Category Region
Apparently, the “halal travel” industry is booming. And there’s one hotel that is certainly taking advantage of it. Looking to profit off of the rise in halal tourism, the PNB Perdana Hotel in Malaysia has become the first halal certified hotel… Continue Reading →
Hizmet: the modern face of the Sufi Ottoman tradition Allegra Stratton discusses the role and impact of the first Islamic TV Evangelist Amr Khaled in “Muhajababes”, which strikes me as quite complex in historical depth and political significance and… 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 →
So what are the big ideas that come across? One is the infinite complexity of male-female relations in the Muslim world. Initially, it seems as if women are always there to be punished. The whole saga starts when a king,… 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 This representation is largely outdated, much like Hollywood’s common portrayal of Native Americans as people in loincloths and… Continue Reading →
Earlier this week, I attended a conference for one of my other classes, led by former US Ambassador to the Netherlands, the Honorable Cynthia Schneider. She spoke about cultural diplomacy, which is essentially the art of exchange and engagement between… Continue Reading →
Warning: this became a jumbled thought-experiment, and therefore may not prove coherent. Apologies. In class last Monday, we spent a good portion of our Tangier discussion (led wonderfully by Kai, hats off) speaking about ideals of tourism and representation. Focusing on… Continue Reading →
Malaysia: The cave that almost echoed Sufism This spring break I visited incredible Malaysia and this blogpost makes a small window into some of my experiences that I wanted to connect with our class material. One particular excursion… Continue Reading →
Lina Matta’s endeavor to showcase representations of the Middle East by people who are actually from the Middle East almost seems like the most obvious thing in the world, but is unfortunately something that it is relatively revolutionary. Her first-of-its-kind film festival of… Continue Reading →
Today’s discussion in class on Sufi poetry and its branches in revered Sufi temples across South Asia made me dig deeper into the written trails of Bulleh Shah and the message he preached centuries before I was born. The short… Continue Reading →