Documentary on Pakistan Receives Sundance Grant

From the Sundance web site:


These Birds Walk (U.S. / Pakistan)
Directors: Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq
A portrait of contemporary Pakistan is created through the eyes of an ambulance driver and a runaway boy who call a humanitarian and his mission based organization home. 


h/t Ebad-E News

Support The Oregon Islamic Chaplains Organization with a Book Purchase

FAMACO Publishers is supporting The Oregon Islamic Chaplains Organization when you make a purchase of the following books using the promo code Fullway:

• Muslim Child: Understanding Islam Through Stories and Poems
• The History of Islam
• Commanders of the Muslim Army
• A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice
  
• Men & Women Around the Messenger
• Nine to Five Muslims in the Western Workplace
  

The Moor Next Door reviewed A Convergence of Civilizations: The Transformation of Muslim Societies Around the World by Youssef Courbage and Emmanuel Todd. I have not read the book.

Amazing Grace, a children's story against racism

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Don't tell Grace she can't play Peter Pan in the school play!



Inspiring children's story. Good way to get kids thinking about biases based on race and gender.



View all my reviews

Urge Your Local ABC Affliate to Air "Waging Peace"

 From the National Council of Churches News:

Waging Peace will air on ABC at the discretion of local affiliated TV stations. Stations that decide to show the documentary will air it sometime between Oct. 23 and Dec. 18. Churches are encouraged to call their local ABC TV stations to urge them to air the documentary. 

1. See if when or if your affiliate is to air the documentary. 
2. If it isn't, contact your local ABC affiliate and ask it to broadcast the documentary.

WJBF, my hometown affiliate in Augusta, GA, has not yet made the decision to air the documentary. I already made my call! I also Tweeted my message to @WJBF!

Promotion of "I Am Nujood" to Benefit Oregon Islamic Chaplains Organization

Famaco publishers, when you purchase the book I am Nujood: Age 10 and Divorced, will donate some money to the Oregon Islamic Chaplains Organization.

Review: Samarkand by Amin Maalouf

Maalouf, Amin. Samarkand. New York: Interlink Books; 1996. ISBN: 1566561949. Paperback. 301 pp.

This is the first historical fiction novel I've reviewed for this blog. Typically, I'm not thrilled with historical fiction because I had at one time entertained the idea of becoming a professional historian and the historical fiction I had read seemed heavy on the fiction side of the equation.

Oy Vey: New Short Film from Sarah Zerina Usmen

Sarah Zerina Usmen, the director of the film Muslims in Love, has released a new short film entitled Oy Vey.

Three Cups of Tea

Dr. Faroque Khan reviewed Three Cups of Tea in Vol 40, No 1 of the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America.

Obviously there's been some controversy regarding the author Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute.

My initial take is, "Where is 60 Minutes and the rest of the U.S. media regarding the tens of billions disappearing in Iraq and Afghanistan through the US military?" If the Central Asia Institute is corrupt, then should not there be daily stories on how rotten things are with the US occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Lucinda Marshall (@MedusaMusings on Twitter) discussed the situation with FAIR Media Watch. She previously wrote a blog entry entitled A Cup of Rancid Tea, in which she argued that our belief in the effectiveness of the Central Asia Institute was based more on our romanticization of a hero than a genuine belief in human development through education.

Review: Muslim Contributions to World Civilization

Muslim contributions to world civilization. By M Basheer Ahmed; Syed A Ahsani; Dilnawaz A Siddiqui.

Publisher: Herndon, VA : International Institute of Islamic Thought ; USA : Association of Muslim Social Scientists, ©2005.

Reviewed by Faroque Ahmad Khan in the Vol 38, No 2 Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America.

Review: Dying to Win--The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Robert A. Pape

Dying to win : the strategic logic of suicide terrorism. By Robert A. Pape.

Reviewed by Dr. Faroque Ahmad Khan in Vol 37, No 2 of the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America.

Review: The Ornament of The World—How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created A Culture Of Tolerance In Medieval Spain

The Ornament of The World—How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created A Culture Of Tolerance In Medieval Spain by Maria Rosa Menocal. Little Brown; 2002.

Reviewed by Dr. Faroque Ahmad Khan in Vol 43, No 1 of the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America.

YaleNews | In memoriam: María Rosa Menocal - news.yale.edu/2012/10/15/mem… ow.ly/2sLKTx

— Ebadur Rahman (@i_baad) October 19, 2012

Review: Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley

Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 08540. ISBN 978-0-691-14721-5. Published 2010.

Reviewed by Dr. Faroque Ahmad Khan in Vol 43, No 1 of the Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America.

The Taqwacores – Film Review from Media and Islam

The Taqwacores – Film Review from Media and Islam

Review: Carl Sagan: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

My first exposure to Carl Sagan was the catch phrase "billions and billions," which comedians attributed to him. I knew that he had a science show on United States Public Broadcasting. I had some notion that he was not a supporter of religion. But I frankly had no first-hand, in-depth knowledge of a person whom I've come to consider an important North American intellectual of the 20th century CE.

My first real exposure to his work was an abridged audio version of his science fiction novel Contact, which, aside from begin an excellent drama, was an excellent introduction to the science behind the Search for Extra-Terrestial Intelligence (SETI) and how this project, upon finding alien intelligence, might play out in our world, with its contemporary political and religious characteristics. I've acquired the full-length book and look forward to reading it.

I acquired the audio book version of The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. After listening to it, I got a paperback version from a local library to help me complete this review.

Updated Izzeldin Abuelaish Book Tour Schedule

I've previously reviewed Dr. Izzeldin's book and provided a tour schedule. Here is the tour schedule as of February 23, 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC

Monday, February 28, 2011

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue

600 I Street, NW

7:00 p.m.

Books will be sold by Politics and Prose

Read on MMW - Rukhsana Khan: A Wonderful Children’s Author

Read on Muslimah Media Watch Rukhsana Khan: A Wonderful Children’s Author.

Review: Al-Khidr: The Green One: Adult Book in Child's Body

Al-Khidr: The Green One
Story adapted by Hugh Talat Halman
Illustrations by `Abdallah Lipton

Technically, this book is very well done. No grammatical and spelling errors plague the text. The binding and paper are of high quality. The illustrations are amazing.

Standing in Solidarity - Video Message from New York City to Egypt

Another video from Hena Ashraf:


Standing in Solidarity from Hena Ashraf on Vimeo.

Review: Outcasts United by Warren St. John

Outcasts united : a refugee soccer team, an American town by Warren St. John
ISBN 0385522037, 288 pages

Warren St. John is a New York Times reporter, and I first heard about his work through an article the NYT published January 21, 2007 describing problems the city of Clarkston, GA was having accommodating The Fugees, teams of refugee soccer players coached by Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian immigrant.