigating the Intersection of Religion and Family An interview with Imam Wesley Lebron
This interview first appeared on the Muslim Home Newsletter July 12, 2023. It has been reprinted with the author’s permission and has been edited for content and length. In a…
Beyond Ramadan: Taking Its Lessons Farther
For many people, Ramadan is celebrated with others, from community iftar dinners to collective taraweeh prayers as well as numerous gatherings aimed at charity or worship. However, some of us struggle with social anxiety and isolate to cope, while others may be grappling with a loss and crippling grief, and still some…
The Power of Saying No: A Reflection on Boundaries
For so long, I believed being a good person meant being available to everyone. That translated into helping, fixing, and showing up no matter how tired, thinly stretched, or quietly…
Cleaning Heart-Blockages with Dua and Dhikr
This is the third article in a series entitled “Under the Throne of Allah: Dua and Dhikr.” There can be seasons in life when, outwardly, you may be doing everything…
“He Has Spoken the Truth:” Instilling Abu Bakr’s Attitude in our Children
This is the first article in a series titled, “The Real Champions: The Companions as Role Models for Muslim Youth.” Abdullah ibn Uthman, widely known as Abu Bakr, had a…
The Kids Are All Right About Ramadan’s Sacrifices. You Should Be Too
A few months ago, quite out of the blue, my oldest child, a teenager, said, “I’m excited about Ramadan.” I won’t lie; I was pretty surprised. To verify whether this…
Hijab, Identity, and the Cost of Belonging
Hijab is a personal journey but also a collective effort. Individual actions seldom exist in a vacuum. Our choices shape culture, our visibility matters, and our struggles can affect those…