Most recent articles by Joseph Mayton
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Racial profiling in the USMuslim bashing: the new American norm
In the wake of the Brussels attacks, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump yet again repeated his call for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States of America. With ABC News primary exit polls on 15 March revealing that two-thirds of Republican voters feel Muslims would be better off elsewhere, the current tide of anti-Muslim sentiment has yet to turn. By Joseph Mayton
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Muslim youth in AmericaThe "mipster" phenomenon
Most people have heard of the term "hipster", which conjures up images of hip young, middle-class urban adults with progressive ideas who are into indie music. But what of the mipster, the "Muslim hipster"? Is it a real or just an imaginary concept? And for young American Muslims, is the label a blessing or a curse? By Joseph Mayton in San Francisco
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Interview with director Gini Reticker"These women do not need to be saved, they need to be heard"
A new project highlighting women in the MENA region and their struggle during and after the Arab Spring goes against the usual Western image of the docile, oppressed Arab woman. Instead, "The Trials of Spring" shows women in the region as they are: strong, active, committed participants and well-informed activists. The project features six short films about Arab women. Joseph Mayton spoke to Academy Award-nominated producer Gini Reticker about the project
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LGBT asylum seekersA silent revolution
While it is a well-known fact that LGBT people face discrimination and violence in Muslim and Arab countries, it is not quite as well known that LGBT people seeking asylum in the West also face considerable difficulties and in some cases gross insensitivity. Some of those who have been granted asylum are now using the Internet to try and foster tolerance in their native countries. By Joseph Mayton
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Mona Eltahawy's controversial article in <i>Foreign Policy</i> magazineAn Attempt to Portray Arab Women as Victims
In the May/June special issue of the American magazine Foreign Policy, the Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy published an article claiming that the root of women's problems in the Middle East is quite simply that men hate them. Opinions on the article differ widely. Joseph Mayton asked a number of women in Tunisia and Egypt what they thought of it
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Radical versus Tolerant Islam in IndonesiaWho Has the Last Word on Lady Gaga?
It may seem like the clerics who cancelled pop star Lady Gaga's concert in Jakarta had the last word. But Indonesian female activists offer another side to the story, says journalist Joseph Mayton
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Egyptian Presidential Candidate Hamdeen SabahiFrom Outlier to Serious Contender
Up until recently, the chances of Hamdeen Sabahi were considered slim. But new polls suggest the left-leaning social activist is now one of the top contenders for the presidential office. Joseph Mayton met up with the idiosyncratic politician in Cairo
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Presidential Candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul FotouhEgypt's Future Middle-Ground Man?
More than 14 months on from an uprising that ousted the former regime of Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, the Muslim Brotherhood is in power and establishing its political strength in parliament. Once dubbed the future reformist of the Brotherhood, the independent candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh now faces the ire of the country's leading political movement, whose own candidate has just been banned. Joseph Mayton reports
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Interview with George Ishak''We Need a New Revolution''
George Ishak, founder of the ‘Kifaya’ movement against former President Hosni Mubarak, is confident that the Egyptian people will not allow themselves to be dictated by the military in the long term. Joseph Mayton spoke to him
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The Role of Religion in Egyptian Society''Dictatorship is out in Egypt''
The eyes of the world are on Egypt in the run-up to the country's first free parliamentary elections in 30 years. Joseph Mayton examines the role played by religion in Egyptian society and its possible influence on the way Egyptians will vote