Posts from — February 2009

Matthai Kuruvila, the Religion/Spirituality Reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle had an article today about about how Islamic finance has fared well during the current credit crisis. Check out the article:

Muslim investors profit by adhering to faith

From the article:

Renouncing interest is the high-profile element of Islamic finance that relates to the current economic crisis. For Islamically correct investors, that means there are limits to how much debt a company can have or how much profit it can derive from interest-based investments. That criterion eliminated the possibility of holding stocks in financial services companies, like Citigroup or Washington Mutual, whose stocks lost 86 percent or all of their value last year, respectively.

The Islamic Index in the Dow Jones has been outperforming many non-Islamic indexes while the Amana Income and Growth Funds have also been outperforming the S&P 500. The article also touches on much of the housing crisis was avoided by those who went through Islamic financing methods.

Generally speaking, while not every Islamic Fund has been more successful than other funds, the Islamic method of investing is giving people pause and has them thinking if there just might be something to it.

But really though, check out the whole article.

Kuruvila really works with the Islamic community when he needs to write an article that deals with Islam. Because of this, his articles are always well balanced.

Just a quick note: In an email that I got that was forwarded from someone who helped him on the article, Kuruvila said that he did not write the actual headline and that the “online headline is definitely too strong an assertion.” So just keep that in mind.

The other day, I finally caught a showing of Waltz With Bashir, Israel’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film. This animated film is based on filmmaker Ari Folman’s attempt to recover memories of his time as an Israeli soldier in the Lebanon War in the 1980s. Folman’s use of animation conjured up memories of Waking Life and Persepolis, the latter mostly because animation was used to tell a true story there as well.

It was only after a conversation he had with an old friend that Folman had one memory resurface of his time in the war and he wasn’t even sure that it was a real memory. He set out to find out about his time in the army, which included tracking down former soldiers he fought with and former soldiers in other battalions that he may or may not have crossed paths with during that time in the early 80s.

The film was shot mostly like a documentary as animated Folman spoke to animated versions of real people (I believe only one person was voiced by an actor but was still based on a real person). Not only did he talk to people in the army, but psychologists and others that provided insight on the nature of his memories and war. These interviews are supplemented with scenes from the war. As we see Folman getting closer and closer to discovering his role in the war in general and a massacre more specifically, the viewer gets drawn into Folman’s journey through his lost history.

The movie was intense and raw at times. After watching it, I realized I don’t know much at all about the Lebanon War and not a thing about the massacre that occurs in the movie that resulted in the murder of 2,000 Palestinian refugees.

The following from the Wikipedia article for Waltz With Bashir:

Like all Israeli films, the film has been banned in most Arab countries, with the most harsh critics in Lebanon, as the movie depicts a vague and violent time in Lebanon’s history. A movement of bloggers, among them the Lebanese Inner Circle, +961 and others have rebelled against the Lebanese government’s ban of the movie, and have managed to get the movie be seen by local Lebanese critics, in defiance of their government’s request on banning it.

I really don’t understand this knee-jerk reaction. Folman is trying to unearth memories that have been long ago repressed and in doing so, provides a look into the war that is devoid of propaganda that would have colored the experience of watching Waltz With Bashir otherwise. I really do hope that Lebanon and other Arab countries allow this movie to screen.

At then end of the film, everyone in the entire theater merely sat there in silence when the credits started rolling. No one got up immediately. We all just…sat there as we still tried to absorb Folman’s quest into long repressed memories. My friend and I were discussing whether or not we could watch it again. I’m actually not quite sure if I could but I definitely do recommend at least one viewing of Waltz With Bashir in order to get a bit of insight into a period of time that many of us don’t know anything about.

There’s a meme going around Facebook where people are writing a list of 25 things about themselves and then tagging people to their note and have them write their own list. I’ve been tagged a handful of times and I thought I would make a list. However, I’m still not sure if I want to put it on Facebook so I’ll put it here for now.

Here are the rules: “Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.” So with that, I came up with this list:

1. I really need to work on being a better Muslim and a better person.

2. I have a touch of geekiness.

3. I love speaking in front of crowds.

4. There have been two times where I have been so incredibly high on sugar and caffeine that I was a mess 1) At Serendipity’s in NYC with my cousin when I had my frozen hot chocolate and finished up her frozen mocha and 2) When with a friend the night the last Harry Potter book came out. I had two cold coffees from Mirchi’s that night. I don’t recommend doing that.

5. I’m hoping to get away with wearing jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies for as long as possible.

6. Zooey Glass from J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey is my favorite literary character and I wish I could write like Salinger.

7. I like writing but I don’t write nearly as much as I should.

8. I want to get a PhD because I told my dad I would in one of the last conversations we had before he passed away. Even if I don’t end up getting an advanced degree, I still hope to one day be the kind of daughter he can be proud of, InshAllah (God Willing).

9. I want to go from someone who ‘likes to take pictures’ to a ‘photographer who is good at taking pictures’.

10. Beginning the process of learning Arabic is one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time.

11. When I commuted to Emeryville everyday, I constantly worried about getting into an accident during my long commute. I ended up getting in a fender bender not on the freeway, but in the parking garage at work. D’oh!

12. My family’s old house in Newark had a glass sliding door, which I ran into. Twice.

13. I’ve been a lifelong Superman fan and even read Superman comic books weekly for 5 1/2 years.

14. There’s just something about Donnie Darko that speaks to me.

15. I want to help people.

16. If I had to choose between the power of flight or invisibility, I would choose flight.

17. I have this thing with mochas. I have to try a mocha whenever I’m in cafe I’ve never been to before.

18. I once almost broke out into song at the gym while listening to my iPod. I caught myself just in time.

19. I acknowledge that sometimes I am too sarcastic for my own good.

20. Even though I can be a bit cynical sometimes, I’m actually a hopeless romantic at heart.

21. It took me a while to realize that it is completely ok that I’m sort of a loner.

22. I only have a few close friends but I’m really protective of them.

23. At one point during a long stretch of unemployment after college, I got so lazy that I didn’t finish my sentences. I just waved my arm to signify that I was done talking. I wasn’t usually talking about anything important so no one really noticed that I stopped talking mid-sentence.

24. I was always wary of babies and little kids until my nephew Raza was born. I never thought I could feel as much love as I do for him and now my niece Sundus.

25. I could never be half the person my mom is but it is definitely something to strive for.

I was reading through Al’ America: Travels Through America’s Arab and Islamic Roots by San Francisco Chronicle journalist Jonathan Curiel for a site I blog for and thought I would share something with you all.

Did you know that coffee originated from the Arabian peninsula in the 1400s? Yes, indeed. In fact, one sect of Muslims would use coffee in order to stay awake at night to pray. The first coffeehouse originated in Mecca around the 1500s. For a brief time, coffee was even prohibited by Muslim clerics due to the fact that some viewed it as a substance that altered consciousness, but that ban was soon overturned and coffee flourished in Muslim countries. I want to quote a line that Curiel writes on page 87 of his book:

Egypt became so crazy about the beverage that marriage contracts included a provision that a woman could divorce her husband if (among other faults) he didn’t provide her with an adequate amount of coffee.

Dear Future Husband, whoever and wherever you may be, while I would never stoop to such drastic measures at the loss of a cup of coffee, I would like you to take note. Thank you.

I was told once that I am a pretty dark person. I was told this after I proclaimed that Donnie Darko is one of my favorite movies. I can live with that.

From the very first time I watched Donnie Darko, there was something that drew me to it. I couldn’t quite explain my fascination with the movie, just that it somehow affected in a manner in which most movies don’t and nothing can tarnish that.

I hope.

You see, there’s a sequel that’s coming out.

I first heard about the sequel with a wall post on Facebook from my cousin’s friend, who knew I loved Donnie Darko. I researched it and then wrote the following on her wall in response to her initial post about whether I was excited about the sequel:

I won’t lie to you, the Donnie Darko sequel may prove troublesome as it may compromise the integrity of the original. The original writer/director, Richard Kelley, is not involved at all and the only returning character is the youngest sister. I’ll be interested to see the direction in takes though and hope it’s not being made to capitalize on the cult success of Donnie Darko. Crossing fingers now…

This was followed up with another post on her wall in which I acknowledged that I may have been a bit too serious *cough*.

io9 had an article today about the Donnie Darko sequel titled S. Darko, which is coming out in April on DVD. I think I’m going to be too scared to watch it especially since it seems to have nothing to do with anything. I think I’ll just go ahead and watch Donnie Darko again and remember better times.

The other night, I caught an episode of How I Met Your Mother, a documentary about life in New York City. This particular episode dealt with the issue of unemployment, one that I know well. One character faced deportation (to Canada) if she did not get a job soon. One friend, Barney, had a particularly inspiring idea to help her get a job: make a video resume. And then he showed the gang his own video resume, a video filled with explosions and a theme song. When it was pointed out that he doesn’t actually do anything in the video, Barney said:

“That’s who Corporate America wants. People who seem like bold, risk takers but never actually do anything. Actually doing things gets you fired.”

As I look for a job myself, I wonder if I should keep that in mind (I kid, I kid!).

And, if I need to make my own video resume.

Check out Barney’s.

Urban Outfitters is selling a new bracelet! Why do I care, you ask. Here’s a picture of it:

It’s Arabic! It says “Allah”, which means “God” in English. Muslims all over the world and Arab Christians would recognize that writing anywhere. It’s not one of those “if you look at it in the mirror, stand on your head, and squint then it sort of looks like…” Nope. It says “Allah”. The Arabic writing has the vowel symbols and everything (the ‘kasra’ and ’shadda’ are plainly viewable).

I guess people can wear whatever they want but it does bother me when someone dons something as fashion without looking at what it actually means. This is like when Urban Outfitters started selling keffiyahs, which symbolizes Palestinian solidarity, and turned it into a fashion statement. Like people who wear Che Guevara shirts without even knowing who Che Guevara is. Like people who wear Superman shirts without even knowing anything beyond the basics. This is madness, I tell you!

That crazy lady from Fox news is going to be all over this one and Urban Outfitters will end up getting the same flak they got when they started selling keffiyahs: that they’re supporting terrorists. As much as I find it weird that they are selling something like this, that’s still a ridiculous sentiment to propose.

I guess we’ll see what happens. It says ‘Back in Stock’ but I’m only seeing news of this now.

I wonder if it’s strange that I sort of want one.

Oh hey everyone! I just wanted to give you a heads up – this is probably the first and last time that I use “Fashion” as a tag. I can’t really see myself writing about fashion related stuff in the future.

I spent the day feeling so out of it and then ultimately feeling guilty for not going to Arabic class so I have nothing to offer today. I need a good night’s sleep so…

Tomorrow then.

As I attended one Super Bowl party and then rushed off to another one during half time, I realized something: yeah, crowds can be fun and it’s good to be social now and then, but when it comes to the Super Bowl, I’d rather be able to actually sit somewhere and watch with a clear, unobstructed view.

Anyways, good game, good game (well, the last quarter anyways).

Just a quick thought with the commercials – G.I. Joe looks awesome. Let’s hope it is. Otherwise, it will be yet another childhood memory tarnished. Speaking of that…

Transformers 2 looks darker, which is cool. The first one had all these comedic moments that didn’t fit and that’s why the movie didn’t hold up on it’s second viewing.