Baghdad Hospital: Inside the Red Zone --HBO Documentary

http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=653065

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/baghdadhospital/synopsis.html

Grim, grim, grim ... But at least only Iraqis appear. There are no U.S. military talking heads, no U.S. politicians with their photo ops. The narrator, Dr. Omer Salih Mahdi, does a good job of not injecting his narration into the film.

A interview with Dr. Omer was published in the Muncie, Indiana, USA newspaper where he currently lives.

Last updated 2008 Jan 28.

A Son's Sacrifice, Musa Syeed

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/sonssacrifice/

http://www.sonsacrifice.com/about.html

Check this out if you can. It was shown on PBS's Independent Lens.

I think an excellent feature of the film is the protaganist's being an ethnically "mixed" Muslim. The father is a Bengali immigrant, and the mother is Puerto Rican.

American Made by Sharat Raju

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/americanmade/film.html

http://www.americanmadethemovie.com/

Today I watched the movie "American Made" on PBS's show "Independent Lens", written and directed by Sharat Raju, who also participated in Divided We Fall.

Excellent half-hour movie. Check it out next time it's on PBS, or get the DVD.

I think the older son's role is somewhat shallow. But I think it was an attempt at some comedy.

The younger son's acting really reflects genuine conflicts and responses among the demands of a minority religion and culture on the one hand and the demands of the majority culture in the United States. Reading from the Sikh scriptures a passage condemning religious ostentation, he questions why his father should maintain his turban and beard despite the difficulties society imposes on them as a result. This questions is not satisfactorily resolved in a short 30-minute film, but it does present clearly and attractively the dynamics of the family's interaction.

Updated 2008 Jan 28.

"Hamas" by Khalid Amayreh

The January-March 2008 Volume 41, Issue 1 of The Link (www.ameu.org), published by Americans for Middle East Understanding, has an excellent article by Khalid Amayreh describing why Hamas is a legitimate political actor. http://www.ameu.org/getattachment/29eebc14-c1f8-4a5b-a779-d92affe5a3d2/Hamas.aspx

Updated May 3, 2015 to fix a broken link.

Wall Street Journal's "The Lost Archive"

As an addendum to my review of Anouar Majid's A Call for Heresy, there's an article on the front page of the January 12-3, 2008 Wall Street Journal entitled "The Lost Archive," by Andrew Higgins. It summarizes the story of photographs of manuscripts of the Quran believed to have been lost in Germany in World War II, but which have recently resurfaced.

Divided We Fall - Film on Hate Crimes in U.S. post September 11, 2001

I encourage people to participate in the promotion of the film Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath. The producers of the film also have a MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/dwf_film. Valerie Kaur made the film with her cousin Sonny. The film is not released yet, but the producers are arranging screeings and programs around the country. You can also work to arrange a screening in your area.

If you are interested in arranging a screening in Augusta, GA, please e-mail me at [e-mail removed].

Islamic Science Rediscovered - Traveling Museum Exhibit

An article in my local paper mentioned (for some reason the paper's web site does not carry the article) mentioned the Islamic Science Rediscovered exhibit at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ, USA. (This exhibited ended on January 6, 2008.) It is produced by MTE Studios of South Africa and Dubai. More detailed information can be found at http://www.sultans-of-science.com/. I don't yet have information on where the exhibit will be next.

Recommendation: Film "Road to Guantanamo"

While not "Muslim media", I have decided to post some comments on things which might interest readers of this blog. If not comments, pointers to things they may not know about yet.

The film Road to Guantanamo is worth seeing. I saw it at an Amnesty International/World Can't Wait screening in Atlanta yesterday. This morning I saw that the film was released in 2006, and I had no idea it existed until I saw it on the GeorgiaPeace.org web site calendar.

While you can read about the horrifying things in the movie, and if you're sensitive to violence and profanity skip this movie (but still go do something about this Bush regime's embrace of torture), I thought I'd mention a few funny things from the movie.

These four British Muslims are generally hapless in a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern kind of way (and we know how they ended up). When they're talking about going to Afghanistan, one of them motivates the others by talking about the big naan in Afghanistan. I started laughing, but no one else was laughing. Kind of like when I saw I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in a theater in South Chicago, and everyone would be laughing and I did not know what was going on.

Another funny scene is one of the British Muslims rapping to a decent U.S. soldier.

But really, the humorous scenes in this moview are few and far between. Of course there's a lot of information out there about the U.S.-operated detention facilities where torture is practiced, but don't neglect James J. Yee's book For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire. For more information on James, visit http://www.justiceforyee.com/.

A Call for Heresy: Why Dissent is Vital to Islam and America by Anouar Majid

Anouar Majid. A Call for Heresy: Why Dissent Is Vital to Islam and America. ISBN: 0-8166-5127-2. University of Minnesota Press; 2007.

Egyptian Comic Book Company-AKcomics.com

In the Summer 2006 issue of AUC Today, the alumni magazine of the American University in Cairo, there is a profile of AUC alumnus Ayman Kandeel's company, AKComics.com. It publishes series in Arabic and English, and according to the article, a recent deal with a U.S. distributor may open up the English market dramatically.

I ordered a subscription to all four of the English and Arabic versions of the series, and I've ordered the back issues of the all series. So I'm hoping to report back as soon as I read enough to have something to say.

Has anybody read any of these already? What are your impressions?

Goal of the Muslim Media Review with General Disclaimer

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. All praise is due to God. May God bless and raise His Messenger Muhammad, his family, his companions and those who followed them in righteousness.

May God increase your peace and blessings.

The goals of the Muslim Media Review is to highlight the books, audio and video programs from which Muslims in North American can benefit and information on how people can acquire them.

My general disclaimer is a lot longer.

It's always easier to criticize than actually create. So when I say something negative about a work, understand that you or I probably could not do nearly as well.

I don't represent Islam or Muslims. I got the name "Muslim Media Review" before anyone else. If someone is doing a better job, I have no problem changing my blog's name to something less official sounding. I just think the name will attract people to read it more than "Ayman Fadel's Ramblings", which brings us to the next disclaimer.

Although I honestly, in sha Allah, plan on researching every sentence I put in here, I lack a lot of basic qualifications to do this properly. So please help me by pointing out where I'm going wrong, or if you don't have time, say a short supplication for my guidance.

Currently I don't make any money from the operation of this blog. If I ever do, and I certainly would not mind, I will God willing inform the readers. My first "material benefit" goal is to have authors and publishers who want me to review their materials send me a free copy so I don't spend my own money acquiring them. If you would like to support this blog financially, contact me so that I can send you information on how to do that.

I hope you will benefit from this blog. If you want to add materials or links, please contact me. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Wassalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh (May God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.)

Ayman Fadel

Review: The Value of Time by Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah

The Value of Time by Shaykh `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah.Translated by Yusra Al-Ghannouchi. 86 pages. First published April 2004/Safar 1425. ISBN 0 9537582 0 6.

It is fitting that this book be the first one the Muslim Media Review presents. I have had the idea for a media review web site, and I've gotten excellent feedback from people on what to do, but I've been lacking in the determination to start. This book provided me with the motivation to get started, and that in itself is a ringing endorsement to the book.

The book is divided into three parts. The first discusses the value of time in the Qur'an and the hadith reports. The second, which is the longest, is collections of excerpts from the biographies of scholars who valued their time, and who, by doing so, achieved much in their lives. The third part is a call to the reader to aim higher and begin working, i.e. to begin to value time more seriously.

The translation is smooth for the most part. The editing is excellent, so that one does not find incorrect spellings or misnumbered pages.

The publisher is Awakening Publications.

It is available on a wide variety of web sites. I purchased my copy from Astrolabe.

One thing that was odd was that the original Arabic book title was not mentioned. I believe the Arabic title is
قيمة الزمن عند العلماء

I purchased it from http://www.furat.com/book_details.cgi?bookid=9346 today. When it arrives, in sha Allah I'll post a notice about the shopping experience.

Last updated April 20, 2006.

Review: Key to Al-Baqarah

Key to al-Baqarah: The Longest Surah of the Qur'an by Khurram Murad. Published by The Islamic Foundation. 1996/1417. ISBN 0 86037 270 7. 36 pp.

This book is a good example of one of the most urgent duties of a Muslim--the attempt to understand the Qur'an. And what I mean by that is that each time we hear an aaya of Qur'an, we should try to discover some new meaning in it. We may not succeed, but with consistent effort and sincere intention, Allah subhanah wa ta'aala allows us to see something that will benefit us in this life and the next.

The book is the author's framework for understanding this chapter of the Qur'an. He does not claim that it is the only way to understand it. For all we know, perhaps today, nine years after the initial publication of the book, the author himself might have a different understanding of the suurah. And I think the author would believe that to be a sign of personal growth.
The author introduces the subject of interacting with the Qur'an. The author mentions some of the characteristics of surat al-Baqara and some of its merits. The author also has a good discussion about the Qur'an came to be arranged in its agreed upon order and the wisdom behind that ordering.

As is so often, in my mind, this introduction is the most valuble part of the book. Based on the principles outlined in the introduction, the author then puts forth his current understanding of the suurah's narrative. He divides the suurah into sections and themes. And he pointed out things about suurat al-Baqarah's meanings which I had never considered.

I purchased the book from Astrolabe.

The author has a book in which he goes into more depth on the topic of how the contemporary Muslim should approach the Qur'an. It is The Way to the Quran. I hope to read that soon and report on it.

Last updated April 20, 2005.

Board Game-Mecca to Medina by Baba Ali

Mecca to Medina (board game) by Baba Ali

I received this product with great excitement, as I and my closest friends are board game enthusiasts. This review is in two parts, one, the “Muslim” content, and, two, the traditional board game criteria of packaging, setup time, ease of play, relative balance of luck and skill, etc.

Patience and Gratitude: An Abridged Translation of `Uddat as-Sabirin wa dhakhirat ash-shakirin

Patience and Gratitude: An Abridged Translation of `Uddat as-sabirin w dhakhirat ash-shakirin by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (1292-1350 CE) translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Published by Ta-Ha Publishers.1 Wynne Road, London SW9 0BB.

I got my copy at http://store.yahoo.com/talkislam/b3087.html. The service was good.

Ta-Ha Publishers and Nasiruddin al-Khattab are to be congratulated for providing access to English-speaking Muslims to an excellent book with crucial lessons for improving our practice of Islam.

As a translation, the text is smooth and grammatically correct. The abridgement leaves out things like detailed chains of narration, additional supportive narrations and investigations of issues not critical to the central themes.

By investigating the different meanings of patience, a Muslim can look at his/her own state and see what should be changed.

For a biography on Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, you can visit http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/0036.htm.

Last updated August 10, 2005.

The Content of Character: Ethical Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad by Shaikh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui

The Content of Character: Ethical Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad by Shaikh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui, with translation and introduction by Hamza Yusuf and a foreword by Ali Mazrui.

This book was composed by Shaik Al-Amin Ali Mazrui, who was the Chief Cadi of Kenya until 1947, when he passed away. He is the father of the renowned scholar of African civilization and world trends, Ali Mazrui. My first exposure to Professor Ali Mazrui was through his 1986 ground-breaking PBS series, The Africans: A Triple Heritage, which I highly recommend as a way of understanding modern African culturally and from a development perspective. This is a lecture he gave about the topic at Stanford, April 24, 2000.

The text is composed of an introduction, then the Arabic text of 130 hadiith on the right page and the English translation on the left side. There is a translator’s note afterwards defending the use of non-Sahiih hadiths, both for legal rulings and moral and ethical values. The translator also added short biographies of the main collectors of the hadiith from which the author selected.

The jacket cover has a beautiful design. The book itself is hardcover, with excellent print quality. The presentation befits the words of An-Nabiy, salla Allahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam.

The author was extremely successful in selecting texts which address a variety of aspects of behavior, attitudes and habits. By pondering these texts and attempting to implement them in our lives, we can hope to improve as people and Muslims.

The translation reads very well.

Criteria for Evaluating Muslim Children's Media

My intention with the next several blog entries is to present some children’s books. In general, North American “Muslim” children’s books should do the following:

Review: The Meat Eating Vegetarian by Caroline Maryam Ward

The Meat Eating Vegetarian by Caroline Maryam Ward. The Islamic Foundation (2001/1422H). ISBN 0-86037-306-1. 44 pages.

This book is available from Astrolabe (www.astrolabe.com).

This edition is hard cover, with an attractive cover.

The plot line is the attendance of Tasneem, a young British girl of Pakistani origin, in a new elementary school. She makes friends quickly with Lisa and Yvonne. Tasneem invites them to her house for dinner and play when a misunderstanding stemming from Tasneem’s practice of Islam causes the friendship to sour. Thankfully, the observant, caring teacher at the school notices Tasneem’s distress, resolves the misunderstanding and reconciles the three friends.

This book meets all of the five criteria I’ve come up with for a quality Muslim children’s book.

1. I don’t see anything which violates the principles and rules of Islam.
2. The entertainment, for me, lies in the drama of the breakup and reconciliation! Again, parents, let me know what your kids thought.
3. This story showed how a Muslim child encountered difficulty making friends at school but was able to resolve the issue because the other children were basically good. Tasneem learned the value of communicating accurate information about herself to her friends.
4. Well I have to admit that us guys never broke our friendships and reconciled, to my recollection, all within a couple of days! But I think it’s all right.
5. The child learns the definition of halal meat and that Muslim women wear headscarves when out in public and that Muslim girls are not required to wear the scarves.

As a final note, I think many non-Muslims would benefit from reading this book, as it shows that asking questions is better than refraining from asking and then jumping to conclusions. I remember a friend of mine, who would see me carry a prayer mat in my car trunk and pray on it, thought there was something sacred about the prayer mat. He would treat it like a sacred object, neither moving it nor touching it in any way. I finally had to tell him that I used the mat because it’s cleaner than pavement and it prevents grass stains on my clothes, not because it’s a requirement of ritual prayer.

The book is recommended for ages 7-10. I think it'd work better for 9-12, but, again, you parents and teachers let me know.

Last updated August 12, 2006

Review: A Marriage Proposal by Samira Hingoro

A Marriage Proposal by Samira Hingoro

http://www.faithpublications.org/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=58

I purchased this book directly from the publisher using the link above. The order was fulfilled properly.

Abu Iman (literally “Father of Iman”) Talib, his wife Ummu Iman (“Mother of Iman”) and their five daughters, Iman (19 years old), Aisha (17), Huda (the vain one), Noor and Maryam (10), evaluate Khaled’s (26 years old) marriage proposal to the eldest daughter, Iman. The author’s overly didactic, ideological voice is Iman. Every other character, who has not achieved Iman’s level of worship, dedication to religious activism and reliance on the direction of the Qur’an and Sunnah, cannot see the obvious fact that the suitor Khaled is unsuitable. When Abu Iman Talib runs into Khaled’s purchasing beer at the local convenience store, he is forced to reject his marriage proposal.

I reacted strongly against this story for the following reasons:

1. Overly rigid gender roles foisted upon the individual members of the American Muslim family.
2. A simplistic resolution to a complex issue. Rather than address the issue by having an honest discussion within the Talib family, the father “catches” Khaled buying a beer.
3. A completely unreasonable portrayal of economic life.
4. The process of marriage proposals does not include speech between the potential spouses.
Muslim women live a Byzantine harem life, with plotting and factions.
5. The perpetuation of the multazim (practicing, literally “restricting oneself”) vs. the “non-practicing” Muslim distinction.
6. Parents appear as idiots, since they can’t actually have an honest discussion with their children.
7. The inaccurate portrayal of the Muslim virtue of hayaa` (shyness, shame, self-consciousness).

Being overly “didactic” (Intended to instruct, morally instructive, inclined to teach or moralize excessively) and “ideological” is an aesthetic criticism which may or may not be a problem for the reader. Far more dangerous is the book’s portrayals of proper roles for Muslim men and women.

Abu Iman has an unspecified career. Every night he is home (i.e. not traveling and not working late) and goes to the masjid or watches a little TV. While there are few descriptions of the family’s living standard, their house appears to be spacious because there’s a living room where guests are hosted and each daughter has a separate bedroom. Ummu Iman works a part-time job (for extra money for her daughters’ marriages). Tell me, how many careers can afford that kind of lifestyle, or more precisely, even if Abu Imran was blessed to be able to make enough money for that lifestyle, how many other Muslims could do so, if the Talib family is to be considered a model for U.S. Muslims? And, I forgot, the girls all attended private Islamic schools.

I grew up with one brother and no cousins around, so perhaps I’m missing something, but should a Byzantine “harem” life be held up as “normal” or, God forbid, “normative” for a North American Muslim family. Iman’s parents don’t tell Iman about the potential suitor before he comes to their home. The mother has a favorite daughter, the one who is most interested in fashion and maintaining her appearance. When Noora discovers that her sister Huda is talking on the telephone with a boy named “Bill” (the evil Anglo-Saxon, no doubt-it would have been better if the name was Ja`far), Iman and Noora “handle” the situation by concealing it from their parents and deciding to pay more attention to Huda by taking her out more. When women get together, they talk about clothing. They’re occupying space and consuming good air.

Even the fiqh issues presented are, in my mind, extremely bad examples. Maryam relayed how an elderly Muslim woman, in front of other people, chastised another Muslim woman for praying while wearing nail polish. Iman instructs her sister that a woman’s wuduu’ is invalid if done while wearing nail polish, and it is improper to embarrass a person. I’m no advocate of nail polish, but could not the author have selected a more important question for the characters to discuss?

The second fiqh issue regarded Iman’s refusal to talk with her suitor. She would insist that he should only talk with Abu Iman, her wali (woman without Muslim relatives does not need wali) (second definition of wali). While that is certainly a permissible way of doing things, it most certainly is not the only way Muslims are permitted to do things.

Iman’s first encounter with Khaled was actually a near car accident. Hijab-wearing Iman took a wide turn and Khaled, in his red, shiny sports car, had to swerve to avoid hitting her. He yells from his car window, “Jesus Christ! Watch where you’re going! Take that thing off your head so you can see, for Christ’s sake!” (pp. 4-5) Her sister Aisha, reading the signs of the dinner invitation to Khaled and his relatives and eavesdropping on Khaled’s aunt’s conversation with Ummu Iman, reveals to her unobservant older sister Iman the real purpose of Khaled’s visit.

[Iman] hoped for someone with whom she could grow spiritually-someone who loves to help people and be active in the masjid. Whatever little she had glimpsed of Khaled seemed contrary to that. The thought of leaving matters to Allah
subhanahu wa ta`ala seemed so comfortable and soothing. (pp. 21-2)

There are several other encounters, each one demonstrating further Khaled’s and Iman’s incompatibility.
Now this suitor Khaled, a successful Chicago attorney, is supposedly motivated by his belief in Iman’s naiveté, thinking that he could mold her into a good corporate wife. Aside from the believability of this presumption, had Khaled spoken with Iman 15 minutes, he would have realized how misguided this belief was.

My objection to this whole marriage proposal is Iman’s pretending like hayaa' and tawakkul prevented her from refusing Khaled from the beginning. It was only when her father decided that the marriage proposal was not suitable that the official “no” was issued.

These supposedly good Muslims, the Talib family, aren’t straightforward enough to facilitate the rejection process. I would much rather know in 15 minutes that the marriage is not going to work out than hang around for 1 day or 1 week or 1 month. These people would have driven me to drink beer!

The story does a good job of encouraging Muslims to consider religion as the primary virtue in a spouse. The story does a poor job of describing what a 19-yr old woman’s plans for marriage might be (or for that matter a 26-year old man) and describing a respectful, honest way of bringing two people together.

If the author would allow me to rewrite her story, let’s change Khaled into a more typical U.S. Muslim professional. He doesn’t drink alchohol. He does his salaat, but will delay it past time for convenience’s sake. He probably drives a Camry (how many can afford a Porsche, but if he can, I say more power to him!). He probably would not yell at a Muslim woman for wearing hijab, although he might have trepidations about her having “rigid” thinking.

In this more realistic situation, you have a conflict between genuine Muslim values:
1. The emphasis on religiosity in choosing a spouse.
2. The other desired qualities of the spouse-well-mannered, hard-working, wealthy (earning enough money to support a family) and attractive.
3. Respect to parents by agreeing with their recommended spouse

Then a dialogue or correspondence between Iman and Khaled could illustrate the difference between the “average/slack” Muslim Khaled and the “multazima/practicing/strict/sincere” Muslima Iman.

Finally, I think the idea that the child Iman is a better Muslim than her parents is not a picture that Muslims should attempt to promote. At age 19, I knew I was perfect, and over the next 15 years I learned things about myself which have changed that opinion. What often seems to a 19-year old, raised on a few texts and inspiring halaqas but no life experience, as weak compromise, is probably a wise way of handling a difficult situation.

For those of you who have read this book, let me know what you think. I feel like the author is well-intentioned, and I hated to write these negative things about the book.

Recommendation: Mosque by David Macaulay

Mosque by David Macaulay

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/macaulay/author.shtml gives you information about the author.

October • Full-color illustrationsAll Ages • All Grades96 pages • 9 x 12 ISBN 0-618-24034-9 Nonfiction Picture Book

I labelled this entry recommendation rather than review. #1, it's by a mainstream author and mainstream publisher, Houton Mifflin. I enjoyed reading it, and I'm planning to pass it to a friend of mine who likes architecture and works in construction. It's a wonderful gift for anybody with those kinds of interests. I purchased my copy at AlHambra Productions, www.alhambraproductions.com. The link directly to the books is http://www.alhambraproductions.com/shopping/product_details.php?product_id=366&PHPSESSID=ea92981c3291b7dc3f86cee708254271.

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/macaulay/

There's even an NPR interview with the author.
http://www.here-now.org/shows/2003/11/20031105_5.asp
Forward to 6 minutes, 30 seconds.

The Saudi-US Relations Information Service produced a review: http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/newsletter2004/saudi-relations-interest-08-20.html.

For all you people who love gadgets, I came across a cool site which describes how things work:
http://www.uh.edu/engines/jhlbio.htm

Last updated August 18, 2006.