The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

Imperialism is a nasty animal. It is furious and destructive. It also needs an arch rival, if you will. That used to be that Soviets until they up and ghosted. So now it looks as if Islam has taken the place of the Red Tide that was to wash over our shores. Yes, the Bush Administration and those like him need an enemy that is brutal, without thought or morals and has no face. You can’t catch him. Almost as intangible as the Buggy-man. In Jihad Is Not Perpetual Warfare (© 2003 Amal Press), Zaid Shakir talks of this concept that has been put into the minds of those who don’t know Islam, that Muslims are in a constant state of war against the infidel. With this mind set one can easily demonize all Muslims and therefore any actions taken against them are condonable. Take some time out to read the article. I had the opportunity to meet and hear Shaykh Zaid speak a few years ago in Philadelphia when I was working on a documentary about American Muslims. Enjoy.

Some of you may know that I am muslim. This statement may also shock many of you since I haven’t “acted very religious” in the last several years. Some of you have only known me post-religeous zeal. I have not talked very much about religion with many of you. As a matter of fact, I have kinda made a resolution to not discuss religion. It’s not always been the greatest thing to do in the past. People can get really sensitive when it comes to religion. But I happened to be surfing the Net and came across an article by Hamza Yusuf, one of the founding members of the Zaytuna Institute, a non-profit, educational institute in the manner of traditional Islam. I have and still have a great deal of respect for Mr. Yusuf. He has a very sensical way of looking at Islam and the world. He touches on some points I found very interesting in an interview on the BBC. Give it a whirl (you’ll need the RealPlayer). There are also a number of interesting interviews on the same page as well. Check it out here: 1 | 2 | 3.

Just in case you’re kind of a nut for pre-Islamic poetry like myself, here’s a really cool link that has some good pre-Islamic poetry and you can listen along. There’s even an option for an English translation. Enjoy.

The cinematic life. Yep. That’s me lately. I haven’t really been well enough to go out and about. This damned…, whatever it is, is making life shity. But, on the bright side, I’ve been watching movies like crazy. I really enjoy a good movie - a good story. I watched The Shawshank Redemption last night. I had never seen that from beginning to end. I enjoyed it. Today I went to Four Star and rented The Machinist. It stars Christian Bale (a.k.a., the new Batman) as a guy who’s got some serious sleep and health issues. Mental health issues. I could relate with the character, who has insomnia, and hasn’t slept in a year (now, I’ve slept - 4 hours in the last 2 1/2 days). I know what insomnia’s like. It’s wicked. Tears you down. Breaks down you mind and body. It was very moody and dark. Shot very well. I’d say it’s worth a rental. It’s unbelieveable how thin Bale got for this role. Look at him in The Machinist and then compare him in Batman Begins. Wow. It must be very stressful to have to drop weight like that. Anyway, it was good. Think I’ll watch Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring tonight. Just wish I could kick this freakin’ infection. Damn.

Man, I’ve had this freakin’ cough that just won’t go away. I’ve been sick in one form or another for at least three months. It keeps switching up on me. One week it’s in my head then it’s in my chest. Fevers come and go. Well, I hope it will run its freakin’ course and then ghost outta me.

On another front I’ve continued to read Social Origins of Islam. Bamyeh’s writing style is a little flowery and wordy, sometimes a hard to follow but it’s still proving to worth the time.

Went and saw Batman Begins again yesterday. There are a few things in this movie that I really dig. I’ve always liked the character Bruce Wayne and they finally took the dark route this time to portray the character. I admire a man who faces his demons - admits that he has fears. Uses those fears. Now this may sound all a bit heavy for just a simple Hollywood movie but, hey, I’m dramatic from time to time.

Bowling. Is it a sport or a pastime? I don’t know, to tell the truth. I only know I want to win when I play it. You know, the down side to being a competitive person is being so damned competitive! Funny how that works. Yeah, we went bowling last night. I bowled kinda lousy cuz’ I was workin’ on this new technique and all. Shit, who am I kidding? I suck at bowling. I just can’t get the ball to go where I need it to. It’s not for lack of trying though, let me assure you. Believe me it’s not that simple. And those pesky pins!! They just don’t wanna fall. Well, either way, I’ll still be back next week, next Wednesday for more punishment. - Bowling photos © 2005 Julia Hamburg.

Another one of my man-of-leisure pastimes has been reading. And I’ve picked up on a book that I had meant to have read years ago but never did. It’s The Social Origins of Islam by Mohammed A. Bamyeh, put out by The University of Minnesota Press. I don’t have a whole ton to say on it yet since I’ve just picked it up again but I’ll let you know what I think of it in a bit. It is intriguing so far. Bamyeh comes across as a thorough and thoughtful thinker and researcher. If this proves a good read I may check out his other book, The Ends of Globalization. Yep, summertime’s here and that means it’s time to read. Cheers.

Please take some time to read about the Downing Street Memo, the very damaging docement that shows the lies of the Bush administration and his ilk. Congressman John Conyers (other site) is holding a hearing about this document. Don’t sit back. Read this and make yourself aware of the extent of the lies that go on with this chimp in the White House. I electronically signed the petition. Take a moment, fill it out and do the same if you like.

I rented Hotel Rwanda yesterday. There is nothing I can really say to sum up the feelings from watching this movie except to say the United States really, really messed up again. The massacre in Rwanda is huge - almost beyond imagination. And yet we’re watching it happen again in the Sudan. Listening to excerpts of these piece-of-shit politians talk about there being, “genicide-like conditions but not actual genicide”, was so inflamming, so enraging it made one want to go and hunt down these suckers and make them pay for what they did or didn’t do. There was an interesting point in the movie where a camera man from the news is asked what will happen, now that he has filmed the butching - surely the Americans will intervene. His reply was so to the point: “The Americans who will watch this will say, ‘Oh, what a shame. Look at those poor people.’ And go right on eating their dinners.” The lack of compassion is astounding. The reality is that Rwanda had nothing that we (The United States) wanted. No gold. No diamonds. No oil. It’s too bad Rwanda didn’t have any rich resources that the greedy White, Western World would have wanted. That might have spared their lives. If you haven’t seen Hotel Rwanda I would say rent it and be prepared for a horrific story that has only the slightest of happiness at its end. Don Cheatle has done a great job in his acting - he’s a rare actor. And the director Terry George should be commended for telling this story. In the end, nearly 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed in the massacre. What will the numbers in the Sudan be? For more info on the movie visit the official site here.