Review: The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson

The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson. I've previously reviewed his books The Future of Life and Anthill.

The bulk of this book describes the process by which Homo sapiens' ancestors became eusocial and how that led to multilevel selection. When a species becomes eusocial, group selection becomes an important element in the species' evolution.

For criticism of the concept of group evolution, read blog entry 1 and blog entry 2 from Jerry Coyne, the author of Why Evolution is True, a book I have in my possession and intend to read and review. I heard Dr. Coyne give a lecture in a suburb of Augusta, GA on February 4, 2013.

Being an expert in insects, the typical example of eusociality, E.O. Wilson shifts back and forth between describing the development of eusociality in ants and eusociality in anthropods.

The important thing for me, and for most readers of this blog, is Professor Wilson's final chapters where he presents conclusions on how this understanding of humanity should impact our religious and moral beliefs and ethical practices.

Review: Anthill by E.O. Wilson

Anthill by E.O. Wilson. I've previously reviewed his book The Future of Life.


This fiction book presents themes Professor Wilson has emphasized in his nonfiction books. The most important theme is the necessity of creative synthesis of capitalism and environmental protection. The lead character, Raphael Cody, learns that a beloved southern Alabama old wood forest surrounding a lake will be threatened by Mobile's expansion. In fact, his blue-blood maternal uncle is among the business elite advocating this development. Raphael leaves the study of the biosphere to complete a law degree at Harvard. Upon graduation, he returns and works as the legal counsel for the developer who purchased the property and who has previously converted woodland and wetlands to suburban Mobile sprawl. As legal counsel, he is able to develop a proposal which to a large extent preserved the quality of the land while advancing his employer's bottom line.

Review: Minaret by Leila Aboulela

Professor Heather Abdelnur reviewed Minaret by Leila Aboulela.

As the movement goes from late teen’s mini-skirt wearing, callous, and shallow rich girl, to an increasingly religious and conservative working class woman, Aboulela could have made the transformation too fast, too unbelievable, or too cliche.  Instead, the reader believes the changes, comes to understand the transformation of character, and, while wishing for a happy ending that might not come, we do not pity Najwa nor exhault her.  ... read more ...

Dr. Abdelnur has reviewed other books.

Review: Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Z. Janmohamed

Professor Heather Abdelnur reviewed Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Z. Janmohamed.

What a fun, refreshing, and good-natured presentation of the process and problems facing Western-raised Muslim women on the market for marriage! ... read more ...

Dr. Abdelnur has reviewed other books.

Review: The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson

Professor Heather Abdelnur reviewed The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson. I have not yet read it.

After reading it, I’m almost angry.  How could I not have heard of Willow Wilson before?  How had I missed this book? ... read more ...

Ask Alison's Science Books for Everyone

Science educator and blogger Alison Monahan answers the question:

Would you put together a recommended reading list for a world citizen in 2013 to be in a good position to judge political and moral claims in the light of science today? 

Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World

 Poets House and City Lore held Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World in 2011. 

You can read essays written on the occasion of the conference (PDF).

iPad App: Care of Muslim Patients: A Practical Guide

Aasim I Padela at the University of Chicago reviewed the iPad and iPhone app Care of Muslim Patients: A Practical Guide in Volume 381, Issue 9865 of The Lancet.

The application in the Apple store is free, but it only provides a portion of the content. The full content is available for 9.99 USD.

Visual Art of Dr. Ezzat Abouleish

Dr. Faroque Ahmad Khan reviewed Dr. Ezzat Abouleish's books Islam in the Eyes of an Artist and Allah and the 99 Names of God. Both books are available from the author.

Dr. Ezzat is a pioneer of obstetric anesthesia.

To-Read: Unhitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens by Richard Seymour

After reading a review, I'm interested in reading Unhitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens by Richard Seymour.
 

h/t Glenn Greenwald

InTheseTimes reviews the new book dismantling Hitchens hagiography: "Unhitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens"is.gd/2Dc7Um
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 28, 2013

Ebad's Reading List

Ebad posted online a document related to the completion of his B.A. which includes many quality books. So have a look!

I've reviewed two of those books:
Jackson, Sherman A. Islam and the Blackamerican: Looking toward the Third Resurrection.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. 

Marable, Manning. Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. New York: Viking, 2011

Support "The Tiger Hunter" by Lena Khan

I supported a project on Kickstarter. It's a film by Lena Khan (website) entitled The Tiger Hunter (Facebook page). Lena is on Facebook and Twitter. Spread the word!
Hello!

Sohaib Sultan's List of 10 Books for English-Speaking Muslims

Imam Suhaib Sultan recommends 10 books for English-speaking Muslims.

Review: Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq by Michael Scheuer

Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq by Michael Scheuer (Twitter)


As I was listening to this abridged book on CD, I pictured its author Michael Scheuer as a combination of Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now and Cersei in Game of Thrones. His commitment to no principle other than the cohesiveness of the United States and his view that ultra-violence is a necessary tool to preserve that cohesiveness made it difficult for me, a proponent of non-violence and globalism (his term is antinationalist), to keep an open mind to his ideas. Yet I'm glad I did persevere and finish the book, and there is some value in it.

Review: The Book of the Superiority of Dogs Over Many of Those Who Wear Clothes

The Book of the Superiority of Dogs Over Many of Those Who Wear Clothes by Muhammad Ibn Khalaf Ibn Al-Marzuban.

The author lived, according to my memory, in 6th (AH)/13th (CE) Baghdad.

The book is in two parts. The first part condemns humans for their cowardice, greed and disloyalty. The second commends dogs for their bravery, selflessness and loyalty.

The author quotes poets and relates stories to support these contentions.

The editor/translator includes an introduction on the author and a discussion of Muslim religious rulings and attitudes regarding dogs.

The Arabic Wikipedia has an entry on the book which includes some delicious lines of poetry (my translation):

The human dog, if you consider it,
    is worse for you than the canine dog
If you drive the canine away, it leaves,
    while the human dog clings to you despite your rebukes.
The canine does not harm its companion,
    while you remain your lifetime afflicted by the other kind of dog.

It may be difficult to purchase a copy. Use Worldcat to find a copy in a library near you or ask your local librarian to get it for you using interlibrary loan.

A Glenn Greenwald tweet about a modern instance of a dog traveling miles to stand watch over the grave of its owner reminded me of this book:

Dog owners already know this, but dogs have capacities that transgress the understanding of modern science is.gd/VinBY0
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 6, 2013

Updated May 22, 2013:  Man's Best Friend Guards Owner's Body

A friend of my father's wrote a Facebook note about dogs.

This organization trains dogs and places them with children with special needs:

Documentary Hibana by Ameer Muhammad

I heard about Atlanta-based Ameer Muhammad's documentary film about the Dominican Republic Hibana from his interview in a Muslim American Media Alliance podcast on November 25, 2012. There is a Facebook page.

Hibana Trailer (English) from filmbyameermuhammad on Vimeo.

BBC Radio: Hitler's Muslim Legions

BBC Radio's Hitler's Muslim Legions is an interesting introduction to the situation of Muslims and their neighbors in the Balkans during World War II. As in many BBC historical programs, I think it glosses over some of the faults of the British Empire, but this is the first program I'd heard about Muslims who trained in Nazi Germany's armed forces.

It's no longer available at the BBC web site, but you can use peer-to-peer technologies and download it using a BitTorrent client.

Which book would you recommend to your friend's Islamophobic friend?

A friend requested my recommendation for a book she could recommend to her Islamophobic friend.

My friend discovered her friend was Islamophobic through a conversation that went something like this:

Between a Mormon and a Muslim, I wish the Mormon had won. I know some Muslims. The ones I know are pretty good. You don't know that Muslims believe such-and-such and are commanded to do such-and-such? If I gave you a book, would you read it? Yea, maybe.

Film: Nero's Guests by P Sainath

LinkTV is broadcasting the documentary Nero's Guests about crushing poverty in rural India. Subthemes are the injustice of the World Trade Organization, which enforces "free trade" on the world's poor and leaves the world wealthy unpunished, and the morally horrifying callousness of India's wealthy.

Akbar Ahmed's Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam

Akbar Ahmed's book Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam is also a documentary movie. It has a YouTube Channel, a Flickr stream and a blog.

There's an article adapted from the book in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Islamic Horizons, which should be posted soon either here or here.

I haven't read the book or seen the movie.

Film: The Exonerated

The Exonerated is a dramatic reading of transcripts and letters of six wrongfully convicted and imprisoned US citizens. Supplement this by reading Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld & Jim Dwyer and this article at The Nation magazine from June 18, 2012.

Recommendation: Imperial Cities of Morocco

Imperial Cities of Morocco by Mohomed Metalsi, Cecile Treal, Jean-Michel Ruiz is a wonderful collection of photographs of architectural landmarks in Fes, Marrakesh, Meknes and Rabat in Morocco. Introductory text accompanies the photos. If you are traveling to these places or simply like architecture, check this book out. If you're exhibiting something related to Morocco or screening the film Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World, have this book for the public to thumb through. If you have an office with a waiting area, this would be a good book for that as well.
 

Journal for Kids: Discover

Arwa alerted her blog readers to an article she published in a journal for Muslim children. I'd appreciate any subscribers sharing their thoughts on the journal.

To read: From Slave Ship to Harvard by James Johnston

From Slave Ship to Harvard: Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family by James H. Johnston. You can listen to his May 22, 2012 interview on Gist of Freedom.

PBS's Need to Know Visits Clarkston, GA - Multiculturalism in the US South

I had reviewed a book about refugees in Clarkston, GA. Maria Hinojosa presented a Need to Know episode on the continued transition from a nearly one-hundred percent white town to a town where more than one-third of the residents are foreign-born.

Documentary Film: Brother Rob

I saw the documentary film Brother Bob, which covered Terry Jones's trial of the Quran, on the Documentary Channel.

Science - Ecology Books Translated into Arabic

I'm thinking of working to get some popular books on ecology and other scientific subjects translated into Arabic.

This blog entry, which I hope to update, contains links to books I've already found that meet this description.

I'm also keeping this list up-to-date on Delicious.

• Valuing the environment : economics for a sustainable future by David Glover - Arabic translation
• by David Glover - Arabic translation 
• List of David Glover's books translated into Arabic on Worldcat.org
• Series of books entitled "How does it work?" for young adult readers
• Straphanger by Taras Grescoe -- Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile -- Arabic translation
• Book by Frank R. Spellman and Nancy Whiting - Arabic translation
• Book by climate change denialist Ian Plimer, Heaven and Earth. Arabic translation - Rebuttal of book by Ian Enting. Rebuttal of book by John Price. 
• Fueling Our Future: An Introduction to Sustainable Energy by Robert L. Evans -- Arabic translation 
• Unauthorized translations of Carl Sagan books available via download

Review: The Submission by Amy Waldman

Tasnim at Muslimah Media Watch reviewed The Submission by Amy Waldman.



I have not read the novel.

Jaffa - The Orange's Clockwork

The basic subscription to Dish Network gives you viewer-supported LinkTV, which in my mind is the best channel available in the United States. In fact, I recommend giving to organizations like LinkTV over political candidates, since the real problem in the US politics is that, as Flavor Flav says, "ignorance is at an all time high."

A great example of content available on LinkTV is the documentary Jaffa - The Orange's Clockwork. Currently, it is available on-line. This documentary examines the myth of "making the desert bloom," which as a result of sophisticated Zionist propaganda over several decades, has been implanted in European-White Supremacist-Colonialist consciousness.

Review: The Future of Life by E.O. Wilson

The Future of Life by E. O. Wilson. (on PaperbackSwap)

I first heard about Edward Osborne ("E.O.") Wilson from a 2007 interview with Bill Moyers.

This is another of the books on science I've discussed. As I was listening to it, I wondered what humans fifty years from now, assuming humanity survives, will think about the humans who preferred acquiring consumer goods over preserving our planet's biodiversity? Or worse, the humans who were too busy killing each other, most assuredly for justifiable reasons, to notice that the planet was preparing to cull its most destructive species, home sapiens? Or even more unfathomable, large swaths of humanity spent all their time and effort worrying about which humans were indeed closer to God and immersed themselves in endless disputes over texts whose authors would be horrified that their works were cited as reasons for ego-assuaging religious one-upmanship.

Video Portrait of Faraz Khan, Calligrapher

Eidfilms ::: Faraz Khan: Calligrapher from Ahmed Eid on Vimeo.

Faraz Khan has a website and is on Facebook.

The Death of an Imam

The Death of an Imam from Salah D. Hassan on Vimeo.
A short documentary film on the 2009 FBI shooting of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah in a Dearborn warehouse. The documentary was produced by faculty and students at Michigan State University.

View this post on Instagram

Honoring Imam Luqman on Saturday

A post shared by Dawud Walid (@dawudwalid) on Oct 26, 2020 at 5:48pm PDT

10 years later, the FBI's shooting death of Imam Luqman Abdullah in Dearborn still reverberates in Detroit's Black Muslim communities. October story: https://t.co/wfCTdYUdUS

— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 18, 2020

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.

'Homeland,' Obama’s Show by Joseph Massad

I ultimately disagree with it, but Jospeh Massad has a fascinating, scathing attack on the politics of "Homeland" aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio…
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 26, 2012

I've probably watched one half of an episode of this show, but I thought I'd share this article by Joseph Massad, professor at Columbia University, and make sure people follow Glenn Greenwald on Twitter.

Joesph Massad writes articles for Electronic Intifada and al-Jazeera. His latest book is Desiring Arabs.
P.S.

You may not agree w/all, but @theoliverstone's Showtime series on US history is provocative & worthwhile: begins 11/12 sho.com/sho/oliver-sto…
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 26, 2012

P.P.S. Do Obama and Romney Live in Homeland? by Andrew O'Hehir

Before Their Diaspora by Walid Khalidi Available On-Line

Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876-1948 by Walid Khalidi has always been an antidote to extreme Zionist propaganda that claimed that Jewish colonists in Palestine found an empty land. It is now available online in English and Arabic.

Support Docudrama about Muslim Woman in US Army during World War II

Unity Productions Foundation is raising money for a a docudrama film project about "Noor Khan, a heroic Muslim woman of WWII. We need to raise $500,000 to complete the production budget."

Donate and/or organize a fundraiser. Contact Jawaad Abdul Rahman, Director of Development, by e-mail or at +1 (703) 582-3854.

Help Muslim Journeys Reach Your Local Library

This blog has long promoted Unity Productions Foundation (UPF). In its September 2012 newsletter, it asks its supporters to encourage their local libraries to apply for the American Library Association (ALA) Muslim Journeys Bookshelf and to offer their services as content experts (or recruit one!). The deadline to apply has been extended to October 25, 2012.

Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding does a lot of good work. And it has an iPad app. Read its reports and send it some money!

Urdu materials for babies and toddlers

h/t Professor Shabana Mir who blogs at Koonj. In the comments, people have suggested other media. I have not read these books.

Review: Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control by Medea Benjamin

Tom Hayden wrote a review of Medea Benjamin's Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control. Medea is a cofounder of Code Pink.

I have not read the book.

Updated July 24, 2016 - I read the book several years ago. It's good. Read it!

5 Top Islamic Art Collections in the USA

Christine Bednarz wrote about the 5 Top Islamic Art Collections in the USA.

Presenting Islamic Art in America ht.ly/e2mnG
— MutualArt.com (@MutualArt) September 27, 2012

Kickstarter: Can art save the Arctic? An experimental documentary by Saeed Taji Farouky

I've pledge to support a Kickstarter project by British documentarian Saeed Taji Farouky (Facebook).

Blog Recommendation: Arabic Literature (in English)

I was going to draw readers' attention to this blog entry about Arabic children's literature from Lebanon, and then I realized that the entire blog Arabic Literature (in English) is worth following!

Irtiqa: A Science and Religion Blog

It's appropriate with the goals of this blog to point out new media which are important for North American Muslims. Hampshire College Professor Salman Hameed writes Irtiqa: A Science and Religion Blog.

To-Read: Islam and America: Building a Future without Prejudice by Anouar Majid

I've reviewed two books by Anouar Majid, and I look forward to reading his latest release, Islam and America: Building a Future Without Prejudice. He did an interview earlier this month about the book and other topics.

Review: Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan

I've previously reviewed a Carl Sagan book, and I've discussed several books related to science. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space is a short introduction to the mission and perspective of The Planetary Society (Twitter).

It's important for those pretending to speak for Muslims to realize how many inherited ideas descendants of Enlightenment civilizations have discarded in the last two hundred years. I believe much religious discourse (Friday khutba, pamphlets, halaqat, satellite TV shows) is more concerned with entertaining the audience than exploring, imparting and promoting truth. Participants in this discourse usually don't know much about science or intellectual history in post-Enlightenment societies, and the audiences are of course a mixed group in this regard. Since audiences bore quickly with topics such as sincere worship, good character, and solidarity with the poor and oppressed, the only preachers who can maintain their interest (and support) are the ones who can continuously produce new messages, stories, insights, etc. Of course, these inevitably stray into pseudo-science, pseudo-sociology and pseudo-psychology.

To Read: Timbuctoo by Tahir Shah

Timbuctoo by Tahir Shah (Twitter)



The Los Angeles Review of Books published a review. H/t to Dr. Jalees Rehman.

Review: Hiroshima by John Hersey

John Hersey's first version of Hiroshima was published in 1946. This edition included updates on the six survivors he had originally profiled and was published in 1985. It is available through Georgia PINES-participating libraries.

 
Regular readers of this blog know that I am completely appalled by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and I see no purpose for any nation or group, particularly one claiming to follow Islam, to possess such weapons.

Perhaps the only thing more depressing than the desperate testimonials of these six survivors is how the author interspersed, as the years went by in the lives of the survivors, landmarks in the spread and development of the world's nuclear arsenal, such as the development of the hydrogen bomb and Indian proliferation. Some survivors tried to educate the world on Hiroshima's lesson, namely that humans must end war. Sadly, the world has so far refused to listen.

Review: Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld & Jim Dwyer

Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld & Jim Dwyer, founders of the Innocence Project (Twitter).

Young Adult novels feature Muslim female protagonists

Muslima Media Watch published Rebels By Accident: Telling Muslim Girls’ Stories in Young Adult Fiction. It highlights a recent trend in Young Adult novels to portray Muslim girls neither "as nameless victims nor some veiled, orientalist fantasy in need of saving."

To-Read: Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions by Abdal Hakim Murad

h/t E-baad-e-News

Perceptions of Islam in the Christendoms by Nasir Khan

Perceptions of Islam in The Christendoms: A Historical Survey by Nasir Khan is available as a free download. The Mustaqim blog reviewed it. If you'd like a printed, bound volume, look for it in one of these libraries or buy it.

Reviving the Islamic Spirit Talks are Now Online

You can now listen to Reviving the Islamic Spirit talks online. The first one I listened to was The American Muslim Experience: From Identity to Community by Professor Sherman Jackson.

 

Review: Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist by Bradley Steffens

Dr. Husain Nagamia, Chairman of The International Institute of Islamic Medicine (IIIM), wrote a review of Bradley Steffens's book Ibn Al-Haytham: First Scientist. You can order the book from IIIM.

iPad App - Muhammad Asad's Translation and Explanation of the Quran

Mohammad Asad's The Road to Mecca is a good read, and many friends recommend his translation and explanation of Quran. It is now available as an iPad application, and it is free during the last 10 days of Ramadan this year.

To Read: Torture and Impunity: The U.S. Doctrine of Coercive Interrogation by Alfred W. McCoy

Torture and Impunity: The U.S. Doctrine of Coercive Interrogation by Alfred W. McCoy. Alfred McCoy is a professor of history at University of Wisconsin - Madison. His History Department web page includes his CV and current courses. Professor McCoy writes regularly for TomDispatch. I heard about this book from an August 14, 2012 posting there, via Professor Juan Cole on Twitter.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment (Torture) is the New Normal in America (McCoy) tinyurl.com/8gdm266
— Juan Cole (@jricole) August 15, 2012

Documentary: These Birds Walk - A Portrait of Poverty Relief in Pakistan

Promo from the movie website:

In Karachi, Pak­istan, a run­away boy’s life hangs on one crit­i­cal ques­tion: where is home? The streets, an orphan­age, or with the fam­ily he fled in the first place? Simul­ta­ne­ously heart-wrenching and life-affirming, THESE BIRDS WALK doc­u­ments the strug­gles of these way­ward street chil­dren and the samar­i­tans look­ing out for them in this ethe­real and inspi­ra­tional story of resilience.

You can read a review at PBS.org.

The movie also has a Facebook Page and a Twitter account.

Watch the movie on iTunes or Google Play.

You can follow the director Omar Mul­lick on Twit­ter and check out his website. You can follow the other director Bas­sam Tariq on Twitter and check out his website.

Also, check out my review of Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. It's about poverty in Mumbai, India.

"Xenophobic racists ... [have] compiled a MUST READ list."

Updated September 2, 2017 - Interview with Dr. Curtis Acosta, an early plaintiff in the lawsuit which ended in the overturning of this ban.

Look, the xenophobic racists over at Arizona has compiled a banned books MUST READ list. Take this time to read these books. There’s a reason they’re banning them. They’re trying to erase our culture. [Archived web page of original source: AZEthnicStudies.com]

The only book I've read off of this list is Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya. It was excellent.



Updated July 24, 2016. Hear Tony Diaz (@LibreTraficante) & Roque Planas (@RoqPlanas) & Jose Gonzales, a teacher from Tuscon, talk about this issue.

Updated July 4, 2021: I've also read and reviewed Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.

Updated July 4, 2021: Texas: Hold my karkadeh! 

Texas museum cancels book event examining slavery’s role in Battle of the Alamo | The Texas Tribune https://t.co/7AAAaIjUk8

— Edward T. O'Donnell, Historian-at-Large (@InThePastLane) July 3, 2021

Review: After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine by Antony Loewenstein and Ahmed Moor

Journalists Antony Loewenstein and Ahmed Moore [sic] have succeeded in putting together an impressive collection of essays in their new book After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine.

Read more at Palestine News Network. I have not read the book. You can follow Antony Loewenstein and Ahmed Moor on Twitter.

To-Read: The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism by Trevor Aaronson

The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism by Trevor Aaronson (Twitter). Mr. Aaronson has also created a Facebook page.

I first heard about Trevor Aaronson in This American Life's Episode 471 The Convert.

Updated February 21, 2013: I read it and reviewed it.

Review: Palestine in Israeli School Books

Asa Winstanley (Twitter) reviewed Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education by Nurit Peled-Elhanan for Electronic Intifada. I have not read this book.

Review: Tales from the Land of the Sufis by Mojdeh Bayat and Mohammad Ali Jamnia

Tales from the Land of the Sufis by Mojdeh Bayat and Mohammad Ali Jamnia. Boston, Massachusetts, Shambhala Publications; 1994. 179 pp, paperback.

To-Read: A Picnic of Poems in Allah's Green Garden

A Picnic of Poems: In Allah's Green Garden by Dawood Wharnsby

Kickstarter: Meow, Meow, Maulana: The Story of Muhammad

Updated August 14, 2026. None of the links that were in this blog entry work. I hope to find out what happened to this project.

"Deen Tight" - Documentary Film, Directed by Mustafa Davis

"DEEN TIGHT" is a documentary film :: directed by Mustafa Davis from Mustafa Davis on Vimeo.
Music, considered taboo practice by many traditional Muslims, has also become one of the most prominent methods for Muslims to share their faith internationally through Muslim Hip Hop. Read more ...

H/t  E-Baad-E News (Twitter)

Islamic Art Galleries Reopen At The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum Opens Its Doors For Long-Awaited Islamic Art Exhibit huff.to/tfD8QN via @HuffPostRelig going to see this next wk
— amina wadud (@aminawadud) July 28, 2012

If you are in New York City, check it out!

Recommendation: Time of White Horses by Ibrahim Nasrallah

Magic realism with footnotes: novelist Nasrallah creates a genre of his own pulse.me/s/bFuUh
— Sami Kishawi (@samikishawi) July 28, 2012

Nasrallah, Ibrahim. Time of White Horses. Roberts, Nancy (translator). The American University in Cairo Press, 2012. Hardcover, 512 pp. ISBN 977416489X.

I have not read the book.

Looking forward to Musharraf Ali Farooqi's Rabbit Rap: A Twentieth Century Fable

RT @somakghoshal: Out now, Musharraf Ali Farooqi's delightful fable for our times, beautifully illustrated by Michelle Farooqi @microMAF ...
— Juan Cole (@jricole) July 27, 2012

I've previously reviewed a book which Professor Farooqi (Twitter) translated, Adventures of Amir Hamza: Lord of the Auspicious Planetary Conjuction.

Review: Ramadan by Suhaib Hamid Ghazi

Ghazi, Suhaib Hamid and Rayyan, Omar (illustrator). Ramadan. New York, NY: Holiday House, 1996. Hardcover. ISBN 0-8234-1254-7.

This book is good to introduce a non-Muslim youth audience to fasting during the month of Ramadan. The best part of the book is the illustrations by Omar Rayyan.

I do have several criticisms of the text, some of which could be fixed in a new edition and others which could not.

Review: Science & Islam: A History

Masood, Ehsan. Science & Islam: A History. London, UK: Icon Books Ltd; 2009. ISBN 978-184831-040-7

Review: Falcons on the Floor by Justin Sirois

Sirois, Justin. Falcons on the floor. Baltimore, Maryland: Publishing Genius Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-9831706-4-8. Softcover, 264 pp.

“The Light in Her Eyes” Sheds Some Light on the Women of Syria

Muslimah Media Watch posted a review of The Light in Her Eyes, which premiers on PBS on July 19, 2012. It is part of the POV series of documentaries.

Support Herstory Egypt: Words of Women from the Egyptian Revolution

Leil-Zahra Mortada (Twitter) is the director of a YouTube series called Herstory Egypt: Words of Wisdom from the Egyptian Revolution. I've sent in a donation to support it using Indiegogo.

Please support this project by watching the videos, helping translate them into different languages and spreading the word.

And, yes, I know that Leil-Zahra Mortada is "feminist, queer, Arab and anarchist." So?

Review: Dry: Life Without Water by Ehsan Masood and Daniel Schaffer

Masood E, Schaffer D, editors. Dry: life without water. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press: 2006. ISBN: 0-674-02224-6. 192 pp. Illustrated.

I very much enjoyed the profiles Ehsan Masood and Daniel Schaffer provide of the efforts of peoples around the world to live in arid environments. The editors included a bibliography of additional resources, which I've transformed more or less into a Delicious stack.

Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

The New York Times reviewed Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (Twitter). I have not read the book.

Support 4th Studio Album by British Afghan musician Yusuf 'Yoshi' Misdaq

"If You Ask Me, Yes" by Yusuf 'Yoshi' Misdaq (blog) has a Kickstarter project to collect donations for its completion. Hena Ashraf (Twitter) urges people to support it. Hena's work has appeared in this blog several times.

Review: Equal Worth: When Humanity Will Have Peace

Adil E. Shamoo, Equal Worth: When Humanity Will Have Peace. ISBN 978-0-7618-5820-1. Hardcover, 167 pages. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America; 2012.

Hearts We Lost, a new novel by Umm Zakiyyah

From the author's web site, here is information about Hearts We Lost, a new novel by Umm Zakiyyah. I have not read the book.

The Colonel by Iranian Novelist Mahmoud Dowlatabadi

The NY Times published a review of The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi. I have not read the book.

Review: Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable

I listened to the reading of Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable, who passed away at almost the same time the book was published. Here are a few thoughts:

Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible to appear on PBS Jul 6

Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible (Twitter) is a Unity Production Foundations (Twitter) production.

It is scheduled to air on Public Broadcasting Stations July 6. My South Carolina station airs it at 22:00. I have yet to find out when the Georgia station will broadcast it. I've contacted the station to ask when it is scheduled for broadcast. (update July 2, see P.S.)

Two reviews: Islamic Art Blog and Muslim Oasis.

Here's some bonus footage off the PBS web site:

Watch Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World (Bonus Footage) on PBS. See more from PBS Arts.

P.S.Georgia Public Broadcasting does not have a scheduled broadcasting date. Please consider contacting the station and Tweeting (message pre-configured) to inquire why it is not scheduled for broadcast.
P.P.S. (July 3)  An employee of GPB talked to me by phone and told me GPB was not broadcasting the arts series. I spoke to the film's producer. He said that the Islamic Art film is part of a 7 night PBS arts series. PBS is providing all stations an 'evergreen' version of Mirror of the Invisible that does not mention the arts series. Thus, it can be shown independent of that series.

Android & iOS App to Introduce Arabic Alphabet

Media Plus launches “My Arabic Letters – أحرفي العربية” kids App. On iTunes & Android markets

I liked it, and it's free, and your kids can play it while you're waiting at the doctor's office, airport, etc.

Correction: Android version free, iOS version is 0.99 USD.

Send Jennifer & I Heart Hamas to the Edinburgh Fringe Fest!

I've supported this project with a pledge. I hope you consider supporting it as well!

Note: The video embedded above seems to display well in Chrome but not Firefox or IE. So follow this link.

Listen to Ahmad Bedier & Samar Jarrah's Weekly Radio Show

Ahmed Bedier (@Bedier) and Samar Dahmash Jarrah (@ArabVoicesSpeak) host a talk show weekly on True Talk on Tampa, Florida community radio station WMNF 88.5 FM.

If you are not in range, you can download the shows to your computer. The URL for the podcast feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/truetalk. In iTunes, paste this URL into Advance --> Subscribe to Podcast. You can also use other RSS readers.

You can also listen to the show live on your mobile device or even by calling a US phone number.

Encourage them by sending a Tweet, e-mail or a donation!

Selected Islamic Wisdoms Seeks Support for Completion

h/t E-baad E-News

The web site FracturedAtlas collects donations for the completion of artistic projects. I've donated for the purpose of completing Selected Islamic Wisdoms.

Note to publisher or editor or translator: Isn't Selected Islamic Aphorisms a better title?

Review: Tahmima Amam: The Good Muslim

Sarah Farrukh wrote a review of Tahmima Anam's The Good Muslim. I have not read the book.