All posts by tabsir

Muslim in America: a ‘voyage of discovery’

Anthropology/Sociology, Gender and Sexuality, Islam in America, Islamophobia


Hailey Woldt, in a traditional Muslim head scarf, studied how people react to her garb in Arab, Alabama.

Muslim in America: a ‘voyage of discovery’

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) February 9, 2009 — Hailey Woldt put on the traditional black abaya, expecting the worst. Hailey Woldt, in a traditional Muslim head scarf, studied how people react to her garb in Arab, Alabama.

The last time she’d worn the Muslim dress that, with a head scarf, covered everything but her face, hands and feet, she was in Miami International Airport, where the stares were many and the security check thorough.

This time, she was in a small town called Arab. Arab, Alabama, no less. Continue reading Muslim in America: a ‘voyage of discovery’ →

Ahmad Fathi in Washington, DC

Music and Dance, Yemen, YouTube Watch

The renowned Yemeni singer, composer and oud player, Ahmad Fathi (أحمد فتحي), is coming to Washington and will be performing this Friday at 6 pm at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The event is free, sponsored by the Yemen Embassy. Fathi is well-known in the Arab world, but less so here in the United States. He has several albums, and his work is readily seen on Youtube (for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFBdbVnRvbU&feature=related).

Fathi was influenced early on with traditional Yemeni music. He joined the musical institute of Cairo in the late 70’s and earned a diploma in harmonic music with a focus on the lute (oud) instrument. He enriched the Yemeni artistic movement with his distinguished creativity and his brilliance in playing the lute. Fathi obtained an MA with honors from the Cairo higher musical institute December, 1998 for his thesis on the “lute (Oud) and its role in Yemeni songs.”

The Yemeni Culture affairs Ministry decorated Fathi the “Arts Medal” for his role in promoting traditional Yemeni music globally. In 2008, The Arab Creative Association honored composer and singer Ahmed Fathi for his contribution to Arabic Music. Fathi was named an Ambassador of Yemeni Music. Yemeni and Arab fans have enjoyed two decades of modern and classic songs composed by Fathi.

In Pursuit of the Exotic

Bible and Holy Land, Egypt, Orientalist Art, Palestine

Museum Exhibits

January 29 to March 29, 2009: Napoleon on the Nile: Soldiers, Artists and the Rediscovery of Egypt

March 24 through April 30, 2009: In Pursuit of the Exotic: Artists Abroad in 19th Century Egypt and the Holy Land

New York, New York – The Dahesh Museum of Art and Syracuse University Art Galleries today announced the formation of a partnership, which will include the Museum’s organizing several exhibitions annually from its own collection of 19th-century art in the academic tradition, complemented by works in the University’s rich collection, for presentation at the SU Art Galleries in Syracuse, as well as The Palitz Gallery/ Lubin House, located on 11 East 61st Street, off Fifth Avenue. The Palitz Gallery has recently attracted artworld attention with the exhibition Michelangelo: the Man and the Myth on view through January 4th 2009. Continue reading In Pursuit of the Exotic →

Reflections on Gaza

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Election 2008, Israel, Palestine, Terrorism Issue


Palestinians walk in the rubble following an Israeli airstrike Wednesday in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo by Khaled Omar, The Associated Press.

Why did Israel start this War?
by Amr al-Azm, Brigham Young University

There are several answers to this question depending on which angle you look at it from.

The facts on the ground (Time Line) run as follows:

June 19 – An Egyptian brokered truce begins between Hamas and Israel. It calls for Hamas to stop cross-border rocket fire and for Israel to gradually ease its embargo on Gaza.

July 27: Israel kills Shihab al-Natsheh, a senior Hamas fighter, in his house in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil. Hamas protests action and Israel claims that the West Bank is not covered by the ceasefire.

November 5: Israel raids supposed smuggling tunnels in the Hamas-controlled region. Six Palestinians killed in the attack. Hamas responds by firing several dozen rockets and mortar shells at western Negev in Israel in retaliation. No casualties or property damage is caused, but three women are treated for shock. Continue reading Reflections on Gaza →

Beating Swords into Ouds

Humor and Satire, Iraq, Iraq War, Music and Dance, YouTube Watch

Last night I had the privilege of listening to the Iraqi musician and composer, Rahim AlHaj, who performed a number of his own compositions for solo oud. This was held at Symphony Space in Manhattan as part of the World Music Institute season. AlHaj is not only a talented contemporary artist, but a natural showman. His playful, and at times tearful, interaction with the audience framed his virtuosity. I say “tearful” because the passion in his music spoke to the disharmony in Iraq’s recent history. One of the pieces was named in honor of a cousin, Qasim, who along with four friends was killed by American soldiers while waiting for a cab in Baghdad. Another poured out his sadness at witnessing the tragedy of 9/11 soon after arriving in America. Throughout the show, Rahim asked if we in the audience wanted him to play something “fun” or “tragedy.” Both were present in the theater last night; both pervade Iraqi culture today.

For more information on Rahim AlHaj, check out his superb website. A video of his recording for a Smithsonian cd is available on Youtube. His biography, copied from his website, is provided below. Continue reading Beating Swords into Ouds →

Blood money for Killing Yemeni Jew

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Judaism, Yemen, Zaydi


Yemeni Jews: source: Yemen Observer

by Nasser Arrabyee, Yemen Observer, March 3, 2009

A Yemeni primary court in Amran, north of the country, ruled on Monday a payment to be made of 5.5 million YR (US$ 27,500) in blood money for the murder of a Jewish man by Yemeni, Abdul Azeez al-Abdi, last December.

The court, chaired by Judge Abdul Bari Aqaba, also ordered that the convict should be placed in a psychotic sanatorium. The father of the Jew refused the sentence and asked for an appeal to be made to demand the death penalty against the convict.

“As long as there is no justice for us, then (they should) deport us to Israel, it’s better for us.” Continue reading Blood money for Killing Yemeni Jew →

Democracy, Islam, and Secularism: Turkey

Turkey

Conference: “Democracy, Islam, and Secularism: Turkey in Comparative
Perspective”

Date: March 6-7, 2009
Location: International Affairs Building 1501, Columbia University

Turkey, as a Muslim-majority country, is the only member of NATO and only
candidate member of the European Union. Assertive secularism, multiparty
democracy, and military interventions are other puzzling aspects of Turkish
politics. With its rising activism in the Middle East, Caucasus, and Central
Asia, Turkey has also become an influential actor in world politics. This
conference aims to present an integrated picture of Turkey by bringing
together comparative perspectives on its past, present, and future, and
delving into such issues as the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, secularism,
religion, democracy, civil-military relations, and the European Union
membership. Continue reading Democracy, Islam, and Secularism: Turkey →

A Call for Heresy

Books You Should Read, Ethics, Islam in America, Islamic History, Wahhabi

[Note: The following excerpt is from Anouar Majid’s “A Call for Heresy: Why Dissent is Vital to Islam and America” (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007), pp. 1-2, 47]

by Anouar Majid, University of New England.

“A Virtuous heretic shall be saved before a wicked Christian.” Benjamin Franklin

“The atheist from his attic window is often nearer to God than the believer caught up in his own false image of God.” Martin Buber

This book is both an attempt to treat Islam over and above the confines of the familiar extremist/moderate dichotomy and an extension of my reflections on ways to divert Muslim and other cultures toward more progressive formulations. In the past I called for a progressive interpretation of Islam and its canons, urged both Muslims and Westerners to question their orthodoxies, and argued for a polycentric world of ‘neoprovincials’ questioning dogmas at home, reaching out to progressive elements in other cultures, and forging global alliances in the building of a genuinely multicultural human civilization, one in which economics are integrated into the broader aspirations of nations, not ruling over them like ruthless, insatiable deities. Here I am taking the discussion to its outer limits, calling on both Muslims (who consider their religion to be God’s final word in history) and Americans (who often think of themselves of having received a special dispensation from the Creator) to embrace heretical thought, or freethinking, as the only life-saving measure left to avoid an apocalyptic future. Continue reading A Call for Heresy →