I moved to the United States on July 16, 2000. On April 29, 2011 I became an American citizen. I took my oath along with 158 people from 51 different countries, I am grateful that Dirk Eusterbrock came with me and took these pictures of the ceremony. I am now officially an Egyptian-American Taking the [...]

I’m making public a message I got from Ramsey Khattab because he threatens me over Saturday’s fundraiser for Egypt at which I’ll be speaking: " I will be attending Saturday’s event and you better watch what you say otherwise I will have you thrown out of the meeting and humiliate you in public." I will [...]

I was on NPR’s On Point last week discussing Peter King’s congressional hearings on “Radicalization in the Islamic Community”. The other guests were Leila Ahmed, Asra Nomani and David Schanzer. I was also on BBC Radio 4 to discuss the hearings.

Duke University’s first Muslim Chaplain, Abdullah T. Antepli – aka the Blue Devil Imam – and I recorded a conversation for Bloggingheads TV looking back on the past year for Muslims in America. Here’s the full conversation and here’s a part on what Muslims can learn from Jews, excerpted on the New York Times website.

Ever wonder what would the great Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani say, if he were still alive, about Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni’s bid to lead Unesco?  Here’s one of his poems which my good friend Camille-Alexandre Otrakji kindly shared with me just now. The first stanza says it all: Nizar Tawfik Qabbani Would You Permit [...]

I went to Batu Caves on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur tonight to attend the last night of Thaipusam, a Hindu festival. Here are some pictures.

I’m a big fan of The Washington Post’s Emily Wax, whose work with the paper I’ve followed for several years. She has a story in today’s WaPo on the sexual harassment – or “Eve teasing” – women face in India. It dovetails with many of the issues brought up by the Egyptian Centre for Women’s [...]

I was on public radio’s Marketplace today with a review of Rabih Alameddine’s “The Hakawati”.

I was on Public Radio International’s To the Point today to talk about Muslims, Arabs and the Obama campaign. I come on at 14:52.

By Mona Eltahawy NEW YORK — As soon as I saw the New Yorker cover spoofing right-wing fear mongering over Barack and Michelle Obama, my first thought was that my friend Sanjay in Mumbai had a point about Americans and stupidity. What was it but stupidity that left so many Americans gullible to right wing [...]

Today, I had planned on going to Ajmer, home of one of India’s most important Muslim pilgrimage sites – the shrine of Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti, a Sufi saint and founder of the Chishti order, the main Sufi order in India to this day. I’d been told that Muslims and non-Muslims visited the shrine, seeking the Saint’s [...]

How do I even begin to describe Jaipur, the pink city? To welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876, the entire city was painted pink and like the Lonely Planet guidebook says, it doesn’t look like it’s been touched up since. While the various shades of pink – think of a sunset in a polluted [...]

I arrived in Bombay/Mumbai on Wednesday on half an engine thanks to almost a complete day of traveling. I transited through Amsterdam because I couldn’t stand the thought of spending 15 hours plus on a plane. I’m here to speak at a conference called “Responsibility to the Future”. I’ll be on a panel on Friday [...]

I’m heading to India on Tuesday. My first stop will be in Bombay – aka Mumbai but all my Indian friends still call it Bombay – to speak on a panel about the media and extremism. And then I’ll have about a week to explore a magnificent country which I must confess I’d never considered [...]