Category: politics

My Islam Be Black

“My mother knew
how to keep herself together in this faith.
She taught me how to balance two worlds:
how to fry fish in steamy masjid kitchens
and where to place the wine glass and soup spoon on a proper dinner table.
She passed down her mother’s slips and camisoles, opera gloves and mink stoles, turned Sunday hats into Friday tams, switched between hot combs and hijab pins…”

More here.

Invoking Pakistan

Hafsa Kanjwal: There is so much to say about the response of the Indian liberal intelligentsia on the Citizenship Amendment Bill that was passed in the Indian parliament (it effectively ensures that Muslims cannot be naturalized in India, officially making them the second-class citizens we all knew they already were).

This response by an esteemed poli sci prof at Brown (who also speaks frequently on Kashmir) is just one such example. Instead of looking within, trying to understand how such a toxic ideology can take root (hello, RSS?) within the Indian ideological spectrum, they continue to situate blame and invoke Pakistan. This is the kind of sick obsession with Pakistan and deeprooted Islamophobia that has made this class of individuals completely complicit as their own country descends into fascism.

And to create such a false equivalence between a nation that was founded to protect minority interests vs one that is exerting majoritarianism is also just so…..(insert your own comment here)

futurisms and the concept of linear time

yesterday in my class ‘thru another lens’ we studied ‘afrofuturism & non-linear time’ and ‘who will we be when we are free? on palestine & futurity’ with the brilliant Reilly Hirst who helped us break down some of the complexity in ideas related to futurisms. my students rose to the challenge and helped produce a sharp discussion in class. it’s empowering to know that we can hack into an oppressive timeline and create alternative worlds St. John Fisher College  St. John Fisher Honors Program

‘the road to radicalization and the road back’

why are the UR college republicans so obsessed with ‘islamic’ radicalization? although the title of the event doesn’t say so, their guests are the usual ex-muslim / muslim-atheist / muslim-who-worked-for-homeland-security types, native informants who use the war-on-terror framework to secure their own place as ‘good’ muslims. the college republicans, under freshly minted leadership (after their previous president was issued a citation for spreading white supremacist propaganda), organized a similar discussion on ‘religious extremism in the middle east’ right after 50 muslims were massacred at two mosques in new zealand – talk about good timing (or bringing home the message). 9 months later here we are again. instead of these diversionary tactics that focus on 1% of the american population, shouldn’t they confront racism, islamophobic bigotry and general white supremacy within their own ranks? perhaps the center to end hate could help them?

Excellent screening of A Thin Wall in London

brilliant screening of #AThinWall, a #film about the #1947 #partition of british #india, at #harrowauditorium @uniwestminster #london
it was organized by #tonguesonfire the wonderful team behind the @ukasianfilmfestival 
great attendance and interview by rosie thomas, and so lovely to do the first screening ever with my co-producer and friend Surbhi Dewan 

The Overuse of ‘Emotional Labor’ Turns All Relationships Into Work

capitalism… 

‘In the degradation of the term emotional labor, we lose a crucial framework to define the taxing emotional burden of being a worker in a society that continually wants employees to believe their coworkers are “their family” so that they work harder and never want to leave their desks. But we also saddle the relationships we can form beyond the workplace, away from our obligations to work, with a similar, dreaded sense of duty. The overuse of the term emotional labor redefines our relationships, the ones we build out of care and love, into workplace disputes. Fabello writes in her script “could we connect at [a later time and date]” as if checking in with a friend in a time of need is another meeting to be scheduled with a conference room to book. More here.

with sara salem

with the brilliant and beautiful Sara Salem this morning. we had breakfast at the @thedelaunay near #holborn and talked about the idea of political correctness in the UK and US vs in-your-face racism in other european countries, the overweening dynamics of american identity vs internationalism in the UK, and much more. hope we can continue this conversation in #nyc

What the coup against Evo Morales means to indigenous people like me

Nick Estes: Morales is more than Bolivia’s first indigenous president – he is our president, too. The rise of a humble Aymara coca farmer to the nation’s highest office in 2006 marked the arrival of indigenous people as vanguards of history. Within the social movements that brought him to power emerged indigenous visions of socialism and the values of Pachamama (the Andean Earth Mother). Evo represents five centuries of indigenous deprivation and struggle in the hemisphere. More here.