In honor of World Emoji Day on July 17, Apple revealed a new set of forthcoming emojis, including a new hijab emoji. The idea for a hijab emoji came last year, when a 16-year-old Muslim girl named Rayouf Alhumedhi proposed the idea to The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit corporation that reviews and develops new emojis. According to Alhumedhi, she and her friends were surprised that a hijab emoji did not already exist, saying: "The fact that there wasn't an emoji to represent me and the ...
Testament to the Diversity of the American Muslim Community
In a testament to the diversity—and openness—of the American Muslim community, Latino Muslims in Santa Ana, California have found a home at a mosque run by Cambodian refugees. As a small group with unique cultural and linguistic background, many members of the Latino Muslim community had concerns about whether they could fit into the larger Muslim community in the area. But, after years of struggling to find religious texts, classes, and services in Spanish, Latino Muslims ...
“Muslims of America”
Photographer Carlos Khalil Guzman has undertaken an ambitions project: To document the diversity of the American Muslim community. For his new photo series, "Muslims of America," Guzman traveled across the country—to all 50 states—to interview and photograph an array of Muslims from all walks of life and a wide variety of ethnic and national backgrounds. According to Guzman, he started this project because he was frustrated by the lack of diversity of representation of Muslims in ...
Interfaith on the Menu
The Urgency of Interfaith Cooperation
Rabbi Arthur Schneier (pictured above) founded the New York-based Appeal of Conscience Foundation in 1965 to promote peace, reconciliation, and interreligious cooperation. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Rabbi Schneier and his foundation have brought together religious leaders from around the world to take a stand against terrorism and use their influence to stop violence and promote tolerance and understanding. In this interview for Vatican Radio, Rabbi Schneier discusses the urgency and need ...
