SHAZIA KAMAL

For some Muslim 20 and 30-somethings, Friday nights mean staying in, ordering pizza, and discussing how the current socio-political climate is affecting our daily lives and even futures. And while we find ourselves generally stressed about the entire situation, and fear things like getting fired for praying at work, or wearing hijab, or just having a Muslim name- sometimes we just have to step out and realize the ridiculousness of the predicament that so many of us are in. Somehow, these cheese and veggie lover’s pizzas not only relieve us from a hard week at work, but also the difficult times we experience both consciously and subconsciously as Muslims out in the world.

One such Friday evening, as we digested our food and partook in humorous conversations, practiced complicated prose, and exchanged in “born-and- raised-in- America” type of banter all over cups of chai, we began to bring back to life the uncomfortable memories and awkward instances that we had tucked away for the sake of our sanity. Amidst empty pizza boxes, and packets of red chili paper, we found a space where we were able to put at ease the paranoia and neurosis that consumed us in our daily lives. Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0510/Islamic_cleric_in_Yemen_cites_RAND_report.html

In a fiery interview yesterday, the American-born Yemeni preacher linked to the suspects in the Fort Hood shootings and Christmas Day attempted airliner attack called on Muslim U.S. soldiers to kill their fellow servicemen.

Anwar al-Awlaki also revealed in the interview, made available by the by the Middle East media monitoring organization MEMRI, that he’s not too busy dodging drone attacks in Yemen to do some heavy reading of Washington think tank literature on the issue of moderate vs. radical Islam.

“Americans do not want an Islam that defends the causes of the Islamic nation ….They want an Islam that is American, liberal, democratic, peaceful and civilized,” Awlaki rails in the interview. The kind of moderate Islam favored by the United States “has been mentioned and promoted in some of their reports, for instance in a report by the Rand Corporation,” he says.” Read the rest of this entry »

Sects and the City

By MOUSTAFA BAYOUMI

I had almost forgotten I’d sent in an application when the e-mail message appeared, like Mr. Big, out of nowhere. “Hi, Moustafa,” it began, as if we were old friends. “Thank you for e-mailing us regarding your interest in working on ‘Sex and the City 2.’ ”

No way. Last August, I half-jokingly answered an e-mail message posted on a list-serv requesting “lots of Middle Eastern men and women” as extras for the second “Sex and the City” movie (opening this week). Although I must have been one of the very few in the tri-state area to possess all the talents requested in the e-mail (legal to work, Middle Eastern and between 18 and 70 years old), I still never thought I would be selected. Two months later, I got the call.

“The scene we want you to be in shoots next week,” read the e-mail message. “The 4 main girls will be in the scene & there will be about 150 Background Performers.” Fantastic! Like many men, I pretend to know nothing about “Sex and the City.” (“Is it ‘Sex in the City’ or ‘Sex and the City’?” I’ve been known to ask, disingenuously.) But who didn’t think that Carrie and Mr. Big should have just gotten over it and gotten on with it? Who didn’t get teary over Samantha’s breast cancer? Read the rest of this entry »

latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-racebender-20100523,0,6501983.story

LEAD: No stars in “Prince of Persia” are of Middle Eastern or Muslim descent, including Jake Gyllenhaal. (Andrew Cooper / Disney Enterprises)

Two of the season’s most expensive films spark controversy by casting white actors in ethnic parts, a practice seen before in Hollywood.

By Chris Lee, Los Angeles Times

May 23, 2010
Since its release, the video game franchise Prince of Persia has become notable for the acrobatic grace of its dagger-wielding, balloon pants-wearing hero as well as for what the games didn’t do: affront gamers of Middle Eastern and Muslim descent with stereotypical depictions of people from the region as terrorists or religious zealots.

Independent filmmaker and blogger Jehanzeb Dar, to name one such player, remembers his favorable first reaction to the swashbuckling action game, which is set amid the sands and ancient cities of Persia (as ancient Iran is known) and follows a hero with a magic sword caught between forces of good and evil. “You could see clearly the protagonist had distinct Middle Eastern features and darker skin,” said Dar, 26, who pens the blog Muslim Reverie from Langhorne, Pa. “People could develop some respect for that culture instead of seeing it vilified.”

So when Disney studios announced plans for a live-action adaptation of Prince, Dar held out hope it would be a “serious story that would dispel a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions.” Then came the bad news regarding “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (the movie which arrives in theaters on Friday). None of its principle cast members are of Iranian, Middle Eastern or Muslim descent. And playing Dastan, the hero and titular heir to the Persian throne in the $200-million tent-pole film, is none other than Hancock Park’s own Swedish-Jewish-American prince, Jake Gyllenhaal. Read the rest of this entry »