May 14, 2015—Islam has a rich artistic heritage of architecture, design, music, painting, and poetry. Muslim poets like Rumi and Hafez are famous for a depth and beauty that defies time. Today, that poetic tradition is still strong. It’s kept alive in what many may perhaps consider an unlikely place—urban America, through the genre of hip hop. Artists like Yasiin Bey - known as Mos Def, Q-tip from Tribe Called Quest, and Lupe Fiasco all identify as Muslim hip hop artists. Their music mostly veers away from rap themes of braggadocio, girls, or… [Read More…]
Listen: Celebrating commonality at Oakland’s ‘Sushi’ Mosque
Jan. 21, 2015–Through much of their history, Sunni and Shia Muslims have lived peacefully together in countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. But since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, sectarian conflict has escalated in the region. Here in the Bay Area, as in most of the US, around 75% of Muslims identify as Sunni, just four percent identify as Shia. Mosques here are generally identified by sect. You have, say, the Sunni Mosque, the Shia Mosque, the Sufi Mosque. But the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (or ICCNC) has made… [Read More…]
‘Unmosqued’ points to bigger trend
Across the American religious landscape, people are turning away from their religions of birth. For Islam, a new documentary points a finger at mosques, saying they are the reason why Muslim youth don’t want to stick around. But these days, there are other options. NPR’s Code Switch aired a story about the documentary and a new phenomenon called “third spaces,“ which are alternative gathering places favored by some youth. The backlash against mosques may come in part from the symbolism these buildings can hold. Sometimes, they represent institutions that refuse to bend… [Read More…]
Listen: For Ramadan, local Muslims look to sky and their smartphones
July 29, 2014-This past Sunday, members of the Bay Area Muslim community gathered on local hilltops, from Mt Tamalpais in Marin, to Cal State East Bay, to the hills of UC Berkeley. What were they doing? Looking up to the sky for the new crescent moon that signifies the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, when Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunup to sundown. Islamic tradition says to end the fast once the new moon is seen. But some Muslims have recently been using a different method to calculate the… [Read More…]
Listen: Film depicts the tragic past of a California mosque
July 22, 2014-The San Francisco Bay Area is home to 250,000 Muslims. They work in tech, medicine, commerce, the service industry. And if you drive 2 hours north of San Francisco, to Yuba City, you’d find a Muslim farming community that’s been there for nearly a century. Pakistani immigrants made their way to Yuba City in the 1920s and today grow almonds, oranges, alfalfa, and prunes. Lots of prunes. The community was living peacefully until one fateful day in 1994, when disaster struck. Oakland filmmaker David Washburn’s new film “An American Mosque” tells… [Read More…]
