You can find my writing at beanay.wordpress.com

In Birk’s version, each chapter of the Quran has been carefully copied in English in a calligraphy modeled on the urban graffiti of America’s inner cities. The stark black text is bordered by scenes from American life both mundane and extraordinary: gangsters flashing signs, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, migrants working the fields, a crowded airport lounge and a raging California wildfire among them.

Each painting relates to the sura, or chapter, it illustrates, either literally or metaphorically, Birk said.

‘American Qur’an’ blends US life, Quranic verses - Yahoo! News

[This sounds soooooo cool! This is about a nonMuslim California artist who has been taking each chapter of the Qur’an and illustrating it in the traditional Middle Eastern miniature style with contemporary images from American life and recent history…and instead of Arabic calligraphy, he transliterates each surah using graffiti in English. His point is to bring more awareness to Islam and American culture and to make the Qur’an more accessible to everyday American life (by showing its parallels with contemporary American culture). It’s a controversial project b/c some Muslims are offended by the fact that he used images to illustrate the Qur’an.]

The Soloist Trailer (via takepart)

[As an almost-therapist, this is a film I can’t wait to see! -B]

The 10 days I spent on Skid Row that Milazzo refers to before agreeing to make the film were not intended to help me “absorb Skip Row’s nuanced layers” or “understand mental illness and poverty,” (mental illness is something I’ve had the privilege of understanding on my own). They were intended to help me come to a decision as to whether I wanted to go on that journey. I decided I did, but on the condition that the studio would allow me to employ members of the community to work with me as extras, actors, and consultants. The scenes set on Skid Row are as much their portrayal of their lives as mine. My job, as I saw it, was simply to give them an opportunity to be heard.

Joe Wright: Why I Hired the Homeless to Work on The Soloist

[I think the fact that he gave them employment was a good thing and it gave them a chance to tell their own story, rather than have people come, observe them, and then make their own film based on that short observation period. The latter makes me think of scientists going into a lab to observe their caged species. -B]

Oh, The Temptation on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

[So cute! That would be me trying to fast during Ramadan with chocolate cake in front of me. -B]

My ongoing call, however, is for non-white people to develop an understanding of race that is meticulous, logical, and systematic. Racism has a sole, functional expression: White supremacy. Racism is not historical. It’s futuristic. It is not going away. It is being refined. It is weaponized through deceit, secrecy, and violence, in that order. It’s chief tools are not clubs, bullets, or nooses, but words.

Most of all, however, those white people who say they are not racists, or that they are against racism, should be clearing race from the paths of Black people, like snowplows going through highway drifts. By doing nothing, or doing nothing effective, they cast racist suspicion on themselves through their inertness. The practice of white supremacy is a system, and it involves people giving all kinds safe harbor to racists—physical, social, financial, emotional, relational, hierarchical, psychological, etc.

Media Assassin -

“Is Kanye the New O.J. ?”: The Real Haters Appear, In Order To Protect Taylor Swift’s White Womanhood From the Rape…Uh, the Rapper.

[An article about the Kanye West fiasco and the resulting racist tweets targeting him. -Beanay]

[This is a beautiful naat (Islamic spiritual song) about faith and poverty, with footage from Pakistan. The title “Madinay Main” means “In Madinah.” It’s such a sad and beautiful naat that it’s difficult to really translate the full meaning of it into English without losing its meaning and impact. It’s something that really hits home for me because this is the Pakistan I think of and recognize, rather than images ofupper class privileged Pakistanis with their bungalos, drivers, and servants. I like this video for its social and spiritual message. -Beanay]

sweepthesunshine:

Madinay Main (via nooriworld)

and as far as i could tell, they didn’t hate us for our playacting. they didn’t despise us or judge us or even seem to think much less of us for it. this, above all other things, was what underscored their naivety: to them, we were still their elders. perhaps we didn’t know as much as they did, but simply by virtue of our being their parents and teachers, shuyukh and family, we were accorded a basic level of respect. the children thought that this was how relations between children and adults necessarily functioned: a mutual deception, where one side grossly overestimated its own awareness. we taught them well, didn’t we. so well that even we’d forgotten how little we knew, how flimsy was the foundation upon which we’d built our silences.

that’s the funny part, the funny part that can drive a person to tears. who was being protected from whom, if these kids where hiding their hurts because this was the system we said we’d set up for their benefit?

run like the wind » i know a child

[Post about the rape of children within the Muslim community and the importance of not being silent. Everyone should read this! -B]

PHD Comics: In case of emergency
[Oh, the stress eating! I know it all too well! -B]

PHD Comics: In case of emergency

[Oh, the stress eating! I know it all too well! -B]