You might not be caught dead reading a sex column, but if you were, you certainly wouldn't expect it to be written by a woman wearing a hijab.

Born in Damascus, Syria, Mohja Kahf is known for capturing Muslim life in the United States and promoting Islamic feminism. An assistant professor in the English Department and Middle Eastern Studies Program at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, she further emphasizes that donning the hijab does not correlate with oppressiveness as she unabashedly writes on subjects such as sex and gender roles that are often considered taboo.

Mohja Kahf at a San Francisco reading: (photo: Heidi Schumann for The New York Times)

 
Although her successful works provoke criticism and debate online, they also assist in bridging the gap between cultures by uniting people of various backgrounds in discourse. Kahf's novel, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, taps into the new genre of Muslim American literature, using popular fiction in a way the New York Times describes as appealing to "both American Muslims and outsiders seeking a better understanding of the minority."

Kahf's variety of subjects allows readers, immigrant and nonimmigrant, Muslim and non-Muslim, to identify and find common ground with certain aspects of her works.

Dina Ibrahim, a broadcasting professor in San Francisco, describes Kahf as refreshing for putting "a lighter spin on being a Muslim in America" by addressing topics beyond the war and the misunderstanding of the Islamic faith.

In doing so, Kahf prompts readers to question assumptions. What is considered appropriate when regarding relations between the sexes, sex and abortion?

If you live in Los Angeles, California, you have a rare opportunity to engage with Kahf on Wednesday, July 14, as she will make a Southern Californian appearance at the the Levantine Cultural Center. The center will host Kahf in a in a reading, signing, and discussion of her books The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf and E-mails from Scheherazad.

 
Cheyenne Tahbaz is an editorial assistant at the Levantine Review.