The past year has definitely been a whirlwind journey and so much has changed for me personally and professionally. These changes have clearly influenced my writing, or rather lack of writing over the past 5 months. I’ve spent a lot of time adjusting to a the culture of an East Coast city, for the most part making quiet observations about the benefits and downsides of living in a city where Islam is so normalized. I came out of an intellectual milieu in the Bay Area, as a graduate student and a product of a well organized community center. I also developed as a Muslim in the shadows of Zaytuna, especially considering that I have followed the Maliki school of law ever since I took a woman’s fiqh class taught by Hamza Yusuf in 1997. For a muslimah with my inclinations and leanings, Philadelphia proven to be especially barren in terms of intellectual and social opportunities. Being an outsider as I have been for a number of years makes me a bit more sensitive and more guarded.

After writing my scathing social commentary about expat communities in Kuwait, and my harsh critique about the few immigrant women who do not return salaams in Philadelphia, I decided to take a break from my social critiques. Many bloggers feel that they have said what they needed to say and that what issues that should have been brought to the fore has moved from backburner, others feel that we need to move away from solipsistic ramblings that we bloggers tend to indulge in. Just as my husband has noted that his blog is going in a new direction, I too have thought considerably about the future direction of my writings. Race, gender, and religion will still be important topics on my blog, however I am currently rethinking approaches that will be more beneficial for both my readers and myself. In the next couple months, I plan on doing a complete revamping of my blog. I can’t say that I’m not going anywhere, rather at this intersection of my life I’m going in some new directions. I hope you check in from time to time.

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