Sunday, November 04, 2012

you are here to wake up

Judging from sites like Esoteric Tube it seems like there is a growing genre of videos involving monotone voice-overs on top of sparse electronic music put together with provocative sequences of images (frequent choices include fractals, time lapsed nature scenes, astronomical and microscopic pictures) where the message is faintly New Age-y, spiritual-but-not-religious, conspiratorial, mildly anti-government and anti-corporate. One of the first such clips I've seen was Zeitgeist. Another film which is oddly beautiful and simple called "You Are Here to Wake Up" is below. I especially like the references to "They Live" and "The Matrix": 

 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

love, gnosis & other suicide attempts

Amir Sulaiman's poems in Love, Gnosis & Other Suicide Attempts are simultaneously spiritual and sensual; threatening and vulnerable. Sulaiman's voice is between a flood and a firestorm. In the spirit of Rumi and Attar, his poems engage sensuality with a kind of religious devotion and engage religious devotion with sensuous fervor. He exposes the reader to the pleasure found in suffering; the ecstasy found in brokenness. Love, Gnosis & Other Suicide Attempts is often frighteningly gorgeous; other times humbly surrendering, but always honest.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

admiral general haffaz aladeen on the virtues of dictatorship

I've had issues with Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy before and watching "The Dictator" certainly didn't ease those concerns. At the end of the day he is still a Jewish man making fun of Arabs/Muslims/Islamicate people through buffoonish portrayals (The Dictator, Borat and arguably Ali G). Even in Bruno, where Baron Cohen plays a gay Austrian fashion reporter, he didn't take a break from making fun of Arabs ( see: Ayman Abu Aita, Bruno's "Terrorist," Threatens Legal Action) Even so, I just saw The Dictator last night and had to admit that this scene was pretty funny. 

Monday, October 01, 2012

when savages unite

Mark Gonzalez, a Chicano Muslim spoken-word artist responds to Pamela Geller's racist ad campaign (what is the product? who is buying? who is selling?) by making some "beautiful" connections between indigenous struggles everywhere.


Monday, September 24, 2012

pastafarian facebook page leads to blasphemy arrest in greece

HuffPost: Pastafarian Facebook Page Leads To Blasphemy Arrest In Greece

muslims are no different

Muslims are no Different, or why Bill Maher’s blood libel is Bigotry by Juan Cole

are muslims nuts?

In spite of the provocative title, Are Muslims Nuts? by Haroon Moghul is actually one of the more thoughtful and thought-provoking discussions of the whole Innocence of Muslims affair that I've seen.

azhar ahmed and the limits of free speech


The current controversy over the film Innocence of Muslims has got me thinking about the ways in which the West has its own taboos and sacred cows which potentially trump freedom of speech. One very recent example is the case of Azhar Ahmed, a 19 in West Yorkshire who was convicted of posting an offensive message on Facebook in the wake of the deaths of six UK soldiers in Afghanistan.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

jumah at the dnc

The Bureau of Indigenous Muslim Affairs is holding a Jumah Prayer at the Democratic National Convention along with a series of other Muslim events. I'm hoping the conspiracy theories don't get too thick.

totally radical muslims

Totally Radical Muslims Presents: Islamophopia, A Bitchin’ Zine! seems like an amazing project. I wish I could get a copy.