How can someone speak so passionately about honesty while refusing to hear it? How can someone warn others about masks while hiding behind one? How can someone tell others not to drown while pushing them underwater by amplifying lies and rumors they created?
Dalia Mogahed and Imam Majid have a public conversation built entirely on the writings of Fadwa Wazwaz without giving her credit. By presenting her words and insights as their own, they created the illusion that these ideas originated with them. In effect, they were role‑playing her voice in the episode while erasing her authorship.
To distinguish between Nasiha and baiting, one must observe the procedural integrity of the advisor. If the “advice” is public, based on unverified rumors, and accompanied by the appropriation of the victim’s intellectual labor, it is a coordinated campaign of erasure. The ultimate “tell” of such a campaign is the refusal of a private or public face-to-face meeting, which avoids the accountability of a clean mirror.
In this first episode of Echoes of Erasure, Season 4, Imam Magid and Dalia Mogahed explore the writings of Fadwa Wazwaz on the surrender of the sorcerers — and the lessons this story offers for standing up to tyranny in all its forms. Mogahed often drew on her sister Yasmin Mogahed’s reflections: “Know that transformation sometimes begins with a fall. So never curse the fall. The ground is where humility lives. Take it. Learn it. Breathe it in. And then come back stronger, humbler and more aware of your need for Him. Come back having seen your own nothingness and Read More …
A Qur’anic ethics blog examining authorship, originality, and integrity. Season 4 documents patterns of erasure and invites readers to verify with me.
