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Muslim Men Who Need to Get Married

Have you heard the name Abdullah Sabawi?  You should and, likely, you will.

When I arrived in Orlando, Florida, a few days ago, it was for a fast-a-thon at the University of Florida.  After a few days vacation, I got a ride up to Gainesville -- to the University of Florida campus up there -- by an area student.  I was really happy to discover the student in question is a filmmaker.  It's always so nice to meet some of the fascinating people who make up our Muslim community; Abdullah, a college student at Central Florida, exactly meets that description.

Turns out Abdullah's short film, Muslim Bachelorism, played at two Orlando area film festivals and was very well received.  I asked him to share the film with me, and he generously agreed to let me embed it on my blog.  I found it a wonderfully entertaining, hilarious and subtly insightful take on the mad rush to get married that preoccupies so many young Muslim men (and it's not for the romance, I'd venture.)  Please watch and share (the original link is here if the below doesn't play properly).  And I hope we'll see much more from him.  Insh'allah.

 

Take the Bully Out of the Pulpit: American Religious Leaders in a Time of Crisis

I'm excited to be a part of this panel.
Please see below for RSVP information. The deadline for RSVPs is October 1st.

 

Islamophobia: Making Our Voices Heard

	Thursday, September 30 · 7:30pm - 10:00pm (Image above by Ridwan Adhami)
Location	Stony Brook University's Union Auditorium (Room 123) Stony Brook, New York
Presented By	The MSA at Stony Brook
More Info	Join us for an eye opening discussion about the current rise of Islamophobia, its effect on the community and how we, as Muslim Americans, should respond.

Understanding Radicalization and Deradicalization Strategies

On June 19th, 2010, I was fortunate to be a part of a day-long conference in Connecticut on the topic of radicalization and means to fight radicalization.  My presentation was a 10 minute discussion related to challenges and opportunities in American mosques.  The presentation is cut off at the end, but nevertheless you can watch most of it here.  I have also embedded the video below.

 

Al Jazeera Expands into Eastern Europe: Chasing Turkey, or Claiming Sarajevo?

Al Jazeera has announced plans for a Balkans channel, focusing in on Sarajevo but, I'm assuming, also including the Eastern European region, which could be successful for two reasons: firstly, Al Jazeera English has made its name as a voice for the global South, and while Eastern Europe really isn't the South, it is often under-reported on and generally passed over.  With Fareed Zakaria's "rise of the rest" coming true, someone needs to be the voice of the rest.

Secondly, with Turkey's continued rise and plans to become a hub for the Eastern European region -- in fact, to compete with Dubai for that role as global middleman -- it makes sense for Al Jazeera to build a brand and have name recognition in the region in advance of its potential growth.  I said as much in my analysis of Obama's outreach to the Muslim world (page 6, footnote 5), noting the power of media for Muslim-West relations and Muslim-Muslim relations.  (Consider Erdogan's impact on the Arab world and his ability to drain away Iran's influence by creating openings for more productive forces in the region.)

The key for rising Muslim-majority powers will be developing the soft-power networks (since, of course, hard power isn't an option for such states) that will enable not only growth between North-South, but growth within South-South networks. 

Resources on Islam, Muslims and Being Smarter and More Interesting With Cooler Friends

People ask me (okay, not that many people, but still since English only requires 2 or more for its plural, I say "people"): What do you read regularly?  What are you reading right now?  What can you recommend?  So here goes something of a list in place of a post, which is nevertheless still a list.  (Takbir, etc.)

If you're looking to grab the global pulse of Muslim life, culture and politics, check out AltMuslim.  If you want - and you should want - to understand religion in America, read Religion Dispatches.  Many important people read both.  Are you important?

If you're looking for everything - and I do mean everything - to do with Muslim women (dare I say unveiling Islamic feminities?), check out Muslimah Media Watch.

If you want to gift someone books on Muslims, through which to explain Islam and humanize our community, there's nothing better than Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson.  They're worth reading irregardless: Buy them for yourself, and encourage others to, too.

If you are interested in names, read this fascinating, wonderful article at London Review of Books.  A long time ago, in my version of "contentions," I noted that you shall know a people by the names they give their children.  I still hold that to be very true.
    Offhand observation: Among Muslim Americans, I find names using the letter "z" to be quite common
    these days.  Any other names you can think of?  There are, of course, the Anglo-Arabic preferences,
    the Jannahs (Jenna), Sarahs (Sarah), Adams (Adam), and so on and so forth, chosen for ease of use.

If you want to know what I'm reading right now, ask Elif Batuman.

If you want to understand the epidemic of positive thinking in America, read Bright-Sided. Especially the chapters on corporate downsizing and optimistic consultancies, and on the prosperity church of Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, etc.

If, like me, you think Rafael Nadal is the greatest tennis player in the world, read Strokes of Genius.  I need to buy that match on DVD.

If you're aching for intelligent sci-fi (now that Battlestar Galactica is over, Lost is done and we're waiting some more years for Star Trek XII), watch Moon.

If you're skeptical of the overhyped promises of the information age, read this essay in a recent issue of The Economist.

If you're looking for good Islamic audio, free to download and nicely portable, check out the ICNYU khutbahs (sermons).  That includes me (self-promotion alert).

For the creativities of Muslim American life, read/watch The Domestic Crusaders, Wajahat Ali's brilliant play.

To really know the feel of Islam online, check out Muslim bloggers Islamicate and City of Brass.

 

Speaking at The Islam on Campus Fast-a-Thon 2010 in Gainesville, Florida

I'm very excited to announce that I'll be speaking at the University of Florida-Gainesville's 2010 Fast-a-thon.  For those of you in the area, I'd be honored if you could make it out. It's a great way to learn more about Islam, eat a wonderful dinner and do your part for an important local charity.

What: In the spirit of the tradition of fasting, Islam On Campus wants you to fast for one day: Monday, September 27th. No food and no water from sunrise to sunset, all for the cause of helping the needy. For every person that pledges to fast, IOC aims to raise money to be donated to the Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry. And when the sun sets on September 27th, we invite all of you to a huge international feast to break your fast at the O'Connell Center - for free! Even if you can't pledge to fast, you're still more than welcome to eat with us.

We'll be joined by Haroon Moghul who will give an enlightening talk about Islam and its role in the public domain. He is the Executive Directer of The Maydan Institute. Haroon served as director of Public relations at the Islamic Center at New York University from 2007 to 2009.

Reminder: What's This Islam Thing and Who Does it Look Like?

Just to remind those of you so interested, my introductory lecture on Islam will take place this Monday, September 20th:

The Beginning and Ends of Islam: An Introduction to the Faith

Although Islam has become an increasingly common topic of day-to-day conversations, accurate and helpful information about Islam is still hard to come by. Going beyond the simple questions -- What do Muslims believe? Where do Muslims live? -- this introduction will get at the heart of how Islam sees the world, how Muslims perceive their place in and amongst creation and why Muslims do the things they do, ethically, morally and spiritually.

The lecture will include a break for Maghrib (sunset) prayers, and time for questions and answers.  Maghrib will come in around 7pm, so we'll pray around 7:15.

Closest trains:
Take the 1 Train to Christopher Street/Sheridan Square. Walk West on Christopher Street about 2 blocks, then turn south (left) on Hudson Street. The church is halfway down the block.

There is a nearby PATH stop as well (Christopher St), which is just a half-block from Hudson Street.

Jon Stewart Channels The Hulk (The One About Islamophobic Squirrels)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Islamophobiapalooza
www.thedailyshow.com
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In the Face of Taylor Swift and Kanye West, MTV Says Islam is Not the Enemy

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