Shelina Zahra Janmohamed blogs at spirit21, and she is the winner of brass crescent awards for best blog and best female blog.She writes:

I took the book to a number of publishers whose commissioning editors loved the story, but couldn’t see it fitting with the existing mould of books about Muslim women. “We need an ‘alias’ of a book that is already out there so people understand how it relates to previous books,” they explained, meaning it should be either a forced marriage story or one of escape from Islam.

With such black and white views about the stories that Muslim women are permitted to tell, how can it ever be possible to create an understanding of our diversity and complexity?

I hope my book brings a fresh perspective to the discussion about Muslim women. But there is a serious question to be asked – will it provoke the Muslim community to look into itself and wonder why these lazy stereotypes exist? Sometimes as Muslims we lack an intellectual honesty about ourselves, and are not brave enough to tell our stories as human beings on a journey, with all our flaws. If publishers are guilty of monolithic misery memoirs, then Muslims must also take some of the blame for not sharing our universal experiences in a language and context that everyone can relate to.

To find out more, click here.

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Anybody in the USA and near Atlanta, will be delighted to hear that there is an art gala happing close to them.

The main goal of the Art Gala is to promote understanding and tolerance through the medium of art. They believe that the universal language of art is one of the few forms of expression that can transcend divisions like race, religion, and other boundaries we set up for ourselves. It is also important because this event promotes a celebration of diversity and a coming together of different races and faiths.

Some of the artists that are participating are Haji Noor Deen from China, Peter Gould from Australia and Kelly Izdihar Crosby from Dubai, as well as local Atlanta artists.

For more information about the event, go to the Emory Art Gala website.

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You know, the one think I like more than art is good photography.  It shows a glimpse of the creator’s power within a small frame.

This is why I love meeting new photographers.  This is also the reason that I wanted to show you the website, Organic Light Photography.

The person behind Organic Light Photography is Youssef M. Ismail.  He hopes through these photographs that we may all come to recognize the Signs of the Creator, ponder on them, and eventually come to the recognition and glorification of the Creator in concert with the rest of creation, in unity, as a whole, the way we were meant to be.

The website isn’t much to look at but the gallery is filled with some wonderful shots.

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Looks like its time for me to highlight something about the art world in my slot.

I wanted to focus your attention to the following page – Broug Ateliers Islamic geometric design.

Broug Ateliers was established in 2004 to create a commercial outlet for the artist’s geometrical designs. He has range of products and services inspired by Islamic geometrical design. His aim is to present this traditional design in a contemporary light and to make Islamic art affordable to a large audience

In the last two years he has started to share some of his acquired skills and knowledge through special introductory courses in geometrical design. He teaches students how to create traditional designs, as well as provide a bit of history on the Islamic design tradition.

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The storyline is quite new, something you haven’t seen in the past – and as most of us know it comes from the book ‘Q n A’ by Mr Vikas Swarup (a indian bureaucrat by profession… have you noticed how many indian bureaucrats especially on foregin postings are writing books these days! No real work to do .. eh?). The acting by small kids is good – they shine compared to their older ‘avatars’ in the movie.

Yeah, i didn’t have too many positives sorry – inspite of the hype.

Now, for the things which i did not like.

[...]

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A big welcome to all art freaks and to any random viewer who may have landed on this page by chance.

The following bunch of paragraphs will be trying to fool you in thinking that I know a lot about the world we live in.

Anyways this week, rather than focusing on an artist, I wanted to focus on a building.  However, this build is no ordinary building – heck no!

The new Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar is a truly inspirational project.

The Museum of Islamic Arts (MIA) will provide a stunning environment in which to showcase its extensive store of treasures from across the Islamic world. Designed by I.M. Pei, the Museum will have nearly 5,000 square meters of exhibition space available, in addition to generous education, conservation and presentation areas.

The Museum will in time join forces with four other national museums which will be built in the Doha Harbour area.

The Museum is one of the most important and monumental building projects of its type in the world today. In architectural terms, it is one of the most distinguished modern buildings in the entire Middle East. It is a structure of exceptional quality, designed by one of the most important architects in the world and will house great treasures.

This museum, along with the other museums planned to be constructed in the area, and in the context of the major educational reforms and new university establishments being supported by the Qatari authorities, will transform the State of Qatar into a centre of world-class educational excellence.

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I know I’m late again for my update but having a PC that has no internet connection is no fun.

Anyways, this week I would like to focus on Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore.

When he became a Muslim in 1970, he took the name Abd al-Hayy, and began travelling extensively in Europe and North Africa.

He known less for his artwork but known more for his work in poetry.

Daniel Moore’s poems have appeared in such magazines as Zyzzva, the City Lights Review, and The Nation. He has read his poetry to 40,000 people at the United Nations in New York at a rally for the people of Bosnia during that war, and has participated in numerous conferences and conventions at universities.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

My favourite [ Ali Farke Toure & Toumani Diabete - Kaira]

Click here to view the embedded video.

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I would like to start by saying sorry for the lack of posts over the past few weeks.

I know some of you may be wondering what happened but I know most of you don’t care.  As I’m too sure who reads this section.  Let’s face it…there are better things to read on this site than my section.

Anyways, the short version is that I had computer problems followed by net problem.  Sooo….things were looking great – NOT.

Okay, I know you guys aren’t reading this for my life story so let me tell you about this week’s artist.

Actually this week’s artist was pointed out by a friend, whom we will name shockresistant7.  On another note, the artist is more of a Sculptor.

So let me introduce the sculptor, Amin Gulgee.

Amin Gulgee is an innovator of tradition. His medium is metal, his inspiration the varied and rich spiritual history of his native Pakistan.  He is one of the many sculptors to bring Islamic calligraphy into a three dimension sculpture.

Amin Gulgee has exhibited extensively in the USA, Europe and the Middle East.  In the ten years that the artist has been exhibiting, his work has followed many different directions, from the purely abstract to work that is inspired from Hindu mythology, Buddhist civilization and Islamic calligraphy. Although diverse, these directions influence and nourish one another for they all attempt to depict the spirituality of man.

For those who are currently living in Malaysia, they can see his latest exhibition at Galeri Petronas in Kuala Lumpur.  The exhibition will run till the 18th January 2009.

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When people talk about art, most people think of pretty pictures that the eyes can feast upon.  Maybe it can show you a wonderful piece of craftsmanship, displaying the skill that some people have been blessed with.  On the other hand, it could show something that will give you nightmares for the next few weeks.

However, many people forget that a performance can be an art form too.  Using words or stories to provide stimulation for the soul.

So for my choice of art this week, will a be a performance art brought to you by Khayaal Theatre

Khayaal is an award-winning British arts enterprise that develops and produces original dramatic interpretations of classic Muslim world literature for the stage. In its ten year history, Khayaal has developed a strong reputation as the sole dedicated producer of professional theatre inspired by Muslim world culture and heritage in the West.

Inspired by the universal trend within classic Muslim literature and the challenge of producing what theatre luminaries, like Peter Brook, Jerzy Grotowski and Antonin Artaud, have described as ‘theatre of the invisible made visible’, Khayaal has created its own genre and brand of entertainment whose formula of wisdom and humour has won it popular and critical acclaim nationally and internationally. It has attracted a large, culturally diverse, cosmopolitan audience for its work, and gained the interest of a wide range of interested parties including local authorities, arts organisations, businesses and venues.

Although founded by Muslims, Khayaal proactively involves both Muslims and Non-Muslims in all aspects of its work. Over the past decade, Khayaal has shown that its work has the capacity to bring together communities and encourage a greater appreciation of universal virtues as well as of the literature and arts of the Muslim world. Whereas many talk about integration, reconciliation and intercultural dialogue and understanding, Khayaal practically demonstrates this in creative enterprise.

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