What We Didn’t Hear in Obama’s Speech

What We Didn’t Hear in Obama’s Speech

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

I often wonder what my future children and grandchildren will read in their history textbooks about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan. World War I is called “The Great War” - what will my generation’s wars be known as?  For now, I cannot think of anything so grand - perhaps “The Great Imperialist Screw Up” or “Oops, That Wasn’t As Easy As We Thought.” Some people have already started to use the title “the AfPak War” for the fight in Afghanistan/Pakistan, which sounds more like an insurance company to me than a bloodbath. Read More
Dubai’s F-Bomb

Dubai’s F-Bomb

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

The teensy weensy Dubai emirate was the recent setting for the release of one giant F-bomb (ahem, financial crisis), which just so happened to coincide with the eve of the Eid al Adha holidays. Dubai World, a Dubai-based investment company, revealed that it needed a six month extension to repay its almost $60 billion in debt. The timing of the foreboding announcement could not have been more perfect as the Middle East banking sector and financial markets often grind to a screeching halt during one of Islam’s most auspicious holidays. As a result, Dubai World had several days’ cushioning to garner support and move straight into damage control mode.Read More
Jakarta International Film Festival Kicks Off this Weekend

Jakarta International Film Festival Kicks Off this Weekend

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

Cairo. Doha. Dubai. Jakarta. These are just a few of the Muslim-majority cities that have held major, prominent film festivals in the last year, celebrations which too-often get sidelined by mainstream media in favor of, well, minarets minarets and the like. Still, the popularity of these festivals is ever-increasing, and the trend continues this weekend with the annual Jakarta International Film Festival Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest) in Indonesia, impressively now in its 11th year. Read More
Now Anyone Can Visit Iraq’s National Museum - Thanks Google!

Now Anyone Can Visit Iraq’s National Museum - Thanks Google!

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

When Google does something, it does it big. Remember Google maps? People thought, “But there are other websites that show me maps.” Sure there are, but do those websites show a satellite view that you can zoom in to the point where you can see the actual building of the address you’re looking up? No. Then they came up with Gmail. People wondered, “But what’s wrong with my Hotmail or Yahoo account?” I’ll tell you. Your conversation is all over the place, but Gmail’s got you threaded. So when Google announced it will be creating a virtual copy of Iraq’s National Museum, and someone said, “But Italy’s National Research Center has already done that, Eric Schmidt should have responded, “But they haven’t done it like this.”Read More
Minarets Sure are Scary, Say the Swiss

Minarets Sure are Scary, Say the Swiss

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

To the 57 percent of Swiss citizens who voted on Sunday to ban the building of mosque minarets, I hear you loud and clear! Of course minarets should be illegal - minarets signal the existence of mosques, mosques signal the existence of Muslims, and Muslims signal the existence of all sorts of crime: terrorist activity, littering, poor grooming habits, the end of humanity as we know it, etc.Read More
Whatcha Got Under that Burqa? Is this Ad Empowering or Insulting?

Whatcha Got Under that Burqa? Is this Ad Empowering or Insulting?

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

Remember when old white dudes used to sit around in places like 19th century Egypt and pontificate on questions like “why are the Muslim people so backwards?” and “I wonder what that woman looks like under that veil? I bet she’s a real tiger in the bedroom.” This, my friends, is what people much smarter than me (take Edward Said for instance) would call “Orientalism”. But if you think Orientalism died out in the 19th century, watching the new advertisement by Liaison Dangereuse, a German lingerie company, will show you otherwise. The exoticization of Muslim women is still very much alive...

[Read More @ Elan.com]
Burqa Barbie Brings Out the Crazies

Burqa Barbie Brings Out the Crazies

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

Italian designer Eliana Lorena has outfitted 500 Barbies in cultural clothes from around the world to be sold at an auction in Florence, Italy in celebration of Barbie’s 50th anniversary. Mattel’s release of these 500 special collectors’ Barbies spurred a lot of controversy, but you won’t hear about Kimono Barbie, Gomesi Barbie or Selwar Kameez Barbie. Nope. Everyone’s talking about Burqa Barbie - and it’s not because they’re admiring her colorful choices.Read More
Voting for the Best Muslim Singers on NPR

Voting for the Best Muslim Singers on NPR

By elan on from www.elanthemag.com

NPR is asking people to log on to its website and vote for your five favorite singers out of a list of about 100. Then, the site will announce the singers that made it into the top 50, the ones who will be celebrated when the series officially starts in January.

The Muslims included in NPR’s list are:

Nusrat Fateh Ali of Pakistan
Youssou N’Dour of Senegal
Mohammed Reza Shajarian of Iran
Umm Kulthoum of Egypt
Alim Qasimov of Azerbaijan
Khaled of Algeria
Busta Rhymes (yes, really)

Log in To UmmahBUZZ!

No account yet? Join us now, it's free!

Login Required To Submit A New Link

Anonymous submission are not allowed! You must login to submit a new story on our site. Don't have an account yet? Join now, it's free!