Gratuitous Stoning in 2006 Remake of "Murder on the Orient Express"

I watched the 2006 film Murder on the Orient Express, which of course has been done before and is based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same title.

Fawzia Gilani's Cinderella: An Islamic Tale

Cinderella: An Islamic Tale by Fawzia Gilani, illustrated by Shireen Adams, is an excellent retelling of the Cinderella children's tale. It is available for purchase at Kube Publishing.

A Responsible End?: The United States and the Iraqi Transition, 2005-2010 by Reidar Visser

A Responsible End?: The United States and the Iraqi Transition, 2005-2010
Author: Reidar Visser

Division Accomplished
By Daniel Luban

WASHINGTON, Dec 20, 2010 (IPS) - Few in Washington want to talk much about Iraq these days.

Eager to avoid refighting the intense political battles over Iraq during the George W. Bush administration, both Democrats and Republicans seem to have tacitly agreed on a set of lowest-common-denominator premises: the initial decision to invade may have been questionable, but the 2007 surge worked, and Iraq is now on a slow-but-sure path to recovery. 

Read more ...

Book Tour Dates for Izzeldin Abueleish, Jan-Mar, 2011

Note: Updated tour dates as of 2/23/2011
Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish

I SHALL NOT HATE

AUTHOR APPEARANCES

(as of Nov 24)

Review: Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller

Matthew Cassale's Review of Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller is available at Electronic Intifada.


I have not read this book.

New Videos from Hena Ashraf

More videos from Hena Ashraf, who has been featured on this blog.

Reader: The Muslim Family Reader: A Builder of the Islamic Personality Vol II

I found The Muslim Family Reader: A Builder of the Islamic Personality (Vol II) in a box of discarded books from a local masjid. The authors, Dr. Saidi J. El-Liwaru and Maisha Zoja El-Liwaru compiled 25 one - three page stories which "should be read aloud by a family member in the presence of the rest of the family." (preface)

More on Georgia Private Schools Supported by State Income Tax Credit Diversion

I've previously discussed the issue of Georgia state income tax diversion to private schools on this blog (and here). I've created a new blog for issues not related to Muslim media, and I'm moving this discussion there.

Islam and Science Fiction Blog

Readers of this blog may be interested in the Islam and Science Fiction Blog. It has published interviews with authors, and the site has links to the works of Muslim science fiction authors.

Review: I Shall not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish

I finished I Shall not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish in one evening.

As biography of a person involved in a conflict, it is not heavy on historical details and analysis. But its moral challenge is in the title. "I shall not hate." Add to that, "I shall be thankful. I shall continue working. I shall hope. I shall treat the survivors. I shall act for justice."

Review: We Are All Moors by Anouar Majid

We Are All Moors: Ending Centuries of Crusades against Muslims and Other Minorities by Anouar Majid is a must-read for all immigrants and civil rights activists in Europe and North America.

Review: Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections by Kecia Ali

Update 2016-06-12.

@aymanfadel Thank you. FYI, there's a new edition of the book, with a substantial update to the chapter on same-sex intimacy & trans issues.

— Kecia Ali (@kecia_ali) June 12, 2016

Update 2015-November-13. A new edition is coming out. This review is based on the first edition.

Time to pre-order expanded edition of Sexual Ethics & Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith and Jurisprud... https://t.co/SJr3F8tHZ8

— Kecia Ali (@kecia_ali) October 27, 2015

I finally read Dr. Kecia Ali's (Twitter) anticipated book Sexual Ethics & Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith and Jurisprudence four years after its publication. I'm only reading on vacation these days. Ahough this book has long been on my to-read list, the suicide of Tyler Clementi moved it up to the top. I finished this in a day of travel.

Profile of Indian Author Andaleeb Wajid

Aya Khalil wrote a profile of Andaleeb Wajid, the author of Kite Strings and the forthcoming Blinkers Off.

Common Ground Campaign

In 2008 I wrote an entry promoting the film Divided We Fall. In Augusta, GA, we were fortunate enough to have held a screening, and here are some pictures.

Valarie Kaur, the film's producer, has recently launched a new website.

In addition, her organization has launched a new campaign called Common Ground, which encourages cooperation among all people, regardless of religious affiliation.

A Common Word Statement

On October 13^th 2006, one month to the day after Pope Benedict XVI’s Regensburg address of September 13^th 2006, 38 Islamic authorities and scholars from around the world, representing all denominations and schools of thought, joined together to deliver an answer to the Pope in the spirit of open intellectual exchange and mutual understanding. In their Open Letter to the Pope, for the first time in recent history, Muslim scholars from every branch of Islam spoke with one voice about the true teachings of Islam. 

The A Common Word initiative is a good statement of Muslim belief. It is expressed in two commandments, love of God and love of neighbor.

Calligraphy Exhibit in Atlanta, Georgia, USA Through Dec 5, 2010

The Carlos Museum of Art at Emory University in Atlanta, GA has an exhibit on calligraphy and the Qur'an running through December 5, 2010.

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.