it seems to me like a version of the conservative Christian magazines that strive to make homeschooled fundie teens feel "hip". So, even if you wear hijab and can't date, you need to feel "cool". This to me is putting frosting on the boiled cabbage to make it easier to swallow.

I did like the launch cover of the girl wearing red, white, and blue and having some stars painted on her face. Feeling included in/part of American culture is one thing these girls do need. Also the magazine emphasizes a nonspecific Muslim identity rather than, say, an Arab or an African-American or a Pakistani one. Masajids are often identifiably split along ethnic lines. So I feel the mag's all-American approach is a huge positive. It's also pointedly non-radical, almost to the point of looking non religious.

That said I'm uncomfortable with the aspects of the magazine that Broadsheet pointed out. Who buys the magazine? Do girls choose it for themselves, or is it the only one the parents will allow into the house, because it reinforces the parents' viewpoint? I think the latter, which changes things somewhat, doesn't it?

It's naive to think that just because these girls are under hijab that they have no sexual or dating questions or other concerns of teenagers. Any honest magazine targeted towards them will acknowledge their reality, whether their parents like it or not.

someone commented on Muslim males covering their bodies. In Islam a man is supposed to cover only from his waist to his knees, i.e. the genital area. NOT the same thing as what is required for a woman at all.

For Shazzer, if you think wearing a burqa will prevent sexual harrassment on the streets, try walking around in countries where women regularly cover up and see what happens as per groping and catcalls. It's called "eve chasing" and is much worse than in the U.S. That's because sexual harrassment is not about a woman's attractiveness, it's about intimidating her. You will be harrassed no matter what your dress. There is nothing you can do sometimes except keep walking and projecting an unapproachable attitude. I've noticed predatory men pick more on women who seem to be timid, religiously conservative, and shy. They think they are good targets, that they won't kick up a fuss.

Friends of mine who have converted to Islam used to tell me they got hit on more after they started wearing hijab than before. They thought this was strange but it's really not. See above.

I've often wondered about the vitamin D issue and I guess now I have a concrete answer. I once knew a woman who was losing all her hair, and her doctor said it was because of her hijab, which she wore in a tightly fastened style. I don't know if that is true or not, but she was not willing to try removing the hijab or tying on a loose scarf or other less constricting cover. Well, she also wore cheap polyester things, which probably didn't breathe much. The mere suggestion that it might be her hijab sent her into orbit, though. It was, in her view, mandated by Allah so she couldn't be losing her hair because of that.

Sometimes you have to wonder why God hates women. Oh yeah, Eve. Which brings us back to the "Eve chasing"........

Quit complaining about your suffering, ladies. It's all part of God's plan.

gets right to the heart of the matter as usual.

It isn't about the U.S. of A., okay? Nor is it about who has moral superiority or who is better. Stoning a man to death is an act of barbarism which should be decried by everyone, including Muslims everywhere and people in our country. And we should also be willing to take responsibility for our own less than perfect track record, and be willing to hear criticism of it.

The thing is you are not going to hear any peep from Muslims about this, and their politically correct lackeys are now going to start moaning and groaning and prevaricating also.

Grow up, will you? Condemning the medievalism of conservative Islamic thought does not make a person Rush Limbaugh. It really really doesn't. Liberals who defend Islam are forced into an embarrassing ideological hypocrisy, and they need to figure out how to deal with it.