islam doesn't speak, muslims do | "the ink of the scholar is worth more than the blood of the martyr" – Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
My dear friend is putting on a dance performance in NY this weekend. It is titled “He Who Burns,” and plays with the idea put forward by Hallaj that Iblis was cast out of Heaven for being the truest lover of God. He refuse to bow to Adam not because he was disobedient, but because none is worthy of worship other than God. Check it out. He Who Burns
Yesterday, June 25, 2009. Michael Jackson died; God rest his soul. I was not going to blog about his passing. He is an artist, a celebrity, why is his death more important than any other? He was an artistic genius, of that there can be no doubt. What he did for music and dance in pop is unparalleled. However, he was still a human being. He had an impact on my childhood, but I did not know him. In many respects, because of his fame, he was unreal. He was no closer to me than Rumi, whose poetry speaks to…
The Muslim Voices Festival has begun, and I’ll be posting soon on Religion Dispatches. However, the NYT has started running some coverage, including this piece on Muslim women artists. Will tryt to check it out (after the music festival) and report.
From CNN: It’s true. I used to be prejudiced — as prejudiced as anyone about Islam. … And then I was given the opportunity of reading the actual source, the Quran itself, without anybody forcing me or looking over my shoulder and saying, “What do you think?” It was just me in my space. And the more I read the Quran, the more I realized that it was like an incredible matrix of connection with Christianity and Judaism. I mean Jesus, Moses, the religion of Abraham in this book! And I said, “Wow, how come I didn’t know this before?”…
I love this book. I had just written an article on treating Fun^Da^Mental as part of the South Asian literary tradition (unpublished) about three months before this book came out in print. It’s a wonderful collection of essays, and they don’t all agree with one another. It’s a shame it’s out of print, because I think it’s a classic in the field, but I’m glad they’ve made it available for download. I learned about this book over ten years ago from Tony Mitchell, and have found it invaluable. I urge anyone interested in BrAsian politics and culture, fans of Fun’Da’Mental,…
Peter Murphy, of Bauhaus (the band, not the architectural movement), is Muslim. Shahed told me on Twitter, but I didn’t believe. I am so sorry Shahed. You speak the truth. My entire anti-religious, rebellious adolescence was spent listening to a Muslim musician. Go figure. Music
A friend has posted a series of videos of songs from around the world supporting Barack Obama. Very cool. Music, Obama
Nice clip of a major Muslim music festival that came through town a few months ago. Music
Got an email today about a group in Pakistan that is attempting to bring about peaceful change through the arts. The group is ALAAP, and their peace declaration is an interesting read. art, Literature, Music, Pakistan, Poetry, peace