"Leaning on Islam to Navigate Pregnancy Loss and Abortion" Khutbah by Sahar Pirzada (3/26/21)

In this much-needed khutbah, Sahar Pirzada of HEART Women & Girls honors us as she shares from her first-hand experience on "Leaning on Islam to Navigate Pregnancy Loss and Abortion." She highlights the struggles of navigating the topic of abortion in America, where it is highly politicized, polarized, and controversial. She shares the ways that Islam, Muslim scholars, and verses of the Qur'an opened up a much more nuanced way to navigate this difficult decision with compassion and kindness for both herself and her baby. Sahar talks about her process of weighing the different elements that orthodox Islamic scholarship has highlighted as important to consider: A) the point the soul enters the fetus, B) the threat of harm/endangerment to the mother, C) the presence of fetal anomalies, and D) the motivation/reason to terminate. Sahar advises us to not assume that we don't already know Muslim women who have experienced abortion, and she offers us helpful advice for how we can be more supportive as a community for women and couples experiencing this difficult topic -- by relying on an Islamic lens of faith, mercy, patience, and compassion.

Bio:
Sahar Pirzada is a Pakistani-American Muslim woman from the Bay Area. She is the Advocacy and West Coast Programs Manager for HEART where she explores the intersections of islamophobia and gender-based violence and supports survivors of sexual violence in the Muslim community.

She has a masters of social work from USC and is also the Co-Director of Vigilant Love where she actively challenges islamophobia through arts, healing and organizing. Sahar's work has been featured in Teen Vogue, NPR, KPCC, Fusion's Sex Right Now and #GoodMuslimBadMuslim.