Writing

International Women Have Their Day (Toastmaster) This cover story profiles five women and their achievements.

The Bayou State Trail (Country Roads) This article looks at the effort to create the first long trail in Louisiana.

Stay in Love With Your Club (Toastmaster) How to maintain the ties between a club and its members, creating a positive learning environment.

The Disorderly Order of the Forest (eMerge) A poem about the beautiful chaos of the woods.

Daylight at Armand Bayou (Wild About) This blog post describes the revelation of seeing the forest during the day on contrast to a night hike.

Behind the Scenes of a Speech Contest (Toastmaster) This article reviews the different roles needed to organize a speech contest.

Rosalie Edge: Socialite, Suffragist and Conservationist (The Trek) Paying homage to an unlikely champion of raptors and other wildlife.

How to Build a Speech (Toastmaster) This article describes the steps of to writing a great, effective speech.

Arachnophobia is Real (Wild About) This blog post describes my experience overcoming my phobia of spiders.

Coming Back to Toastmasters (Toastmaster) This “My Turn” column discusses my experience returning Toastmasters after a few years away.

Sky Tiger (Texas Parks and Wildlife) This is a snapshot of the characteristics and behavior of the great horned owl.

Punchbowl Mountain Dreamin’ (The Trek) This article describes my continuing quest to figure out the right long-distance hike on the Appalachian Trail.

Owls Above, Oohs and Aahs Below (Wild About) This post is about the experience of being lucky enough to see an owl in the wild.

5 Things You Should Know About the Lone Star Hiking Trail (The Trek) This article offers practical tips as well as my personal experience hiking the Lone Star Trail.

Coyotes in the Distance (Wild About) This post examines a few traits of coyotes as well as why I like this much-maligned animal.

Fact or Fiction: Recognizing the Real “Fake News” (American Muslim Today) This is a review of different kinds of propaganda and tips for how to recognize it.

Becoming a Master Naturalist Changed the Way I See the Trail (The Trek) Article about my experience becoming a master naturalist and having a new perspective on nature.

Observing the Autumn Moon (Wild About) This is a post on the Armand Bayou Nature Center blog. I volunteer there.

Women on the Steps of History (American Muslim Today) Article looking at the impact of the 19th amendment on women then and now.

Meet Ambreen Tariq, the Activist Behind Brown People Camping (The Trek) Q&A with the founder of an initiative dedicated to increasing diversity in outdoors activities.

The Women Journalists Who Fought For Suffrage and Freedom (Houston Chronicle) Essay looking back at the women journalists involved with the suffrage movement, timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment’s ratification.

Ramadan in the Quiet Spaces (Religion News Service) Personal reflection on experiencing the holy month of Ramadan during the Coronavirus epidemic.

What I’ve witnessed at the border (Houston Chronicle) Essay about the end of my time volunteering with asylum seekers on the border.

Remain in Mexico (eMerge) A poem about asylum seekers stranded in Matamoros.

The Silver Lining (eMerge) A poem about maybes.

A Kick That Leaves No Bruise: A Visit to a Civil Rights Museum (original website post) Description of the ersatz experience of a cafeteria sit-in.

These hijab-wearing dolls break barriers. But what’s their impact on the girls who play with them? (The Lily) Article about the Salam Sisters dolls.

“This is our angel now”: Houston community rallies for justice in aftermath of Jazmine Barnes slaying (The Lily) Coverage of a rally in remembrance of murder victim Jazmine Barnes.

Eric Heber Invites You to Hike Louisiana’s Trails (The Trek) Profile of a Louisiana hiker.

Own the Hot Flashes: Tips for Menopausal Hikers (The Trek) How to handle menopause symptoms on the trail.

Night Crawler: Searching For A Trail Epiphany (The Trek) Profile of an unusual vlogging thru-hiker.

Yes I Can (The Trek) I discuss skill and confidence building while preparing for a thru-hike.

Ish Gets Real  (The Trek) I explore my tentative first steps toward becoming a thru-hiker.

Yo, It’s On In my inaugural post on The Trek, I explain how my plan to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail began.

4 Muslim vets on life in the military (Religion News Service) Profiles of four Muslim military veterans.

Reporting From the Texas Democratic Convention From my Muslim Voices Matter column, a running summary of my experience as a delegate to the 2016 Texas Democratic Convention.

Arsalan Iftikhar on the answer to Muslim scapegoating (Religion News Service) Q&A with author and speaker Arsalan Iftikhar about his new book, Scapegoats: How Islamophobia Helps Our Enemies and Threatens Our Freedoms.

How Trump and Cruz cause neighbors to eye each other warily (Religion News Service) Thoughts about presidential candidates’ responses to the Brussels attacks, with special attention to Ted Cruz’ call to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods.”  

Bad Advice: Phares and Gaffney Join Trump and Cruz Teams From my Muslim Voices Matter column, a look at two presidential candidates’ new advisors and their anti-Muslim past. 

They Said We Put Each Other on a List: Adama Bah’s Ordeal From My Muslim Voices Matter column, the story of a 16-year-old girl who was detained by immigration authorities and the documentary made about her.

Trump’s Bad Words and Simple Thoughts From my Muslim Voices Matter column, an examination of propaganda, with Donald Trump’s speech as an example. 

Christmas for non-Christians This reminiscence of holidays with a secular family appeared in the Houston Chronicle’s Gray Matters section.

Waiting for the backlash Gray Matters, a feature section of the Houston Chronicle’s website, published my commentary on Muslim concerns after the San Bernardino, CA attacks.  This article also appeared in the Zest section of the December 13, 2015 Houston Chronicle.

As a Muslim, I refuse to call myself a victim after the San Bernardino shootings (Religion News Service) Personal commentary about the aftermath of the San Bernardino, CA attacks.

San Bernardino: Let’s not make more victims From The Straight Path, my Houston Chronicle blog, personal reaction to the San Bernardino, CA attacks.

Texas Falls Victim to Terror From my Muslim Voices Matter column, a response to various governors’ refusal to admit Syrian refugees to their states.

Ahmed Mohamed is owed an apology (Religion News Service) Commentary on the case of Ahmed Mohamed, high school student arrested for bringing homemade clock to school.

Why We Have To Talk About Trump: The GOP Debate and Beyond From Muslim Voices Matter, analysis of the second GOP debate with an emphasis on Donald Trump’s campaign.

Working Ourselves Out of a Job Inaugural post for Muslim Voices Matter column, introducing myself and topics the column will explore.

How a proposed Muslim cemetery became a battleground for American’s soul (Religion News Service) Commentary on public opposition to an Islamic cemetery in Farmersville, Texas.

“Convert or die”: A real thing? From The Straight Path, my Houston Chronicle blog, commentary on a common misunderstanding about Islam.

Dignified or indignant in Farmersville? From The Straight Path, my Houston Chronicle blog, a personal reflection on a north Texas town’s opposition to a Muslim cemetery.

Back on The Straight Path Announcement of my return to my Houston Chronicle blog after a two-year hiatus.

Women of MYNA: Can young Muslim Americans take up the challenge of leadership? A look back at the pioneering women leaders of the Muslim Youth of North America organization.

Gun Violence: A Muslim Issue (Islamic Horizons) A look at how American Muslims can encourage gun safety.

Scholarships for Muslim Kids (Azizah) A review of fields in which Muslim high school graduates may find community support.

Gathering Community to Stop Domestic Violence (Islamic Horizons) Article profiling Project Sakinah, a community-based domestic violence prevention organization.

50 Years of Love (Azizah) Feature article profiling several couples married 50 years or more, exploring the key to long and happy marriages.

It’s All Relative (Toastmaster) Feature article about families who join Toastmasters clubs together.

Making the Grade (Toastmaster) Feature article about college students and professors honing their communication and leadership skills in and outside the classroom.

Missionaries take colorful approach to spread the gospel Article about Mormon missionaries who use sidewalk art to share their message; cover story of the Houston Chronicle’s Belief section.

Everything’s Bigger in Texas (Islamic Horizons) Article about activists and institutions in the Houston Muslim community.

A Full Ride (Azizah) Overview of college scholarships available to Muslim women.

Music to My Ears Toastmaster magazine cover story about the similarities between music and public speaking.

Toastmasters Helps Muslim American Outreach (Toastmaster) Article about ways American Muslims can improve their public communication.

You’re Speaking About What?! (Toastmaster) Tips for speaking about controversial topics.

All-American Muslim: The TLC version From The Straight Path, my Houston Chronicle blog, thoughts on TLC’s reality show “All-American Muslim.”

Hurricane Ike, September 11 and Thoughts on Loss (MuslimMatters) Musing on intersections of personal and public tragedy.

The Depths of Vanity (MuslimMatters) Pondering surgery from a spiritual standpoint.

New York, New York From The Straight Path, my Houston Chronicle blog, reminiscence about my time living in Brooklyn.

Halloween’s strange fruit (The Straight Path, Houston Chronicle) About the eerie and violent nature of Halloween traditions.

Severe black hijab (The Straight Path, Houston Chronicle) Commentary about being judged by religious clothing.

Skin Deep (Azizah) Feature article examining the Islamic view of plastic surgery.

The Migrations of Faith (MuslimMatters) An exploration of the spectrum of faith.