#halalifyouhearme

Now available @urbanbibantwerpen @bib_permeke ‘HALAL if you hear me’ edited by Fatimah Asghar and Safia Elhillo. The collected poems dispel the notion that there is one correct way to be a Muslim by holding space for multiple, intersecting identities while celebrating and protecting those identities. Halal If You Hear Me features poems by Safia Elhillo, Fatimah Asghar, Warsan Shire, Tarfia Faizullah, Angel Nafis, Beyza Ozer, and many others. #halalifyouhearme #fatimahasghar #safiaelhillo #beyzaozer #angelnafis #warshanshire #poetry #breakbeatpoets #hiphop #muslimculture #urbanbib #permekebibliotheek #openbarebibliotheek #publiclibrary #poëzie #readmorebooks (bij Bibliotheek Permeke) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBNwHO4geRl/?igshid=1ago301ub2gy5

ALL Haymarket Books are 50% off through January 5th! That means you can get all three #BreakBeatPoets anthologies for less than $30 & shipping is free (in the US)! 👀 #halalifyouhearme #blackgirlmagic https://www.instagram.com/p/B5X9fa1gWGv/?igshid=15uzv56g0xx97

Celebrate these brilliant women, queer, genderqueer, nonbinary, and/or trans Muslim poets ✨ #breakbeatpoets #halalifyouhearme https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaFjDDgTHj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t56i71r7ncxb

habiba Fati & i talking about editing Halal if You Hear Me over at VIDA ✨

Hi habibs & habibas! Fatimah Asghar and I are co-editing an anthology called HALAL IF YOU HEAR ME with the hopes of amplifying the voices that so often get left out of the conversation about Muslimness, and so we invite Muslim women, gender non-conforming/nonbinary, queer, and trans writers to submit poems and essays for consideration! We live in an Islamophobic world, where Muslim people are constantly under attack by the western world, or must prove their innocence when they’ve not even committed a crime. We live in a world of rigid gender roles and gender violence, where women, gender non-conforming, queer and trans people are victims of violence. Where they have their gender expressions, freedoms, and desires policed. There’s pressure from both Muslims and non-Muslims to fit into severe stereotypes of Muslim identity and the ways in which it is acceptable to be Muslim. We want to dispel the notion that there is one correct way to be a Muslim, particularly for women, gender non-conforming, queer and trans people. We want to hold space for our multiple intersecting identities, and to celebrate and protect those identities. We want to use our writing to carve out this safe space. We are looking for new or published poems on any subject. Writing that is directly related to being Muslim is great, but so is writing that is not. We are also looking for essays and artist statements from contributors that directly grapple with what it means to be Muslim in today’s world, as well as how that manifests in your work and lived experience. If you know anyone else who you think would be a good fit for this anthology, please let us know their names and contact information. We would love to make this as inclusive as possible. Our submission deadline is December 1st, 2016. Please submit poems electronically to [email protected]. If you would like to submit but are worried about the deadline, please let us know as soon as possible. Please include a cover letter, contact information, and limit your submission to 5 poems, or 1-2 essays. With love, Fatimah Asghar & Safia Elhillo

Please submit poems electronically to [email protected] by December 1st. And please feel free to share this with people who you think would be good for this! Let me know if you have any questions!