Galleries&
Activities:
Politics as Usual, a recent group exhibition at the Aron Packer Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, USA, is one of many current contemporary art exhibitions in America featuring works of an especially political nature.
As all things Afghanistan continue to dominate the New York City art scene, gallery exhibits and museum programs compete to hold the attention of the fickle art viewer.
American Muslim artists reached out to New Yorkers last week with "Reflections at a Time of Transformation," a musical, poetical and artistic event sponsored by the Asma Society that offered prayer, sympathy and strength to a city wounded by the events of September 11th.
Finally a group of Muslim cultural leaders, Imams (religious leaders) and others met in Long Island, N.Y. last month to mull over the possibilities – a vigil, cultural event? But in the end all agreed for a return to personal reflection.
Media:
Ever since the September 11 attacks, much of the discussions on the show have been related to terrorism, Islam and Muslims.
The hope is to gain a stronger foothold in the broadcast propaganda wars, which the United States is sorely losing according to numerous media critics
In a program that often turned critical of America's media and foreign policy, three journalists and one poet explored Afghanistan's troubled political history and the myriad of factors
Overnight, the lifestyle of an entire nation was dramatically altered. While some turned to God in this time of crisis, others turned to entertainment for comfort, laughing at and relishing in the anti-bin Laden and anti-Taliban talk of late night comics as well as exploring the interactive medium of the Internet to vent their anger
At other stations, including Lifetime, USA, Comedy Central, TLC and BET, it was business as usual. What were they thinking? How could you broadcast "Golden Girls" (on the Lifetime network) while Tower 1 and 2 of the World Trade Center were collapsing in a sickening pancake heap?
Film
review:
Perhaps the cleverest scene in the movie emphasizes how subtle special effects can lend for a powerful punch, as when Cowie shows a speech Bush is giving on terrorism to congress. On both sides of Bush’s desperately grim façade is the picture of the new terror advisory alert system. But it has been changed to resemble a stereo’s volume control.
There have been any number of post 9/11 documentaries and news specials that have attempted to provide insight into the American Muslim perspective on the tragedies of that day. To date, however, few of these have given as honest a view of American Muslim sentiment as Islam in America after 9/11.
Book
review:
According to some estimates, some 150 books have been released on subjects related to 9-11. In their rush to meet the growing demands of the public publishers have been churning out works covering all aspects of the tragedy from different viewpoints.
The ruling Taliban movement in Afghanistan has been frequently in the media limelight for all the wrong reasons. Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11th, they had already gained notoriety for, amongst other things,
It is expected that the name of Osama Bin Laden will continually resurface in the media in an almost predictable, cyclical manner. As if his image follows some strange rhythm of sunrise and sunset, he slips off the international radar for a period of time, only to resurface again, his myth conjured up by any range of individuals who find it expedient to utilize.
Drama:
Through poems, music, photographs, paintings, books, articles, passionate speeches and scholarly discussions, Muslim artists have emerged since September 11th to reclaim their place in New York culture as the bearers of peace, compassion and infinite sadness.
The subplot centers on the search for the individual identified by the FBI as a potential terrorist; only the name of this individual, Rakeem Ali, matches that of an employee in the White House itself, thus adding an extra element of urgency to things.
