Tag: Islam

Slideshow: The Uighurs of Xinjiang

Some compelling black and white images at burn. by David Denger, who traveled to Xinjiang, China, before the Beijing Olympics to chronicle the plight of the Uighurs.


Photo You Must See: On the Mosque’s Threshold

Photo You Must See: On the Mosque’s Threshold REUTERS/Beawiharta Beawiharta
REUTERS/Beawiharta Beawiharta

A child steps inside a brightly lit mosque in Pelalawan, Indonesia.


NYC: 30 Mosques in 30 Days

First came the Ramadan world tour, and now the Ramadan tour of New York. Two Muslim New Yorkers are just wrapping up a very cool project—visiting 30 mosques in the five boroughs over the 30 days of the holy month. They’ve been blogging as they go, and the result is a fascinatingly complex picture of the city’s modern Muslim community.

Here’s a quick sample from day twenty-seven in Astoria: “I looked around and saw people from all over the world coming in cracking jokes among one another. A litmus test I use to see if a mosque is serving the needs of a community, is checking to see if people are smiling.” (Via Ta-Nehisi Coates)


Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour

Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour Photo by tinou bao via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by tinou bao via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Writer Jason Rezaian has spent time in five different Muslim-majority countries—Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iran and Turkey—during the annual month of fasting, and in a short essay he reflects on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in the ways each one celebrates their shared holy month.


The Plight of Western Women in Muslim Lands

Judy Bachrach looks at the circumstances and issues Western women face when they’re living or traveling in Muslim countries. She writes in World Affairs Journal:

Local women are of such negligible importance that they can be viewed as prey. On the other hand, foreign women are in a wholly different category: wild and yet easy, so menacing and just plain available they are invariably treated as prey. The foreigner without a murderous uncle by her side or a veil over her face is a communal dish.

It’s a powerful essay. (Via Arts & Letters Daily)


Interview With Rose Hamid: Flight Attendant, Hijab Wearer

Interview With Rose Hamid: Flight Attendant, Hijab Wearer Photo courtesy of Rose Hamid

How does she navigate the tensions between her profession and her faith in a post-9/11 world? Andrea Cooper learns more.

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Gay Travel Book in Translation Trouble

Long-time Frommers writer Michael Luongo’s “Gay Travels in the Muslim World” has become the first gay-focused English language book to be translated into Arabic. The only catch? Every instance of the word “gay” has been translated to read “pervert.” Luongo had planned a Middle Eastern promotional tour, but, as he told Page Six, “this has thrown a wrench into the plans. Imagine standing in front of a crowd declaring yourself a pervert. So far I have avoided real fatwas, though I’ve been told the Taliban produced a Web site condemning the book. But with this new title, who knows?” (Via The Book Bench)


Even Mecca Getting Hit by Recession

Bookings from pilgrims are “way down” in the Muslim holy city, according to Reuters. Local hoteliers also blame the swine flu panic alongside the global economic crisis.


‘You’re American? I Should Kill You!’

‘You’re American? I Should Kill You!’ Photo by Cory Eldridge

To most of his roommates at his United Arab Emirates apartment, Cory Eldridge was an exotic American. To one of them, the Iraqi who'd been held at Abu Ghraib prison, he was "President Bush."

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Hawaii Passes Islam Day Resolution, Haters Call for Boycott

High on the list of reasons I lost my heart so completely to Hawaii?

The diversity. You’ve got your Pinoys, your Japanese, your mainland surfers, your Native Hawaiians, your Portuguese and Spaniards, the descendants of European shippers and missionaries, a whole mess of “hapa” types who are half one thing, half something else, be it Scottish, Korean, Hawaiian, Jewish ...  If you’re looking for a slice of world culture, you’re as likely to find it in Hawaii as anywhere. All those cultures make for a lively and appealing place.

But a few spoilsports are calling for a boycott of travel to the islands because the Hawaii state Legislature recently passed a resolution recognizing “Islam Day.”

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Mint and Djinns in Fes

Morocco, Tea pot Photo by Terry Ward.

Terry Ward wondered if her Moroccan friend believed in genies. Over a pot of tea, she learned just what she wanted to know.

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I’m a Recovering Alcoholic. Any Tips on Dealing with Social Situations While Traveling?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

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A Time of Living Dangerously?

Stories of unrest in Jakarta run almost daily on CNN and BBC. Chuck Newman and Chris Dickson, however, aren't yet ready to flee.

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Islam’s Bloody Celebration

At the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice in Jordan, Rolf Potts unearths the quirky, intimate face of an Islamic world you won't find on the news

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Anthem Soul

James Brown tunes seep through walls in a Syrian hotel. Rolf Potts listens in and finds new meaning in "Sex Machine."

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