Reviewer Deborah Young calls Ertijal, a documentary about three Palestinian oud-playing brothers, “uncontroversial.” Documentary: Ertijal (Improvisation) Screening: 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb 22 Oak Street Cinema 309 Oak Street S.E. Minneapolis 55414 While an “uncontroversial” film set in Palestine and Israel might sound like code for “ignorant” or “milquetoast,” this film is neither. And while Ertijal, directed by Raed Andoni and appearing at Minneapolis’ Oak Street Cinema on Feb. 22, doesn’t explicitly engage in polemics, it does achieve the unusual in portraying Palestinians as full-spectrum human beings. They are not only interested in politics, as eldest brother Samir Joubran remarks in Read More …
Author: engagemn
Fadwa Wazwaz | Fəd-wə Wəz-wəz | Author of "God Intervenes Between A Person and Their Heart: Key Lessons from the Prophets" and "Love Is Deeper Than Words: Key Lessons from the Prophets." The author's work centers on exploring Islamic teachings, philosophy, ethics, and the Israeli colonialism in Palestine.
Prominent Muslim Scholar to Speak in MN: ‘Is Coexistence Feasible?’
Dr. Jamal Badawi Scheduled to Appear Feb. 20 at University of St. Thomas By Fedwa Wazwaz, Engage Minnesota ATTEND IT Presentation: Dr. Jamal Badawi: “Is Coexistence Feasible? An Islamic Response.” 7 p.m. Weds., Feb. 20 O’Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN Although Muslims in the United States and around the world have repeatedly condemned terrorism and extremism, Muslims stand falsely accused by nationally known commentators and influential religioumatts leaders of remaining silent. What does Islam say about terrorism? Sadly, we are forced to prove that we condemned terrorism. This is a situation Read More …
Are Revolutions Won by Hands Clenched into Fists or Clasped in Prayer?
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King in The Meeting By Emily Bright, Engage Minnesota Also: Local Muslim Talks with Audience about His Experiences When I arrive at the History Theater in downtown St. Paul, a school bus is parked in front of the door. It’s the perfect audience for Jeffrey Stetson’s play The Meeting, which imagines a meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965 Harlem. Not that this is a children’s play, per se. But the discussion between two great leaders of the Civil Rights movement over the power of violence vs nonviolence definitely strikes Read More …
Film Challenges Convention on Muslims, Africans, Slave-Era America
By Marcia Lynx Qualey, Engage Minnesota WATCH IT TV program: Prince Among Slaves Airs: 7 p.m. Tues., Feb 5 on TPT Ch. 17 11 p.m. Sun., Feb. 10, TPT Ch. 2 Officially, the first mosque in the U.S. was erected in 1929. This building was constructed by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Ross, North Dakota, and has since been demolished. But those Midwestern immigrants were hardly the first observant Muslims in the Americas. Others had worshiped on U.S. soil hundreds of years before. It is difficult to say how many African Muslims were brought to North America as slaves. Scholars Read More …
Don’t define Muslim societies by their flaws
“The question is whether these demagogues will grant Muslims the right to accept Islam for themselves. The prolonged, constant criticism denies Muslims that emotional space of self-acceptance.”