Interview with Filmmaker Iman Zawahry

Updated November 13, 2015 - Ask NBC to hire Iman Zawahry to direct an episode of Master of None.

My promised interview with filmmaker Iman Zawahry, director of the short films Tough Crowd and UnderCover, is now available!

Ayman Fadel · 2012 Interview with Iman Zawahry

The best way to keep up with Iman is through her Facebook page.

Review: Muslims in America: Seven Centuries of History (1312-1998) by Amir Nashid Ali Muhammad

Amir Nashid Ali Muhammad. Muslims In America: Seven Centuries Of History, 1312 1998: Collections And Stories Of American Muslims Beltsville, Maryland: Amana Publications; 1998. 64 pp. Paperback.

The latest version of this book is 84 pages and published in 2001, but I have not read it.

Century by century, the author mentions names of Muslims in that part of the Americas which became the United States. It's a great antidote to the "Columbus" phenomenon of some immigrant Muslims who believe that they brought Islam to the United States when they landed at JFK. It's also a great antidote to the Islamophobes who think that Muslims should be expelled from the United States as if they were last week's cold virus.

The book's bibliography allows the reader to follow up on the tips the author brings to the reader. I hope to learn more about Amir:

In April 1789, an advertisement seeking the capture of a man named Armer (Amir) appeared in the Savannah Georgia Gazette. Armer was about twenty years old when he ran away from the plantation of Thomas Grave in Richmond County, Georgia.  (p. 14)

Richmond County is about 4 miles from my house.

I believe the author is involved with the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson, Mississippi.

Film Review: Solar Mamas

Check out Woodturtle's review of the film Solar Mamas. It was broadcast on PBS's Independent Lens.

I have not seen the movie.

Interview with Nathan Lean, Author of Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims

Nathan Lean of Aslan Media has written The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims.



Read this interview in the Muscat Daily by Joseph Richard Preville. H/t CAIR.

The Islamophobia Industrymuscatdaily.com/Archive/Opinio… fb.me/1ofeXo3zw
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) November 24, 2012

I have not read the book.

Support Hena Ashraf's New Film Small Delights

"Small Delights is a short fiction film about Aziza, who begins to understand that her love of music makes her quite different from those around her." Hena Ashraf, the director, is using Indiegogo to raise funds to support the project. Like the project on Facebook.



I've published several posts related to Hena Ashraf's work in the past.

Mālik and Medina: Islamic Reasoning in the Formative Period by Umar F. Abd-Allah Wymann-Landgraf

Mālik and Medina | BRILL: brill.com/malik-and-medi… #islamiclaw
— Mohammad Fadel (@Shanfaraa) November 21, 2012

Umar F. Abd-Allah Wymann-Landgraf is on the Board of Directors of Nawawi Foundation.

Support Gareth Porter & Just World Books Refute Fearmongering About Iran

Just World Books is asking people to pledge money to support a book project concerning the so-called threat posed by Iran's "nuclear program." It has asked historian and investigative journalist Dr. Gareth Porter to write the book.



Please pledge money so that this important project can see the light of day!

P.S. I just added Just World Books's RSS Feed to its podcasts to my iTunes.

Review: The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children

Katherine Stewart. The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children New York: Public Affairs; 2012. 290 pp. Subject index.

Katherine Stewart claims that Christian Nationalist groups have used misguided court decisions which transformed religious practice into protected speech, culminating in the 2001 Good News Club v. Milford Central, to use public schools for evangelism.

To read: Islam and the Fate of Others: The Salvation Question by Mohammad Hassan Khalil

h/t Ebad-e News

SciFi Writing from Tunisia & UAE

Tunisian Hedi Thabet and Science Fiction Writing: An Article Written by Kamel Riahi and Translated by Ali Znaidi

Why Arab Readers Need Sci Fi: 5 Questions with SF Author Noura Noman

T.J. Al-Alwani Library in Herndon, VA

The T.J. Al-Alwani Library is a department of the International Institute of Islamic Thought. It is now open for use for researchers, students, academics and the public. Read more

Al-Mutannabi Street Coalition Deserves Your Support

There's a meaningful project I recommend that you support called al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition.

Film: Bilal's Stand

I really thought I had reviewed Bilal's Stand last year, but I see that I never actually posted it. I'm not going to try another review. Just see it. It's a good movie.

Upcoming Interview with Filmmaker Iman Zawahry

Iman Zawahry has directed the short films Tough Crowd and UnderCover. She's also available on Facebook. And, I'm hopeful that I will be able to conduct an interview with her! Submit any questions you want me to ask.

Update: Here's the interview.