avari | haroon moghul

Oh My God, This Indonesian Guy Looks Just like Barack Obama

5 Minarets in New York

This Turkish film appears to feature, among many subplots, a neo-Ottoman revivalist movement (see the flags in the background), the Turkish military, American intelligence agencies and a lot of other things happening. See the trailer below (at least the budget appears to be high.)

It seems to be another in the genre of "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq," which produced so much controversy here for its portrayal of American-Israeli collusion; that movie is going to be followed by Valley of the Wolves: Palestine (website and trailer), about the Gaza Flotilla, which will further strain ties with Israel.  Can anyone speak to the dynamics here?  Who's funding the films, what kind of audience do they get, and what kind of wider social trends do they speak to?  Do Turkish films have an international audience of significance and, if so, where?

 

Tonight at Columbia

Eliza Griswold: Shop Talk and God Talk

A Conversation on Why the Study of Religion Matters

Monday, November 15, 6:30-8pm
World Room, Journalism Building, 3rd Floor
2950 Broadway
New York, New York

A conversation with Eliza Griswold, an award-winning journalist and
fellow at the New America Foundation. Her recent book is The Tenth
Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam
(2010). Moderated by Randall Balmer, Professor of Religion at Barnard
College.

"Shop Talk and God Talk" is a yearlong series of conversations with
professionals working on how the study of religion shapes their work and
their global perspectives. Organized by Lisa Miller, senior editor of
Newsweek.

Co-sponsored by the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life
(ircpl.org); Columbia Journalism School; and the Center for the Study of
Democracy, Toleration and Religion (CDTR).
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

NBC's Outsourced: Ethnically Ambiguous Brown People in Muslim Garb

Juan Williams is freaking out.  Mark Williams has a headache.  Because of NBC's Outsourced, which is, to the best of my knowledge, the first major network television show which features a headscarfed (for desis, hijabi; for Arabs, muhajjabah) character.  Because the show is set in India.  But still.  I got a chance to interview Sarah Zerina Usmen about her role on the show, for Religion Dispatches.  Check it out.

It Can Happen Here: Oklahoma, Shari'ah Law, and the Headscarf Affair

The JURIST Hotline, published by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, has just published my short commentary on Oklahoma's State Question 755.  This piece notes the conflation of Islam in America with foreignness, and the general trend against foreign and international norms.  I use this piece to argue for what Shari'ah means to Americans, and how the fear of Shari'ah masks the conflation of America with Christianity.

Through the many workshops offered by The Maydan Institute, we talk about how these kinds of conversations about Muslims affect our rights, as American Muslims, to practice and to live religiously.  In doing workshops, in the past I'd almost always mention the French hijab ban to point out the urgency of effective communications skills, and people would think, 'That can't happen here.'  But here we are, not that much later, and an American state has amended its constitution to preclude Shari'ah -- and the point isn't even Shari'ah.  It's fear of American Muslims.

On Saturday, November 20th, Khalid Latif and I are doing a workshop on effective public communications.  We'll talk about what people say about Islam in America, about Islam generally, and how we can effectively, intelligently, compassionately and strategically respond to these kinds of statements.  The workshop, which goes the length of the day, will be an awesome experience, and at only $40.00, a tremendous value.  Because effective communications skills are deeply necessary to success in multiple fields.  Here's how to register.

Arabs and Muslims Are Different Things

I penned this brief screed for The Huffington Post: Why Arab and Muslim Aren't Synonymous.  Any article that includes the word "synonymous" in its title simply demands your reading, retweeting and spreading far and wide.  After all, there are at least 1.5 billion Arabs and Muslims who need to know that they are not each other.

Public Speaking Workshop Like No Other

On Saturday, November 20th, Imam Khalid Latif and I will be leading an all-day workshop in New York City on what it takes to become a better public speaker.  As one of the introductory courses offered by The Maydan Institute, this unique day-long program gets to the heart of what works, what doesn't work, how to win over an audience, how to find your strengths -- and learn simple but effective ways successful speakers get their message across. 

Through video, individual and group exercises, this course introduces what Maydan can offer you, and your community, and will help you professionally, academically, and spiritually. The workshop is open to all, but seating is limited.  Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.  The cost is only $40/person.  Please click here for more information, including location and schedule, and to register.

 

No Ayatollahs in Oklahoma: Stopping Shari'ah Law

My commentary on Oklahoma's Measure 755 is up at Religion Dispatches:

What most Americans don't realize is that we already have interpretations of Shari'ah law in our country; or, at least, interpretations of the personal, moral and ethical components of the law, operating off of individual choice and will. When Muslims pray, they are following interpretations of Shari'ah. Fasting in Ramadan. Giving in charity. Even a smile, the Prophet Muhammad said, is charity.

So what this means in real terms is entirely beyond me, but I am amused that Oklahomans would consider this threat enough to pass a law, to head off — and I can't believe this is the case — the looming Islamization of the West. Apparently, it will begin in the center of the country. About all this guarantees is that the booming Halal food market may be a no-go area, and the rapid growth of Islamic finance as a global industry will just have to pass Oklahoma by.

As a discourse, Shari'ah law has become far more globally significant due to the warnings of persons like Geert Wilders and other alarmists; now, apparently, we can add the people of Oklahoma to that list. What is happening to our America? Why are we so afraid of an abstract Islam, far beyond the ability of extremists and radicals to harm us?

Read the rest here.

An All-Star Line-up At NYU's Center for Law and Security

This Friday, November 5th, Imam Khalid Latif and I will speak as part of a day-long conference: "The Constitution and National Security: The First Amendment Under Attack"; the panel will take place at NYU Law School. 

Among the many expert speakers presenting will be widely-read Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald, Harper's Walter Pincus, and Professor Noah Feldman.  Our panel, moderated by Noah Feldman, will take place from 3:30-5:00pm: "Protecting the Rights and Liberties of Americans: The Case of Islam."

Further details and RSVP information are available here.  The event is free, and open to the public.

A full list of speakers is below: