The Mothers Of The Lashkar

Gender and Sexuality, Pakistan, Terrorism Issue

The Mothers Of The Lashkar

by C.M. Naim, Outlook India, Dec 15, 2008

The book is titled Ham Ma’en Lashkar-e-Taiba Ki (‘We, the Mothers of Lashkar-e-Taiba’); its compiler styles herself Umm-e-Hammad; and it is published by Dar-al-Andulus, Lahore. Its three volumes have the same garish cover, showing a large pink rose, blood dripping from it, superimposed on a landscape of mountains and pine trees The first volume, running to 381 pages, originally came out in November 1998, and was reprinted in April 2001. The second and third volumes, with 377 and 262 pages, respectively, came out in October 2003. Each printing consisted of 1100 copies. Portions of the book—perhaps much of it—also appeared in the Lashkar’s journal, Mujalla Al-Da’wa.

Here is how the publisher, Muhammad Ramzan Asari, describes the book’s contents and purpose. Continue reading The Mothers Of The Lashkar →

Surfs Up Da’wa

Australia, Contemporary Art, YouTube Watch

Sydney art fuses surf with Islam

By Nick Bryant, BBC News, Sydney, December 6, 2008

An Australian artist has produced a range of Islamic surfboards in an attempt to create a greater understanding between East and West.

Phillip George was inspired by his trips to the Middle East and by riots in 2005 when Lebanese Australians were targeted on a beach in Sydney.

He has called the range the Inshallah – or God Willing – surfboards and has put them on exhibition in Sydney.

There are 30 surfboards in all, each adorned with intricate Islamic motifs. Continue reading Surfs Up Da’wa →

Virtual Ummah

CyberOrient, Islam: Introduction

Virtual world for Muslims debuts

BBC News, 2008/12/09

A trial version of the first virtual world aimed at the Muslim community has been launched.

Called Muxlim Pal, it allows Muslims to look after a cartoon avatar that inhabits the virtual world.

Based loosely on other virtual worlds such as The Sims, Muxlim Pal lets members customise the look of their avatar and its private room.

Aimed at Muslims in Western nations, Muxlim Pal’s creators hope it will also foster understanding among non-Muslims.

“We are not a religious site, we are a site that is focused on the lifestyle,” said Mohamed El-Fatatry, founder of Muxlim.com – the parent site of Muxlim Pal.

“This is for anyone who is remotely interested in the Muslim culture and the Muslim lifestyle,” he said. Continue reading Virtual Ummah →

Farewell Iraqi Style

Iraq War


The shoe-thrower, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network

Farewell Iraqi-style: How Iraqis bid vilified leaders goodbye

by Amr al-Azm

As I sat there watching with incredulity and a sense of Schadenfreude that an Iraqi journalist sent one shoe and then the other hurtling at George Bush’s head, I could only reflect on how the same Iraqis, some five year ago, were directing the very same shoes at the face of another much vilified leader: Saddam Hussein.

In Arab culture, showing the soles of the shoes is a sign of great disrespect; throwing a shoe then becomes a symbol of even greater contempt. Bush’s recent unscheduled visit to Iraq, as part of a supposed victory lap, crowning the achievements of his eight-year presidency, ended in ignominy with a shoe in the face. Continue reading Farewell Iraqi Style →

If the shoe fits…

Iraq War


Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, tried to block President Bush when a man threw his shoes at the president during a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday.

There is not a lot of humor coming out of Baghdad these days. So leave it to a surprise visit by our lame duck President Bush to lighten things up. Snuck into Iraq with the secrecy of a Harry Potter sequel plot, the joint press conference deep in the Green Zone with Nouri Al-Maliki would seem to be a safe venue. Yet the moment Bush was introduced to the Baghdad press corps, the shoe leather hit the fan. A local television reporter stood up, shouting “This is a goodbye kiss, you dog.” Well, it sounds a bit more sinister in Arabic. But this was not the sole agenda of the media heckler. He threw both his shoes at Bush, who ducked both. There was a bit of confusion and seemingly no secret service agent paying attention. Bush stood his ground, waving off the double shoeing with a joke that all he knew was that they were size 10. Continue reading If the shoe fits… →

Tariq Ali, Pashtun Nationalism, and Taliban

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Taliban, Terrorism Issue


By Naeem Wardag, Indus Asia Online Journal, December 3, 2008

Since the Afghan War, important power quarters in Pakistan have been propagating a particular interpretation of the security situation in Afghanistan through a variety of means ranging from the vociferous propaganda of the religious right to the more subtle works and ways of the allied experts strategically deployed here and there. Joined the campaign lately have also some ideologues of the liberal left-in particular from Punjab – whose paradigm of the class-struggle fully converge with the “cosmic struggle metaphysics” of the extreme religious right at this point of time as far as their analysis of the problem is concerned. Continue reading Tariq Ali, Pashtun Nationalism, and Taliban →

Mo of the Same

Islam in Europe, Islamophobia, Journalism and Media, YouTube Watch


Ehsan Jami, member of the city council of Leidschendam-Voorburg on behalf of the Dutch Labour Party(PvdA) and one of the two founders of the Central Committee for Ex-Muslims

Islamophobia is as old as St. John of Damascus and the Venerable Bede, so it is not surprising that it should also have a youtube extension. One of the latest contributions has not been Piped in by an ardent jihad watcher nor obsessed by a horribly-witted and spent spinnermeister that robs truth to pay politics. Move over Ibn Warraq, hang on Ayaan Ali Hirsi, there is a new apostate on the video block going Dutch on Muslims. His name is Ehsan Jami and he has recently released an “Interview with Muhammad.” So if you would like to hear what someone who has rejected Islam would like the Prophet Muhammad to say on camera after more than fourteen centuries, here is a chance. An earlier prophet, Solomon the Wise, complained that there is nothing new under the sun. Applied to this film I would have to say it is Mo of the same. Continue reading Mo of the Same →

Down the wrong chimney

Film and Video, Iraq, Teaching Resources


Classroom scene from “Santa Claus in Baghdad.” The book in the professor’s hand is a red velvet volume on Kahlil Gibran, published in 1984. In the film it contains an inscription from the professor’s professor dated 1949. Mixing dates is not the only cinematic sin of this problematic “educational” film.

Last week I received an email as an “educator” about a new, award-winning short feature film called Santa Claus in Baghdad. The announcement came from the filmmaker, an Egyptian named Raouf Zaki, who provided a free preview on a website called vimeo.com. The film is based on a short story of the same name, now part of a series of short stories for young adults by author Elsa Marston. I must admit that I found the title a bit strange, so I decided to look at the preview Tuesday night. But, as the old Christmas song expresses so well, “When, what to my wondering eyes should appear?” A turkey; nothing to give thanks for in battling stereotypes of Iraqis. I realize that the film intended to humanize Arab children, but it tells an emotional “what a great kid” story unrelated to the realities of living in Iraq. Iraqi children, including the thousands who died during Saddam’s regime and during the American occupation, deserve better. Continue reading Down the wrong chimney →