Islam

Amy Waldeman

Halal Is the New Kosher

Muslim populations fuel a restaurant race for certification.

More Food Producers Pursue Halal Certification

There are nearly 100 halal restaurants around Seattle, but a spokesperson for the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) says interest in halal certification is now percolating in U.S. cities without significant Muslim populations "What we are hearing overwhelmingly is that this mar ... More >>

David Bowie Is Responsible for Transforming Celene Ramadan Into Prom Queen

"I wanted to be around people who did stuff like [him]."

Prom Queen on Dressing Up Like Marilyn, Singing Like Madonna, and Glamming It Up Like Bowie

Charlie Ainslie​The situation On a recent cold winter's night, I'm at Vito's on First Hill with Celene "Leeni" Ramadan, a solo artist who released three chiptune records of 8-bit electronic music before transforming herself into a '50s-style pop singer called Prom Queen just this past June. ... More >>

Meeting of Muslim-Fearers in Puyallup Felt Like "a Southern Baptist Church on a Sunday"

Brigitte Gabriel.​Recently, the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a letter to all the state's school superintendents. In it, CAIR suggested that school leaders "invite members of our diverse and dynamic speakers' bureau to conduct a 'show & tell' for your class ab ... More >>

Conor Oberst's Sympathy for the Devil

The Bright Eyes frontman burned a Quran in "Four Winds," but has no regrets.

Q&A: Conor Oberst Stands By Quran Burning in "Four Winds," and His Generous Description of Bin Laden at Sasquatch

Conor Oberst and his band, Bright Eyes, play The Paramount on Sept. 28.​Several weeks after Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden, Conor Oberst stood on stage at the Gorge during his set at Sasquatch, and dismissed the operation as one that killed "an old man in his bedroom," and blamed the hatred ... More >>

Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, Accused Terrorist, Backed al Qaeda, Yemen, in YouTube Vids

​As an accused terrorist, who traditionally keep a low profile, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif seems to have preferred the limelight, parading himself across the Internet, throwing up YouTube vids and leaving a trail of online comments, making known his intentions to find a new life in Yemen. The SeaT ... More >>

Bhutto

​As an accused terrorist, who traditionally keep a low profile, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif seems to have preferred the limelight, parading himself across the Internet, throwing up YouTube vids and leaving a trail of online comments, making known his intentions to find a new life in Yemen. The SeaT ... More >>

Bhutto: The Pakistani Politician's Tragic Life and Death

​As an accused terrorist, who traditionally keep a low profile, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif seems to have preferred the limelight, parading himself across the Internet, throwing up YouTube vids and leaving a trail of online comments, making known his intentions to find a new life in Yemen. The SeaT ... More >>

Humaira Abid

​As an accused terrorist, who traditionally keep a low profile, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif seems to have preferred the limelight, parading himself across the Internet, throwing up YouTube vids and leaving a trail of online comments, making known his intentions to find a new life in Yemen. The SeaT ... More >>

The Taqwacores: Muslim Punks Are Just as Annoying as They Sound

​As an accused terrorist, who traditionally keep a low profile, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif seems to have preferred the limelight, parading himself across the Internet, throwing up YouTube vids and leaving a trail of online comments, making known his intentions to find a new life in Yemen. The SeaT ... More >>

What the Hell Is Halal? (Hint: Heavenly)

​The Stop: Othello(ish) The Vibe: One of the biggest complaints about Seattle's light-rail system is the distance between stops. If you live between two stations, it's a bit of a schlep--a miserable experience on a rainy day. As someone who mostly rides the train for the food, it means that I ... More >>

Plot to Shoot Up Muhammad-Cartoon-Printing Newspaper Thwarted, While Cartoonist Molly Norris Remains in Hiding

​As far as we know, Molly Norris is still alive and well. Not that we know much. Since the former Seattle Weekly contributing cartoonist went into hiding in September, after her idea to make May 20 "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" put her on a terrorist hit list, she's essentially been erased f ... More >>

Bookworms

White-nationalist reads in the United States and Europe reflect anti-migrant hatred in a grim economy.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Somali Feminist Appearing at Town Hall, Draws Veiled Protesters

​It was a scene you don't see everyday in Seattle: Some three dozen Islamic women in cloaks and veils descended on Town Hall last night to wave pickets and pass out fliers. They were there to protest the appearance of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the controversial Somali émigré who's been speaking out a ... More >>

Even Ken Hutcherson Thinks It's a Bad Idea to Burn a Quran

​The hoopla surrounding Burn a Quran Day -- a Florida church's book-torching event scheduled for this Saturday, 9/11 -- is something beyond ridiculous. A publicity-seeking pastor and his tiny congregation have managed to turn one little backwoods bonfire into an Event of Great Importance, req ... More >>

Sanna Nyassi, Seattle Sounders Muslim Midfielder, Not Fasting For Ramadan

​Sanna Nyassi has a problem. As a replacement for the recently traded Freddie Ljungberg, the Seattle Sounders midfielder knows that he'll be relied upon even more than usual during this season's home stretch. But the Gambian Nyassi is also a practicing Muslim. And yesterday marked the first da ... More >>

John Esposito

​Sanna Nyassi has a problem. As a replacement for the recently traded Freddie Ljungberg, the Seattle Sounders midfielder knows that he'll be relied upon even more than usual during this season's home stretch. But the Gambian Nyassi is also a practicing Muslim. And yesterday marked the first da ... More >>

A Mystery of Violence

As the FBI investigates the possibility of a terrorism “recruitment network” in Seattle, the local Somali community struggles to understand why young men would return to a country they never knew.

The Stoning of Soraya M: More Bad News From Iran

As the FBI investigates the possibility of a terrorism “recruitment network” in Seattle, the local Somali community struggles to understand why young men would return to a country they never knew.

Mos Def: "I'm Not Wearing an Al-Qaeda T-Shirt!"

Despite my love for Mos Def, when I heard that he was performing at Sasquatch, I thought it worth re-posting an excerpt of a late-March episode of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" that doesn't make him look good. The clip available below features a panel discussion with Mos, Salman Rushdie, and Chr ... More >>

Closure Report: Some for Good, Some for Renovation

A few new closures to note:Just to catch up on some late news, last week the dailies both reported that Seattle's Consolidated Restaurants chain just closedis closing Union Street Square Grill, which will be reopening as a Mexican-American restaurant called the Lost Lady American Cantina.The Rainier ... More >>

A Jihad for Love: Gays Find Intolerance in Islam, Too

A few new closures to note:Just to catch up on some late news, last week the dailies both reported that Seattle's Consolidated Restaurants chain just closedis closing Union Street Square Grill, which will be reopening as a Mexican-American restaurant called the Lost Lady American Cantina.The Rainier ... More >>

Religious Discrimination at the Best Western?

A Muslim employee sues after being fired for wearing a head scarf.

Gitmo a Nogo?

A Muslim employee sues after being fired for wearing a head scarf.

Brick Lane: Read Monica Ali’s novel again instead

A Muslim employee sues after being fired for wearing a head scarf.

From Bainbridge Island to Dubai

A Muslim employee sues after being fired for wearing a head scarf.

The Long Hiatus

Sherman Alexie continues his 10-year break from writing novels.

The Road to Guantánamo

Opens at Pacific Place, Fri., July 7. Rated R. 95 minutes.

The Beauty Academy of Kabul

Showing at Varsity, Fri., April 28–Thurs., May 4. Not rated. 74 minutes.

The War Within

Opens Fri., Oct. 14, at Metro.

How to End the Cycle

Opens Fri., Oct. 14, at Metro.

Retraction Distraction

Opens Fri., Oct. 14, at Metro.

Politics

Opens Fri., Oct. 14, at Metro.

Reading, Writing, and Scripture

Opens Fri., Oct. 14, at Metro.

Unpolished but Shiny

The sixth all-male festival mixes styles, skills . . . and genders.

War of the Worlds

Are terrorists in our midst?

Thinking nuclear war

Are terrorists in our midst?

Between two worlds

Tamim Ansary delves for the meaning of 9/11 in his own life.

The hot spot

Middle Eastern directors delve beneath the headlines.

The searchers

Mission of mercy reveals ugly, beautiful truths.

A Man's World

A look at women's "contented" lives under the Taliban.

Food first

A look at women's "contented" lives under the Taliban.

Strange board fellows

From Unocal to United for Seattle's Jack Creighton—with the Taliban between.

Mayhem and mercy

New action heroes for a new kind of war.

Religious war?

Scholars debate the role of religion in bin Laden's campaign against the West.

Getting Global

Corners of the earth where you won't be seeing tinsel or Rudolph.

Stake and fries

Remember when people cared enough about learning to kill the learned?