Monday, November 08, 2021

Review: "The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf" by Mohja Kahf

When I first started this blog, Mohja Kahf's The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf was the kind of book I imagined this blog would focus on. And I had my copy for some time, but, along with thousands of other books on my shelves & my virtual to-read lists, I had not gotten around to reading it. A friend told me he had assigned it to students in his class, and he asked me to participate. Assuming the mantle of "native informant" (ha!), I sped through the book and am now writing as a way to organize my thoughts for the class.

Khadra Shamy, the protagonist, is the daughter of Wajdy & Ebtehaj, Syrian immigrants who eventually move to a town south of Indianapolis, Indiana to work at the Dawah Center. There, they and their co-workers work to realize the ideal Muslim community and raise their children to carry on that legacy after them. Khadra suffers some abuse from prejudiced classmates at the public school and neighbors in the apartment complex, but, for the most part, she grows into the young woman which the leaders of the Dawa Center envisioned: She prays, reads Quran, supports causes of Muslims suffering around the world and scrupulously upholds the interpersonal morals and gender roles of the community.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Recommendation: "New Kid" by Jerry Craft

Whenever white racist fascists object to a book, I immediately move it to the top of the my to-read list.

NBC News on October 6, 2021 (archived) reported that:

A school district near Houston canceled the appearance of an award-winning children's illustrator and author, whose books tell stories about Black children struggling to fit into unfamiliar settings, amid claims of critical race theory.

The writer, Jerry Craft, had been set to appear virtually Monday before students and staff members at Roosevelt Alexander Elementary School until the Katy Independent School District pulled the plug after some parents objected.

Saturday, September 04, 2021

Barefoot Gen Volume One A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa

Keiji Nakazawa's semi-autobiographical Japanese comic book series Hadashi no Gen has been translated as Barefoot Gen in a 10-volume series. I read Volume 1, and I have immediately requested Volume 2 from my public library. 

Sometimes it's hard for me to sit in a social gathering listening to "normal" conversation when I think that humans have accumulated enough nuclear weapons to destroy themselves hundreds of times over. I hope I never lose that anxiety, and I don't understand people who are blasé about how close we are to destruction at our own hands.

Thursday, September 02, 2021

Review: Spencer Ackerman - "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump"

 

Spencer Ackerman's Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump aims to convince liberals to stop their support of the Global War on Terror in all its forms. The premise of the Global War on Terror is that the proper response to attacks against the United States, its allies and its interests is escalation of violence and tightening of control. This inevitably leads to the strengthening of illiberal elements within the United States, whether they be the national security state or everyday believers in American Exceptionalism who, despondent at the terrible cost of the national security state and lack of results it produces, seek to use its tactics against ever-widening circles of internal enemies, including United States Muslims, racial and ethnic minorities, migrants and liberals.

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Thoughts on Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang's "Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance between Astrophysics and the Military"

 

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang have written a very depressing book on how warfare and states' pursuit of dominance have become increasingly intertwined with scientific pursuits. Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance between Astrophysics and the Military covers developments from early modern Europe to our time. While the book is informative and well-organized, it fails to answer or even address the biggest question facing the scientific enterprise for which Dr. Tyson has become its most public advocate: why is humanity not acting on the knowledge the scientific enterprise has produced in order to create a sustainable, just human society?

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Mona Eltahawy Review of Season 1 of "We Are Lady Parts"

Season 2 is scheduled to be released beginning May 30, 2024scheduled to be released beginning May 30, 2024 on Peacock.

I had earlier recommended Hind Makki's review of Season 1 of the TV show We Are Lady Parts. A month before, Mona Eltahawy published her reasons why the show is outstanding:

To have had a show like We Are Lady Parts while I was in my 20s and fighting off Niqabis on the Metro, the Brigade of Hijabis-Aren’t-Supposed-To-Watch-Wild-At-Heart, and the You’re-Making-Us-Look-Bad so-called friends, would have freed up so much of my cosmic energy, I might have truly taken over the world. -- read more --


Sunday, July 11, 2021

Are Muslims Going to Join Calls for Censorship in Public School Libraries? I Hope Not


In Columbia County, Georgia, where I live, the daily newspaper in neighboring Augusta, Georgia reported that a resident has been advocating that the Board of Education remove Drama by Raina Telgemeier from its middle school libraries and update its media policy to inform parents that "Media Centers and Teacher Libraries may provide material containing sensitive topics such as sexuality, homosexuality, and/or transgender ideology."

I have previously reported on my county's censorship of reading materials in public schools (more here). I oppose discrimination against LGBTQ people and don't believe the party line in our religion about a lot matters related to sexuality. I'm also opposed to the people who typically advocate for imposing morality. Nevertheless, before spouting off, I bought and read the book.

Most of the book is about drama programs in school, i.e. putting on plays. The characters work hard, do varied tasks and cooperation and teamwork are essential. I had for some reason disliked the drama students in high school. Reading this made me regret my prejudices and wish I'd at least given it a shot.

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

Hind Makki Reviews Nida Manzoor's "We Are Lady Parts" on PeacockTV

I enjoyed Nida Manzoor's We Are Lady Parts on Peacock TV, but I didn't have the words to explain to readers of this blog why I did. Thankfully, Hind Makki did find the words!

If you mute the electric guitar, most of us will recognize these women from our own lives. But why would you want to lower the volume?
--- read more ---

Thursday, June 24, 2021

"Reading Challenge: Centering Muslim Characters" - A Resource Produced by Rabia Khokhar

Rabia Khokhar (Twitter) is a Teacher and Education and Equity Consultant. Check out the resource she produced entitled Reading Challenger: Centering Muslim Characters.

I read about this from Jeremiah Rodriguez's June 21, 2021 article at CTV News.

I have not read any of the books in Rabia's list.


Friday, June 18, 2021

Sympathy and Get Well Soon Cards Designed for Muslims

I'm not sure how, but I've accumulated greeting cards over the years. I generally keep them in a box, and, when I have an occasion to send one, I sift through the box looking for the appropriate card.

After sending a condolences card to a friend on the occasion of the death of his father, I realized I had a surplus of birthday greeting cards and no sympathy and few "Get Well Soon" cards. So I Googled "buy sympathy cards online muslim," skipped Hallmark and found myself in Etsy. After figuring that out, I have produced two public lists, one for Sympathy cards and the other for Get Well Soon cards which met my Muslim aesthetics. There is some overlap between the two lists.

I've also ordered from As the Heart Heals.

So, as I receive them, in sha Allah I'll update this to confirm that the vendors were legit. Also, the Etsy vendors were mostly from Canada and the United Kingdom. Do USA vendors use another platform?

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Free eBook: "An Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defense Force Made a Nation" by Haim Bresheeth-Zabner

Free eBook - "Ten Myths About Israel" by Ilan Pappe

Author Olivia Abtahi Discusses Her YA Novel "Perfectly Parvin"


Author Olivia Abtahi discussed her Young Adult novel Perfectly Parvin, Thursday, May 27, 2021,  with Professor Neda Maghbouleh 

Monday, May 17, 2021

Stream Palestinian Filmmaker Elia Suleiman's Films for Free May 21-28

The streaming is through the Eventive platform. Register for the films and Elia Suleiman's talk here.

Saturday, May 08, 2021

Frantz Fanon | Philosopher of the Month Collection | May 2021

Thursday, May 06, 2021

Review: "When Stars Are Scattered" by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

 

My local independent bookstore & public university featured When Stars Are Scattered authors Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed in a series of author events.

Omar Mohamed related to Ms. Jamieson his experiences and thoughts about his life in the Dadaab Refugee Complex in Kenya. Ms. Jamieson drew sketches and added text in panels, and Iman Geddy added color.

The result is an engaging tale which communicates to readers some aspects of life as refugees. This is particularly important for people in the United States, where refugees are often portrayed as dangerous.

Ms. Jamieson's website has a resource list to learn more about Dadaab's inhabitants.

Omar Mohamed asks that people support his charity, Refugee Strong.

The political radical in me wishes the book dealt with why the civil war in Somalia has continued for so many decades.

I have my prejudices about graphic novels. Are they just a way for illiterate people to say they read books? But then, if the purpose of books is communication, may not images be as or more effective than prose?

Perhaps my prejudice is the result of my perceived inability to draw. With Ms. Jamieson's remote instruction during the Zoom call, I was able to sketch a child running.

I have been supporting American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa.

Here is the book's trailer:

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Recommendation: "The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap" by Mehrsa Baradaran

 

I remember adding Mehrsa Baradaran's book The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap to my reading list after watching the movie The Banker on Apple TV+, which mentioned the book in the credits.*

This book flushes out in great detail arguments you should have ready when your anti-black family members, friends and acquaintances casually say things like, "This is a good neighborhood, there are no blacks here," or "We came here with nothing, now look at how well we're doing. If blacks are poor, it must be their fault."

Baradaran examines different periods of USA history after the end of its civil war and abolition of slavery.** In each period, compensation to the enslaved peoples and their descendants is rejected in favor of half-measures which cost the state nothing and produce only symbolic and psychological benefits. And "half-measures" is hardly the right word in most instances. We need phrases such as quarter, eighth, one-sixteenth measures.