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

I was doing a bit of research on the Web for the demographics of pornographic downloads by country and this is what I came up with:

Eight out of the top ten countries are “Muslim countries”. Perhaps something is out of wack with the “Muslim World”?

Life for the past six months has had its fair share of unenjoyable moments. Non-stop work, study, writing papers and the like have left me with little free time, none of which has been spent listening to live music (which is one of my favorite things to do). The last two nights was an enjoyable break from that trend. For the first time I had an opportunity to listen and also photograph Kurt Rosenwinkel, who played at Chris’s Jazz Cafe, in Center City Philadelphia.

I have been a long time admirer of Rosewinkel’s work. He is without a doubt one of the most unique voices in modern jazz, both in his sound, playing style and especially, his song writing. Kurt was joined by Mark Turner on the tenor saxophone, who recorded with Kurt on his latest album, Deep Song. Rodney Green accompanied on drums (who played his ass off on Christian’s Sci-Fi album), as well as Aaron Park on piano and Joe Martin on bass.

Both sets I heard consisted of the same song list (my only critique as someone who came two nights in a row. Kurt’s got so many good tunes I’d've liked to have heard a few more). A couple of songs from his new album as well as a new original, Ezra, a ballad of sorts that is name after his new son. They also took a spin on Milestones which was quite enjoyable. On a personal level, Kurt was very amenable and even had a chance to shoot him with one of his old teachers, Jimmy Amadie, who showed up to see him. I hope to have another opportunity in the future to see him play. If Kurt shows up in your neck of the woods, I’d highly recommend taking the time to go as well as picking up anyone of his very good albums (Deep Song is on regular rotation for me). Additional photos here.

Mark your calendars!

What: Jumu’ah in the Park 2007. Come join IMB for its 5th annual weekend extravaganza!

When: Friday, June 1st – Jumu’ah in the Park. Imam Qasim Khan as the guest khatib. Khutbah/Sermon starts at 1:00pm.

Saturday June 2nd – Youth Day Youth Day. Family Feud – masjid style; Newlywed game and a concert featuring internationally renowned artistes: Preacher Moss, Remarkable Current, and many more…

Sunday June 3rd – Family Carnival Races, games, rides and fun for the whole family. Water games, moon bounces, jousting and much more. Admission to the park is FREE!
Where: Muhammad Park, 4637 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131 (47 th St & Wyalusing Ave in West Philly).

I would like to wish my father a very happy 74th birthday! It is hard to believe it’s 74. How fast time flies! But the more time passes the more I feel truly blessed to have a man such as you as my father. I thank God that I was blessed to have such a self-sacrificing man such as you to love and care for me since the day you helped bring me into this world. You have given me everything I want and often more than I deserved! I know there is little I can ever do to repay that debt so instead I honor and cherish that blessing by wishing you many happy returns. Love,

M…

I have had an interesting reaction to my previous post, A Religious World Divided?. I enjoy having this blog so that I can have a dialog with my fellow Muslims (non-Muslims are welcome to jump in, too!). It allows me, as a student of the social sciences, to examine the nature of some of our tendencies and reply with some of my examinations as well as your thoughts.

In response to the post, Tariq Nelson posted a piece on his blog concerning my post and in doing so, comments ensued. And while I greatly enjoyed the response, I feel compelled to single out one in particular and give it some additional thought and examination. The following thoughts and comments should be taken as constructive criticism. Read more this entry »

That is the title of the town hall meeting I attended last night, hosted by WHYY, here in Philadelphia. The discussion consisted of a rabbi, an academic/columnist, and an imam. Ray Suarez, the resident journalist, fielded the questions and set the pace.

Almost immediately from the get go, it ceased to be a discussion about divisions (plural) in the world between religious traditions but the good old, time-honored tradition of the rift between the “Muslim World” and “The West”. Suarez dove right in, making it clear that he was not interested in divisions between Christians, Jews, and Muslims, but rather the perceived clash of monospaces, i.e., The West and Islam.

Amongst Suarez’s early questions was one directed towards the imam, who is a Blackamerican Muslim, on how is he able to reconcile his Americaness and his Islam. In other words, his “Easterness” and his “Westerness”. Suarez in a sense alluded to the notion that any and all Muslims, by simply being Muslim, must have some sort of connection to “The East”. Read more this entry »

It is my pleasure to announce to the world the union of Bryant and Virginia Jennings today, April 20^th, 2007. Bryant and Virginia hired me to shoot their wedding and it was a real pleasure. The young couple looked dazzling on their special day - all I had to do was show up and take pictures of pretty people. Thank you so much, Bryant and Virginia. You both looked beautiful and I’m very happy for you both. I hope to speak to you both soon and congratulations again. Damn!, these was some good lookin’ white folks [just kiddin’!…]!! Enjoy.

Read more this entry »

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