Xoamani

No, you make a good point. If anything, I would use this as proof that Islam was intended to shapeshift with the times and progress with the societies in which it's practiced.

The Saudi regime is a political authority that has no God-given religious ordinance, yet has laid claim to common understanding of Islam. I don't think any Saudi leader is more entitled to interpreting Islam that any one of us.

Yes, I wear a headscarf - check the proof pic :) Also, it's cool to point out the term "hijab," while widely used to refer to the headscarf, is actually an Islamic principle of modesty that far surpasses just a fabric on the head! Not many people, Muslims included, realize that.

So, I'm not a scholar, but Aisha's age at the time of the consummation of her marriage to Prophet Muhammad is an issue of contention. What we do know is that it was after she hit puberty, which was the socially acceptable marker of a "marriageable" girl at that time. She certainly was a child when she was married, as child marriage was a norm 1400 years ago. Muslims today do not use Aisha as a precedent for contemporary marriage, and she is celebrated as a foremother of Islam for the leadership role she grew into as the prophet's closest companion.

This year we saw our audience expand globally, so now half of our traffic is U.S.-based and half is international. The Middle Eastern city of Dubai is our third-largest city of readership, after New York and London. Our goal is to increase the media representation of Muslim women and elevate their real voices and narratives in the mainstream.

Not only do I believe there's room to accept other people's religious and spiritual beliefs, but it's incumbent on Muslims to be accepting of all religions as well, given that we believe there is only one God and thus they all come from the same source. There's one really momentous chapter in the Qur'an that roughly translates to, "To you is your religion, and to me is my religion." Plus, you'd be surprised how many elements of other religions actually go hand-in-hand with Islam. Like there are still many people that are unaware we believe in and revere Jesus, peace be upon him, as a prophet as well.