Arts & Letters of Islam

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Arts and Letters of Islam

June 5, 2010

Insights from Around the World

Filed under: Uncategorized — simergculture @ 9:29 pm

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2010 EDITION – An Initiative of Www.Simerg.Com

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Essays, Letters and Opinions June 23: Polo in Mughal India. His Majesty Akbar the Great is very fond of this game. Externally, the game adds to the splendor of his court, but viewed from a higher point, it reveals concealed talents …more» June 22: “The 99″ has been translated into eight languages. It is a comic book series of superheroes to inspire pride and belief in the Islamic faith at a time when the faith is subject to all forms of negative portrayals…more» June 19: “The Caul of Inshallah” …My baby was born on the brink of death. He was prayed for by Sunni, Shia, Ahmediya, Sufi…”God doesn’t need their prayers,” one of my orthodox Muslim visitors sniffed, dismissing the non-Muslims and heretics among them…But I and my family were not in the mood for turning away prayers—from anyone …more» June 11: A Treasure House of Knowledge Rises Again…In existence from roughly 290 BCE to 415 CE, the Library of Alexandria in its modern reincarnation aims to become a place of dialogue between cultures and also seeks to redress the wrong situation where the Islamic tradition has been presented in a biased fashion …more» June 10: I realised it was impossible to study Islam in America without first looking back to the Mayflower settlers, says Akbar Ahmed, after travelling through the United States for over a year and talking to thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims …more» June 7: Hundreds of thousands of Hindu Pandits who fled the Kashmir Valley some twenty years ago, fearful of a separatist insurgency, are trickling back and are astounded at the warm welcome they have been receiving from the valley’s Muslims. Kashmiri Muslims believe the place is really incomplete without its diversity …more» June 6: ‘Everybody Draw Mohammad Day’ sparked outrage in the Muslim world and a Pakistani ban on Facebook. Why was the idea so offensive to Muslims worldwide?…more» June 6: To imagine Central Asia’s future, readers are taken on a remarkable journey of rediscovery of what was once home to some of the world’s most renowned intellectuals …more» June 6: What is the Islamic View on the Hour of Doom? It is described as that time when “those who are in their graves God will raise to life”…more» June 6: The Crusaders’ disregard for personal hygiene, contrasted the attitude of Muslims who put a premium on cleanliness and dietary regime. Prophet Muhammad’s teachings provided a general blueprint for healthy living and abstemious behaviour …more»

Culture and Arts June 22: Married to a Turk?! She knew nothing of Ali, my fiancé, other than the fact that he was Turkish. Yet, this very little information had sent her into a fit that materialized into unleashed accusations as if she had decoded his DNA fingerprints …more» June 16: By modifying Persian miniatures, Soody Sharifi creates “maxiatures” which depict stories of the everyday life of the Islamic world …more» June 14: Rainbow emerged from an ambitious process of collaborative creativity that reached across continents and cultures, and represents at once a continuity and a turning point in the Smithsonian Folkways-Aga Khan Music Initiative CD-DVD series Music of Central Asia …more» June 11: Isolation allowed the Kurds to survive for thousands of years while other cultures faded from history. A cultural revival of all sorts is taking place within the tradition rich Kurdish community in Turkey through cinema, music, story telling, art as well as a return to a primordial nomadic identity …more» June 7: The spectacular Shah Jahan Album features fifty illustrated and calligraphy folios, and offers a glimpse into the courtly life and diverse interest of its Mughal patrons …more» June 6: If Islam enforced the elimination of images, the Muslim rulers of Egypt would have long ago destroyed the pharaonic sculptures. That they did not, speaks to the misunderstandings over Islamic art that cloud the lines of sight …more» June 6: Al-Andalus, Afghanistan and Iran present some of the Muslim world’s most important musical figures, styles and encounters …more» June 6: Though some would deem Salman Ahmad sinful, the leading exponent of “Sufi rock” music, is a decent man. Among other roles he plays, he’s a UN goodwill ambassador for HIV/Aids …more»

Reviews June 9: Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s provocative views on Islam in her new book, Nomad, touted as a coming-to-America emotional journey, mostly reads as an anti-Islamic screed. Hirsi Ali insists Islam and the West are locked in “a clash of civilizations,” the rallying cry of the Fox News Channel’s vox populi…more» … and more» June 8: “It is the benign ignorance of things all Muslim that suffuses the educated opinion, and not only the malign version which we have become familiar with”… The Flight of the Intellectuals reviewed …more» June 6: Many Muslim youth around the world have little knowledge of Islamic liberal and intellectual past. Philosophy is seen as blasphemous because the subject questions God. A book on 9 iconic Muslim philosophers is aimed at cultivating a “revival” of the study of philosophy in the Islamic world …more» June 6: As Buddha was not specifically listed in the Quran among the prophets sent by God, and because Muslims have assumed Buddhists to be atheistic, there has been very little dialogue between these two traditions, but a new book represents a historic shift …more»

Noteworthy News and Events June 17: While Muslim nations may be taking steps to curb smoking in public spaces…more», a persistent drug problem ravages Muslim populations in Central Asia …  more » (see “Afghan High” under photographer’s Recent Work category) June 13: Pakistani gallery leader believes in religious harmony and wants to preserve traces of an ancient Buddhist civilization that is fading from Eastern memory …more» June 6: Devout Muslim Rapper K’Naan gets ready to rock the world at the FIFA World Cup as his song is the choice of Coca Cola’s official World Cup anthem for South Africa 2010 …more» June 6: The late Henry Corbin’s life was devoted to the struggle to free the religious imagination from fundamentalism of every kind. A day-long program, Henry Corbin, Islam and Imagination is being offered next Autumn by the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education …more» June 6: The death of Moroccan Mohammed Al-Jabri robbed the Arab world of one of its most influential thinkers. He had called for an oppositional mode of thought, drawing on the history of non-orthodox Muslims including Ismailis, Shias and Sufis …more» June 6: Egypt’s announcement to remove extreme religious content from its religious curriculum will seek to inculcate moral values independently of religious ones, and encourage creative thinking …more» June 6: The Aga Khan Awards for Architecture rewards projects for their impact on the quality of life as well as architectural excellence. The 2010 Awards will be announced in Doha in October. The shortlist of nominees has been announced ...more