Aysha Khan

Aysha Khan is a Boston-based journalist reporting on American Muslims and millennial faith for RNS. Her newsletter, Creeping Sharia, curates news coverage of Muslim communities in the U.S. Previously, she was the social media editor at RNS.

All Stories by Aysha Khan

Her American father was shot in a blasphemy trial in Pakistan. Now she’s fighting for justice.

By Aysha Khan — August 19, 2020
(RNS) — Tahir Ahmad Naseem’s daughter is fighting for the U.S. government to deliver justice for her father — an American citizen who was killed while being tried on blasphemy charges in Pakistan.

Jim Wallis replaced as Sojourners editor after controversy over article on Catholic racism

By Aysha Khan — August 14, 2020
(RNS) — Wallis said the decision to remove an essay criticizing white supremacists within the Catholic Church was wrong.

John MacArthur, Grace Community Church sue California officials over banning indoor worship, allowing protests

By Aysha Khan — August 13, 2020
(RNS) — A suburban Los Angeles megachurch has filed a lawsuit to continue holding indoor services in person after California issued a second lockdown order in response to the pandemic.

How interfaith activism helped Saadia Faruqi change the face of children’s books

By Aysha Khan — August 11, 2020
(RNS) – Saadia Faruqi’s writing draws on her two decades as a Muslim interfaith activist in Texas — and as the mother of two children.

How a quarantine matchmaking project for Muslims found itself navigating anti-Blackness

By Aysha Khan — August 10, 2020
(RNS) — Through Eye Meets Soul, a virtual blind matchmaking experience for Muslim millennials, founders hoped personal appearance, race and ethnicity would fade into the background. Easier said than done.

As Massachusetts bans female genital cutting, survivors and activists celebrate

By Aysha Khan — August 7, 2020
(RNS) — After seven years of advocacy by survivors and activists in the state, Massachusetts is now one of 39 states in the U.S. that has criminalized female genital mutilation and cutting.

Muslim leaders call for hate crime investigation into deadly Denver house fire

By Aysha Khan — August 6, 2020
(RNS) – Denver police have opened a homicide investigation into the deadly house fire that killed Djibril Diol and his wife and toddler daughter, as well as two other family members.

Muslim Democratic delegates reject party platform over aid for Israel, Iran sanctions

By Aysha Khan — August 4, 2020
(RNS) — Members of the Muslim Delegates and Allies Coalition are urging all delegates to vote against approving the platform during this week’s vote.

In its 10th year, the game ‘Pilgrims at Home’ takes on new meaning for Muslim women

By Aysha Khan — July 30, 2020
(RNS) — From Houston to Nigeria, over 300 teams of Muslim women are participating in this year’s game, hoping to ‘find hajj at home.’

Illinois imam resigns over sexist, racist social media posts

By Aysha Khan — July 28, 2020
(RNS) — An imam at a suburban Chicago-area mosque has resigned after circulation of his social media posts using derogatory language toward Muslim women and a racial slur.

Intergenerational reading group draws on legacy of Timbuktu to ‘rebuild a Black consciousness’

By Aysha Khan — July 27, 2020
(RNS) – ‘It’s imperative for us to start to rebuild libraries in our own homes and our schools so they are reflective of all our intellect and history,’ said educator Zakiyyah Ali, who founded the initiative.

Separated Muslim families, civil rights groups welcome House passage of No Ban Act

By Aysha Khan — July 22, 2020
(RNS) — The bill would repeal Trump’s travel bans against several African and Muslim-majority countries and restrict the president’s authority to enact such blanket immigration restrictions.

Hate crime charge added for Colorado man accused of running over Sikh store owner

By Aysha Khan — July 22, 2020
(RNS) — Prosecutors have added a hate crime charge against a man accused of striking a 61-year-old Sikh man with his car and leaving him for dead almost three months ago.

Biden makes bid for Muslim voters at virtual summit: ‘I want to earn your vote’

By Aysha Khan — July 20, 2020
(RNS) — In an address to Muslim voters, former Vice President Joe Biden promised to ‘earn’ their communities’ support and, if elected to the Oval Office, sign hate crime legislation, appoint Muslim staffers and immediately repeal the Muslim travel ban.

Through sci-fi and fantasy, Muslim women authors are building new worlds

By Aysha Khan — July 16, 2020
In the past few years, Muslim women have quietly taken the speculative fiction publishing industry by storm.
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