Review: 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime by Tarek Albaba

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I watched 36 Seconds: Portraity of a Hate Crime by Tarek Albaba via the NYC Film Festival, where it is available for streaming through November 26, 2023.

Review: "Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood and the World" by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope

 

Let us respect the colonialist plunderers of old. At least they had to risk "cannibals" and malaria. Today's plundering colonialists risk bad sushi and paper cuts in hotel lobbies in Switzerland and Singapore.

Reading Tom Wright's and Bradley Hope's Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood and the World engendered in me the same nausea and disgust I felt after reading The Secret World of Oil by Ken Silverstein. Every dollar extracted from the poorer nations of the world is a dollar taken away from development efforts. And while Wright's and Hope's narrative takes advantage of the extravagence of Jho Low, the central character, to maintain the reader's interest, it matters not if the people who extract the money spend it on birthday parties, yachts and jewelry or actual productive business enterprises. It's all theft from the world's poor.

The looting of 1MDB is the subject of Billion Dollar Whale. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak oversaw the creation and management of 1MDB, a sovereign national fund, and, through cronies and bankers, pilfered millions (tens, hundreds?) of USD. 

The best passage in the book is towards the end, on p. 371:

It contrasts somewhat with the pass that the authors on p. 229 provide to the bankers and accountants who facilitated and handsomely profited from this plunder:

Western financial institutions, from Goldman to auditors and private banks, had unwittingly helped Low get away with it, impoverishing Malaysia. (emphasis added)

When people talk about corruption, it makes actions like these seem like accidents. Liberals say thing like, "They took advantage of loopholes." and "Regulation must be strengthened." Radicals ask: what if the whole financial system is designed to continuously prevent capital accumulation for development in the Global South?

Listen to the Citations Needed Podcast Episode entitled Western Media’s Narrow, Colonial Definition of "Corruption". This link is free and has show notes, but requires a Patreon User ID. This link doesn't require a login.

P.S. 2023-11-27 - Another important lesson from this colonialst plundering is the centrality of military force in international finance. Can you image what the United States government would do if confidence artists stole money from powerful people in the United States and used it to buy assets in militarily weak countries? The United States would demand transfer of assets and punitive reparations under threat of economic sanctions and military attack. Some libertarian-types imagine capitalism without government coercion. That is clearly a fantasy, as, at the end of the day, capitalists rely on military and police to protect their capital.

Children's Books from Ruqaya's Bookshelf: Is It Time to Demand More from Muslim Children's Literature?

• Basirah the Basketballer says Insha'Allah by Hafsah Dabiri (more links)
• Zaid and the Gigantic Cloud by Helal Musleh
• The Great Hair Exchange by Asmaa Hussein (founder of Ruqaya's Bookshelf)
• Not Too Little to Make a Difference by Lela Usama Goldsmith
• Mr. Gamal's Gratitude Glasses by Asmaa Hussein
• Nusaiba and the 5th Grade Bullies by Asmaa Hussein
• Pepperoni, Pitches (and Other Problems) by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
• Spell It Like S-A-M-A-R by Shifa Saltagi Safadi

Ruqaya's Bookshelf's ordering and fulfillment process worked well. The production value in terms of binding, paper, copyediting, illustrations, colors and cover finish are good. Many of the texts use British orthography, so be prepared to help your young readers with that.

Book Given Away: "Calling for a Blanket Dance" by Oscar Hokeah

 

Would you like my copy of the novel Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah? Book given away. It's a good read.

Every once in a while I give away books here. Make sure you subscribe to receive blog posts as soon as they are published. 

Film: "Bilal: A New Breed of Hero" by Khurram H. Alavi and Ayman Jamal

I watched Bilal: A New Breed of Hero by Khurram H. Alavi and Ayman Jamal on Peacock. It is produced by Barajoun Entertainment. Alexander Kronemer & Michael Wolfe of Unity Productions Foundation are also writers on the film.

While the movie never is explicit that it is a story based on Muslims' common understandings of events surrounding Bilal ibn Rabah رضي الله عنه, a leading companion of Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم, Muslim families familiar with these understandings will recognize elements. For example, in the duel before a battle scene, one of the participants on the side of the "New Movement" carries a sword ending in two points, as is commonly believed about `Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه.

Recommendation: "Savvy Yazzy's African Adventure: The Fulani Culture" by Boubacar Cherif Balde and Illustrated by Irina Conde

 

Savvy Yazzy's African Adventure: The Fulani Culture by Boubacar Cherif Balde and illustrated by Irina Conde is a wonderful way to introduce your young reader to travel, Guinea Conakry,  agriculture and good manners which make people pleasant hosts and guests wherever they live. The illustrations are warm and vibrant. 

Recommendation: Documentary "A Stranger at the Gates," Directed by Josh Seftel

 Check out the documentary A Stranger at the Gate by Josh Seftel.

My only reservation is the pressure Muslims in the United States place on reverts to represent us. May Allah help all those in the documentary to continue on His path, especially Richard McKinney.

Recommendation: "The Blessed Bananas" by Tayyaba Syed and Illustrated by Melani Putri

I realized how much I liked The Blessed Bananas, written by Tayyaba Syed and illustrated by Melani Putri, when I started to describe the story to an elderly relative in Arabic. When I finished my version, I realize it differed in some ways from Tayyaba's text, yet it still worked, both as an entertaining narrative and a lesson in good behavior and morals.

I had recently read Watership Down by Richard Adams. Apart from the dramatic action, the interspersed stories the rabbits told about their ancestor ElAhrairah were entertaining. I had similarly tried to convey them to my relative.

So I feel like a raconteur!

قولوا علي قصاص

So you can use the wonderful illustrations in this book to tell your toddler Tayyaba's version of the story and then your version(s) of the story. Then, when the child grows older, you can repeat the process, and you and the child will be hearing a whole new set of stories.
 

Review: Film "Lamya's Poem" by Alex Kronemer

Lamya's Poem, from Unity Productions Foundation, is an imaginative and moving animated film which can appeal to a variety of audiences. It would be inaccurate to pigeon-hole Lamya's Poem into a category. Is it advocacy on behalf of migrants fleeing war and poverty? Is it therapy for individuals who have experienced trauma? Is it fan-fiction for Jalal al-Din Rumi? Is it a call to Muslims to orient their religious practice in a particular manner?

There are certainly aspects of these themes in the film. Might the film have been simpler to digest had it restricted itself to a more straightforward narrative and less avant-garde visuals? Perhaps, but isn't it time Muslim media productions went beyond macaroni & cheese to a more nuanced and subtle dish?

The film is animated, and it portrays children, but don't make the mistake of thinking it is a children's film. Don't think that you can stick it in your DVD player and have it babysit your 8 year old while you shop on eBay. I'm no expert in what's appropriate for children based on their ages, but I'd definitely sit and discuss this with a child during and after viewing.

My favorite visual effect was the transformation of the Mongol cavalry charge which haunted Jalal al-Din's memories into the police kettle which trapped Lamya and other migrants in an unregulated gathering site in an unnamed European city.

I have requested through my public library books which appeared in the film's credits as sources for the translations of Rumi's poetry.

For many years I've supported Unity Productions Foundation. I urge readers of this blog to watch its productions and support as able. I also gave the film a good rating at IMDB.

I was able to watch this film on Hoopla Digital for free through my public library membership. As the film reminds us, the first word of the revelation is "Read!".

Favorite Quotes from "A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold

A friend recommended to me Aldo Leopold's book A Sand County Almanac. For more information on Aldo Leopold, visit the Aldo Leopold Foundation website.

The book, originally published in 1949, is an excellent exploration of why we need an environmental ethic (Leopold called it "the land ethic.") Here are some passages which struck me. All page numbering comes from the 2013 special commemorative edition.

Recommendation: "In Our Own Hands: Tools for Talking Abolition and Transformative Justice with Little Ones" by Rania El Mugammar

You can talk to your kids about abolition & transformative (I made a free workbook to help you do it!)

Trust they're already getting an education in copaganda & catceral punishment.https://t.co/aeESt11HpJ pic.twitter.com/AUfE4EeMh4

— ر ت ت ت (@raniawrites) November 21, 2022

Here's the link to the page on Rania's website. Rania also uses Twitter and IG.

Recommendation: Documentary "An Act of Worship" by Nausheen Dadabhoy

Nausheen Dadabhoy's documentary An Act of Worship uses Muslim-Americans' home movies, documentary clips of newsworth events, interviews with Muslims and a board where handwritten post-it notes with events which impacted the lives of Muslim-Americans to show the forces Muslim-Americans confront living in the United States. The film is available on PBS's show POV, and it is available for free online through January 16, 2023.

Recommendation: "Minor Detail" by Adania Shibli

 

The incident took place on a morning that would coincide, exactly a quarter of a century later, with the morning of my birth. Of course, this may seem like pure narcissism, the fact that what drew me to the incident, what made it begin haunting me, was the presence of a detail that is really quite minor when compared to the incident's major details, which can only be described as tragic. It's completely plausible, though, for this type of narcissism to exist in someone. It's an innate tendency, one might say, toward a belief in the uniqueness of the self, toward regarding the life one leads so highly that one cannot but love life and everything about it. [p. 58]

In 2021, the One Book, Many Communities project of Librarians and Archivists with Palestine selected Minor Detail by Adania Shibli and translated by Elisabeth Jacquette.

Don't stop talking about Palestine.

Excerpt from "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison for Banned Books Week 2022

"The Great Muslim American Road Trip" Once Again Demonstrates that Unity Productions Foundation Is Worthy of Support

I am a long-time supporter of Unity Productions Foundation. I've blogged about its productions numerous times.

I just finished watching the series The Great Muslim American Road Trip on United States's Public Broadcasting System. The series presented vignettes of Muslim life in North America through the lens of Mona Haydar and Sebastian Robins, a married couple, who traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles on the famed Route 66.

Lessons for Muslims from "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

 

Kristin Kobes Du Mez provides answers in Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation to those who wondered why the vast majority of self-identified Christian evangelicals supported the publicly vulgar & openly sinful Donald Trump for President of the United States in the 2016 election cycle. Historians like Du Mez and Kevin Kruse claim that the answer to this apparent dilemma lies in decades of United States history. While Kevin Kruse emphasized oligarchs' fear of organized labor and social welfare programs and communism, Du Mez emphasized the misogynistic, white supremacist messaging in support of overseas imperialism and domestic patriarchy. I encourage readers to benefit from both books. I encourage Muslim readers to ponder the following questions:

Recommendation: Bahram Rahman, "The Library Bus," Gabrielle Grimard (illustrator)

 

Bahram Rahman's The Library Bus is an excellent means to introduce to Muslim (and non-Muslim!) children the value of reading and the harms gender discrimination causes.

I hope this book is eventually translated into all the languages spoke in Afghanistan and nearby countries and published and distributed widely.

Recommendation: "While I Was Away" by Waka T. Brown

 

While I Was Away by Waka T Brown is a memoir of the author, who was raised in Kansas and had only visited her parents' homeland of Japan for short periods of time. At age 12, her parents sent her to Japan for five months to study in a regular elementary school and live with her maternal grandmother.

I recommend this to any child whose families send them away from their familiar surroundings to another country to bond with relatives or learn a language. In fact, even adult college students going for study abroad programs should read this. In my experience in study abroad programs, a surprising number of students don't perform well because of homesickness and failing to deal properly with the difficult and embarrassing situations Waka encountered.

Recommendation: "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear" by Mosab Abu Toha

 

I'm not going to pretend I have put enough effort into reading Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear, a collection of poems by Mosab Abu Toha (Twitter), to write a review. Professor Mosab is a Palestinian from Gaza. As I've mentioned in another blog entry, poetry uses a language which requires the use of brain regions which for me are quite undeveloped. Nevertheless, I'm recommending this book for a few reasons:

• When I did put effort into thinking about the poems, Mosab's words rewarded me.
• I listened to an interview and found Mosab to be engaging. He has another virtual interview May 14, 2022 in which you can "meet" him.
• The published volume includes photographs with thoughtful captions and a written interview with Mosab.
• I don't want anything to do with any activist in USA, especially Muslim, who thinks supporting Palestinians incurs too high a cost.

Recommendation: "I Am the Night Sky & Other Reflections by Muslim American Youth," by Hena Khan (editor)

 

Hena Khan (Twitter) edited I Am the Night Sky & Other Reflections by Muslim American Youth, an anthology of stories, poems and drawings by Muslim youth in the United States.

Being a grumpy, past middle-aged male, I don't do deep dives into most Young Adult literature, much less literature written by young adults.

Nevertheless, the attempts by the book's authors and artists to express their inner lives as they navigate a difficult time are worth exploring and may benefit others, especially younger readers.

The publisher Shout Mouse Press looks like it has a lot of cool titles.