Thursday, March 26, 2015

Teacher Confronts Islamophobia with "The Garden of My Imaan" by Farhana Zia



Amy Vatne Bitliff used Farhana Zia's The Garden of My Imaan in her public middle school.
Then two days prior to Zia’s visit, one of my students who had really been pushing against the text said, “You mean a Muslim is coming here?! They chop people’s heads off. If she’s coming here, I’m not coming to school." ... read more ...

Friday, March 20, 2015

Review: How Does it Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi

How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi (Penguin Press HC, The, Hardcover, 9781594201769, 304pp.)

The author relates the stories of seven Arab-American youth from Brooklyn, New York.

It's hard for me to relate to the stories in this book because I'm much older than the subjects, I've never lived in a place with a lot of Arabs (or great ethnic diversity) and I've never had the family, financial and legal struggles many of them had.

Nevertheless, the stories were engaging, and I read the book quickly. Each subject's story made me think about things differently, and I suspect each reader would draw unique lessons for himself or herself.

Sunday, March 01, 2015

Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution



To purchase the English version of the book, visit the publisher's web page. The book has its own website. The Facebook page has ongoing developments, including the Egyptian government's efforts to erase the graffiti.

This article reports that the copies were seized in Alexandria over a fee dispute, not censorship.