Browsing Archive: March, 2010
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Wednesday, March 31, 2010,
Amr Khaled, the Arab world's most successful teleda'ia (televangelist is a loose translation) is at it again with a new racy show somewhat inspired by Donald Trump's The Apprentice. Mujaddidun (The Reformers) takes reality television away from mindless entertainment and into a new realm of charitable and voluntary work. For 3 months, 16 young (20-30 years old) contestants from 9 Arab countries compete for the brightest and most practical innovative ideas in charitable projects ranging from he... Continue reading ...
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Tuesday, March 30, 2010,
Here is another way to talk about Muslims in the West in creative ways. The BBC recently aired My Name is Muhammad documentary in which it featured nine British Muslims whose name is Muhammad, including Shelina JanMohamed, a female blogger (Spirit 21). Muhammad is Britain's second most popular name after Jack, and the producers of the show wanted to defy some rampant stereotypes about Muslims. I applaud this initiative from the BBC, but It would have been more accurate to find British Muhamma... Continue reading ...
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Monday, March 29, 2010,
The British are certainly more courageous to deal with Islam on TV more head on. Muslim Driving School is yet another creative series the BBC (BBC2) has aired recently to open up a rare window into the life of Muslim (Asian) women in the north of England. I really like the idea of using driving school as a way to talk about issues British audiences wouldn't want to learn about otherwise. It's a lighter approach to tackling some topical issues like arranged marriage, gender dynamics, a woman's... Continue reading ...
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Friday, March 26, 2010,
If you read about the niqab-clad poet
from Saudi Arabia and her anti-extremist verse, you might be wondering
why people are rejoicing over a woman who is allowed to speak only
behind a thick black cloak covering her from head to toe in a
television show where women and men are seated in separate sections.
Yes, it is rather strange to see the male host of the show and the
other male contestants avoid eye contact with the female poet whose
eyes you can't really see, but cultural progress in tha... Continue reading ...
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Wednesday, March 17, 2010,
If you visited IslamOnline recently, you may have found dead links to many articles and fatwa answers. That's because hundreds of workers in the site's editorial office in Cairo have been staging walkouts and sit-ins accusing their managers in Qatar of plotting to replace them with a team of religious hardliners. The managers are allegedly unhappy about a recent trend at the site to run more articles and advice columns about social issues, art, and youth-related topics. IslamOnline has become... Continue reading ...
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Thursday, March 11, 2010,
Here is an interesting request from Maureen Dowd who wants the Saudis to open up Medina and Mecca's holy sites to non-Muslims. Tough times call indeed for radical measures, and this is probably one measure Muslims should debate more seriously. This could help at a time of a sharp image crisis to bridge an important gap between Muslims and non-Muslims, particularly for those with a dying curiosity to learn more about Islam. As Dowd said, "In the end, I did see the hajj. When I got home, I went... Continue reading ...
Posted by Nabil Echchaibi on Tuesday, March 2, 2010,
Veiled Voices is a rare look into the everyday life of three Muslim women in Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. It's an insightful departure from the exhausted cliche rampant in mainstream media of veiled women=oppressed women. These are religious leaders in their communities who are taking on challenging tasks to preach to other women in mosques and at home. Below is a clip from the documentary which will air on Colorado Public Television tonight at 9. This is quite similar to some of the arguments r... Continue reading ...
I was born and raised in Morocco. My research focuses on the intersections between Islam, Arab popular culture and the media. I'm currently an assistant professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
