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

Before I delve into the heart of this post I would like to plug and praise the Madinah Institute. It was through their hard efforts that we all had the most enjoyable time, no doubt at the cost of them sacrificing some of their own enjoyment. May Allah reward all of you for your efforts. Second, you will notice that I have abandoned the usual academic, stoic prose in favor of a more heart/religion on my sleeve approach. This was no ordinary trip, thus warranting no ordinary post. I hope you will enjoy it.

But not to fear. For those of you who just anxious to see the images, here they are [if you hover your mouse of the image, it will provide a brief description about it]. I hope that after you view through them, you’ll take a few minutes and read over the post.

Another quick note about the post. When you see [s], this stands for sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam [May God send peace and blessings upon him]. It is a salutation that Muslims send on the Prophet Muhammad when we mention his name. Ok. Enough notes. Enjoy.

It’s hard to believe, that at 11:20am, I am sitting comfortably in JFK airport on July 10th, 2008. From the first moment that it entered my head I never thought it would ever come to fruition. I must learn to be more trusting and imaginative with my Lord. Truly, God never ceases to astound. And while the time has seemed to hang in Limbo over the last month or so, it has all compressed here in this moment. All of the thought, the planning, the speculation, snares and trip wires, have evaporated and all that remains is myself, two bags and a 2pm date with a very sexy looking 747.

To relate how this trip even came about I must first relate how I met the brothers from the Madinah Institute at the ISNA 2008 Baltimore convention. They happened to be involved with facilitating it. In short time we were hanging out and having coffee, discussing projects that we might want to work on together in the future. The standard meet and greet that one does at such places. But shortly after meeting them it was immediately suggested that I accompany them on their Summer ‘Umrah program in Saudi Arabia. I politely nodded my head, giving an affirmative response that was more articulated on manners I learned as a child than sincere foresight of actually praying in the Holy Mosque. We promised to keep in touch after the conference, and that I did sincerely intend to do as it’s not often that I meet many Muslims today that I really feel comfortable with. Perhaps I’ve just had a string of unfortunate circumstances. Either way, I am very glad to have met them. Read more this entry »

I met Hazem while he was working at Ali Baba, a restaurant in Ann Arbor owned by a Palestinian family. The dynamic was interesting between the non-Levant Arabs [Tunisians, Yemenis, etc.] and the Palestinians. Many of the non-levant Arabs worked in the greater Detroit area, from Dearborn to Ann Arbor, sometimes at the whim of fellow Arab employers who would pay them low wages, often working for days on end with little to no time off and no worker’s rights. Dearborn especially had a visible caste system with the Yemeni Arabs working low-end jobs and the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese being the more affluent.

As for Hazem, I cannot say that his experience was wholly unpleasant. He seemed to get along well with the owners. I had the opportunity to get to know them all quite well myself as I spent a lot of time hanging out in the kitchen with the staff and family. I also taught the owner’s children at a weekend Islamic school. I have fond memories of the times there and when they would allow, I’d even occasionally pitch in [for a free bowl of delicious lentil soup, of course!] and help with cooking, cleaning and deliveries. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Fuji Neopan 400 ISO. Hand-held, available light.

Retrospective?

I was up in New York City this past weekend and Monday photographing and attending the lecture series by Zaytuna Institute as a part of their Minara program, held at NYU [actually, it was held at Cooper Union but it seemed to be a joint custody affair] entitled: For God & Country, showcasing Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and professor Khaled Blankinship from Temple University. Sunday’s event at NYU was an all-day affair and both speakers gave very insightful talks. In particular it was great to hear and see Dr. Blankinship interact with a broader audience, many of whom may not have been familiar with him. He is without a doubt a school of impeccable character and pedigree and his knowledge reaches into many branches of the various sciences from religion to history. I put up a someshots from the event on as well a few from Monday’s book signing/talk at Columbia featuring Richard Bulliet, author of The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization. For those interested in modern conversations about the inclusion or exclusion of Islam from the Western pale, I recommend his book as a thought provoking read. Here’s a few images from that even as well.

I believe it was in 2002 that I took a trip down to Frankfort, Kentucky, to visit Michelle’s father and family. This was my first trip to a what I thought would be a hostile territory. As a black man who grew up in “The North”, Kentucky held a certain ambiguity for me. I wasn’t sure if I should be afraid or not but my curiosity eventually won out over whatever fears I had and I commenced to driving around photographing the region. There were many beautiful horse farms in the area. I had a chance to walk up to a few and take a couple of shots. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Fuji Neopan 400 ISO. Hand-held.

Retrospective?

Through my middle brother, who is a professional musician, I have come to know many other musicians here in the Philadelphia area. I’ve known Tom Tallitsch for quite some time now, as he’s played with my brother for many years. Tom is a jazz saxophonist and jazz educator here in the NJ/Philadelphia area. He was putting together a new media kit for his new disc, Duality [see iTunes], and wanted me to photograph him for it. It was a simple session I did in my place with a couple of strobes. Canon 10D. ISO 100. Hand-held with studio strobe.

Retrospective?

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.

Today was a busy day. Had to register for Fall classes. Change Summer course line up. Receive furniture. Write a paper on the fly and oh, yeah, drive through North Philly to take some pics! I wouldn’t recommend it to many - it’s pretty hot up there but if you’ve got some street smarts there’s a lot of great imagery up there. I will be making some more future forays into the Badlands as they’re called.

Homeless Cart, Center City

Construction Workers, South & 13^th

Elevator Man, Samson & Broad

Doorway, Samson & Broad

City Hall: East, Center City

The Empty Quarter, North Philly

Old Warehouse, North Philly

Utility Post and Shadow, Juniper & 15^th

Wall of Shadow and Light, 15^th & Spring Garden

Street Sign and Blossoms, Center City

Enjoy.

School’s had me seriously drained. I am so fatigued I feel as if my body’s made up of old potato parts from a McDonald’s deep frier. Okay, so that’s a bit extreme and weird but to put it simply, I feel exhausted. But, that never stops the awesome furry of my point and shoot camera! Here are some shots on my way and returning for a meeting in West Philadelphia of Muslim leaders.

God’s Help, West Philly

The Lonely Tree, West Philly

Relax Your Mind, 62nd & Haverford Ave

Old Street Vendor’s Shop, 60th & Haverford Ave

Boarded Houses, West Philly [Haverford Ave]

The Heart of Armenia, West Philly [Haverford Ave]

Lone Row House, West Philly [Girard Ave]

The Lonely Tree, West Philly [Girard Ave]

Door and Vent, West Philly [Girard Ave]

Philadelphia, From the South Street Bridge

All That Jazz, South Street [above Broad Street]

Church and Sky, 21st & Christian

Entrance, 21st & Washington Ave

Enjoy.