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Naguib Mahfouz, God Rest his Soul

Naguib Mahfouz is dead. Because of his literature, he will live for a very long time. Click here for a sampling of works. Technorati Tags: Naguib Mahfouz

First Day of Spring

On this perfect day, perfect for forgetting God, why are they – Hindu or Muslim, Gentile or Jew – shouting again some godforsaken word of God? Agha, Shahid Ali. The Country Without a Post Office: Poems. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997, pg. 77. cross-posted from Qalandar Technorati Tags: Agha Shahid Ali

Review: Domestic Crusaders

I have to imagine that writing fiction about Muslim-Americans is a thankless task. People from outside the community are already pre-disposed to like it or hate it. Unless you’re Rizwan Manji, Aasif Mandvi, or Aziz Ansari, you can’t quite draw the crowds to be able to change minds. Of course, you also get heat from inside the community. People will invariably say “it doesn’t represent me,” “it’s not my experience.” These same people will simultaneously identify with Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and support Umrao Jaan Ada, but will not have empathy with Muslim-American characters because it is not exactly their experience.…