i'm back...

or at least, I'm not on the road and I have internet access at the moment. So this weekend my cousin got married and a lot of stuff was going through my head so this blog will be a shade more personal and eclectic than usual.

On the educational tip:
At a picnic the day after the wedding, a section of family members were hanging out, not clear on how to describe how we are related to one another. I mean, we could say that so-and-so's mother is the sister of the mother of the bride etc. But does that make us second cousins once removed or first cousins twice removed or what?

One of the guests helped us to figure it all out, and if you are interested, here is a nice chart which helps to describe how it works. Roughly, saying 1st cousin, or 2nd cousin, or 3rd cousin, etc. is an indication of how many generations you have to go back before finding a common ancestor. (So 1st cousins share a pair of grandparents, 2nd cousins share great-grandparents, etc.) And once, twice, three times, etc. removed is an indication of whether the cousins themselves are in different generations and how far apart they are (So the children of your 1st cousins are your first cousins once removed)

Actually, that reminds me of a talk I attended where Juan Cole (whose blog, Informed Comment is in my links section) described the problems US troops were facing in Iraq. Part of the difficulty was that when US actions led to the deaths of Iraqis, very often their cousins (where "cousins" is a potentially huge set of people) would come out of the woodwork wanting to avenge the deaths of their kin. Cole remarked that some of the military forces with a deeper understanding of Iraqi culture decided it was less trouble to pay the blood price to the families instead of ignoring their desire for satisfaction.

On the political/historical tip:
At this same picnic I had an interesting conversation with a friend of the family which helps provide a decent follow-up to a previous entry about race in Cuba. Basically he was arguing that even before Fidel's revolution there were significant numbers of Afro-Cubans in the Cuban government, and that in certain respects things have gone backwards since the revolution. Furthermore, even among the original revolutionaries who were in the mountains with Fidel, or those who stayed in the cities and helped organize and train the masses to prepare the way for the revolution there were many Afro-Cubans but that afterwards, Fidel found several of these individuals threatening and had many of them executed. The general point (which is not often articulated by the left) was that Fidel wasn't faithful to the true ideals of the revolution and ultimately betrayed it. Even many of the Black revolutionaries from the US who sought asylum in Cuba, became dissatisfied and disillusioned and moved elsewhere. This friend of the family (who had personal knowledge of many of the anti-Batista Afro-Cubans alluded to above, also recommended Carlos Moore's book Castro, the Blacks and Africa which was mentioned in earlier entry.

On the religious tip:
The wedding itself was beautiful. It was an outdoor, afrocentric ceremony by the water. Other than a single prayer made "in Jesus' name" nothing else really marked the ceremony as particularly Christian. Along with a number of other things happening in my life, it made me wonder what is going on in American religiosity? A lot of people seem to be moving away from the religious traditions of their childhood and are attracted to newer movements and practices which are consciously chosen in adulthood.

Open Question(s) the United States getting further away from mainstream Judeo-Christian religious practice? Or closer? Should Islam in the US be thought of as a mainstream movement or as a "new religious movement"? What will the religious landscape look like a couple of decades down the road? Will the alternative movements stay on the edge or do any of the new religious movements have the potential to become more mainstream and more organized?

on the road again...

I will be travelling this weekend so I'll probably be doing more thinking about what to blog on than actual blogging. For any newcomers, the bulk of the entries are on "muslim stuff", "afro/black stuff" or "latino/hispanic stuff", preferably in some combination, but not necessarily so. If you stop to think about it, the above parameters actually cover alot of ground. (It really makes me curious about who is reading.) In any case, in the process of writing, it has been interesting for me to find connections which weren't as clear to me before. A few entries here and there have been about other "stuff". But I think that in the future I'll probably loosen up some more about topics and write more broadly about religion, race, culture and politics, but still from a "moorish" perspective.
So...Peace... until Monday or so.

a coincidence you think this is?

ok, i think this will be the last "star wars" entry for a while:
So back when Episode I: The Phantom Menace first came out, The Muslim Magazine (currently on hiatus) had some interesting pieces on the connections between Islam and the content of the Star Wars films. One was an interview with Dhul-Nun Owen who talks about how George Lucas had contacted members of the Habibiyyah Sufi order in Berkeley, CA in order to do research for Star Wars. There was also a piece by Mahmoud Shelton about how Sufi ideas of spiritual chivalry (futuwwat) have parallels in the Jedi teachings. (Shelton is probably more well-known for writing Alchemy in Middle-Earth: The Significance of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings which points to some of the Islamic concepts which appear in Tolkien's work.)

In any case, there are some interesting ways in which Islamic themes either accidentally or quite deliberately appear in the Star Wars saga. One can point to how Tunisia was used as the location to film the scenes set on Tatooine. Or how Coruscant (the capital of the galactic republic) sounds like Khorasan. Or how "jeddi" and "palawan" (padawan?) were titles used by Muslim knights. (actually here is an interesting page on jihad and futuwwat which uses the term "jeddi"). Or how many awliya are thought to experience a certain kind of life where they are still present after death. Or how there are accounts associated with Ali (ra) about a "sword of light" (light-saber?). Or the idea (also associated with Ali) that ones intentions in battle must always be pure and that it is wrong to kill out of anger, even in when one is outwardly justified. And of course the most obvious connection to Islam is the long-lived Jedi master Yoda (better known as the Green Man or Khidr).

A coincidence do you think this is?

so i finally saw it

Ok, so this will be my third Star Wars-related entry after emperor leads death star memorial service (which was on the funny side) and revenge of the sith (which was more serious and not really about the movie anyway). This one is a little bit on the geeky side:

I just saw Episode III last night, and to be honest I was a little disappointed. The special effects were of course "amazing" but I'm not sure if they were worth the money. Of course, the movie was orders of magnitude better than Episodes I and II, but that's not setting the bar very high. I would actually recommend the novelization of Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover. The dialogue is better, the background story is more fleshed out, the significance of events is more apparent. And I was especially surprised at how rich the descriptions of the various duels and fights were. A big part of my disappointment with seeing it in the theatre was due to the fact that the film's portrayal of the lightsaber duels and other action sequences didn't convey the same meaning found in the novel's descriptions.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, I don't want to give away too many details. But I will say that unfortunately there is NOT a scene where Mace Windu says "...And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee. ..." right before killing Jar Jar Binks with a light saber.

Now that the series is "over". I wonder what stories would have made up episodes VII, VIII and IX? There are many novels and graphic novels (i.e. fancy comic books) which deal with the events following Return of the Jedi. The New Republic arises out of the ashes of the empire. Kind of like the Contras in Nicaragua, there are still Imperial forces lying around which need to get mopped up by the new fledgling government. Han Solo and Princess Leia have kids. Luke Skywalker reconstructs the Jedis in order to protect the New Republic and he also eventually marries and has at least one child of his own. And of course, there are many snags and obstacles along the way. Beloved characters fall. Noble Jedi are tempted into the dark. And life goes on. I don't know if George Lucas will really get around to making the last three episodes. But if you are really overcome by curiosity over what happens to the characters, it is easy enough to take a trip to the sci-fi section of your local bookstore and read for yourself.

muslim watch on empire

As a part of Z Magazines, Z-Net, there is a specific collection of pages under the heading of Muslim Watch On Empire which brings together a number of Muslim voices speaking out against certain oppressive structures in the world. I would probably add this page to my links if I didn't already have the Z-Net site there.

tariq ramadan and globalization

For a while now I've been thinking about what the connections are between the anti-globalization movement and Muslim activists. Especially given that many Muslims live in the developing world and are on the receiving end of globalization, I would think it likely that people in both camps would be willing to form some natural alliances. But at the same time, there seem to be certain disagreements or obstacles which need to be overcome before such alliances can really become effective and powerful. Tariq Ramadan considers this problem in a brief piece, where he focuses on the shortcomings of the secular left. Personally I would say that work needs to be done on both sides towards finding some middle ground, but his article seems reasonable as far as it goes.

another world is possible

If you are interested in finding out more about the World Social Forum (which is coordinating alot of the anti-globalization movement under the slogan "Another World is Possible") here is the World Social Forum website where you can find out about their past and current activities, their statement of principles, etc.

comtemporary art from the islamic world

I just found this interesting website which features contemporary art coming out of Muslim countries. Actually its an entire online magazine with 10 issues archived. Each issue features exhibitions from several artists and includes a decent number of images plus some brief descriptions of the artists and their work. It's supported by the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (in Germany).
The index page is available here.

muslim eye for the straight guy

I just realized that the last two books I've read are the Vagina Monologues and Fight Club! (wow, it's hard to imagine two books so extremely different in their likely audience) Anyway, the two books, especially in combination, are a good spring board to talk about some things.

First, Vagina Monologues:
According to one of the monologues, the last recorded clitoridectomy to occur in the United States was performed in 1948 on a five-year old girl to cure her of masturbation. But other sources suggest that it has been done on female patients as recently as the 50's. I only mention this to say that neither Muslims nor Africans have some kind of exclusive copyright on the practice.

Very often, in a multitude of ways, legitimate concerns for the well-being and position of women in society are used as a club to reinforce racist or otherwise prejudiced attitudes towards certain communities. I don't know what the perfect response/solution is but one which comes to mind is to prescribe a healthy dose of history.

As societies or civilizations, "Islam" and "The West" are not these rigid unchanging things. On both sides, the position of women changes over time and there is no reason to think that it won't continue to change. For long periods during their mutual histories, the position of women has actually been higher in Muslim societies than in Western ones. And from the position of world history, the gains which women have made in the West are quite recent. For example, even if you want to look at this past century, women in Turkey had the right to vote and stand for election before women in France. And Pakistani women had the right to vote and run for office election several decades before women in Switzerland.

So there is no reason to think that women in Muslim societies won't continue to achieve greater opportunity and justice. And there is no reason for Western societies to rest on their laurels. All societies fall short, and all societies have work which urgently needs to be done on this front.

Secondly, Fight Club:
This is a huge oversimplification, but basically Fight Club is a novel about groups of men who find their manhood by getting together and beating each other up. Part of the idea is that modern-life is so emasculating that men feel a need to go to some serious extremes just to compensate. And even in the real world, it seems like in many ways a lot of men feel that they don't quite know how to be men and need to join groups to figure out how; from Promise Keepers, to the Million Man March, to Robert Bly's Men's Movement, etc. Even Queer Eye for the Straight Guy can be viewed as a bizarre and indirect manifestation of the same phenomena.

So how does this phenomena affect Muslim men? I think that's an open-ended question which is worth some further discussion. Off the top of my head I'd say that you probably could find examples of men who "don't know how to be men" and engage in unhealthy or negative behaviors. But I would also suspect that some aspects associated with Islam (clearer gender roles, notions of "male space" and "female space", etc.) are positive and healthy (if they aren't taken to abusive extremes.)

What do people out there think? Is there a need for a Muslim Men's Movement to heal our collective psychic wounds?

are emily and greg more employable than lakisha and jamal?

Two researchers, Bertrand and Mullainathan carried out a study where they looked at the role of race and racism in the labor market. What they did was to send out resumes to different potential employers (some with "black" names, some with "white" names). The basic result is that the resumes with "black" names got fewer callbacks (yes very shocking). I have a dream that one day Keisha and Darnell will be judged, not by the sounnd of their names, but the qualifications on their resume. (On a side note, several of the "black" names were also "Muslim" names. And it turns out that for women, "Aisha" had the lowest callback rate, and for men "Rasheed" had the lowest callback rate)

If you are interested in more of the nuances and details:
Here is their original paper

muwakkil on domestic terrorism

This is a 2001 Chicago Tribune editorial by Salim Muwakkil on domestic terrorism

afro-mexicans represent!!!

Here is an interesting article from Bobby Vaughan on
Mexico in the Context of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
and also a link to the
Black Mexico Homepage

salim muwakkil

Salim Muwakkil is a senior editor at IN THESE TIMES magazine. He is an Op-Ed columnist for the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, a member of the editorial board, and a columnist for, the Madison-based Progressive Media Project, an advisory board member of Free Press and a 2000 Media Fellow of the Soros Open Society Institute. He was a contributing columnist for the Op-Ed page of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES from 1993 to 1997. His work has won him many awards - including the Studs Terkel Award for journalistic excellence.

Salim Muwakkil is a contributing author to six books: APPEAL TO REASON: 25 YEARS IN THESE TIMES, 2002; STATES OF CONFINEMENT, 2000; THE FARRAKHAN FACTOR: AFRICAN-AMERICAN WRITERS ON MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, 1998; THE BELL CURVE DEBATE, 1995; COLLATERAL DAMAGE: THE NEW WORLD ORDER AT HOME AND ABROAD, 1992; INSIDE THE L.A. RIOTS, 1992.

From 1986 to 1990 he taught journalism at Chicago's Columbia College. He has also been an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Film Center, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, the Associated Colleges of the Midwest's Urban Studies, and the University of Illinois in 2001.

From 1995-96 Muwakkil was a co-host of Pacifica News' network daily "Democracy Now" program and from 1993 to 1996 he hosted a weekly talk show on Chicago radio station WVON-AM. Muwakkil is a frequent guest on CHICAGO TONIGHT, a public affairs program on PBS, BEYOND THE BELTWAY, a nationally syndicated radio program of political commentary. He has provided on-air political analysis for Fox TV News in Chicago and is an occasional commentator for the Pacifica News Network, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Monitor Radio.

Mr. Muwakkil's work has been published in a wide range of publications, including THE BLACK SCHOLAR, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, THE WASHINGTON POST, THE PROGRESSIVE, NEW YORK NEWSDAY, CINEASTE magazine, CHICAGO magazine, THE BALTIMORE SUN, THE TORONTO STAR, EMERGE magazine and the UTNE READER. And in a past life, he was an editor for the Final Call.

IN THESE TIMES
Stories by Salim Muwakkil on AlterNet

more on malcolm x

This is a piece Salim Muwakkil wrote 5 years ago on the occasion of Malcolm X's birthday:
On Malcolm X’s 75th birthday, questions remain about assassination
It deals with the assassination but also touches on the significance of Malcolm's legacy for different movements.

the forgotten history of islam in america

This is a feature from In These Times, by Salim Muwakkil giving a brief but rather balanced overview of Islam's history in the US. He concludes by saying:

Deeply rooted in U.S. culture, Islam has proven its utility as an agent for change and a force for stability. Those who argue that the religion is atavistic or a product of postmodern nihilism must be more careful in their condemnation. Like other religious believers, Muslims often oscillate between precept and practice. But pluralistic cultural pressures are more likely to moderate the excesses of Islamist cults, like al Qaeda and Islamic Jihad, than an endless war. The nation has not done enough to mine the wisdom of Muslims—particularly African-Americans—who have successfully reconciled the obligations of Islamic piety with pluralistic democracy. We are in desperate need of such insight.

onward christian soldiers

Here is an old story (with audio clip) about Deputy Undersecretary of Defense William Boykin, the high-ranking military man (an unapolegetic evangelical crusader who "has led or been part of almost every recent U.S. military operation, from the ill-fated attempt to rescue hostages in Iran to Grenada, Panama, Colombia, Somalia" who is recently famous for making statements like "my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol.” in regard to Somali Muslims.

Here is a new story which uncovers a little more of the iceberg. Apparently there such a strong evangelical tone in the Air Force Academy and there was so much pressure to convert the cadets (even the ones who were already Christian) that it reached the point of intolerance. In fact, an outside group was going to publish a report which was going to candidly describe the religious climate, but recently MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran chaplain at the academy was basically fired for agreeing with the contents of the report.

How did this climate come into existence?

Morton said the cadet wing at the Air Force Academy is about 90 percent Christian. She said that group is roughly one-third Catholic, one-third mainstream Protestant and one-third evangelical. But the evangelicals have a much bigger voice among the chaplains, she said.

"The predominance of evangelical Christians reflects the chaplain corps of the Air Force overall," Morton said. "The major mainstream Protestant divinity schools are no longer sending many graduates into the armed forces. And so the concentration of evangelicals among chaplains is strong through the whole service."

I know there are other voices in the US military and I wouldn't want to generalize just based on a couple of news stories, but the above accounts aren't encouraging.

black clergy rebuff bush

An article by Salim Muwakkil for In These Times about how some of the major organizations of Black churches have decided to confront the GOP claim to represent the Christian political agenda.

Salim Muwakkil is also the editor-in-chief of In These Times (which has been on my links list for a long time now). He is a former member of the Nation of Islam, but he speaks very sparingly about his own personal religious convictions.

khalil bendib

Here are two interviews with Khalil Bendib, the cartoonist behind "The Pen is funnier than the Sword" page. The first is from the Ihsan blog and discusses the relation between Islam and being a Green party member. The second is with the New Humanist and talks more about being a cartoonist in the post 9/11 political climate.

blog housekeeping

I'm not sure if BlogRolling is correctly labelling which blogs on my blogroll are recently updated (fresh!) so if you are actually clicking based on that, you might want to occasionally try to check some blogs even if they aren't marked.

And now that I've been blogging for a while on different subjects, I'm starting to look into how I can organize my archives by category, but until then, you might want to make use of the search function at the top of the screen.

And as a general disclaimer, if I've linked to or quote from a particular page or blog, it should be taken to mean that I think it is interesting and that I feel some kind of affinity to the content, not that I endorse every claim without reservation.

Also, whether you agree or disagree with the content, comments and feedback are generally welcome (as long as its not spam, obscene or otherwise useless)

malcolm x's birthday

FYI, today is Malcolm's Birthday. Go reread his autobiography. Check out a speech or two. Go eat a bean pie, just do something. Actually, you can just go to the Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) Page and check out some of the links available through there.