Monday, March 24, 2014

Minority Report Law? Cheney’s 1% Preemptive Doctrine of Prosecution and the Case of Ziyad Yaghi

Satyagraha911.org conducted an interview about the case of Ziyad Yaghi, a Muslim US citizen victim of the "War on Terror." The interview covers Ziyad's background, trial and imprisonment. Laila Yaghi, Ziyad's mother, Dr. Mel Underbakke of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms and journalist Siraj Davis participate in the interview.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qur'an

In the Winter 2013 issue of Islamic Sciences was a "Project Brief" advertising the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qur'an. Volume 1 is available, and Volume 2 should become available in March 2014. Seven volumes are planned.

I have not examined it.

"A World Not Ours" by Mahdi Fleifel to Air on PBS's POV on August 18, 2014

August 18 - "A World Not Ours" by Mahdi Fleifel
A World Not Ours is a passionate, bittersweet account of one family's multi-generational experience living as permanent refugees. Now a Danish resident, director Mahdi Fleifel grew up in the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon, established in 1948 as a temporary refuge for exiled Palestinians. Today, the camp houses 70,000 people and is the hometown of generations of Palestinians. The filmmaker's childhood memories are surprisingly warm and humorous, a testament to the resilience of the community. Yet his yearly visits reveal the increasing desperation of family and friends who remain trapped in psychological as well as political limbo.

You can also read (in Arabic) a review by Mahmuud Umar in Al-Mudun dated February 25, 2014.

Sometimes a PBS station chooses not to air a nationally syndicated episode, so make sure you look for this and ask your station to air it if it is not on its schedule.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Al-Maghrib Institute Needs to Distance Itself From This Misogynist

This is Al-Maghrib Institute's website.

Hind Makki also wrote a piece on Muslim male allies. Sana Saeed wrote a piece about Muslims who criticize feminism.

Update 2014-Mar-15: Damsels in distress, the chivalrous caliph, and the misogynistic scholar: a modern fairy tale

To-Read: Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity by Shabana Mir

Updated August 4, 2014: 52-minute interview with author

Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity
Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity by Shabana Mir

Does sublimal Twitter marketing work? Maybe :-) You can also read a review at The Washington Post of March 7, 2014 and altmuslimah.com of March 12, 2014.

Here's the book's page at the publisher's website. Professor Shabana blogs and tweets. I have not read the book.

Update March 13, 2014.

To-Read: Shattered Hopes: Obama's Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace by Josh Ruebner

Josh Ruebner is on a book tour promoting Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace. If you are near any of the stops, attend. If there's no stop near you, organize one! Here are some video recordings of Mr. Ruebner.

On May 23, 2014, an Augusta, GA peace group helped arrange for Josh Ruebner to speak, and here is a recording.

"... a fundamental principle of their work: the presumption of guilt."

One of my favorite novels from college was Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. I'm currently listening to Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Twitter) (Facebook). The following quotes reminded me of the War on Terror materials I've been reading & watching and reviewing on this blog.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Review: Barzan

The documentary film Barzan's website has the trailer and links to interviews with its creators. I watched it in light of my national security and immigrant rights concerns. I was fortunate enough to have Alex Stonehill (Director/Cinematographer), Bradley Hutchinson (Director/Editor) and Sarah Stuteville (Writer/Reporter) in the room for a Q&A after the screening.

Film: Outlawed in Pakistan by Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann

This film aired as an episode in PBS's Frontline program on May 28, 2013. Visit its website for the entire film and features. Azra at Muslima Media Watch wrote an excellent review on September 10, 2013. Obviously, the film makes obvious the wretched state of police, criminal justice and judicial proceedings in Pakistan. People who claim to be working to reform their governments should prioritize professionalization of the police to better investigate rape.

Another important lesson for Muslims in the United States is the value of public television and radio, despite the limitations (and here) of PBS and NPR.

Filmaker Habiba Nosheen has a website, and she is on Twitter. The second filmmaker, Hilke Schellmann, is also on Twitter.

P.S. In 2008 on this blog I reviewed the film Shame by Mohammed Ali Naqvi about the rape of Mukhtar Mai.

Review: "Fire in the Unnameable Country" by Ghalib Islam

Fire in the Unnameable Country
Fire in the Unnameable Country by Ghalib Islam

There are two reviews out for this book. One is by Alex Good in The Toronto Star of March 11, 2014. The other is by Emily Keeler in the March 2014 edition of The Walrus.

Here's Penguin's page on the book. Ghalib lives in Canada. I have not read the book.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Dead Man Tell No Tales: Susan Zalkind's Story on Ibragim Todashev


This American Life is one of my favorite National Public Radio programs. This episode focuses in another of the glorious episodes in the United States's War on Terror, about which this blog has a series of entries.
Updated March 24, 2013.