A while ago, I wrote a review of Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and have also mentioned it elsewhere in this blog a handful of times. This book is the true story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun and what happened to him in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. The book is amazing and so when I found out that there was going to be a City Arts and Lecture event featuring author Dave Eggers in conversation with Abdulrahman and his wife, Kathy, I thought it would be an great opportunity and so got tickets.

Moderated by Wajahat Ali in the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, the conversation centered around the Zeitouns as they opened up about their experiences. I have to say, it was one thing reading the book and it was something entirely different to actually hear them talk about some of the horrific events they had to go through. Everyone was spellbound and tt wasn’t hard to notice that they all loved them. I think the story Kathy Zeitoun told in the beginning about her pat-down at airport security on the way to San Francisco warmed the crowd to them right from the beginning

Whenever I get a chance, I really try to promote this book to family, friends, coworkers, and random people. Count this as one more time in which I tell you to check this book out. Trust me.

Side note: I wasn’t sure where to do the Maghrib prayer (one of the prayers that Muslims do) before I was meant to meet up a friend for dinner before the show. Then, I remembered that there is a masjid nearby and I could just walk to the restaurant afterward. One problem: the masjid is one of the worst parts of town in San Francisco and I wasn’t too keen on walking for 10 minutes in the semi-dark in the Tenderloin (the name of the area). As I was waiting for Maghrib to begin, my worrying increased and so I asked a random guy in the masjid if it was safe to walk down the particular street I needed to:

Him: “Why, because you’re Muslim?”
Me: “Well, no. I mean, y’know…”
Him: “What, because of hoodlums or something?”
Me: “Well, it’s just that” *looking down, shuffling feet* “the Tenderloin has, y’know, a bit of a reputation and so I was just wondering if it’s safe to walk down [street name] after Maghrib. Y’know.”

He said that there were people who do all sorts of stuff but everyone keeps to themselves. If I don’t bother anyone, no one would bother me. Needless to say, I hightailed it to the restaurant after the prayer, trying to stay focused. Fortunately, I didn’t come across anyone unsavory. I did, however, see someone get arrested outside of the masjid right when I came out. Good times.

Read Zeitoun!!

Over on Al Mihrab, Irfan Rydhan, who I have volunteered with before on a couple of organizations, posted 5 Good Books for American Muslims (and everyone else). Apologies for yet another list but his post inspired me to come up with my own ‘five books’ and so I’ve done that below. Just like Irfan’s list, mine can be consumed by non-Muslims as well:

1. Zeitoun
With all the negative media we get regarding Islam and Muslims in the U.S., reading a book where the protagonist is a Syrian-American practicing Muslim is a welcome change of pace. Abdulrahman Zeitoun faced a lot of adversity after he opted to stay behind in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and yet despite the almost unreal circumstance in he found himself in, his faith remained unshakable. I know it’s cliche to say this, but I couldn’t put this book down. An intense true story, this book was also picked by Entertainment Weekly as the #1 Nonfiction book for 2009. What. Up.

2. Al America: Travels Through America’s Arab and Islamic Roots
This one has to be on the list. San Francisco Chronicle journalist Jonathon Curiel writes about how Muslims and Arabs have extensively influenced the United States. From coffee to rock and roll, there are many things in this country that have been shaped by Arabs and Muslims. Curiel also has a lot of supplementary material on his website.

3. The Vision of Islam
As someone who was born Muslim in a non-Muslim country, I found this intermediate ‘intro’ to Islam book to be very valuable. In addition, the authors Murata and Chittick did something that some Islamic school teachers I had when I was younger failed to do – they gave Islam a soul.

4. Waiting ‘Til The Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
Not a book on Islam but it’s still quite important. Author Peniel Joseph gives us a narrative history in which he tells the reader about a great many people and events that helped shape the Civil Rights movement, which the Muslim American community has looked to from time to time. An excellent read.

5. Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers, and Artists
Man, those Muslims. They have never amounted to anything… Actually, quite the opposite. In this book, Michael Morgan goes through many of the scientific and mathematic achievements made by Muslims. Just a note though, this book really is only an introduction into the topic and is not meant to be an academic work. However, it’s a good stepping stone into further study.

So there you have it. I’ll go ahead and apologize for any future lists I make but hey, doing 30 posts in 30 days isn’t too easy for me

On occasion, I review movies, books, or TV shows for Media and Islam or Illumemedia, usually things that are related to Islam. On this site, I may occasionally review a random, non-religious book or movie for fun (like the DC animated films).

I realized a while ago that I was generally positive when it came to most of these reviews. Any kind of gripe I had was always minor and I always ended up giving a review close to glowing. I wondered, was I too nice? Would I end up giving everything a positive review?

I needn’t have worried.

I was recently given an advanced copy of a book by a marketing company. This particular company gave me a free book before, which was great, so I loved that they thought of me again to send me another book.

The premise of this particular book is a controversial one: it’s a novelized version of the life of one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Aisha (ra). I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because of the fiction mixed in with the true account of religious figures, but I thought I’d be fair and not just jump to conclusions.

So I read the book. To put it simply, I didn’t like it.

As I prepare to write my review, I wonder if it’s okay to even be negative. I’m the type of person who doesn’t take criticism well so I wonder: who am I to bestow criticism on anyone else?

The first copy of the book I received was an advanced copy without the real cover, just a really simple one that characterized it as an advanced copy. The company just sent me the published version of the book and I lamented the fact that I had another version of a book I didn’t like and my bookshelf was already bursting at the seams. I looked at the published version and read through the quotes from other authors that were printed on the front and back covers. The headlining quote was from Amy Tan and it was then I realized: I have my own opinion and I’ll go ahead and give it. People will like
the book and some people won’t and I happen to fall into the latter group. If you don’t want something to be critiqued don’t put it out there. And if by some crazy chance the author happens to read my review, he can take solace in the fact that other people liked it and what do I know because I’m no Amy Tan.

I just feel a bit bad because this will probably be the last time that this marketing company gives me a free book.

I got my first Mac a while ago and it came with all this cool stuff, including Garageband. I always wanted to try it out so I figured I would create a podcast, which I finally did over this weekend. So here it is folks, my first podcast.

Download Bushra’s First Podcast: The Effects of Reading Post Apocalyptic Fiction

Show Notes:
1. Yes, I realize that although I’m a 26 year old girl the sound of my recorded voice sounds like that of a little boy. What can I say. . .
2. This podcast is a bit disjointed, with a lot of “you knows” in there. I don’t have too much time to edit at this point because I have to get ready for England.
3. The books discussed: Y: The Last Man, World War Z, and The Road
4. The song played at the end: Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton. I bought this song legally off his site :p
5. I didn’t really include any musical accompaniment in this podcast. Therefore, you are just really listening to me.
6. I ramble.

It runs about 14 minutes with the song at the end.

Thanks.

(Ok, so you really don’t have to listen to this if you don’t want to. It really is just meant to be a learning experience for me )