When I first started out writing, I really thought that you could write ANY story as long as it was logical and made sense. I didn’t understand the idea of mainstream talking points. At any one period of time the zeitgeist has a certain agenda. The vast majority of people–the mainstream believe certain things as […]

I love that serenity prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. “ The older I get the more I realize the only thing I can change is myself. My attitude. The work I choose to focus […]

My family is unusual. Me, I am the sports fan whereas my husband could care less. It was one of the things I admired about him when we got married. He wasn’t into watching sports. So it is above ironic that I became the sports person. I see it as halal entertainment. There’s nothing kinky […]

I’m really worried about this next generation of children. In response to serious abuse from some nefarious teachers (that absolutely had to be dealt with!) we’ve really undermined the whole system. As an author/storyteller, when I go into a school I’m fully aware that most of the children have no intention of following my line […]

Last night, as I was scrolling through my twitter feed, I came across the first news of the attack in Mississauga at an Indian restaurant. People sitting, celebrating two birthdays, when two covered up men (with light skin apparently) arrived and set off an improvised explosive device! Subhan Allah! What are things coming to? And […]

Saints and Misfits is one of those fun reads that comes along every once in a while that is just so well written and insightful it can make you gasp at times! Written by S.K. Ali, it deals with sexual assault within the Muslim community and the way Janna main character handles the situation with […]

There is helping and there is hindering. Hindering is where you’re actually handicapping the person you think you’re helping so that they’ll never learn the skills necessary to be able to stand on their own. Helping is when you see someone being overwhelmed, and you step in, strategically! It’s very important. You never know when […]

There’s an OISE article about how anthropomorphic animal stories are not as effective at conveying lessons as stories with real children in them. https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/About_OISE/OISE_study_shows_kids_learn_more_effectively_from_stories_with_humans_than_with_human-like_animals.html I am not surprised by these findings. The study was done on pre-schoolers. That age is not conducive to ambiguity. You need to spell it out. And yet so many parents […]