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.

Documentary: Brooklyn Inshallah

 

United States's Public Broadcasting Service promoted this documentary as part of Arab-American Heritage Month. I liked it.

Recommendation: Trojan Horse Affair Podcast

I listened to it on Spotify. Here's the information page at the New York Times, which includes other platforms to listen to the show.

Family Event with Author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Mar 10, 2022

Join Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow for "Bedtime Story Night!" A virtual event for the whole family. Thu, March 10, 2022, 6 pm EST. Register here: https://augusta.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9NXSFW4jH2it6bI

Review: "Becoming Muslim" Podcast

Meena Malik in February 25, 2022 MuslimMatters.org wrote a review of the series Becoming Muslim on the Spiritual Edge podcast. Hana Baba was the lead reporter.

I haven't yet listened to any episodes.

Recommendation: "The Other Black Girl" by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The novel The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris has deservedly garnered commercial success, and a Google search will deliver many reviews. So let's just start with a few quotes, and, after the page break, some of my comments with ****SPOILERS****.

"[Hazel had] moved from channeling her inner Baraka to her inner Barack--from confrontational to compassionate--in less than 60 seconds." @zakiya_harris, "The Other Black Girl," p 56

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) February 10, 2022

In this fictional discussion about the decision to cast Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi & the hypothetical casting of Billy Dee Williams as Mozart, @zakiya_harris in "The Other Black Girl" lands on this week's leader in institutionalized gender & racial hierarchy, #Harvard pic.twitter.com/oYmCdJo2BU

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) February 10, 2022

Since this is a horror novel, I recommend that, if you think you might read it, stop here. ******SPOILERS ***** 

Recommendation: We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Matt Sasaki and Ross Ishikawa

We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration 

was written by Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura and illustrated by Matt Sasaki and Ross Ishikawa.

For me, it was powerful to learn how ordinary Americans of Japanese descent resisted official Japanese-American organizations' recommendations to demonstrate loyalty to the United States, regardless of its treatment of Japanese-Americans.

I urge people to visit the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California.

It is vital that people learn about the limits of respectability politics.

If you want to read more about these events and even teach about them in a classroom, check out the accompanying curriculum.

Think about this panel the next time your masjid or Muslim association welcomes agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations or military recruiters. (click to enlarge). If you hear somebody say, "I'm fine with the FBI spying on me. I have nothing to hide.", then lock them in a room & read this to them until they know better.

P.S. Nauseous that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had a recruiting booth at the 2022 Islamic Society of North America Annual Convention.

Recruiting at the Islamic Society of North America annual convention 🗑️ pic.twitter.com/GVbkZUFkQJ

— Climate reparations for the global south 🌏 (@ShabanaMir1) September 5, 2022

Recommendation: By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Abdulrazak Gurnah won the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2021. I read By the Sea. Here are a few thoughts:

I had never heard of Abdulrazak Gurnah before his being awarded The Nobel Prize for #literature. Just finished "By the Sea." It's really a beautiful book. https://t.co/okiPcYuqaB

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) December 11, 2021

Abdulrazak Gurnah "By the Sea," p 76 pic.twitter.com/DmZe2ovbtM

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) December 9, 2021

"It was a staggering thought, how little it had been possible to know and remain contented."

--Latif, internal dialogue
From Abdulrazak Gurnah, "By the Sea," p 122

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) December 9, 2021

From "By the Sea," by Abdulrazak Gurnah, p. 223 #literature #colonialism #Africa #Tanzania #Mombasa pic.twitter.com/E529Q0cE1q

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) December 11, 2021

Recommendation: Empire's Workshop Latin America the United States and the Making of an Imperial Republic by Greg Grandin

Greg Grandin's thesis in Empire's Workshop Latin America the United States and the Making of an Imperial Republic is that the USA "workshopped" & tested its ideas on how to manage its global empire in its dealings with other peoples in the Americas.

#FirstNations in its creation of a 2-ocean coast #WhiteSupremacy state to its commercial gangsterism in #Mexico, the #Caribbean & Central & South America. https://t.co/X41jpXjV2H

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) December 25, 2021

I created a Twitter moment with more quotes and thoughts!

Review: "The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf" by Mohja Kahf

When I first started this blog, Mohja Kahf's The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf was the kind of book I imagined this blog would focus on. And I had my copy for some time, but, along with thousands of other books on my shelves & my virtual to-read lists, I had not gotten around to reading it. A friend told me he had assigned it to students in his class, and he asked me to participate. Assuming the mantle of "native informant" (ha!), I sped through the book and am now writing as a way to organize my thoughts for the class.

Khadra Shamy, the protagonist, is the daughter of Wajdy & Ebtehaj, Syrian immigrants who eventually move to a town south of Indianapolis, Indiana to work at the Dawah Center. There, they and their co-workers work to realize the ideal Muslim community and raise their children to carry on that legacy after them. Khadra suffers some abuse from prejudiced classmates at the public school and neighbors in the apartment complex, but, for the most part, she grows into the young woman which the leaders of the Dawa Center envisioned: She prays, reads Quran, supports causes of Muslims suffering around the world and scrupulously upholds the interpersonal morals and gender roles of the community.

Recommendation: "New Kid" by Jerry Craft

Whenever white racist fascists object to a book, I immediately move it to the top of the my to-read list.

NBC News on October 6, 2021 (archived) reported that:

A school district near Houston canceled the appearance of an award-winning children's illustrator and author, whose books tell stories about Black children struggling to fit into unfamiliar settings, amid claims of critical race theory.

The writer, Jerry Craft, had been set to appear virtually Monday before students and staff members at Roosevelt Alexander Elementary School until the Katy Independent School District pulled the plug after some parents objected.

Barefoot Gen Volume One A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa

Keiji Nakazawa's semi-autobiographical Japanese comic book series Hadashi no Gen has been translated as Barefoot Gen in a 10-volume series. I read Volume 1, and I have immediately requested Volume 2 from my public library. 

Sometimes it's hard for me to sit in a social gathering listening to "normal" conversation when I think that humans have accumulated enough nuclear weapons to destroy themselves hundreds of times over. I hope I never lose that anxiety, and I don't understand people who are blasé about how close we are to destruction at our own hands.

Review: Spencer Ackerman - "Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump"

 

Spencer Ackerman's Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump aims to convince liberals to stop their support of the Global War on Terror in all its forms. The premise of the Global War on Terror is that the proper response to attacks against the United States, its allies and its interests is escalation of violence and tightening of control. This inevitably leads to the strengthening of illiberal elements within the United States, whether they be the national security state or everyday believers in American Exceptionalism who, despondent at the terrible cost of the national security state and lack of results it produces, seek to use its tactics against ever-widening circles of internal enemies, including United States Muslims, racial and ethnic minorities, migrants and liberals.

Thoughts on Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang's "Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance between Astrophysics and the Military"

 

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang have written a very depressing book on how warfare and states' pursuit of dominance have become increasingly intertwined with scientific pursuits. Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance between Astrophysics and the Military covers developments from early modern Europe to our time. While the book is informative and well-organized, it fails to answer or even address the biggest question facing the scientific enterprise for which Dr. Tyson has become its most public advocate: why is humanity not acting on the knowledge the scientific enterprise has produced in order to create a sustainable, just human society?

Film: Americanish, Directed by Iman Zawahry

Americanish is the first feature-length film directed by Iman Zawahry. She and Aizzah Fatima co-wrote this romantic comedy. Were I not the last human on the planet who should say anything about romantic comedies, I would have written a review. So some brief remarks suffice:

Americanish: A Case Study in American-Muslim Representation

Iman Zawahry, Aizzah Fatima and Sabeen Sadiq participated in a panel discussion entitled Americanish: A Case Study in American-Muslim Representation on August 12, 2021 as part of the Asian American International Film Festival.

I wrote a few comments on the film.

Mona Eltahawy Review of Season 1 of "We Are Lady Parts"

Season 2 is scheduled to be released beginning May 30, 2024scheduled to be released beginning May 30, 2024 on Peacock.

I had earlier recommended Hind Makki's review of Season 1 of the TV show We Are Lady Parts. A month before, Mona Eltahawy published her reasons why the show is outstanding:

To have had a show like We Are Lady Parts while I was in my 20s and fighting off Niqabis on the Metro, the Brigade of Hijabis-Aren’t-Supposed-To-Watch-Wild-At-Heart, and the You’re-Making-Us-Look-Bad so-called friends, would have freed up so much of my cosmic energy, I might have truly taken over the world. -- read more --

We Are Lady Parts season TWO out on May 30! pic.twitter.com/bR6uItbxFS

— We Are Lady Parts (@weareladyparts) May 25, 2024

Are Muslims Going to Join Calls for Censorship in Public School Libraries? I Hope Not

In Columbia County, Georgia, where I live, the daily newspaper in neighboring Augusta, Georgia reported that a resident has been advocating that the Board of Education remove Drama by Raina Telgemeier from its middle school libraries and update its media policy to inform parents that "Media Centers and Teacher Libraries may provide material containing sensitive topics such as sexuality, homosexuality, and/or transgender ideology."

I have previously reported on my county's censorship of reading materials in public schools (more here). I oppose discrimination against LGBTQ people and don't believe the party line in our religion about a lot matters related to sexuality. I'm also opposed to the people who typically advocate for imposing morality. Nevertheless, before spouting off, I bought and read the book.

Most of the book is about drama programs in school, i.e. putting on plays. The characters work hard, do varied tasks and cooperation and teamwork are essential. I had for some reason disliked the drama students in high school. Reading this made me regret my prejudices and wish I'd at least given it a shot.