In Oakland

In Oakland! Got here yesterday and spent a lovely evening with the beautiful Donna K. Khorsheed. She took me to dinner at Kamdesh Afghan Cuisine, a family owned restaurant nearby. We had chapli kebab, eggplant borani (my favorite way to cook eggplant) and mantoo, described as dumplings filled with beef and onions that taste a lot like Turkish manti (ravioli with ground beef, garlic and yogurt, sprinkled with dried mint and sumac). Takes me back to my childhood in Belgium, where our Turkish friends used to make manti – once at our house where we spent the entire day cooking, talking and eating together. One of my fondest memories. Donna tells me there is a Palestnian version of manti/mantoo as well. We are hanging the art show today with the big opening tomorrow, followed by a screening of A Thin Wall. It’s all very exciting!

Screening at Colorado College

What a wonderful busy day! A hearty breakfast at the hotel, followed by a presentation about my work to Yogesh Chandrani’s class on Culture, Power and History in South Asia. Excellent questions from his students who have read Vazira Zamindar’s work very carefully. Had fun asking Yogesh what it was like to have been a student of both Eqbal Ahmed and Edward Said. Lunch with Tamara Bentley, the head of South Asian Studies, with whom I connected immediately, like she was a long lost friend. Screening of A Thin Wall at 4pm with great attendance and questions and then dinner at Garden of the Gods Club with Colorado College faculty. It’s such a treat to talk to brilliant people who do work in English and French but also in Chinese and Sanskrit, and who study art, religion and anthropology as well as Indian film. They analyzed A Thin Wall with such attentiveness and genius that I felt overwhelmed. I’m so incredibly lucky to do the work I do and to know the people I know.

My room at the Mining Exchange

The Cornerstone Arts Center where my film was screened

John, Tracy, myself, Tamara, Tilottama and Yogesh

In Colorado Springs

So they rerouted my trip and I had to take 3 flights from Rochester to Chicago to Dallas to Colorado Springs. Left my house at 10am this morning and landed here at 10pm NY time. But I’m here, 6000 feet above sea level, staying at the Mining Exchange in a beautiful high-ceilinged room that looks more like a stylish loft than anything else, looking forward to talking to students tomorrow morning, at Colorado College, and then screening my film later in the afternoon. Tired but happy.

Photo by David Shankbone

RIT’s 36th Annual Expressions of King’s Legacy

Yesterday I attended RIT’s 36th Annual Expressions of King’s Legacy, with keynote speaker Marc Lamont Hill. The event started with the beautiful Reenah Oshun Golden and Dee Ponder sharing their powerful words and music.

Dr Hill spoke about the neutering of MLK’s legacy, his reduction to the ornamental, to the insipid postage stamp. Yet when he was alive, he was an enemy of the state, deemed a bad influence for the younger generation, someone who had been to jail too many times. He would never have been invited to RIT to give a keynote lecture.

Dr Hill spoke about the radical imagination – how our goals and actions do not have to fit the limits of our present circumstance. He also talked about radical listening, by which he meant the ability to listen to every voice and connect social justice struggles all over the world. It was a wonderful (and much needed) reminder of the internationalism of Black power movements. For example, one cannot dismiss war because one is committed to the alleviation of poverty, one cannot talk about prison reform without talking about school reform. MLK saw the interconnectedness between the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism – forms of violence that validate and reinforce one another in order to create a vicious circle.

Capitalism, of course, is the fountainhead of this systemic violence, for what is war but economically marginalized people in one country killing other poor people in another? What is environmental degradation but the placement of power plants and waste dumps in certain neighborhoods? In Flint, car companies had refused to use water that was causing car parts to rust, yet that same water was deemed potable for Black children.

Dr Hill wants MLK’s “I have a dream” speech to be retired because of how it has become a trope for American diversity. The speech is not about dreams, it’s about broken promises. It’s about capitalism’s inability to deliver any kind of equality.

Yes, it can be lonely to talk about racism, transphobia, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. It can be unpopular to focus not just on Trump’s excesses but also on Obama’s drones and our ongoing wars. But make these links, we must, and link our radical imagination to radical action in order to fight and resist together, we must.

I found Dr Hill at the end of this event and shook his hand. As a woman of color from the global South, as a Muslim American, I thanked him for saying the word “Palestine” and for acknowledging Obama’s drones. It’s a challenge to get activists, let alone people in the larger community, to stand by these truths. It was incredibly important to hear these words spoken loud and clear in such a large forum.

SURJ presentation at out alliance: islamophobia is racism

very lively discussion at the SURJ meeting today where i spoke about #islamophobia and #racism. the session was jam-packed. good connections made between racism, capitalism, and militarism.

typical question about the problem of misogyny in muslim communities and what we (the west) can do. my response: “have u heard of #metoo? women in america need ur allyship.” when the questioning continued about the need to help women in india, i asked if an indian or pakistani NGO should come to the u.s. to sort out harvey weinstein? will that help?

another question about a yemini girl not being able to go on a school field trip and how to explain that to her american classmates. my answer: the same way muslim families explain american culture and its brokenness to their kids.

i showed a video in which edward said talks about the richness (and multiplicities) of arab culture(s) and civilization(s), another about the meaning of orientalism, a third video in which khalid latif talks about being subjected to racial profiling and surveillance, and finally i showed “1700% project: mistaken for muslim” which truly brings home how islamophobia is racism. 1700% refers to the rate of increase in hate crimes committed against people *perceived* as muslim or arab after 9/11. the video is a collaboration b/w artist anida ali and filmmaker masahiro sugano. a great evening all in all.

thx to SURJ for inviting me to speak and thx to my sis Isabelle Bartter for always being at these things and having my back ♥

mara ahmed with activists

cambodia

i haven’t had time to write about angkor thom and angkor wat in cambodia – about their stunning history, engineering genius and magnificent artistry. we are talking about the 11th/12th century! built with blocks of sandstone brought in from a mountain miles away, thru a system of canals and then carried by elephants. the blocks were cut precisely so they interlock. no cement. angkor wat is built on a water table. it is surrounded by a large and deep moat. this way, as the water levels change during the dry and wet seasons, pressure doesn’t build up – extra water is released to or from the moat. that these temples are still standing is frankly shocking. angkor wat was the center of a city with a population of about a million, the largest city in the world at that time. it was an honor to visit these temples with someone as erudite as our guide, chamrong soeut. we took hundreds of pictures, here are just a few.

angkor wat

angkor thom

angkor thom

French women attack #MeToo

Catherine Deneuve and more than a 100 French feminists go after #MeToo: “This expedited justice already has its victims, men prevented from practicing their profession as punishment, forced to resign, etc., while the only thing they did wrong was touching a knee, trying to steal a kiss, or speaking about ‘intimate’ things at a work dinner, or sending messages with sexual connotations to a woman whose feelings were not mutual.” One of the arguments the writers make is that instead of empowering women, the #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc movements instead serve the interests of “the enemies of sexual freedom, of religious extremists, of the worst reactionaries,” and of those who believe that women are “‘separate’ beings, children with the appearance of adults, demanding to be protected.” They write that “a woman can, in the same day, lead a professional team and enjoy being the sexual object of a man, without being a ‘promiscuous woman,’ nor a vile accomplice of patriarchy.” They conclude, “The philosopher Ruwen Ogien defended the freedom to offend as essential to artistic creation. In the same way, we defend a freedom to bother, indispensable to sexual freedom.”

— Wow, I’ve always felt that something is rotten in the state of France when it comes to sexuality, something that clings stubbornly to narrow, patriarchal, old-fashioned, male-centered ideas of sexual liberation and pleasure, unequivocally drenched in whiteness. Asia Argento’s spot-on comment: Catherine Deneuve and other French women tell the world how their interiorized misogyny has lobotomized them to the point of no return.

This “feminist” take on sexual freedom is very raced and classed. Those at the bottom of the power hierarchy have much less room to deal with messages full of sexual innuendoes, bosses trying to steal kisses, and imposing their “intimate” feelings on them in a work environment. Such white feminist bullshit.

Also, there is a difference between sex (sexuality, sexual freedom, sexual pleasure) and misogyny/structures of power and dominance. Just because there is finally some pushback against sexism and how men feel entitled to the bodies of women, does not mean that people won’t be able to have sex anymore. It’s stunning to me that the very idea of sexual agency for women/women’s ownership of their own bodies is seen as asexual, puritanical, religiously extreme, reactionary, somehow sexually unappetizing. Goes to show what’s normalized in our society.

I am not against providing some context for allegations of sexual harassment. I don’t believe #MeToo is advocating any kind of witch hunt. A lot is coming to the surface because it’s been repressed for centuries. But if we dare to imagine and create a different kind of world, where the dynamics b/w men and women (cis, queer, gender non-conforming) shift dramatically, we will be able to come to a new, more even-handed equilibrium.

Blood Narratives and Feminist Heroes by Mara Ahmed

my thoughts on the stark differences between the west’s reaction to ahed tamimi and malala yousafzai – a further exploration of an article written by shenila khoja-moolji and a case study by sherene razack.

It might be an uphill battle to shame the Western elite into sabotaging their own narratives of superiority, but it is essential for those of us whose bodies “don’t matter” (because they are raced, gendered, disabled, classed, exploited, and oppressed) to look beyond dominant fictions and deploy our solidarity in uncompromising, meaningful ways. It is particularly urgent to unmask and stop the obscenity of state violence committed on the minds and bodies of our children. It’s nothing less than a matter of survival. More here.

Cambodia – some history

First things first: Siem Reap means “Thailand defeated” – Siem as in “Siam” or Thailand’s Western designation, probably rooted in Portuguese, and Reap meaning to defeat. Cambodia has a long, contentious history with Thailand starting with hostilities during the Angkor era (13th c), the Thai capture of Angkor Thom in 1431, and the invasion of the new capital Lovek in 1594, which signaled the beginning of a decline for Cambodia. The country remained Thailand’s protectorate until the late 17th c when Vietnam settled and annexed the Mekong Delta, limiting Thai influence.

Foreign encroachments continued into the 19th c until Cambodia became a French protectorate (1863-1953). During the Cold War, the Khmer Rouge came into power, a genocidal regime supported by the US and China. They were ousted in 1979 by the Vietnamese with support from the Soviets. Vietnam withdrew its troops in 1989, after looting the country bare, and the Cambodian monarchy was restored in 1993. Such a tumultuous history for a small country of 15 million people.

Today, as we were driving back from Beng Mealea (the 12th c Lotus Pond temple that’s become one with the jungle surrounding it), a 2-hour drive from Siem Reap, located near the Kulen mountain from which the sandstone used to build Angkor Wat was quarried, I asked our guide, Chamrong, about the Khmer Rouge. I asked him about the prison camps and stories of how intellectuals (in fact anyone who was deemed literate or wore glasses) were exterminated. I was left speechless when Chamrong told us very calmly that it was all true: “My father was a teacher and was killed by the Khmer Rouge.” He told us about his childhood memories, like the landmines in a field right behind his house and how a cow or stray dog or someone from out of town would die there every other day.

Some 10 million mines were laid in Cambodia, mostly after 1979 when the Khmer Rouge were fighting the Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government. Cambodia has the highest per capita number of amputees in the world – one out of every 350 people. Many amputees can be seen playing music in touristy spots in order to get by. Chamrong told us how Siem Reap itself had changed dramatically in his lifetime. It became a major tourist destination around 2007. People began to move into the area in order to find employment in the tourism industry and that’s when a lot of the mines were cleared.

Beng Mealea, Cambodia

Zhujiajiao

Yesterday we drove more than an hour to visit the 1700-year old water town of Zhujiajiao. Built during the Ming-Qing dynasties and situated along Dianshan Lake, it’s often called Shanghai’s Venice because of the many canals that run through it. The town has 36 distinctive stone bridges, Fangsheng Bridge being the most iconic one. It spans the Caogang River and was originally built by a monk in 1571, then rebuilt in 1812. The bridge’s central arch is decorated with eight dragons surrounding a pearl, all carved in stone relief, and its pillars are in the form of sculpted lions. The town’s main thoroughfare is North Street, hundreds of years old and full of teahouses, art shops, and what looked like many different kinds of pickled meats. Wooden boats, that reminded me not only of Venetian gondolas but also of Kashmiri shikaras, can be seen traveling down waterways throughout the town. Quite a change of pace from Shanghai.

Zhujiajiao [photograph by my daughter]

Shanghai and Lahore

Instead of a fancy schmancy breakfast at the hotel, my son opted for some authentic Chinese food. We stepped into this tiny dim sum place where the locals had queued up. With the help of hand gestures, iTranslate, and the kindness of a young woman who left her lunch in order to help us out, we were able to order some chicken, steaming noodles and dumplings, and scallion pancakes fried to a golden crisp, their delicate layers as delicious as those of a paratha. This sustenance was much needed as we explored the city with Mr Liu all day: Yuyuan Bazaar in the center of Shanghai’s old town, the Bund and its stunning views of the financial district, the Jingan and Jade Buddha Temples and finally, Tianzifang in the French Concession.

Throughout I felt this ease, this comfort. The weather reminded me of Lahore in December – cold but livened up with bright, warm sunshine. The loud, motley chorus of bird calls early in the morning overlaid with the sound of sweeping brooms, the smog, the smells, the burning of incense in temple courtyards, and the mixture of old and new are all very familiar. What’s surprising is that for a mega city of 24 million (compared to Lahore’s 8-10 million) the traffic is stunningly quiet and relaxed – lots of bikes and electric scooters, and people can cross streets without any frenzied running or honking, sometimes in the absence of traffic signals. Also, the city is amazingly clean – cleaner than Lahore, cleaner than Paris, cleaner than New York. It’s all part of Chinese efficiency, which I must acknowledge – started with our flight on China Eastern Airlines and continues with all the help at the hotel, the service at every restaurant, the process followed at every bus and trolley stop, and every tourist destination. It’s seamless.

I loved Tianzifang and its maze of quaint alleyways, artsy shops, cafes and tea houses. Loved the French Concession generally. Not its history of colonialism (the area was built by the French in the aftermath of China’s loss in the Opium Wars in 1842, when Shanghai was forcefully transformed into an international “port of call”) but its plane trees – lush trees that line every single boulevard, their white bark and dramatic branches creating a canopy of shimmering leaves over some of the narrower streets. Their splendid lines fashion the entire neighborhood.

At night we returned to the Bund to catch a glimpse of Shanghai’s famous skyline, all lit up and reflected brightly in the Huangpu River. The perfect end to a very busy day 🙂

View from our room [photograph by my son]

Jingan Temple

View of financial district from the Bund [photo by my son]

Park next to our hotel in Shanghai