The simple but brave act of sharing a love story can help ignite both greater personal insight and greater community inclusivity, compassion, and diversity.
As the co-editor of two groundbreaking anthologies, Ayesha Mattu is breaking stereotypes by sharing the love stories of diverse Muslim Americans.
Biography
Ayesha Mattu’s groundbreaking anthologies – Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women and Salaam, Love: American Muslim Men on Love, Sex, & Intimacy – have been featured globally by media including the New York Times, NPR, the BBC, Washington Post, Guardian, Times of India, Dawn Pakistan, and Jakarta Post. She was selected a ‘Muslim Leader of Tomorrow’ by the UN Alliance of Civilizations, & has served on the boards of social justice non-profits including IDEX, the Women’s Funding Network, and World Pulse. Ayesha is an alumna of VONA/Voices writers’ workshop and a member of The Grotto. Her work was most recently featured in the anthology, Good Girls Marry Doctors.
“Erases preconceptions of what it must be like to be a Muslim woman in this country” – The Washington Post, on Love InshAllah
“An insightful, thoroughly charming read.” Publishers Weekly, on Salaam Love
“Moving from Strangers to Family by Sharing our Love Stories”
Speaking Topics
The American Muslim Love Collectors
Why does your story matter? Why is your voice necessary right now? And why are love stories one of the most meaningful spaces for us to begin revealing ourselves and seeing others in our full, glorious human complexity? Editors, writers, rom com and Jane Austen fans Ayesha and Nura share how the seemingly simple but brave act of sharing a love story can help ignite both greater personal insight and greater community inclusivity, compassion, and diversity.
The “Full Court Aunty Press” – and Other Obstacles to Love
What will people say? Most of us can hear that childhood whisper in the back of our minds well into adulthood. Now that you’re an adult, what do you need to know to show up fully as a romantic and marital partner? As a family and community member? How do you even begin to broach issues of love, relationships, or sexuality with family members who may still see you as a child or who may not have a shared language or tradition of exploring these issues together? Ayesha and Nura lead a humorous, powerful, and inspirational conversation on embracing the complexities and beauty of yourself, your family, and community in the search for love.