islamicate

Tajikistan Tourism: The Tajik People Shine | Marin Magazine

Tajikistan Tourism: The Tajik People Shine | Marin Magazine.

The Pamiris are predominantly Ismaili Muslims, whose geographic nexus occurs in this historic region of Badakhshan, extending from southeastern Tajikistan into northern Afghanistan and Pakistan. At the core of Ismailism is Prince Aga Khan IV, the imam whose religious leadership provides a living interpretation of the Koran. The Aga Khan’s embrace of women’s rights and education has fostered a uniquely progressive orientation among the Ismailis, whose peaceful communities constitute a foundation of stability in one of the world’s most polarized regions.

Restoring Cairo, the City

A pedestrian walkway for one of the busiest cities on earth.

Douglas Adams on Australia

Read it here.

Technorati Tags: Australia, Humor

Barcelona Exhibit - Islam and the West

This exhibit sounds really interesting. If anyone is checking it out, or know about an exhibit book, please let us know. I love the last line about the novel and poetry, although I think it devalues poetry too much.

Technorati Tags: Islamic art

I fly

I flew this airline, and I don't remember this being the emergency card. I wonder if it's new, old, or a fight club job.

Silk Road

The Silk Road was a very cool trade route that joined civilizations and cultures. It now seems it's being revived. Aside from the physical reconstruction, you can see off to the side under "voices in our heads" a CD called "Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet," put out by the Silk Road Project. They are committed to using the cultural synthesis that defined the Silk Road to help bring people closer together. They were part of the Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian in DC in 2002. The really nice thing is that they list the major funder and creative partner as being a Muslim group, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). We can be involved in creation once more.

Australia's Gitmo

For those of you who don't know, there was a site in Australia known as Woomera where refugees were detained. While technically not like Gitmo, it was where refugees, predominantly Muslim, were held without legal recourse or appeal until they could be deported. They were not given a hearing to determine their status, they were simply locked up. Condition at one point had gotten so bad, the prisoners sewed their mouths shut. Because of all the bad press, the center was shut down, but the practice continues, and Woomera has become symbolic of the racist policies of John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia.

There is now a company making a game called Escape from Woomera to highlight the injustices of the situation. The idea of using a game as a means to raise social conscious is a fabulous one. The link above outlines their work and their philosophy, and supplies a lot of background material.

Blaq Irack

Ran across this article in the Washington Post. It deals with the Black African communities in Iraq. Reminded me of a similar article from the BBC on the Sidi community, Black Africans in Gujarat, India. It amazes me how far the contacts amongst civilizations extends, both geographically and temporally.

Walt Disney Said That?

One of my secret passions is Apple Computer. I love the elegance and ease of use, and I read Mac news sites on a regular basis. I ran across this article on Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, and it had the following great quote from Walt Disney:

Before his death in 1966, Disney said, "I don't believe there is a challenge anywhere in the world that is more important to people everywhere than finding the solution to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin? Well, we're convinced we must start with the public need. And the need is not just for curing the old ills of old cities. We think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a community that will become a prototype for the future."

a recent trip

A travel journal and photos can be found here.