Category Archives: Shi’a

A Persian Catwalk

Gender and Sexuality, Iran, Shi'a


Iran’s Catwalk Ban Is Only The Beginning

by Farangis Najibullah, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, September 20, 2008

Move modestly. No garish makeup. Don loose and unrevealing clothing. Those are some of the new rules for Iranian models, who have been told not to attract too much attention during fashion shows.

The orders, handed down by the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry and published this month, are intended to promote Iranian and Islamic designs and stave off the influence of Western culture.

Live models “should avoid any behavior that would distract visitors’ attention from the clothes put on display,” according to the eight-part “Guideline For Fashion And Dress Shows.”

“Models are not allowed to show off the curves of their bodies, and their hair should not be seen,” the document reads. “The wearing of tight and body-hugging clothes and types of makeup that are incompatible with Islamic and Iranian culture are prohibited.”

Musical accompaniment must be “well-matched to Islamic and Iranian culture,” and should not prompt models to move or walk in an inappropriate manner.

And the fashion-show runway, better known as the catwalk? That’s been banned altogether, since it’s been deemed a slavish imitation of foreign culture. Continue reading A Persian Catwalk →

Lebanon Cluster Bomb

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Film and Video, Lebanon, Shi'a

Screening and Discussion:
Sneak Preview Screening of Jawad Metni’s “Lebanon Cluster Bomb”

To mark the 2nd anniversary of Israel’s brutal war on the people of Lebanon, Alwan for the Arts and Deep Dish TV present four evenings of films from Deep Dish TV’s new eight part television series NOTHING IS SAFE. The screenings are on consecutive Wednesdays July 23, July 30, Aug 6, and Aug 13.

July 30, 2008 Program
Free and Open to the Public
A sneak preview of Jawad Metni’s new feature documentary “Lebanon Cluster Bomb”

LEBANON CLUSTER BOMB
Sneak preview (2008, Jawad Metni, 90 min)

LEBANON CLUSTER BOMB follows the men and women of South Lebanon who were hired and trained to clear unexploded cluster munitions after the July 2006 war. The Israeli Defense Forces dropped nearly 1 million of these dangerous weapons across 40 million square meters of South Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands failed to explode, and continue to kill and maim civilians 2 years after the war. The film is a primer on the cluster munition problem in Lebanon, but much more so an intimate portrait of those struggling to rebuild their lives after the devastating 2006 war. The under-represented of South Lebanon are given voice here, as they work shoulder to shoulder to return the land back to their fellow Lebanese. Continue reading Lebanon Cluster Bomb →

Iranian Revolutionaries, 1906

Iran, Photography, Shi'a

“Crowd of Persian Revolutionists, Who, fearing the vengeance of the royal troops, took refuge int he British Legation in Teheran in 1906, and insisted on remaining there until the Shah gave them a parliament.”

Revolution is no stranger to modern Iran. In the May, 1908 issue of The National Geographic Magazine, published just a century ago, there was an article by W. P. Cresson entitled “Persia: The Awakening East.” Here is an excerpt from Cresson’s account of the newly formed parliament:

The strong nationalistic spirit that marks the new era in Persian affairs is one of the most interesting features of the present movement in Persia. It is not among the frock-coated European dandies of the court that we must look for the men who are now taking the leading part in the new agitation for reform. Many of the constitutionalistic leaders wear the flowing robes and white turban of the Mohammedan priesthood. Recently the Liberal Parliament by an overwhelming majority voted to suppress the publication of a Teheran newspaper which had dared to propose the substitution of a new civil code modeled on European lines for the old common law based on the precepts of the Koran. One of the chief causes of popular complaint against the leaders of the Court party is their subserviency to foreign influences and their unpatriotic policy of importing foreign officials into Persia, notably in the case of the customs administration. Continue reading Iranian Revolutionaries, 1906 →

Puzzles and Precious Particularities of Yemen

Islamic History, Yemen, Zaydi


Hamlet of Mais in central Yemen; entrance is carved through the large rock.
Photograph by Daniel Martin Varisco

By: Khaled Fattah, Yemen Times

Outside observers of Yemen’s social and political life can not avoid noticing many conceptual puzzles and precious particularities. One of the widely known puzzles among researchers with political science background is the surprising fact that although Yemen is the least developed and weakest Arab state that governs a society characterized by fierce tribal traditions and structures, it’s a country with a party pluralism system. Precious particularities of Yemen, on the other hand, are numerous. To begin with, there is a coincidence of almost everything- from geographical and topographical destiny to the patterns of habitation and concentration of sects; and from the shades of experienced ideologies and insecurity of economic resources to the peculiar nature of colonialism and regional power interventions. This sharp multifaceted coincidence is not something of the past. Rather, it is being felt in every bone in the political, economic and socio-cultural skeletons of today’s fragile Yemen. Continue reading Puzzles and Precious Particularities of Yemen →

Mahdi Madness and the 2008 Election

Apocalypse Watch, Election 2008, Iran, Islam and Christianity, Islamophobia, Shi'a

For some partisans, no matter who is elected President to succeed George W. Bush, it will seem like the end of the world. We are in the apocalypse silly season once again. Take Tim LeHaye, the doctrinal inspiration of the WASP-friendly Left Behind book series (Jerry B. Jenkins provides the verbal inspiration in sci-fi style); he has been preaching the politics of biblical apocalypse for years. Indeed, since the apostle John allegedly first had his vision on the island of Patmos, the world has been teetering in the end times. This world is always going to hell; Jesus must be coming soon. Bible-belting believers and bible-belching evangelists constantly look to the heavens with rapturous delight for the mother of all shock-and-awe shows to begin. Up go the faithful in the twinkling of an eye and then it is open tribulation season on the Jews that will make the 20th century Nazi holocaust look like a sabbath picnic. Fortunately, most of the world’s Christians look at such a naive-ity scene with alarm. “Even so,” it might be said, “do not come Lord Jesus.”

Reverends Tim LeHaye, Pat Robertson and John Hagee are not the only mega-mouths who know deep down in their saved souls that they will not be left behind. Ironically, they share theologically-maddened space with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the shi’a-evangelical President of Iran. As noted in a New York Times article today by Nazila Fathi, the Iranian President’s “high father” is Imam Mahdi, the hidden 12th “twelver” Imam who occulted well over a millennium ago, but whose reappearance has been looked for year after year in popular imagination. Ahmadinejad, who loves to wear his religion on his sleeves, says that Imam Mahdi guides his day-to-day decisions as a president. In gratitude, Ahmadinejad has sponsored an institute to prepare Iran for the Imam’s immanent return. This would be like Bush asking his faith-based supporters to create a special office in Homeland Security on Eternal Security Risks to those Left Behind. Continue reading Mahdi Madness and the 2008 Election →

Hezbollah.. The Ugliest Picture

Arab-Israeli Conflict, Lebanon, Shi'a

By Tariq Alhomayed, Asharq alawsat, 11/05/2008

Exposing falsehoods and uncovering deception; it is indeed true that a picture is worth a thousand words.

In his speech after the coup on Lebanon and its infrastructure, Hassan Nasrallah claimed that millions of dollars were spent in an effort to defame him and distort the image of the “divine party.” However it was the actions of his party that exposed the armed resistance lie and the falsehood of Hassan Nasrallah’s enthusiasm for Lebanon and the unity of its composition.

How horrible were the images carried by international news agencies, which showed Hezbollah’s gunmen and Amal forces stomping and burning pictures of the late Rafik Hariri, and then replacing them with a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

No less hideous were the images of handcuffed and blindfolded pro-government Lebanese citizens paraded in front of “Al Manar” cameras, the television channel that propagates Iran and Hezbollah venom. Moreover the images came across as if these were Israeli captives fallen in the hands of Hassan Nasrallah and not fellow Lebanese brought together by one homeland, of which the most important guarantee is that everyone has the right to live. Continue reading Hezbollah.. The Ugliest Picture →

Yemen: Fighting in North Hampers Humanitarian Work

Huthis, Terrorism Issue, Yemen, Zaydi


Yemeni soldiers patrolling in Saada, 150 miles north of the capital, Sana’a. A Yemeni Member of Parliament accused of being a leader of a deadly three-year uprising by the Zaidi minority in the northern mountains warned in remarks published on Feb. 25 that rebels might widen their campaign. (Photo: Khaled Fazaa / AFP-Getty Images)

Integrated Regional Information Networks, United Nations, May 6, 2007

The I.C.R.C. and Red Crescent came under attack in the Saada region of northern Yemen. (Photo: Afif Sarhan / IRIN)

A humanitarian aid convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (I.C.R.C.) and the Yemen Red Crescent Society came under heavy gunfire on May 2 in the governorate of Saada, north Yemen, the I.C.R.C. has reported.

The incident took place in al-Saifi area, 18 kilometers north of Saada city.

Fighting between government forces and followers of rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in Saada governorate is still going on, causing thousands of people to leave their homes, said aid workers. Continue reading Yemen: Fighting in North Hampers Humanitarian Work →

Sanaa’s Grand Mosque stands for 1400 years

Architecture, Islamic Rituals, Sanaa, Yemen, Zaydi

by Mohammed al-Qiri, Yemen Observer, April 8, 2008

The Grand Mosque of Sana’a is considered to be the oldest in the Islamic world. It was built by order of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) in the sixth Hijri year, corresponding to 627 C.E.. It is located in the Bathan garden, between Ghamdan palace and the Malmlamah rock.

Over the course of history, there have been many additions made to the original building. The mosque was extended in the eighth century by the Amawi Khalif al-Walid ibn Abdulmalik (705- 715 C.E.) and at the beginning of the Abasi dynasty in the eighth century C.E., doors were added by Governor Omar ibn Abdulmajeed al-A’dawi, in addition to other overhauls in 745 C.E under his watch. Continue reading Sanaa’s Grand Mosque stands for 1400 years →