May 20, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
“islamic art,” much like “islamic world,” is a western construct. in fact, the lumping together of immense diversity under the label “islamic” is as confusing as another such label, namely “western.” in a wonderful essay called “heirs apparent” daniel brook … Continue reading
May 20, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
i was attracted to this painting initially because i thought she was in the middle of a prayer. when i looked more closely i realized that she was not sitting on a prayer rug. however, her other-wordliness, even her hand … Continue reading
May 20, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
May 20, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Students in Sadr City, a district of Baghdad, Iraq, returning to school, 2012 (Hadi Mizban/AP)
May 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Let no one be fooled by the fact that we may write in English, for we intend to do unheard of things with it. (Chinua Achebe) … From an interview of Aime Cesaire by Rene Depestres at the Cultural Congress … Continue reading
May 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
May 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
may 14, 2013: lamas building a sand mandala during the ecumenical mass at immanuel baptist church, park ave, rochester, ny.
May 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell Blue skies from pain Can you tell a green field From a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell? Did they get you … Continue reading
May 10, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
May 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
May 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
asian pacific american heritage family day at the memorial art gallery last sunday may 5, 2013. qawwali music from the pakistani community and dancers from the chinese dance company of rochester.
May 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
went to see BeeEye at the imagine festival at rit on may 4th, 2013. it’s a wonderful video installation by my friend, artist and filmmaker cat ashworth. talking about the disappearance of honeybees, one of the beekeepers called it a … Continue reading
May 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Imagine Festival at RIT: Check out “BeeEye” a video installation by my friend Cat Ashworth. Immerse yourself in the world of the honeybee in a video installation by Professor Cat Ashworth. Enter the hexagon-shaped structure and be surrounded by the … Continue reading
May 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Lesley Hazleton: This is why when I talk about Islam with a capital “I” as a religion, it is not what Muhammad formed. It was a movement, an approach to the divine, a certain relationship to the divine. It was … Continue reading
May 3, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies — little powdered Sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts — out of her bag — And was offering them to all the women at the gate. To my amazement, … Continue reading
May 3, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Iftikhar Dadi: South Asia constitutes one of the largest populations on the planet, and is significantly uneven and diverse in its social formations. Dozens of languages are used, numerous religious and vernacular practices prevail, and there are gross, persistent, and … Continue reading
April 23, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
April 20, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
[Wim Wenders'] Wings of Desire is one of cinema’s loveliest city symphonies. Bruno Ganz is Damiel, an angel perched atop buildings high over Berlin who can hear the thoughts—fears, hopes, dreams—of all the people living below. But when he falls … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
“Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui” (Brooklyn Museum): A tipping point, or the start of one, arrived in 1998, when Mr. Anatsui invented a new art form. One day, by his own account, on a routine scavenging hunt … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
from my dear friends heather and brian: We returned to the United States with new perspectives on our seemingly endless “War on Terror.” Now, when we think of Pakistan, we first think about the warm smiles, gentle handshakes, bright patterns … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
march 24: today nowruz at the memorial art gallery and then “pink saris” at the little.
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
A novelist, poet and essayist, Achebe was perhaps best known for his first novel Things Fall Apart, which was published in 1958. The story of the Igbo warrior Okonkwo and the colonial era, it has sold more than 10m copies … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Photograph by Arif Ali.
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
JON BLISTEIN: Waters currently serves as a juror on the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, which seeks to bring attention to how Western governments and companies assist Israel in what they perceive to be violations of international law. The singer plans … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Aleksandar Hemon: There’s something in psychology called the narrative paradigm, which essentially means that we think of our lives as stories in which we are the main characters. And there are studies that have shown that we make decisions, ethical … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
i don’t like terry gross. for many reasons. here, i find her sniggering comments and questions to be condescending and pointed. her question to hamid, “have u seen a drone?” is incredible. she seems to talk from the far side … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003)
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
photograph by daniel berehulak.
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
“strength in the face of fighter jets” by nidal el khairy. a tribute to the strength of the iraqi people. inspired by a line from a spoken word piece by bighead: “fighter jets drop fishing nets filled with hate and … Continue reading
March 15, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
We have on this land that which makes life worth living We have on this land all of that which makes life worth living April’s hesitation The aroma of bread at dawn A woman’s beseeching of men The writings of … Continue reading
March 15, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Ambreen Butt’s piece, Beyond the Ideas of Rightness or Wrongness features eleven drawings made from ripped pieces of Pakistan’s blasphemy law documents. The drawings depict the Punjab governor, Salmaan Taseer and his self-confessed assassin Mumtaz Qadri. Two portraits of the … Continue reading
March 6, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Kashmiri Shawl, 2011, Aisha Khalid: Through Aisha Khalid’s labour-intensive process of inserting pins through a layer of two shawls, Kashmiri Shawl inspires contradictory responses. On one side, the heavily worked paisley and floral design offers a scene of luxurious detail. … Continue reading
March 6, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
brilliant. check it out here.
February 28, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
so good!
February 24, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
Screening of Oscar nominated documentary “5 Broken Cameras” and a response from Joyce and John Cassel, who lived in Bethlehem and Hebron from September through November 2012. Feb 26, 2013 at 5:00 pm, Basil Hall, Rm 135, St. John Fisher … Continue reading
February 22, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003.
February 22, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
brilliant art installation by my friends heather layton and brian bailey! “An 18-foot-long rhinestone covered replica of a U.S. Predator drone will be the center of new multimedia art exhibit opening on Friday, March 1, at the Hampden Gallery at … Continue reading
February 21, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
absolutely stunning new band. introduced to it by my son of course.
February 21, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
“In the late-winter afternoons for half a decade, I photographed my husband of forty-two years. With the weak sun coming through the studio windows, we were warmed by the woodstove and his two fingers of bourbon. I loved it, this … Continue reading
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
gorgeous! “Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings is a new illustrated edition of the classic work written over one thousand years ago by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, one of Persia’s greatest poets. This new prose translation of the national epic is … Continue reading
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
have been aware of this film for a while. it’s now out on dvd. hope we can screen it at the next witness palestine film festival. it’s called “roadmap to apartheid.” more here.
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
watched “the great gatsby” again and loved it. don’t know if i’m ready for baz luhrmann’s over-the-top extravaganza.
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
faiza butt is v clever in how she blurs the lines between what is traditional and modern, western and eastern, dangerous and quotidian. she questions our preprogrammed perceptions about the other. i find her work to be engaging, provocative and … Continue reading
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
more from the brilliant luka lesson: “Never being hand-cuffed by a clock on my wrist and I will never be addicted to watching the watches and clicks They say time is of the essence but that essence is us Sunrise, … Continue reading
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments
I think there’s something to that idea of taking someone out of the usual street-vernacular, putting them in a totally different environment that shakes them up. And I think that’s an essential element in learning to write. You need to … Continue reading
February 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
0 comments