Category Culture and Ideology
Questioning cultural authenticity: three case studies This blog portrays my Muslim Popular Culture intervention. The intervention tackles cultural authenticity, as inspired by the class discussion and the “Rebel Music” excerpt on musical authentic identity and regional politics. In an… Continue Reading →
What about Bouazizi’s friend? I believe this is the fourth blog I am writing due to a topic we had previously discussed in class. I promise, our class discussions serve as Narnia doors to a new dimension. They stretch my… Continue Reading →
Discussing intersectionality in academia: approaching women’s rights in the region As a scholar, I have been quite fascinated with approaching gender and women’s rights in the region. Our class has made me think of an infinity of perspectives one can… Continue Reading →
President Donald J. Trump wants to unite the world against what he calls “Radical Islamic Terrorism”, but by his own admission, he has yet to figure out “what the hell is going” when it comes to why such violence is… Continue Reading →
So far, we have discussed many artworks that target audiences in Arab states, yet these same artworks reverberate across the world resulting in various responses. Throughout our course, I have become increasingly disenchanted with notions of the ‘global’ and artists… Continue Reading →
#IslamophobiaIsRacism Syllabus Several scholars from various disciplines have recently published the Islamophobia is Racism Syllabus, following syllabi such as the Ferguson Syllabus and Black Islam Syllabus. The syllabus acts as an academic riposte to the anti-Muslim ban, but also countless… Continue Reading →
A pop song that hilariously depicts the many ways women are oppressed in Saudi Arabia has racked up more than 2.5 million views on YouTube and angered hardliners in the kingdom. Hwages, created by producer Majed Al Esa of the… Continue Reading →
There are millions of people who think that our enemy is not only ISIS or the Taliban but Islam itself. It isn’t. Edward Said wrote in an article published immediately after September 11 that there is more than one Islam… Continue Reading →
Coca-Cola debuted a commercial during Super Bowl 2013 featuring Arabs riding on camels in the desert, Arab American groups were far from pleased. This representation is largely outdated, much like Hollywood’s common portrayal of Native Americans as people in loincloths and… Continue Reading →
The incredible dance of Sheema Kermani As Sheema Kermani graciously swiped the air with her palms and gently touched the floor with her bare feet, I could not help but wonder about the connection of her rhetoric and the… Continue Reading →