C L O S E R

Kalima Translation – Reviving Translation in the Arab world

Posted on November 22nd, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Kalima Translation – Reviving Translation in the Arab world
Kalima, is a major new translation initiative which funds the translation, publication and distribution of high quality foreign writing into Arabic.Every year Kalima will select 100 candidate titles of classic, contemporary and modern writing from around the world to be translated into Arabic. Kalim has a center in Abu Dhabi and later on also in Beirut, Cairo and Rabat.

One of the new candidates is Erasmus’ The Praise of Folly. On Qantara.de an interview with the executive president to the project Karim Nagi:

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Prinsjesdag…

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture, Blogosphere, Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Multiculti Issues.

(foto: Telegraaf)

Naast de Troonrede is, denk ik, het allerbelangrijkste van prinsjesdag, de kleding. In het bijzonder van de vrouwen en dan weer in het bijzonder in hoedjes. Maar niet alleen. Als het erom gaat wie dit jaar het meest opvallendst was, denk ik dat mevrouw Vogelaar gewonnen heeft. Diverse weblogs (en in hun comments) weten in ieder geval melding te maken van haar outfit: hier, hier, hier, hier, hier, hier en hier. Haar kledingstuk wordt gezien als ‘islamitisch’ dan wel ‘islamiserend’ of ‘Marokkaans’ en vergeleken met een kaftan.

Ook Wilders en Verdonk reageren erop. Wilders die het ‘half-marokkaans’ noemt en Verdonk die het ‘kaftanachtig’ noemt en het vergelijkt met de kleding van imams en dat eigenlijk maar een slecht voorbeeld noemt voor de integratie.

Uiteindelijk is het niet Marokkaans, ook niet echt islamitisch volgens mij en ook geen kaftan (een lange jurk oorspronkelijk afkomstig uit Turkije die overigens ook door Marokkanen wordt gedragen, maar ook al lang haar intrede heeft gedaan in de ‘westerse‘ mode en net als andere kledingitems), maar een soort hybride creatie. Nu is hybriditeit eigenlijk de normaalste zaak van de wereld. Mensen en culturele repertoires mixen en daardoor ontstaan nieuwe culturele repertoires (zonder dat de oude helemaal verdwijnen). Hier gaat het ook om een doelbewust proces. Vogelaar wilde laten er zien dat allochtonen ook een belangrijke bijdrage kunnen leveren en dat er velen zijn die het goed doen in de maatschappij. De ontwerpster Houda el Fechka wilde een jurk maken op basis van een mix tussen twee culturen.

Op deze manier probeert zij een brug te slaan en een eenheid te creëeren. Wilders en Verdonk, zo blijkt uit hun reacties (en ook van sommige bloggers en hun commenters) creëeren juist bewust of onbewust een verschil door het als Marokkaans, islamitisch of als slecht voorbeeld voor integratie te benoemen. Hybriditeit kan dus door politieke groeperingen, andere machtsgroeperingen en individuen gebruikt worden om eenheid te creëreren waar die niet is, eenheid in stand te houden of juist om verdeeldheid te creëeren of in stand te houden. Zie hier het politieke gebruik van cultuur en identiteit.

Kennelijk hebben politieke groeperingen of andere machtsgroepen er belang bij dat hybriditeit bestaat. Deze wordt dus bewustmatig gecreëerd om een eenheid te vormen, van een volk die eigenlijk geen eenheid heeft.

1 comment.

Protected: Trouw, hetNieuws| wereld – Tv-serie vertelt Iraniërs over de Holocaust, zonder gaskamers

Posted on September 17th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

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Protected: Trouw, hetNieuws| wereld – Tv-serie vertelt Iraniërs over de Holocaust, zonder gaskamers

Posted on September 17th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

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Protected: NRC Handelsblad – Ted Swedenburg/ISIM-lezing: Sinds Irak zijn de teksten heel expliciet

Posted on September 17th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| overigeartikelen – De politieke lading van een Arabisch lettertype

Posted on August 24th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| overigeartikelen – De politieke lading van een Arabisch lettertype

Posted on August 24th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

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Schijt aan de overheid – DePers.nl

Posted on August 10th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

Schijt aan de overheid – vrijdag 10 augustus 2007 – DePers.nl
Hiphop ’Het is wachten op Mohammed C.’
Schijt aan de overheid

Door: Myrthe Hilkens
Gepubliceerd: gisteren 22:04
Update: vandaag 11:26

Zwaaiend met bijlen en messen vecht rapper Appa zich met ‘Schijt aan de Overheid’, voor de tweede keer, binnen 24 uur naar de hoogste regionen van YouTube Nederland. ‘Zijn aanhang is enorm.’

‘Terrorist’ staat er op zijn T-shirt en Appa’s ogen spuwen vuur als hij de belangrijkste zin uit het refrein van zijn nieuwe single scandeert. ‘Ik heb schijt, aan de overheid.’ Naast hem staat Sjaak, collega MC en ook van Marokkaanse afkomst. Hij verdient geld met de handel in soft- en harddrugs, verhaalt hij in het nummer. Op de achtergrond laten jongens, sommige met Palestijnse sjaal voor het gezicht geknoopt, bijlen, honkbalknuppels en messen zien. Ze gooien iemand in de achterbak van een auto, slaan en schoppen hem. Appa staat ter beschikking van de straat en rapt over politici. Hij poept op ze, zegt ie, zoals Bush op de Europese Unie.

Een eerdere clip van de MC uit Amsterdam-Noord trok behoorlijk wat bekijks. Bijna een miljoen jongeren downloadden Schuif aan de Kant, en 24 uur nadat Appa woensdag Schijt aan de Overheid op YouTube zet, staat de clip op nummer vier in de online hitlijst. (more…)

3 comments.

Protected: NRC/Hester Carvalho – De onvrede van de Marokkaanse ‘reality-rappers’: Luister! Dan komt het goed

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture, Multiculti Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

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Protected: NRC/Hester Carvalho – De onvrede van de Marokkaanse 'reality-rappers': Luister! Dan komt het goed

Posted on July 30th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture, Multiculti Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims, Youth culture (as a practice).

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Harry Potter’s Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Very interesting article by Zvi Bar’el: Harry Potter’s Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

“The story line is not important. We have to take into account that reading itself is what’s lacking in Arab nations. Those nations do not even read the Koran. I say we must learn the love of reading from the West without saying that reading that book is a waste of time. Hundreds of thousands of [Westerners] stood in line to get a copy of the book and no one in the Arab nations even goes into a bookstore more than once a year. There’s no crowding in bookstores. People crowd around the television, and they’re highly skilled in wasting time on the Internet.”

These words, written by a reader named Khaled, were posted on the Al Jazeera Web site the morning the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series was released. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” has yet to be translated into Hebrew, but the book’s official Arabic Web site, ar-hp.com, is already up, and it is possible to download all the Harry Potter books in Arabic there. The site also contains information about the author, the number of copies sold and news related to the book.

For example, one article reports that police in Pakistan defused a bomb set to explode next to the Karachi bookstore where the book was set to go on sale. Another article informed would-be viewers that Al Jazeera was about to air a television special about the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The site features links to forums for Arabic-speaking Harry Potter fans, advice on how to quickly obtain the book and an interactive trivia competition about the life and adventures of the boy wizard. Islamic religious decrees, or fatwas, on why it is forbidden to perform spells and the difference between regular magic and wizardry, are also included.

This is not the only Web site where it is possible to download the books in Arabic, and given the traffic on other sites with similar services, it appears that many thousands, though not millions, have taken the opportunity.

In Arab nations, most copies of the new book were snapped up by children in Beirut and the Gulf States, where the first Arabic copies were ordered online and received through air freight. Iranians also lined up to buy the book. This year was the first time Iranians were able to obtain the book at the same time as residents of other countries.

The fact that children (and adults) all over the world, including Arab nations, are reading the same book at the same time raised questions as to whether an Arabic writer could attract so many readers. In addition, it prompted residents of Arab countries to compare their own reading habits with those of other places.

A bookstore owner in Dubai quoted in the local newspaper Gulf News says he keeps about 10,000 titles in his shop but sells no more than two to five books each month.

Another Dubai bookstore owner says sales of Arabic books in his shop comprise only 8 percent of total sales. That means that most of his clientele read in English and French.

Salah, another visitor to the Al Jazeera site, also expressed concern regarding Arab reading habits. He says that proper promotion of reading among Arab youth cannot rely on just anything that falls into their hands, even if it bears the name Harry Potter.

“Literature,” says Salah, “must strive to achieve lofty aims rather than feed the illusions that nurture Western culture.” Salah calls on Arabic readers to return to Muslim texts, the Koran and its commentators.

An Internet surfer from California, identified as Marmour, suggests that Arabs unite to support the Palestinian cause and read sacred texts rather than the “drivel” that surrounds the boy wizard.

Razi, another readers’ forum participant, chimes in: “If our parents had accustomed us to reading when we were young, we would already have read a major portion of modern literature from all parts of the world, as well as works by acclaimed writers like the author of ‘Harry Potter,’ who would enrich imaginations.”

Razi continues: “I intend to encourage my children to read and hope that everyone does that. Together, we will change the world.”

Images are from AR-HP.com

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Harry Potter's Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

Very interesting article by Zvi Bar’el: Harry Potter’s Koran – Haaretz – Israel News

“The story line is not important. We have to take into account that reading itself is what’s lacking in Arab nations. Those nations do not even read the Koran. I say we must learn the love of reading from the West without saying that reading that book is a waste of time. Hundreds of thousands of [Westerners] stood in line to get a copy of the book and no one in the Arab nations even goes into a bookstore more than once a year. There’s no crowding in bookstores. People crowd around the television, and they’re highly skilled in wasting time on the Internet.”

These words, written by a reader named Khaled, were posted on the Al Jazeera Web site the morning the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series was released. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” has yet to be translated into Hebrew, but the book’s official Arabic Web site, ar-hp.com, is already up, and it is possible to download all the Harry Potter books in Arabic there. The site also contains information about the author, the number of copies sold and news related to the book.

For example, one article reports that police in Pakistan defused a bomb set to explode next to the Karachi bookstore where the book was set to go on sale. Another article informed would-be viewers that Al Jazeera was about to air a television special about the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The site features links to forums for Arabic-speaking Harry Potter fans, advice on how to quickly obtain the book and an interactive trivia competition about the life and adventures of the boy wizard. Islamic religious decrees, or fatwas, on why it is forbidden to perform spells and the difference between regular magic and wizardry, are also included.

This is not the only Web site where it is possible to download the books in Arabic, and given the traffic on other sites with similar services, it appears that many thousands, though not millions, have taken the opportunity.

In Arab nations, most copies of the new book were snapped up by children in Beirut and the Gulf States, where the first Arabic copies were ordered online and received through air freight. Iranians also lined up to buy the book. This year was the first time Iranians were able to obtain the book at the same time as residents of other countries.

The fact that children (and adults) all over the world, including Arab nations, are reading the same book at the same time raised questions as to whether an Arabic writer could attract so many readers. In addition, it prompted residents of Arab countries to compare their own reading habits with those of other places.

A bookstore owner in Dubai quoted in the local newspaper Gulf News says he keeps about 10,000 titles in his shop but sells no more than two to five books each month.

Another Dubai bookstore owner says sales of Arabic books in his shop comprise only 8 percent of total sales. That means that most of his clientele read in English and French.

Salah, another visitor to the Al Jazeera site, also expressed concern regarding Arab reading habits. He says that proper promotion of reading among Arab youth cannot rely on just anything that falls into their hands, even if it bears the name Harry Potter.

“Literature,” says Salah, “must strive to achieve lofty aims rather than feed the illusions that nurture Western culture.” Salah calls on Arabic readers to return to Muslim texts, the Koran and its commentators.

An Internet surfer from California, identified as Marmour, suggests that Arabs unite to support the Palestinian cause and read sacred texts rather than the “drivel” that surrounds the boy wizard.

Razi, another readers’ forum participant, chimes in: “If our parents had accustomed us to reading when we were young, we would already have read a major portion of modern literature from all parts of the world, as well as works by acclaimed writers like the author of ‘Harry Potter,’ who would enrich imaginations.”

Razi continues: “I intend to encourage my children to read and hope that everyone does that. Together, we will change the world.”

Images are from AR-HP.com

0 comments.

Symposium over visuele Arabische cultuur en El Hema tentoonstelling

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Amsterdam 10 juli 2007 — De Amsterdamse culturele instelling Mediamatic organiseert, samen met de Khatt foundation, op 24 augustus 2007 ‘khatt, kufi & kaffiya‘, een symposium over hedendaagse Arabische visuele cultuur. Het symposium is gericht op onderzoekers en geïnteresseerden in het Midden Oosten en vindt van 10.00 tot 21.00 uur plaats in de theaterzaal van de nieuwe Openbare Bibliotheek op de Oosterdokskade in Amsterdam. Op 24 augustus worden tevens vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen, een boek en een internationale on-line design community gepresenteerd. In de avond opent de El Hema tentoonstelling bij Mediamatic in het naastgelegen Post CS gebouw.

Het symposium brengt de positieve rol van (grafisch) ontwerpen en typografie voor de Arabische jeugdcultuur voor het voetlicht. Tijdens het symposium worden vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen gepresenteerd. Hoe kunnen deze lettertypen en de ontwerpers en typografen bijdragen aan positieve beeldvorming? En wat kan de rol zijn van samenwerkingsprojecten in het slaan van culturele bruggen tussen Oosterse en Westerse culturen?

Tijdens het symposium presenteren ontwerpers en onderzoekers uit het Midden Oosten, de Verenigde Staten en Europa hun visies op nieuwe vormen van visuele expressie in het Midden Oosten. Zo zijn er presentaties over de geschiedenis van het drukken van Arabische boeken, de relatie tussen typografie en dans, expressieve kalligrafie, politiek en visuele communicatie in het Midden Oosten en case studies over inter-culturele projecten met Nederlandse en Arabische ontwerpteams. Het symposium biedt ook een update van hedendaagse kunst, (grafisch) ontwerp, nieuwe media en typografie in de Arabische wereld. Sprekers zijn o.a. Dr. Goeffrey Roper (Index Islamicus, London), J.R. Osborn (San Diego), Nadine Touma (Beirut), Fawzi Rahal (Dubai), Brody Neuenschwander,Jelle van der Toorn Vrijthoff, Tarek Atrissi en Pascal Zoghbi.

De kosten van het symposium bedragen 45 euro p.p. (20 euro voor studenten), inclusief een kopie van het boek Typographic Matchmaking (winkelprijs 30 euro), een lunch en afsluitende receptie. Meer informatie op de website van de Khatt Foundation: www.khtt.net

Vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen
Aanleiding voor het symposium en de El Hema tentoonstelling zijn vijf nieuwe digitale Arabische lettertypen gemaakt door de bekende Nederlandse typografen Gerard Unger, Fred Smeijers, Peter Bilak, Martin Majoor en Lucas Groot samen met vijf jonge Arabische ontwerpers. Het boek “Typographic Matchmaking” (BIS Publishers 2007) van initiatiefnemer Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès van de Khatt Foundation beschrijft het ontwerp-proces. Op een bonus CD staan de vijf nieuwe Arabische lettertypen.

El Hema van 24 augustus tot 26 oktober
De El Hema is een tijdelijk warenhuis waarin Arabische versies van typische Hema producten te zien en te koop zijn. De nieuwe Arabische lettertypen zijn gebruikt in de styling van de tentoonstelling en in de producten, zoals gordijnen en handdoeken bedrukt met Arabische poëzie, gegraveerd glaswerk, Arabische kaftpapier en met tekst bedrukte Arabische mode. De El Hema is gratis toegankelijk van 24 augustus tot en met 26 oktober 2007. Meer informatie op El Hema.

UPDATE:

De Hema is niet blij met het El Hema initiatief: brief, reactie Mediamatic

1 comment.

A Young Saudi’s Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

A Young Saudi’s Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Comedy Writer Launches Site for 20-Something Arabs Starved for Entertainment

By Faiza Saleh Ambah
Washington Post Foreign Service
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia A desire to bring to life his favorite heroes in Islamic history initially spurred Thamer al-Sikhan toward storytelling, and he wrote for hours every day: first historic series, then drama and comedy shows, and finally, when he was in college, a screenplay.

But in a country without much of an entertainment culture, with no movie industry, no performing arts schools, where cinemas are banned and television production is in its infancy, Sikhan knocked on many doors but could not find a way to bring his stories to the screen.

Then one evening, while watching an American Internet-based series, the animated “Happy Tree Friends,” it was as if “a light bulb switched on” in his head, he said. “I thought: This is what I’m going to do. I don’t need anyone else. I’ll produce the shows myself, on the Web.”

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A Young Saudi's Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

A Young Saudi’s Online Gambit – washingtonpost.com

Comedy Writer Launches Site for 20-Something Arabs Starved for Entertainment

By Faiza Saleh Ambah
Washington Post Foreign Service
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia A desire to bring to life his favorite heroes in Islamic history initially spurred Thamer al-Sikhan toward storytelling, and he wrote for hours every day: first historic series, then drama and comedy shows, and finally, when he was in college, a screenplay.

But in a country without much of an entertainment culture, with no movie industry, no performing arts schools, where cinemas are banned and television production is in its infancy, Sikhan knocked on many doors but could not find a way to bring his stories to the screen.

Then one evening, while watching an American Internet-based series, the animated “Happy Tree Friends,” it was as if “a light bulb switched on” in his head, he said. “I thought: This is what I’m going to do. I don’t need anyone else. I’ll produce the shows myself, on the Web.”

0 comments.

Baba Ali – I’m not a scholar, I just try to tell people simple things

Posted on June 13th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture, Blogosphere, Internal Debates, Joy Category.

Baba Ali: “I’m not a scholar, I just try to tell people simple things” – altmuslim.com

One of the latest internet celebrities is Baba Ali who with several colleagues founded Ummah Films, a videoblog. Zahed Amanullah did an interview with him for Alt.Muslim.com. Alt.Muslim presents Baba Ali as:

An unlikely internet celebrity, Baba Ali is on a mission to provide thought provoking, lighthearted entertainment to young Muslims around the world. We find out what makes him tick.
By Zahed Amanullah, June 13, 2007
How did I get here?
If you’ve frequented Islamic websites and blogs over the past year, especially those geared towards youth, you may have come across links to videos of a close cropped young American Muslim speaking feverishly and comically into a webcam about the anomalies and quirks of Muslim life in the West. More accurately, if you haven’t seen the young man in question, it would be something of a minor miracle. Since mid-2006, Californian Baba Ali has produced a series of 7-10 minute video clips of himself, edited in rapid fire soundbites, produced in association with a like-minded group of young Muslim filmmakers calling themselves Ummah Films. Skirting fine lines between (near) preachiness, offbeat humour, self-deprecation, and sincere earnestness, Ali’s “The Reminder” series of videos has struck a chord with countless Muslim youth around the world facing the same questions he poses regarding marriage, extremism, and the norms of Islamic behaviour – in addition to his own anecdotes (such as the story of his converting to Islam). In the space of a year, he has arguably become the Muslim world’s first bonafide Internet celebrity (erm, besides Mahir and scary people with knives). Normally, producing video weblogs – or vlogs – would be seen as inconsequential in the age of the millions of contributions to MySpace and YouTube (even more so when some of the more popular ones turn out to be frauds). And for many over 30 or non-native English speakers, Ali’s hyperkinetic delivery and youth-oriented message might struggle to make an impression. But to paraphrase an Elvis record, millions of fans (the ones who have viewed his collective episodes so far over two “seasons”) can’t be wrong. A recent visit by Ali to the UK resulted in overflowing and sold out crowds at University College London, where he was treated like a rock star. His videos have been translated into a host of different languages, including Russian, French, Indonesian, German, and Dutch. Ali finds himself at a loss to explain his sudden popularity, but is keen to make the best of it, especially for the kids – his “weakness.” altmuslim’s Zahed Amanullah recently spoke to Ali, who told us about his stand-up comedy attempt, e-mail conversions, and why politics is part of the problem.

You can read more of the interview with him at Alt.Muslim or look at Ummah Films for his and others’ films. Enjoy already an example here (and yes, for my Dutch audience….it has Dutch subtitles just as we like it….)! (more…)

0 comments.

Baba Ali – I'm not a scholar, I just try to tell people simple things

Posted on June 13th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture, Blogosphere, Internal Debates, Joy Category.

Baba Ali: “I’m not a scholar, I just try to tell people simple things” – altmuslim.com

One of the latest internet celebrities is Baba Ali who with several colleagues founded Ummah Films, a videoblog. Zahed Amanullah did an interview with him for Alt.Muslim.com. Alt.Muslim presents Baba Ali as:

An unlikely internet celebrity, Baba Ali is on a mission to provide thought provoking, lighthearted entertainment to young Muslims around the world. We find out what makes him tick.
By Zahed Amanullah, June 13, 2007
How did I get here?
If you’ve frequented Islamic websites and blogs over the past year, especially those geared towards youth, you may have come across links to videos of a close cropped young American Muslim speaking feverishly and comically into a webcam about the anomalies and quirks of Muslim life in the West. More accurately, if you haven’t seen the young man in question, it would be something of a minor miracle. Since mid-2006, Californian Baba Ali has produced a series of 7-10 minute video clips of himself, edited in rapid fire soundbites, produced in association with a like-minded group of young Muslim filmmakers calling themselves Ummah Films. Skirting fine lines between (near) preachiness, offbeat humour, self-deprecation, and sincere earnestness, Ali’s “The Reminder” series of videos has struck a chord with countless Muslim youth around the world facing the same questions he poses regarding marriage, extremism, and the norms of Islamic behaviour – in addition to his own anecdotes (such as the story of his converting to Islam). In the space of a year, he has arguably become the Muslim world’s first bonafide Internet celebrity (erm, besides Mahir and scary people with knives). Normally, producing video weblogs – or vlogs – would be seen as inconsequential in the age of the millions of contributions to MySpace and YouTube (even more so when some of the more popular ones turn out to be frauds). And for many over 30 or non-native English speakers, Ali’s hyperkinetic delivery and youth-oriented message might struggle to make an impression. But to paraphrase an Elvis record, millions of fans (the ones who have viewed his collective episodes so far over two “seasons”) can’t be wrong. A recent visit by Ali to the UK resulted in overflowing and sold out crowds at University College London, where he was treated like a rock star. His videos have been translated into a host of different languages, including Russian, French, Indonesian, German, and Dutch. Ali finds himself at a loss to explain his sudden popularity, but is keen to make the best of it, especially for the kids – his “weakness.” altmuslim’s Zahed Amanullah recently spoke to Ali, who told us about his stand-up comedy attempt, e-mail conversions, and why politics is part of the problem.

You can read more of the interview with him at Alt.Muslim or look at Ummah Films for his and others’ films. Enjoy already an example here (and yes, for my Dutch audience….it has Dutch subtitles just as we like it….)! (more…)

0 comments.

Real Bad Hollywood: How Western film demonizes Arabs and Muslims | Art Threat | Political Art Magazine

Posted on May 5th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Real Bad Hollywood: How Western film demonizes Arabs and Muslims | Art Threat | Political Art Magazine
Real Bad Hollywood: How Western film demonizes Arabs and Muslims
Reel Bad Arabs: Aladdin gets Racist

Aladdin. Back to the Future. True Lies. It isn’t everyday that you hear these three movies mentioned in the same breath, but for Dr. Jack Shaheen the link is clear. For thirty years, Shaheen, professor emeritus of mass communication at Southern Illinois University, has been studying the misrepresentation of Arabs and Muslims in film, particularly movies coming out of Hollywood. His conclusion: that Arabs and Muslims are the single most maligned and attacked group in the history of film. “If the case went before a jury, they’ll be out for 30 seconds and they will agree,” he says over the phone from his home in Illinois. Over the next few months, viewers can be will be the jury themselves as Shaheen tours North America with Reel Bad Arabs, the 2006 documentary based on his 2001 book of the same name.

(more…)

1 comment.

Real Bad Hollywood: How Western film demonizes Arabs and Muslims | Art Threat | Political Art Magazine

Posted on May 5th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

Real Bad Hollywood: How Western film demonizes Arabs and Muslims | Art Threat | Political Art Magazine
Real Bad Hollywood: How Western film demonizes Arabs and Muslims
Reel Bad Arabs: Aladdin gets Racist

Aladdin. Back to the Future. True Lies. It isn’t everyday that you hear these three movies mentioned in the same breath, but for Dr. Jack Shaheen the link is clear. For thirty years, Shaheen, professor emeritus of mass communication at Southern Illinois University, has been studying the misrepresentation of Arabs and Muslims in film, particularly movies coming out of Hollywood. His conclusion: that Arabs and Muslims are the single most maligned and attacked group in the history of film. “If the case went before a jury, they’ll be out for 30 seconds and they will agree,” he says over the phone from his home in Illinois. Over the next few months, viewers can be will be the jury themselves as Shaheen tours North America with Reel Bad Arabs, the 2006 documentary based on his 2001 book of the same name.

(more…)

1 comment.

'Moslimschilderij'?

Posted on May 3rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

AD.nl – Gedoe rond moslimschilderij beu

Nee, de politie heeft haar niet gevraagd om het schilderij uit de etalage te halen, maar wel is Zola Khadija (52) verzocht ’discretie te betrachten’ met het doek. Voor haar eigen veiligheid, benadrukten agenten die langskwamen in haar galerie. Noord is nou eenmaal een buurt waar de islam gevoelig ligt.

Bloed spat van het gewraakte stuk canvas. Het toont gesluierde moslima’s die er potten vol van vasthouden. Daarboven is de tekst ’with our blood we pay the price for peace’ geschreven.Khadija’s boodschap: moslims overal ter wereld, wordt wakker. ,,Dit is wat we iedere dag op televisie voorbij zien trekken. Iedere dag sterven onschuldige moslims in Palestina, Irak, in Afghanistan. Dat heb ik de agenten ook uitgelegd die langskwamen.’’

Van geen enkele passant van de Zaagmolendrift heeft Khadija naar eigen zeggen negatieve reacties op het werk gehad. Wel zag ze vorig weekend iets opmerkelijks: ,,De hele straat stond ’s avonds vol moslims. Ze stonden allemaal te bidden voor mijn galerie. Ik had ook een koran in de etalage liggen.’’

Ze begrijpt dan ook niet zo goed waar de politie zich zorgen om maakt. ,,Moslims begrijpen dit.’’

Geen idee of het nou een islam-kritisch schilderij is of juist niet, maar ehhh waar zijn die boze moslims nou? En wat is eigenlijk nu precies een moslimschilderij?

0 comments.

‘Moslimschilderij’?

Posted on May 3rd, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

AD.nl – Gedoe rond moslimschilderij beu

Nee, de politie heeft haar niet gevraagd om het schilderij uit de etalage te halen, maar wel is Zola Khadija (52) verzocht ’discretie te betrachten’ met het doek. Voor haar eigen veiligheid, benadrukten agenten die langskwamen in haar galerie. Noord is nou eenmaal een buurt waar de islam gevoelig ligt.

Bloed spat van het gewraakte stuk canvas. Het toont gesluierde moslima’s die er potten vol van vasthouden. Daarboven is de tekst ’with our blood we pay the price for peace’ geschreven.Khadija’s boodschap: moslims overal ter wereld, wordt wakker. ,,Dit is wat we iedere dag op televisie voorbij zien trekken. Iedere dag sterven onschuldige moslims in Palestina, Irak, in Afghanistan. Dat heb ik de agenten ook uitgelegd die langskwamen.’’

Van geen enkele passant van de Zaagmolendrift heeft Khadija naar eigen zeggen negatieve reacties op het werk gehad. Wel zag ze vorig weekend iets opmerkelijks: ,,De hele straat stond ’s avonds vol moslims. Ze stonden allemaal te bidden voor mijn galerie. Ik had ook een koran in de etalage liggen.’’

Ze begrijpt dan ook niet zo goed waar de politie zich zorgen om maakt. ,,Moslims begrijpen dit.’’

Geen idee of het nou een islam-kritisch schilderij is of juist niet, maar ehhh waar zijn die boze moslims nou? En wat is eigenlijk nu precies een moslimschilderij?

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Musem Boijmans Van Beuningen: Het land van…

Posted on April 24th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture, Youth culture (as a practice).

Het Land Van …
Een avond met Ab & Sal, Mohammed Benzakour, Salah Edin, Eelko Ferwerda
Donderdag 26 april, 20.00 uur Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (gratis entree)

Uitgangspunt voor het gesprek met televisiemakers Ab & Sal, schrijver en journalist Mohammed Benzakour, rapper Salah Edin en filmmaker Eelko Ferwerda (hij tekende met zijn bedrijf Waanzee voor de regie) is de onlangs gelanceerde, maar door clipzenders nauwelijks vertoonde, controversiële videoclip Het Land Van….  Op internet is de film echter een veel besproken en veel bekeken hit.

Nu de SGP kamervragen stelt over blote vrouwen op billboards en over de gereformeerde videoclip van Het Land Van…. van Salah Edin discussiëren onze gasten over de manier waarop wij beelden uit de media tot ons nemen, hoe wij daar naar oordelen en waarom.
(more…)

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Allah Made Me Funny: Muslim Comedy Tour

Posted on April 7th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

Allah Made Me Funny: Muslim Comedy Tour
“Allah Made Me Funny..Salaam 2 you all. I respect you immensely.”
—Our Brother, David Chappelle

“Preach is not just a comedian for the Muslim community, but a
teacher for the world.” —George Lopez, The George Lopez Show, ABC

” How often does it happen you can have a comedy performance
where the audience comes out feeling like better people?”
—Darrell Hammond, Saturday Night Live, NBC

So you have something to laugh about during Easter.

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BBC NEWS | Middle East | Advanced geometry of Islamic art

Posted on February 23rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Arts & culture.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Advanced geometry of Islamic art

A study of medieval Islamic art has shown some of its geometric patterns use principles established centuries later by modern mathematicians.

Researchers in the US have found 15th Century examples that use the concept of quasicrystalline geometry.

This indicates intuitive understanding of complex mathematical formulae, even if the artisans had not worked out the underlying theory, the study says. (more…)

1 comment.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Advanced geometry of Islamic art

Posted on February 23rd, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Advanced geometry of Islamic art

A study of medieval Islamic art has shown some of its geometric patterns use principles established centuries later by modern mathematicians.

Researchers in the US have found 15th Century examples that use the concept of quasicrystalline geometry.

This indicates intuitive understanding of complex mathematical formulae, even if the artisans had not worked out the underlying theory, the study says. (more…)

1 comment.

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