Posts under ‘Language’

Despite the fact that the vast majority of Muslims do not live in Arabic-speaking countries, Arabic is still the language of Islam. As images of the prophet Muhammad are forbidden, Islam relies heavily on language to pass down ideas and stories from generation to generation. Language is, of course, open to multiple interpretations, mistranslations, [...]

How many people who study Arabic now realize its importance in the Muslim worldview and the complexity of the language situation in the Muslim community worldwide? Arabic, the classical form of the language, is the language of the Qur’an. When Muslims from all over the world recite the Qur’an, they do it in Arabic. Since [...]

When hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the street to protest against the presidential election results last month, many of them also flooded to Twitter, a popular social networking tool, to distribute information and voice their opinions. In the torrent of tweets from Iran, one voice stands out with its Persian prose and poetic [...]

In President Obama’s speech in Cairo, we heard something perhaps unprecedented for an American president: references to the Qur’an—positive references! Quoting verses from the Qur’an was significant because it brought the holy text into the discussion in a way that reflects its real spirit–especially for the over 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide.

Sofia Baig, a twenty one year old Canadian spoken word artist of Pakistani, Chinese and Spanish descent uses her poetry to speak out against discrimination, prejudice, and her personal struggles.

Meedan, or “gathering place” in Arabic, is the name of a social translation and community-building project for English and Arabic speakers.

Local arts festivals and cultural epicenters like the Dubai International Poetry Festival and the shrine of Rahman Baba are important forums for innovation and passing along traditional values, but could television be a new public space for hearing poetry and improvising new poetic forms that articulate modern values?

Popular music suggests that a lot of Muslim youth are choosing an alternative to political activism, living their daily lives apart from ethnic and religious conflict with politics in the West.

…State Department and Hip Hop diplomacy on NPR Background on cultural diplomacy from “How Eminem can Save the Middle East” Global Voices: Jillian York highlights reactions to the film in “Morocco: Local Hip Hop Goes Global” Leave your own insight or thoughts about hip hop diplomacy in the comment section below.