Children of Dust is about the evolution of the author from Abir, Amir, and then finally, into reformist blogger Ali Eteraz. In his first book, this former blogger takes the reader through his childhood from a village in Pakistan to his life in the United States.

His father had promised Allah (swt) a servant in the form of his son if he and his wife were granted a boy. Born with that covenant hanging over his head, Abir Ul Islam, now known as Ali Eteraz, did strive to be the best Muslim he could be while growing up in Pakistan.

In the United States, he tries his best to fit in, even changing his name upon excessive teasing from classmates - Abir= “A Beer”, etc. Ah, the creativeness of classmates when it comes to foreign names. I know that pain so well. Second graders can be so cruel.

But I digress…

In college he focuses back to religion. He dodged non-Muslim girls until he came to the realization that he needed to find himself a nice, pious Muslim girl which ultimately leads him on a trip back to Pakistan. His trip to Pakistan becomes a defining event. Due to events detailed in the book, he came back a different person.

That episode is what fuels another part of Eteraz, the part that slides away from Islam. This part was … interesting to say the least. Here is a guy with a lot of knowledge about Islam who stopped believing while giving the outwards appearance that he was, in fact, a pious Muslim brother. Out of all the less than stellar acts he shares in his book, this is the one that really made me wary of Ali Eteraz. I mean, he was pretending to be a good Muslim, even going as far as getting himself elected president of his college’s Muslim Student’s Association. He only seemed to do things to get attention, for people to notice and respect him.

Due to the aforementioned, I couldn’t really decide how I felt about the author. I didn’t appreciate the kind of person he described himself to be. However, I did appreciate his honesty. We can clearly see his motivations in his life and what drives him to do what he does. You may not agree with his actions but either way, Eteraz is a gifted writer. He could have sugar-coated events and periods of his life but instead he writes a memoir that I could respect even if, at times, I didn’t really respect the man himself.

This is not necessarily a memoir of Pakistan like it says on the cover, but more like a memoir of a Pakistani- American. Read Children of Dust with an open mind to find about how Eteraz coped with too-strict imams at the madrasas in his village in Pakistan, how he escorted the Tablighi Jamat around the United States much to his embarrassment, the intense situation he found himself in while in Pakistan, and how after 9/11, Eteraz’s life took yet another turn. This book is by no means the end of the story that Ali Eteraz and so it will be interesting to see what his future writing projects entail.

I watched Green Lantern: First Flight over the weekend, a DC Animated film. These movies have always been enjoyable and this latest installment in the franchise is no exception.

Test pilot Hal Jordan assumes the Green Lantern mantle from the late Green Lantern, Abin Sur within the first couple of minutes of First Flight and then begins his journey to the Green Lantern Corp headquarters in space. However, the Guardians of the Universe (the masterminds behind the Corp) doubt his capacity to handle the ring based on the fact that he’s a human. Because, y’know, we’re the crudest species, prone to violence, and unable to live peacefully.

However, veteran Green Lantern Sinestro volunteers to take Hal under his wing to help him find out who killed Abin Sur and to prevent the warlord Kanjar Ro from obtaining the mysterious yellow element, which can withstand the power of the green element in which the Corp is based upon.

Jordan soon finds himself at odds with Sinestro’s brand of justice and eventually ends up on opposite sides of the power-mad Sinestro as the latter’s loathe of the Guardians and quest for the yellow element for himself endanger the Green Lantern Corp and in effect, the rest of the universe.

Green Lantern: First Flight manages plot and action quite well without any kind of lull in its 75 minute run time. The viewers are rewarded with a tale of corruption and redemption. And fights between superpowered beings! In space! In addition, I like how the filmmakers don’t dwell on the origin story but instead get right to the point. Also, the voices of Christoper Meloni as Hal Jordan, Victor Garber (Spy Dad from Alias!) as Sinestro, and Tricia Helfer (Six from BSG!) as fellow Green Lantern Boodikka complement their animated characters quite well without overpowering their animated persona. Although I have never purported to be a fan of Green Lantern, First Flight is definitely worthy of being added to the roster of DC animated movies.

Here’s my ranking of the DC Animated straight to DVD movies thus far (linked to my reviews on this site):

1. Batman: Gotham Knight
2. Green Lantern: First Flight
(tied)
2. Wonder Woman (Uh, oops, did I not review this? Well, I liked it The violence in this movie was spectacular. “Was that a head?” my sister asked as something flew across the scene in the initial battle scene Wonder Woman. “Yes, yes it was.” I responded.)
4. Justice League: New Frontier
5. Superman: Doomsday (Supes, I’m really sorry you are at the bottom of my list. You are still my favorite superhero.)

Next in line: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, to be released in September. Can’t wait!

P.S. I love the idea of the Green Lantern Corp, an intergalactic police force. I want a Green Lantern ring. I promise to use it only for good.

In New Muslim Cool, filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor presents a look at the life of Puerto Rican American Hamza Perez over a period of a few years in Pittsburgh as he and other members of the community work to establish a Muslim community.

Born Jason, Hamza used to be a drug dealer in Massachusetts before he found Islam and turned his life around at the age of 21. Although only 83 minutes, New Muslim Cool covers many aspects of Hamza’s life: how he fits in with his (mostly) non-Muslim relatives, his marriage, his work as an activist, his hip hop career, even how he and the rest of the Muslim community deal with an uncalled for FBI raid on their mosque.

Taylor and editor Kenji Yamamoto worked well to make the film as cohesive as possible. Despite the fact that one is watching scenes that have been filmed over a few years, the documentary has an underlying theme. It’s about Hamza maturing, becoming a better person, understanding who he is, and embracing the responsibilities he feels are incumbent on him.

The great thing about New Muslim Cool is that you don’t have to be a Muslim or a convert to appreciate this film. The message given is universal and Hamza is entirely relatable. Check it out if you can. There’s one more screening in San Francisco at the Sundance Kabuki Theater on May 4 and other screenings in other parts of the country. Also, New Muslim Cool has the distinction of airing on June 23 on PBS to start off the new season of POV.

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.