Children of Dust
Not the bui-doi. Ali Eteraz discusses his new book in this video. Sounds promising. I love that one of the domains he registered is “The Fun in Fundamentalism.”
Year: 2009
Brass Crescent Awards are Coming
The new round of Brass Crescent Awards are here. Please nominate anyone you believe is deserving.
Rabbi Helps Muslim Drug Addicts
We really need more people like this guy. Almost gets blown up and still has the ability to think of others, and avoid hating a whole group of people. Note that Jewish-Muslim commonalities also exist in our difficulties and how we choose to ignore them.
#NYC on #torture
The ACLU is hosting a major event on Oct. 13, 2009, where famous individuals will read excerpts from torture reports to make it more human. Check it out. Flyer (PDF)
Iraqi Voices
Maybe instead of talking about them, we should be listening to them. This is a great project by a great group, and some really wonderful people whom I am privileged to know. Part of what happens when you bring a group of artists to speak to refugees (or really to speak to anyone), is that the subject of art comes up. When people hear that we are artists, they tend to start telling us about the art that they know and love. There stories begin to be told on the level of music and dance, picture and sound.
Muslims, Jews, and the Holocaust
Although now we hear quite a bit about Muslims denying the Holocaust, things were not always thus. NPR has a good interview with the author of a book called Besa: Muslims who Saved Jews in World War II. I have Besa, and can tell you it is very good. In searching for the title on Amazon, I found two other related books, listed below. “Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II” (Norman H. Gershman) Related: “The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust” (Karen Gray Ruelle, Deborah Durland Desaix) “When Courage…
Quote about the #Quran
Any point in the text might serve equally well as the beginning or the end, because in a sense the Qur’an is always complete. Whatever God has to say in response to a situation is never left unsaid; God is never at a loss for words. If there is more to come, it is not so much because God is only part way through displaying an already completed text, but rather because further situation will arise that call for direct divine address. The Qur’an presents itself not so much as a corpus completed in the past, but as the voice…
Dubai Superheroes: Little Old Grannies Who Wear Veils
From the NYT: “Freej,” which swiftly became one of the most popular shows in the United Arab Emirates when it had its premiere here three years ago, is on a hiatus this Ramadan season, a result of the declining economy and, Mr. Harib says, his exhaustion after three grueling production cycles. In its place a new series of three-minute episodes starring the characters is being shown on local television. Mr. Harib’s animated aspirations took shape a decade ago when he studied at Northeastern University in Boston, where his peers downloaded “South Park” episodes in their dormitories. He recognized that his…
Service and Interfaith (#MuslimServe)
Earlier this year Pres. Obama asked us to dedicate ourselves to national service. The result was Serve.gov. In particular, Aug. 31 – Sep. 6, 2009 is meant to be be a week dedicated to interfaith service. Ultimately, the call to service will transform 9/11 into a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Over at City of Brass, Aziz has a slightly longer post on this topic. The opening video for the interfaith call to service, in combination with Ramadan and the associated Qur’an reading, has me thinking about interfaith work as service. In the Qur’an is the declaration that no…