MetaFilter posts tagged with Islam

The Struggle For the Soul of Islam

reenum — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:29:06 -0800

Back in 2004, the Chicago Tribune published an investigative series about the state of Islam after 9/11. They hit many prescient topics, such as: - Islam's origins and how militant groups developed within the faith. - An anecdote about how hard line fundamentalists won over the congregation at a mosque in Bridgeview, IL. - The Saudi financing of militant groups. - Egypt's shift from moderate Islam to fundamentalism. - Tensions in Iran between hard liners and people yearning for greater freedom in society. - The growth of the International Muslim Brotherhood within the United States. - The story of Ismail Maasawabi, a Palestinian youth who became a suicide bomber in Gaza. - How Turkey has remained a moderate Muslim state. - The influence of madrassas in the growing fundamentalism in Pakistan. - The conflict between moderate and fundamentalist groups in Indonesia. - The spread of Islam in Europe. - An anecdote about an Islamic school in France. - How the children of Muslim immigrants to the U.S. balance these two cultures. -The role American foreign policy has played in the rise of fundamentalism.

Freedom Can Go To Hell

Talez — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:03:26 -0800

Geert Wilders is now making a splash in London drawing a protest from the hardline Islamic members of the British public. The protests featured such memorable slogans as "Freedom Can Go to Hell" and "Islam will dominate the world" and eventually forced Geers to change the location of his press conference. On the ground interviews conducted by Press TV show the attitude of some of the crowd. British nationalists are naturally responding in kind.

"The Muslim Georgetown"

escabeche — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:01:04 -0800

Zaytuna College in Berkeley, CA will accept its first students in the fall of 2010 or 2011. Founded by Sheik Hamza Yusuf and Imam Zaid Shakir, it will be the first accredited Islamic college in the United States, open to men and women of all religions.

Rifqa Speaks (NSFW)

scalefree — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:28:08 -0800

Rifqa Bary, the Ohio teen who ran away from her Muslim parents because she believed they would kill her for converting to Christianity, has appeared on a weekly anti-Islam conference call hosted by the National Day of Prayer Task Force (headed by the wife of Focus on the Family's James Dobson, Lou Engle of The Call & Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council). Rifqa, who is in custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families and was not authorized to be on the call, shared some of her story and then launched into an extended passionate prayer. DCF officials are investigating how she came to be on the call.

The Last of the Ottomans

Burhanistan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:21:28 -0800

The "Last of the Ottomans". Ertuğrul Osman, the grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, passed away. The Ottoman Caliphate ruled one of the longest and most successful empires in history. With WWI it was finally finished and Ataturk eventually expelled the Sultan's family. "The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" documentary parts 1 and 2

30 Mosques In 30 Days

gman — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:38:55 -0800

30 Mosques in 30 Days. Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq's Ramadan journey through NYC's Muslim Community.

Zeitoun

reenum — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:14:17 -0800

Abdelrahman Zeitoun is a Syrian American businessman who spent the days after Katrina paddling around New Orleans in a canoe, saving elderly people and feeding stranded pets. His efforts were brought to a halt when he was detained by the Bush administration on suspicion of being a terrorist. Here is an earlier story about Zeitoun's exploits. Zeitoun also wrote about his experiences during Katrina and about being detained. You can see Zeitoun talking about his ordeal here. Eggers, like with his last book, has set up a foundation in Zeitoun's name where the profits from the book will go to help Katrina's victims.

Pattern in Islamic Art

Burhanistan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:15:47 -0800

Pattern in Islamic Art - thousands of high quality, free pictures of various motifs, patterns and architectural elements of mosques and other structures from Asia to West Africa. Also includes thorough analysis of some of the geometric elements, and historical context. Previously (1) (2) Islamic Geometry Quasicrystalline theory of the tiled patterns.

"There's an audience for the story...largely the result of Senator John Ensign's libido..."

jonp72 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:42:57 -0800

Jesus Plus Nothing, Minus Somalia: How the Christian fundamentalism of The Family (also known as the C Street Fellowship) turned Somalia into the next staging ground for Islamic radicalism.

The headscarf martyr

melissam — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:47:28 -0800

Marwa el-Sherbini testified in court against a neighbor who had called her a "terrorist" because she wore the hijab. As she spoke, the man she had accused walked across the courtroom and stabbed her 18 times. In the Muslim world, she is now being referred to as "the headscarf martyr." Marwa el-Sherbini had been pregnant at the time. When her husband rushed to her side, he was also shot. Marwa died soon after. Her husband remains in critical condition. There have been protests in countries such as Egypt and Iran against what they perceive as European racism. The attacker was also an immigrant. There has been little press coverage of the murder in the Western media.

wetness ... pours onto my paper out of my pen

divabat — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:32:05 -0800

Suheir Hammad, a Palestinian-American poet and activist now based in New York, writes about being a Muslim immigrant and also a woman challenging conventions. Spotted by Russell Simmons for Def Poetry Jam, she has performed pieces about love in the time of war, exoticising beauty, and a touching ode to her father, among many others. Suheir has just produced and released her first feature film Salt of This Sea, up for the Cannes Films Festival and possibly an Oscar, and recently performed in Ramallah for the 2009 Palestinian Festival of Literature.

When Gravity Fails

Artw — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:24:45 -0800

Editor Marty Halpern looks back at the career of George Alec Effinger (part 1, part 2, part 3), a prolific author best known for his work set in the Budayeen, a walled city in a future Islamic state, teeming with gangsters, hustlers and transsexual prostitutes, many of them habitual users of plug in personality modules. The noirish tone and exotic technology of the Marîd Audran books (When Gravity Fails, A Fire In The Sun, The Exile Kiss) made Effinger one of the leading lights in the cyberpunk movie, and spawned a videogame - a rare attempt at a graphical adventure from Infocom - and an RPG setting. Sadly Effinger faded from prominence after that, and he suffered from a number of health and financial setbacks before passing away in 2002. His work has had somewhat of a resurgence in popularity of late, with the Marîd Audran books coming back into print in 2007, a long with a collection containing The Wolves of Memory, Effinger's personal favourite amongst his novels.

Rebooting the US relationship to the Muslim world.

CunningLinguist — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:41:21 -0800

Obama speaks in Cairo: "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." Text is here. He quoted the Koran and highlighted a subject he avoided during his campaign - his own family's ties to Islam, his youth in Muslim Indonesia and even Chicago's Nation of Islam. An early roundup of US right wing reaction, and US left wing reaction, and the Middle East.

Beneath the burqa

tavegyl — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:36:43 -0800

Shuttlecock burqas to fetish wear. Some snapshots of Pakistan's struggles with its sexual identities. Sex, love, dating and marriage* in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In Peshawar, a vibrant porn scene coexists with conservative Islam and tribal traditions. Writers talk about being gay in Pakistan. In Lahore, where the Mela Chiraghan festival celebrates a Muslim sufi poet's love for a Hindu man, openly gay women have just launched Chay, the country's first magazine dealing with sexuality. Begum Nawazish Ali, a bisexual transvestite TV host, uses her transgressive persona to throw politicians off balance on air (previously). Meanwhile, there is a long history of hijras belonging to the third gender in Pakistan and neighbouring countries (photographs) (previously). This is also the country where Mukhtaran Mai was gang raped to punish her brother for a sexual transgression, the historical sex trade is no longer a respectable occupation, the Taliban flog a teenaged girl on film (warning: graphic), bans a Bollywood movie for "propogating homosexuality" and women are still killed for honour and subject to acid attacks. * Alys Faiz, the foreign wife of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, on marrying a Pakistani, just before the Partition

Islam, modernity and democracy

kliuless — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:54:28 -0800

Is the west thwarting Arab plans for reform? Few Muslims now invest much hope in the democratic western powers (essentially the US, Britain and France) that back the rulers who oppress them, even if, against the odds, they still admire “western” values, science and culture. There is no endemic or intrinsic conflict between Christians and Muslims. Rather, the root of the problem is that a majority of Muslims is convinced that the west – interested only in a stability based on regional strongmen, the security of Israel and cheap oil – is engaged in a war against Islam and is bent on denying them the freedoms it claims for itself. That is why it is so self-defeating to collude in tyranny as ostensibly a lesser evil than political Islam. BONUS Is a high IQ a burden as much as a blessing?

Philosophia Islamica

ageispolis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:21:17 -0800

Meet the Islamic Philosophers. Arabic philosophy sought to reconcile the science and empiricism of Aristotle, the metaphysics of Neoplatonism, and the revelations of the Holy Qur'an. From the first thoughts of Abū Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn Isḥāq al-Kindī, to the 20,000 pages of Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd, the influence of these Muslim polymaths profoundly shaped Western thought. The "Golden Age" of Islamic Philosophy: 1. Al-Kindi (and the Mu'tazili) (c. 801–873 CE) - On First Philosophy. 2. The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan as-Safa') (10th century). 3. Al-Farabi (“Second Teacher") (~872 - ~950) - The Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. 4. Ibn Sina (~950 - 1037) - Remarks and Admonitions. 5. Omar Khayyam (1048-1123) - The Rubaiyat. 6. Al-Ghazali (1058 - 1111) Tahafut al-falasifah and The Mysteries of the Human Soul. 7. Ibn Tufail (1105 - 1185) - The Improvement of Human Reason. 8. Ibn Rushd (Averroës) (1126 - 1198) On the Incoherence of the Incoherence.

Faith and Ecstasy

adamvasco — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:51:24 -0800

Pakistan's believers in Islamic mysticism embrace a personal approach to their faith and a different outlook on how to run their country’s government. The BBC asks "Can Sufi Islam counter the Taleban?" The Economist reports "Of Saints and Sinners".
Meanwhile from two in-depth reporters; William Dalrymple : Pakistan is a country staring disaster in the face); and Moni Mohsin: A personal history of Pakistan on the brink.
The counterinsurgency tactics that seem to have worked so well in Iraq could backfire in Pakistan. (more articles from Nicholas Schmidle)

Muslim Superheroes.

gman — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:27:01 -0800

In an attempt (flash) to provide Muslim and Arab youth with homegrown heroes, The 99 puts out comics and builds theme parks with a twist. List of issues.

Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Rushdie

rdone — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:41:28 -0800

Today is the 20th anniversary of the permanent fatwa pronounced by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against the life of Salman Rushdie for writing his novel The Satanic Verses. Said the Ayatollah: "Even if Salman Rushdie repents and becomes the most pious man of all time, it is incumbent on every Muslim to employ everything he has got, his life and wealth, to send him to Hell."

I have nothing to declare except my prejudice.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:22:08 -0800

"Let them arrest me". Vehemently anti-Islamic Dutch MP Geert Wilders was scheduled to travel to London tomorrow to attend a screening of his controversial short film Fitna (wiki, mefi). Yesterday however, the UK's Home Secretary notified Wilders that his presence in the UK would pose a "serious threat to [...] public security" (PDF), presumably intending to refuse his entry into UK. Wilders plans to board the flight anyway, daring British authorities to arrest him. Not that he's sitting so comfy at home either, however: Wilders faces prosecution in the Netherlands for hate speech and inciting discrimination. The decision to bar the self-styled "freedom fighter" from entering Britain has met with widespread criticism from the Dutch cabinet -- which by the way is completely made up of Wilders' political opponents -- and fellow MPs. The Dutch Foreign Minister has phoned the UK Foreign Secretary and stated he was "deeply upset and disappointed" by the decision. British papers join the chorus of condemnation.

Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East.

gman — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:05:11 -0800

Work by more than 20 contemporary artists from the Middle East is being showcased at the Saatchi Gallery.

"Their art isn't (like so much western art) about consumerism or celebrity or art itself; it's about suicide bombers, religious police, unending war, and the denigration of women in Islamic societies."

Religious takes on the global financial crisis

desjardins — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:04:30 -0800

The Dalai Lama blames the financial crisis on a decline in spirituality. Hindus blame it on greed. Saudi Grand Mufti, Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, blames the crisis on ignoring God's rules. Jewish scholars say we could have avoided a crisis by following Talmudic traditions. Pope Benedict sees the global financial system as "self-centred, short-sighted and lacking in concern for the destitute." Is it right to pray for the economy? (a Christian perspective). A Malaysian conference brings together Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists, and Sikhs to discuss the crisis.

India

vronsky — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:39:46 -0800

The Story of India : PBS HD

Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds.

gman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:28:35 -0800

After a year of research spanning four continents and interviews with dozens of people across the internet, Dancing Ink Productions will release their findings from the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project on Thursday, January 29.

Illustrations of the Shahnama, the Persian epic poem

Kattullus — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:26:29 -0800

The Princeton Shahnama Project is an "archive of book paintings--commonly known as Persian Miniatures--that were created to illustrate scenes from the Persian national epic, the Shahnama (the Book of Kings). The Shahnama is a poem of some 50,000 couplets that was composed by Abu'l Qasim Firdausi over a period of several decades in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. The core of this archive is a fund of 277 illustrations from five illustrated manuscripts of the Shahnama that are housed in Princeton University's Firestone Library." The site also has the complete Shahnama in the Warner & Warner translation but here's another translation by Helen Zimmern Many illustrated versions of the Shahnama exist. You can see a few images of The Great Mongol Shahnama with some information on two webpages on the Metropolitan Museum website and at The Legacy of Genghis Khan website, part of a 16th Century copy can be browsed on the Asia Society website and it's also been turned into a comic book. MeFite and all around gentleman & scholar tellurian posted about Cambridge University's massive Shahnama Project last Nov. 3rd which has even more images.