Reporter Tanita Rahmani realizes a small detail—blue ink instead of black on a marriage contract—means her marriage was never legally registered. That revelation sends her on a personal and investigative journey into the legal gray zone where many Muslim marriages exist: recognized by faith, but invisible to the law. From overlooked paperwork in New York to courtroom battles in the UK, this episode unpacks what happens when a nikkah isn’t enough, and asks: who decides if a marriage is a marriage?

---

Episode Credits:

Reported and produced by Tanita Rahmani.

Produced by Najib Aminy and Salman Ahad Khan.

Editing by Salman Ahad Khan, with additional editing from Sarah Qari.

Fact check by Heba Elorbany.

Original Music and sound design by Salman Ahad Khan and Alexander Overington.

Engineering by Alexander Overington.

Hosted by Sohaira Siddiqui.

There’s a sentence many Muslim women grow up hearing. “It’s better for women to pray at home.” But what does it mean when the presence of half our community in the most central and sacred space of Muslim life is up for debate? Reporter Taqwa Sadiq traces the evolution of Muslim women's relationship with the mosque, from the prophetic era when women prayed alongside men without barriers, to today's reality where many mosques relegate women to basement closets, behind opaque partitions, or turn them away entirely.

---

Episode Credits:

Reported and Produced by Taqwa Sadiq.

Editing by Salman Ahad Khan.

Additional editing by Sarah Qari.

Fact check by Heba Elorbany.

Original music by Salman Ahad Khan and Alexander Overington.

Sound design and engineering by Alexander Overington.

Hosted by Sohaira Siddiqui.

Production support from Rabia Bushra, Sania Ruhi, and me, Sarah Thiab. Special thanks to Maha Saud Al-Khalifa, Talia Augustidis, Yassmin Abdel-Mageid, and all the women who shared their voices on this episode and shared their stories on the Side Entrance blog.

---

This season is powered by Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women in Qatar.

For more about our show, visit moremuslim.org or follow us on Instagram.

More Muslim is a narrative audio documentary series that explores the Muslim experience, with all its messiness.

Season one, starts February 1st.