Muslims are increasingly under attack—both from within and without, both domestically and globally. We are being slaughtered by those claiming to be Muslim but ignoring the most basic tenets of our faith, those forgetting the meaning of the words with which we begin every single prayer—calling on a most “compassionate” and “merciful” God. On the other hand, we are also being slaughtered by those duped into believing that these vicious so-called Muslims (who have dismissed and disgraced our faith by claiming it, building organizations they insist on calling “Islamic”) represent all Muslims.
Read MoreThink Piece: Interview by Adam Wahlberg →
Melody Moezzi was born in Chicago but considers herself equally Iranian as American. Her parents emigrated to the United States after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And while Moezzi was raised here and has made a life here, earning a law degree and building a career as an author and social commentator, her heart and thoughts are never far from Persia. This is evident when you read her beautiful memoir Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life. What makes her book so original and valuable is how she examines cultural thinking about mental illness in both parts of the world. As she writes about her Iranian heritage, “My people don’t do psychotherapy. It just isn’t our style.” But it’s her style now. The story of how she got there is remarkable. We spoke with Moezzi recently about her book, her life now, and how the past keeps revisiting us, in big ways and small, whether we want it to or not.
Read MoreThe Mighty: How I'm Thriving With Bipolar Disorder →
“You need to lower your expectations for your life.” By the time I first heard this, I had already graduated from law school, passed the bar exam, earned a master’s in public health and published my first book. I was 29 years old.
Read MoreMs. Magazine: The U.S. Has a Lot of Work to Do in the Wake of the Orlando Shooting →
Before we even knew how many innocent lives were lost in the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday, many were already rushing to lay blame. Media commentators, politicians and bystanders alike speculated out loud. Anyone who could do something like this, many agreed, couldn’t be one of us. Our kind could never be capable of such inhumanity. It must be a Muslim, a maniac, an immigrant, an other. And while the gunman claimed to be Muslim, and according to an ex-wife at least, appeared to have had bipolar disorder—he was also an American, born and raised.
Read MoreVancouver Co-op Radio: The Rational (Interview from 20:20 to 40:40) →
The Huffington Post: Ten Things White People Need To Quit Saying →
While I’ve never been especially fond of political correctness for its own sake, I’ve encountered enough well-meaning white people embarrassing themselves to know that a brief tutorial can’t hurt. For those who insist that they could never say anything racist because they are not racists, I present a quick reminder: Just because you didn’t intend for something to sound racist, doesn’t mean it isn’t, and just because you don’t think you’re a racist, doesn’t mean you’re not. I refer you to the Washington Redskins and every idiot who insists that Native Americans should be “honored” to be so warmly insulted. Newsflash: Determining whether this team’s name is racist is not up to anyone but Native Americans. If you are not Native American, your opinion on the issue is at best irrelevant. I know it’s hard for some to accept, but white people don’t get to determine what is and isn’t racist.
Read MoreBipolar [bp] Magazine: Bipolar & Stigma: "But You Look So Normal" →
I’m used to people telling me I don’t look like who I am. “You don’t look Muslim.” “You don’t look American.” “You don’t look like a feminist.” And of course, ever since I began writing and speaking about living with bipolar disorder: “You don’t look crazy.”
Read MoreDetroit Public TV: Ride the Tiger Live Panel Discussion →
On March 30, Detroit Public TV along with the University of Michigan Depression Center in Ann Arbor held a panel discussion with contributors and an expert featured in the film.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post: Down But Not Defeated in North Carolina →
When my husband and I moved from Atlanta to Raleigh in early 2012, we had no idea what we were in for. Naively, we assumed that moving north meant that we were headed to a more progressive state. We were wrong.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post: Brief Encounters of the Muslim Kind →
Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Raja’ee Fatihah, a Muslim-American Army reservist who was denied service at an Oktaha gun range based solely on his religion. According to the lawsuit, the Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gun Range had posted a sign that read:
Read MoreBipolar [bp] Magazine: Breakthroughs & Taming Your Thoughts (Flight of Ideas) →
Nearly every Tuesday evening for the past two years, my husband has asked me the same question: “Did you have a breakthrough?” Mostly, he is kidding, but partly, he is curious.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post: A Message From Your Muslim Neighbors →
As someone who writes about the news, I can’t exactly ignore it. Still, lately, I have been tempted. So many of the breaking news alerts I receive on my phone now seem to have something to do with a certain leading political candidate saying hateful and ignorant things about me.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post: The Human Rights Crisis We Ignore →
As the world marked Human Rights Day, some 67 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we currently face a global human rights crisis that few even recognize. It is the consequence of an affliction that can make its victims self-destruct.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post: Bad Muslim? →
I don’t speak Arabic. I rarely pray more than once a day. I don’t cover my hair. I curse. I sing. I dance. I paint my nails. I sport spaghetti straps. I love dogs. And if pork and alcohol didn’t smell so nasty to me, I’d have no trouble consuming either.
Read MoreMs. Magazine: Listening to Domestic Violence Through a Wall →
“Bitch, I’m gonna kill you!” he yelled, so loudly that it woke us up in the apartment next door. There were no more words after that. The bangs and crashes spoke for themselves. My husband, Matthew, and I had never heard any fighting from Angela’s (not her real name) apartment before. We called the cops right away. After that, my instinct was to run to her rescue; Matthew’s instinct was to beg me not to follow mine.
Read MoreThe Huffington Post: Why Ben Carson Cannot Be President →
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has made it clear that he could not uphold the oath of office to defend the U.S. Constitution. By claiming that Muslims should be precluded from holding presidential or judicial offices on the basis of practicing their religion, Ben Carson has revealed more than his own personal prejudice and bigotry. He has, in fact, revealed his own personal inability to serve as the President of the United States.
Read MoreHyphen: Fighting Back (Interview by Abigail Licad)
In the last decade, memoirs about personal experience with mental illness have proliferated and evolved as a new genre. While many of these memoirs have been self-published, a chosen few have been baked by major publishing houses and made widely available. However, these are largely written by upper middle-class white women. At press time, Melody Moezzi's Haldol and Hyacinths (Avery, 2014) is the only memoir about surviving bipolar disorder written by a woman of color and released by a major publishing house.
Read MoreMs. Magazine: H&M - Where Pseudo-Sustainability Meets Diversity Porn →
The world’s second largest fashion retailer recently made a deliberate move to attract members of the world’s second largest religion, and people have taken notice.
Read MoreBipolar [bp] Magazine: Bipolar Disorder & Missing Memories: I Did What? →
Once, outside of a Taco Bell, I offered a homeless man my bank account information when all he wanted was a burrito. I only know this because my mother was a witness and happened to mention it to me months later. She assumed I would remember it. I didn’t. In fact, there’s a lot I don’t remember from the land of mania, on account of mania.
Read MoreBuzzfeed: 9 Badass Feminists Of Faith You Should Know (Compilation by Gina Messina-Dysert, Jennifer Zobair, and Amy Levin) →
They have been assaulted, arrested, excommunicated, and condemned for defying male religious authority. They even - gasp - use the words “hymen” and “vagina.” Here are nine badass Jewish, Christian, and Muslim feminists who shatter stereotypes and are scaring the sh!# out of the patriarchy.
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