Acacia Magazine

Navigating Culture Wars

Naib Mian explores rising anti-queer sentiments among various Muslim communities.

The Myth of Bodily Autonomy

Natalia reports on the impact of Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Muslims seeking reproductive care and the range of responses from Muslim organizers and scholars.

Slow Return

Sarah Aziza, the daughter of a Palestinian Muslim father and an American Christian mother, explores the spiritual trials of growing up in an interfaith household.

Cardamom Banana Bread Recipe

This cardamom banana bread by Ifrah F. Ahmed was developed with the Somali tradition of casariyo (afternoon tea) in mind.

Traversing the Land of the Jinn

Sanya explores how her experience with Jinn helped heal her heartbreak from a devastating breakup, and also brought her closer to her faith.

Against Punishment

Samah Sisay, a human rights lawyer and organizer, talks to Mariame Kaba about how Islam informs her work as an abolitionist.

Sampling Sounds

Featured in music by everyone from Beyoncé to Hans Zimmer, Shamira explores the use of the so-called “Arab scales” and how this sonic shorthand is shaping the cultural understanding of the Arab world in Western music.

Deep Ecology

A poem by Fariha Roisin

Two Decades of Muslims as Mutants

Ahmed’s essay explores the evolution of orientalist tropes in Marvel comic books from decades old Islamophobic depictions, to the current embrace of Muslim characters as seen in the contemporary iteration of Ms. Marvel.

Reflections on Hijab Butch Blues

Mariam in conversation with Lamya H, author of Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir, detailing their coming of age as a queer hijabi Muslim immigrant.

Hooyo's Cooking School

How chef, recipe developer, and food writer, Ifrah Ahmed, navigated the resentment that came with gendered expectations of cooking in her upbringing and ultimately forged a new relationship with making and sharing Somali cuisine.

Silicone

In this short story, a PhD student returns home to her native Iran, grappling with feelings of frustration at the racism endemic to her profession in the United States.