On Valentine's Day

"In the Christianization of cultures, ancient celebrations were often replaced by Christian holidays. Some claim that this is the case with Valentine's Day, which falls around the time of the pagan Lupercalia festival. Lupercalia, like many great ancient rituals, included a good old-fashioned goat slaughter. The goat meat was cut into strips, dunked in sacrificial blood and then used to lightly slap women and crops, a ritual that was supposed to make them more fertile. According to legend, single women would then place their names in an urn. Bachelors of the city would draw a name out of the urn and the couple would be paired for the year."

Source/Hijab Flutter: AOK!

Disturbing much?

"Muslims in Love"

Zerina Usman's take on my bio:

Zahra never dealt with dating and breakups in high school. She believes Islamic etiquette between the sexes kept her focused and emotionally un-entangled. Now a law student, the pragmatic Zahra remains dedicated to her career goals, only considers men who can handle her ambition, and watches her Muslim friends, one by one, succumb to cupid's arrow.

Source: Muslim in Love Cast Bios

(Disclaimer: that is a terrible picture! Though, I should be able to tell my insecurities to shove it. I'm working on that.)

Check out the in's and out's of this amazing documentary project by a friend and creative activist at Muslims in Love. I've been told you can hear my voice somewhere in the trailer! And if you're interested in seeing the whole documentary, email the director!