4 Attacks Against Park51 and Muslims and My Response

A friend wrote a blog entry in support of the Park51 project. Someone (henceforth referred to as “the author”) responded to him at another account writing:

What people don't understand about muslims is that they traditionally build a mosque at the site they attacked to symbolize ... the "victory." What happened at Ground Zero should not be considered a victory in the United States. I don't like to use absolutes, so I'm not going to lump all Muslims together, but in general, the Muslim "religion" makes it okay to kill anyone opposed to their beliefs, and they don't have to keep their word with "infidels" (aka, those who are not muslim). This mosque, while disapproved of by approximately 70% of Americans, is a sad, sad thing - should it come to fruition.

TIME Survey Reveals that Opposition to Park51 Based Largely on Islamophobia

My hometown newspaper, The Augusta Chronicle, published an editorial which claimed that opposition to the Park51 project was not based on prejudice against Muslims.

The results from the TIME survey to which this editorial refers and which reports widespread opposition to the Park51 community center belies the claim that fear of Muslims/prejudice is not a major motivation behind this opposition.

Beyond Bullets: Once I put down the gun and picked up a camera, everything changed

Hena Ashraf participated in the production of Beyond Bullets, a short film portraying a young man's attempt to avoid gun violence in New York, New York.

I previously reviewed a film by Hena Ashraf entitled Uzair.

Review of The War Within Our Hearts

Muslimah Media Watch reviewed Habeeb Quadri and Sa’ad Quadri’s book The War Within our Hearts.

Review: Forty Days and Forty Nights in Yemen

Al-Masry al-Youm reviewed the book Forty Days and Forty Nights--In Yemen.

Art Exhibit in Washington, D.C., July 16-September 10, 2010

the light thread, the dark thread

at The Jerusalem Fund Gallery, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW / Washington DC 20037 / 202-338-1958/Metro: Foggy Bottom

paintings by Anna Kipervaser

July 16 - September 10, 2010

opening reception to meet the artist*, Friday, July 16,  6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam by Akbar Ahmed

Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam by Akbar Ahmed

Professor Akbar Ahmed has also produced a documentary film based on the research that went into this book.

Rafia Zakaria wrote a review of this book which was reproduced at altmuslim.com.

I have not yet read the book.

With God on Our Side

2013-Apr-9 Update: The film is now available on demand at Vimeo.

A discussion of this documentary film from Christianity Today.

I purchased my copy from Amazon.com.

This movie is accessible to a general audience in that it does not delve too deeply into Christian doctrine. It exposes the viewer to the gross indifference of United States Christian Zionists to justice for non-Jews in Palestine and to the oppression the state of Israel inflicts on non-Jews in Palestine.

Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa

The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa
Sasha Polakow-Suransky
Hardcover:  336 pages, Pantheon; 1 edition (May 25, 2010) 

Yousef Munayyer published a review at The Palestine Center.

Onward, Christian Zionists

Onward, Christian Zionists is a short-film production by Alternate Focus. It does not go into as much depth as Stephen Sizer's Christian Zionists: On the Road to Armageddon, but that may make it more accessible to audiences unfamiliar with Christian doctrines and texts.

A Collection of Eid Stories adapted by Fawzia Gilani-Williams and Shazia Yusufali

A Collection of Eid Stories
Adapted by Fawzia Gilani-Williams with original artwork by Shazia Yusufali
Miskhat Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9763537-4-4
47 pp, 8.5" x 11", color illustrations

I've previously in this blog reviewed books by Fawzi Gilani-Williams (1, 2, 3), and I like this one the best.

The stories are engaging, and the illustrations are colorful and attractive. I also believe that these stories could be read aloud to children. Characters in the stories learn and change, which is what all of us should be doing, adult and child.

p.s. Check out my criteria for evaluating Muslim children's media.

To Kill an Elephant-Documentary Film on Gaza

The Spanish documentary on Gaza To Shoot an Elephant, named after George Orwell's famous essay Shooting an Elephant, is available to view online.

Dr. Maher Hathout Presentation of Quranic Passages Related to Peace and War

The Muslim Public Affairs Council recorded Dr. Maher Hathout's presentation on passages of war and peace on November 22, 2009. A power point presentation is available.

Review: The Crusades, Christianity and Islam by Jonathan Riley-Smith

The Crusades, Christianity and Islam by Jonathan Riley-Smith

Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith is the author of scores of material regarding the Crusades.

Review: Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities

Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities
Edited by Maha B. Alkhateeb and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri
ISBN-10: 0979138906
Peaceful Families Project www.peacefulfamilies.org

This book is a collection of essays and documents related to domestic violence among Muslims, primarily in North America.

It's not an easy read, but it is important. I particularly liked Zainab Alwani's The Qur'anic Model for Harmony in Family Relations and Imam Mohamed Magid's Affecting Change as an Imam. There are also accounts from survivors of domestic violence.

I acquired my copy from the Peaceful Families Project. It included a video which was used in a domestic violence awareness program at my local masjid.

Bones, Season 5, Episode 4-Good Portrayal of Muslim in Workforce

I had reviewed quite negatively the 2nd episode of Bones in 2005, but I actually have some good things to say about the latest episode, The Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Season 5, Episode 4. Actor Pej Vehdat plays the minor character Arastoo Vaziri, a lab intern at the Smithsonian. Prior to this episode, his cheesy foreign accent and the writing which constantly highlighted his being Muslim irritated me.

Law & Order Episode "Great Satan"

National Broadcasting Company's long-running series Law & Order's episode "Great Satan" (Season 20, Episode 3) portrays the use of an informant to convict a group of New York City Muslims for a terrorist plot against a synagogue.

My Modern Interpretation of John Donne's Sonnet 14-Batter My Heart

Review: Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance by George Saliba

Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance by George Saliba.
MIT Press: Cambridge, MA and London, UK; 2007.
ISBN: 0-262-19557-7. Hardcover, 315 pages with endnotes, a bibliography and a subject index.

This monograph is a series of lectures which challenge the dominant narrative of the history of science culminating in the European Renaissance. The dominant narrative is that Muslim rulers in the early Abbasid period, under the influence of the Mu'tazila theological school (aka rationalists), sponsored a translation of Persian, Indian and Greek scientific and philosophical texts. When the ahl al-hadith theologians (aka irrationalists), who in large part adopted the Asha`ari theology and who are most identified later with Imam al-Ghazali, persuaded later Abbasi rulers to cease sponsoring rationalist theology, scientific production began to decline. Finally, the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258 CE combined with religious hostility to science to cement cessation of scientific thought and production throughout Muslim lands. In key contact points, such as Sicily and al-Andalus, Europeans were able to reacquire the Greek scientific and philosophical legacy which had been faithfully transmitted by Muslims, and these Europeans later used this legacy to develop the Renaissance. In short, Muslims were a storage facility for Europeans' intellectual property, supplemented with unclaimed items left by the ancient Indians and Persians, until the Europeans could complete renovations.

Houston, TX-Dr. Ezzat's Paintings on Display Until Sept 30

Clear Lake City-County Freeman Public Library in Houston, TX is hosting a display of Dr. Ezzat Abouleish's paintings until September 30. Here is a note I received from him:

The opening ceremony went very well, Alhamd LELLAH, on Monday 8.3.2009. The show has been well received by Moslems and non-Moslems alike. The high spirituality and beauty of Islamic art was astonishing to the show visitors and expressed in their written comments. If you have not seen the exhibit yet, I recommend to visit and to take along the family. I feel our children need it more than us. The venue is Freeman Library of Clear Lake, 16616 Diane Lane (off Bay Area Blvd), Houston Texas, 77062. Tel. 281 488 1906. The display will continue to Sept. 30Th, but the sooner the better.