Category Archives: Published Writings
Ankara Rising
A stunned crowd at the 2009 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, watched in disbelief as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off stage after having chastised Israeli President Shimon Peres for earlier statements the Israeli official made justifying its barely halted invasion of Gaza, which had resulted in more than 1,400 deaths, mostly Palestinians.
Ankara Rising
A stunned crowd at the 2009 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, watched in disbelief as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off stage after having chastised Israeli President Shimon Peres for earlier statements the Israeli official made justifying its barely halted invasion of Gaza, which had resulted in more than 1,400 deaths, mostly Palestinians.
Maintaining a Narrative: ABC’s Monolithic Muslim Experience
Discrimination, however administered and defined, is not what defines the American Muslim woman’s experience. Nor the experience of all American Muslims. To continue to focus on the discrimination faced by Muslims in terms of taunts and stares thrown their way is to create a victimized narrative and experience of American Muslims. The issue that must be addressed amidst this entire mess is how a significant portion of the American citizenry has responded to hateful and opportunist campaigns against Muslims and Islam.
Maintaining a Narrative: ABC’s Monolithic Muslim Experience
Discrimination, however administered and defined, is not what defines the American Muslim woman’s experience. Nor the experience of all American Muslims. To continue to focus on the discrimination faced by Muslims in terms of taunts and stares thrown their way is to create a victimized narrative and experience of American Muslims. The issue that must be addressed amidst this entire mess is how a significant portion of the American citizenry has responded to hateful and opportunist campaigns against Muslims and Islam.
Restricted Free Agency: Again with the Veil?
I never thought that my body could serve as potentially the next front of the ever-erroneous but still somehow existent ‘clash of civilizations.’ Yet with the way things seem to be going these days, it seems that the bodies of millions of women around the world are grotesquely the appropriate abodes for deep-seated but nuanced racism, long-standing sexist trajectories, plans for cultural survival and ill-thought out plans for integration.
Restricted Free Agency: Again with the Veil?
I never thought that my body could serve as potentially the next front of the ever-erroneous but still somehow existent ‘clash of civilizations.’ Yet with the way things seem to be going these days, it seems that the bodies of millions of women around the world are grotesquely the appropriate abodes for deep-seated but nuanced racism, long-standing sexist trajectories, plans for cultural survival and ill-thought out plans for integration.
Burqas, hijabs, niqabs, oh my!
Just last week, the National Assembly passed a law banning the niqab from such critical public spaces as universities, government offices, daycares, and hospitals receiving government funding. The support for the ban has been strong throughout Canada, with an 80% approval rating according to a survey conducted by Angus Reid. Criticisms have been sparse, coming primarily from an unsure Muslim community, various lawyers, scattered academics, and select university papers.
Burqas, hijabs, niqabs, oh my!
Just last week, the National Assembly passed a law banning the niqab from such critical public spaces as universities, government offices, daycares, and hospitals receiving government funding. The support for the ban has been strong throughout Canada, with an 80% approval rating according to a survey conducted by Angus Reid. Criticisms have been sparse, coming primarily from an unsure Muslim community, various lawyers, scattered academics, and select university papers.
TEDx Talk – Mesmerizing Commute
Because I’m all about self-promotion and glory. Here’s the video of my TEDx talk at McGill University.
“McGill Daily columnist, Sana Saeed, transports us with her powerful writing, proving that the more avenues we create to be public as a society, the more private we become as individuals.”
It’s based on a piece of mine which was published over a year ago.
TEDx Talk – Mesmerizing Commute
Because I’m all about self-promotion and glory. Here’s the video of my TEDx talk at McGill University.
“McGill Daily columnist, Sana Saeed, transports us with her powerful writing, proving that the more avenues we create to be public as a society, the more private we become as individuals.”
It’s based on a piece of mine which was published over a year ago.
Multiculturalism is a Sham: The Canadian mosaic trivializes immigrant culture under a façade of respect
In classical Western political theory, the key to state stability has often, if not always, been seen as the maintenance of a homogeneous society. Foundational divisions of any sort create a threat to both the state and the fabric of society. And how was this homogeneity achieved? Primarily through education, as philosopher Ernest Gellner so wonderfully noted. Industrialized societies require strong bureaucratic states and these states must in turn create educational systems, the goal of which is not learning but rather the creation of a perfect citizenry to serve that state materially and ideologically.
Multiculturalism is a Sham: The Canadian mosaic trivializes immigrant culture under a façade of respect
In classical Western political theory, the key to state stability has often, if not always, been seen as the maintenance of a homogeneous society. Foundational divisions of any sort create a threat to both the state and the fabric of society. And how was this homogeneity achieved? Primarily through education, as philosopher Ernest Gellner so wonderfully noted. Industrialized societies require strong bureaucratic states and these states must in turn create educational systems, the goal of which is not learning but rather the creation of a perfect citizenry to serve that state materially and ideologically.
Milestones
I’ve come to despise milestone celebrations. Not all of them, just the ones which affect me numerically. Turning Thirteen and Sixteen have been the only two which spawned excitement. Eighteen and Twenty, on the other hand, created nothing but grief and consistent nihilistic self doubt.
(I promise I’m actually a jovial person and only express such depressing thoughts to get things published. You don’t know Kafka for a brilliant exegesis on what gave him comfort and happiness in life, do you?)
Milestones
I’ve come to despise milestone celebrations. Not all of them, just the ones which affect me numerically. Turning Thirteen and Sixteen have been the only two which spawned excitement. Eighteen and Twenty, on the other hand, created nothing but grief and consistent nihilistic self doubt.
(I promise I’m actually a jovial person and only express such depressing thoughts to get things published. You don’t know Kafka for a brilliant exegesis on what gave him comfort and happiness in life, do you?)
Save Your Pity: Migrants don’t need your pity, or their own
Rehearsal came to its unfortunate close. Laughing and joking, we wrapped up our first “Greased Lightening” performance. We were doing a tribute to Broadway that year, creating a grand mixture of some of the greatest songs and dances to have graced the coveted stage. It had taken me a while, but I finally felt as though I had found my niche during my first year at the all-American Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School, located in the bustling and quaint town of Port Washington on Long Island. My once-foreign features were made familiar when I joined a more diverse crowd. I was Latino, Italian, Persian, or Greek; I wasn’t the new Pakistani girl in a primarily Jewish elementary school anymore.
Save Your Pity: Migrants don’t need your pity, or their own
Rehearsal came to its unfortunate close. Laughing and joking, we wrapped up our first “Greased Lightening” performance. We were doing a tribute to Broadway that year, creating a grand mixture of some of the greatest songs and dances to have graced the coveted stage. It had taken me a while, but I finally felt as though I had found my niche during my first year at the all-American Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School, located in the bustling and quaint town of Port Washington on Long Island. My once-foreign features were made familiar when I joined a more diverse crowd. I was Latino, Italian, Persian, or Greek; I wasn’t the new Pakistani girl in a primarily Jewish elementary school anymore.
Unneeded update
My piece on Gaza was recently published in a Montreal magazine by the name of Serai. Ch-ch-check it out.
Unneeded update
My piece on Gaza was recently published in a Montreal magazine by the name of Serai. Ch-ch-check it out.
Emerging from the Nostalgia of Pakistan’s Past
In March of 1999, I stepped out of the Allama Iqbal International Airport, in Lahore, Pakistan, greeted by long-lost family members and a barrage of young men wanting to carry our luggage to the awaiting cars. While in the clutch of my aunt’s bosom, I quietly asked, “Will we be shot at?” Both amused and concerned, my aunt laughed and asked if I had lost my mind, assuring me that I was perfectly safe, even when the country was in the midst of a war with its neighbour.
Emerging from the Nostalgia of Pakistan’s Past
In March of 1999, I stepped out of the Allama Iqbal International Airport, in Lahore, Pakistan, greeted by long-lost family members and a barrage of young men wanting to carry our luggage to the awaiting cars. While in the clutch of my aunt’s bosom, I quietly asked, “Will we be shot at?” Both amused and concerned, my aunt laughed and asked if I had lost my mind, assuring me that I was perfectly safe, even when the country was in the midst of a war with its neighbour.
