Muslim Artists

Two Muslim artists...

Vaseem Mohammed (UK)
Peter Gould (Australia)

... whose work I like and whose names I am saving here for future reference.

Panorama - British schools, Islamic rules

Just wrote a complaint to the BBC about the excessive dramatization and overall poor quality of last Monday's Panorama programme entitled 'British schools, Islamic rules', as follows:

Just wanted to say that whilst the programme contained valid points about how Muslims (and indeed any group of people) should not isolate themselves from the wider community etc, I felt the programme-makers went a bit overkill with the background effects (use of camera angles, choice of music etc) to create greater shock and awe than the programme justified. For example, (and the programme is full of such funny occurrences,) when the "undercover agent" went to a book warehouse (... queue dark eery music...) and the film-makers are surprised to find books there! Did this programme not go through a review/editing process? It seems like we saw an early draft. Or perhaps the desire to sensationalise and draw in a large crowd took precedence over film quality?

Book Review: The Hobbit

I gave up on 'The Hobbit'. I liked the opening pages (see this quote and this quote) and the short scene with Gollum but otherwise it didn't seem to work for me and I couldn't justify reading it.

Quote: Adventure

Here's another good quote from the opening pages of 'The Hobbit':

"... We are plain quiet folk and I have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them..."

Personally, I love adventure but... it's got to be a calculated, planned, risk-minimised adventure 😅

Quote: Good morning

Here's a funny quote I read yesterday in 'The Hobbit' regarding the "good morning" expression:

"Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

The problem with the thinking man

The problem with the thinking man,
the type more often than not
stuck in thought,
neither doing nor not,
is that his life spent in thought.

Lost

For the first time in many months
feel the need to write poetry
but not sure what to say.
Rather lost... :)>

Feedback for Emel, November 2010 issue

Feedback sent to Emel regarding the November 2010 Hajj issue:

Dear Editor,

Assalaamu 'alaykum,

Just finished reading the November 2010 issue, really liked it (as usual) and wanted to pass on some feedback (not to be published), as follows:

1. I liked the editorial. Scary to think I am busy in all kinds of commitments at the expense of having little time for the people closest to me. Not good! I wanted to point out also the saying attributed to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): "We have left the lesser struggle for the greater struggle..." I am not so sure about this. This seems to imply that people leave their egos behind when they go out for battle.
2. Don't like being a tad bit negative (twice in the same email!) but thought it might be worth mentioning that (I thought that) the choice of picture for the 'Watch this Face' feature wasn't the best. Better for certain bodily features to be not so apparent. But then I might be a bit more conservative than the majority of your readership.
3. I love reading the regular opinion features of Faisal AlYafai and Shelina Zahra Janmohamad. I hope they continue writing. It was my first writing reading Daud Bone and Lucy Bushill-Matthews and I liked them too!
4. Awesome Hajj/Ka'ba artwork and explanatory comments from the artists. Saw the cover by chance whilst passing the magazines section in Tesco supermarket and had to buy this month's issue!
5. Reading Geek Shaykh Robi Chowdhury's piece was hilarious but that's probably because I know him personally and I could hear his voice as I read it!!

In summary: another awesome issue! maa sha Allah :)>

Wassalaam,
Adil Hussain