Randa Abdel-Fattah
Randa Abdel-Fattah
Randa Abdel-Fattah is an Australian Muslim writer of Palestinian and Egyptian parentage. Randa was born in Australia and her debut novel, Does My Head Look Big in This?, was published in 2005...
NationalityPalestinian
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth6 June 1979
CountryPalestine, State of
country home people
It is time Australian Muslims stop being treated as negotiable citizens in their own country. It is time people stop 'tolerating' us, presuming some right to decide if we have a place in our own home.
religious people generosity
Religious celebrations, and the good will, high spirits and generosity that mark them, are wonderful occasions for understanding the potential of 'everyday multiculturalism', and how people from diverse faiths can connect and show they care, rather than go down parallel, sometimes hostile, roads.
kindness giving people
Sometimes it's easy to lose faith in people. And sometimes one act of kindness is all it takes to give you hope again.
huge theology whether
When it comes to the hijab - why to wear it, whether to wear it, how to wear it - there is theology and then there is practice, and there is huge diversity in both.
behaves israel peace seems violent
It seems Palestinians can't win. The language of peace negotiations has always been predicated on a representation that Palestinians are violent and that is why Israel behaves as it does.
move wears
A woman's body is her body and what she wears or does not wear is her choice. Get over it and move on.
attitude smell clothes
We are, at almost every point of our day, immersed in cultural diversity: faces, clothes, smells, attitudes, values, traditions, behaviours, beliefs, rituals.
communication kids opposites
I wasn't rebellious. Other friends had far stricter parents and where there wasn't a relationship of respect and communication, they were usually the opposite; kids go to the other extreme.
religious children diversity
For me, religious festivals and celebrations have become an important way to teach my children about how we can transform living with diversity from the superficial 'I eat ethnic food', to something dignified, mutually respectful and worthwhile.
interesting language notes
You should take notes whenever you hear interesting or original language.
topics debate hypothesis
When you exist in the centre of a debate, as a topic, a hypothesis - otherised and stigmatised - you become the prop in a proposition.
character way sympathetic
The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable.
reality multicultural-society diverse-society
In a multicultural, diverse society there are countless ways in which people negotiate the everyday lived experience and reality of diversity.
kids writing writing-stories
I've been writing stories since I was a kid. I love writing stories.