Documentary: AfroIranian Lives

Fascinating documentary on my "to watch" list. From the site:

Afro-Iranian Lives is a documentary produced and directed by Dr. Behnaz Mirzai. Born and raised in Iran, Mirzai moved to Canada in 1997, where she studied slavery and the African Diaspora in Iran. Since then, she has conducted extensive research in European and Iranian archives, fieldwork and interviews in Iran, and published numerous academic articles resulting in this documentary. The movie explores the history of the African slave trade as well as African cultural tradition in Iran, and pays particular attention to socio-economic activities, performances and rituals of the descendants of African slaves in rural and urban communities in the provinces of Sistan va Baluchistan, Hurmuzgan, and Khuzestan. Mirzai’s aim was to visualize the lives of Afro-Iranians, who were widely scattered throughout southern regions along the Persian Gulf, and at the same time could preserve and blend African cultural heritage with local religious and traditional elements. By producing this documentary, she intended to demonstrate both the diversity of Iranian society as well as the reconstruction of a new identity of African communities in Iran.

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Back in Oman

I'm here in Oman working with my colleague and friend Mike Henderson on the Dream Film Project. This film project, in addition to being the product of a lot of vision and hard work on the part of the co-directors, Mike and Sultan, will be (we hope) a window into some aspects of hip hop as a global youth culture. Specifically we will be exploring the ways in which Omani youth use hip hop a a medium of exchange, social bonding and self-representation. We also hope to raise some issues about the tension between "deen" and culture, about how to live Islamically as a young person in an Islamic society and at the same time nurture a love for artistic expression through hip hop and b-boying.

It rained the first two days we were here. The wadis filled up, the streets overflowed, and several people died from doing driving stunts in the flooded wadis. But this week the weather has settled down, highs in the mid-90s and a cool, balmy and beautiful 80-85 degrees at night. We start shooting today with our cinematographer and new cameras courtesy of Innovation Group LLC.

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Maldives documentary on al-Jazeera English

People and Power is a GREAT show on al-Jazeera English. Here they look at the Maldives.

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Videos on Swahili Culture and Civilization

Listen to what Mark Horton has to say, about how the British tried to make the history of the Swahili an 'Arab' history.




Finally, Basil Davidson on the Swahili City States:

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Swahili Maulid

It just passed while I was in Zanzibar....It's interesting to read some of the comments on this video:

sasa nauliza sisi tumpenda Mtume MUhhamad kuliko WAKE na masahaba?mbona hakufanya hivi?fuateni mwendo wake maulidi,mwigeni mavazi yake vitendo vyake leo mnaonahaya kuweka ndevu,na kuvaa nguo za kisslamu nyie maulid maulid amkeni.acheni Bid'aa

TRANSLATION: Now I'm asking us do we love the Messenger Muhammed more than him and his companions(?) Why did he do like this? Let you all follow his way of maulid, imitate his clothes, his deeds, today you all see this growing a beard and wearing the clothes of islam, you all maulid maulid(?) wake up and stop this bid'aa!

subhannallah waislam bado tumelala na haya maulid,,,,kama kweli tunampenda mtume wetu basi tufuate maisha yake jinsi alivyoishi kuliko kushughulikia hizi culture zilizokuwa hazina mashiko wala ushahidi wowote..

TRANSLATION: Allah be praised, Muslims, we are still sleeping with this maulid. Truly we love our prophet so lets imitate the type of life he lived more than being occupied with this culture which they do not have any foundation nor evidence for.

maulid ,khitma,arubaini,dhikri etc ni uzushi mtupu sio ktk mambo ya kukutia peponi.lazima tufuate uislam na sunna zake bwana mtume ndio tutafanikiwa...s.a.w

TRANSLATION: Maulid, khitma, arubaini, dhikri [Not sure what the third one is], etc..are worthless speculations/matters; its not a matter for you to get you in the spirit. We should follows Islam and its Sunna of the Messenger (Muhammed) indeed we will be successful.

mimi nakubaliana na nyinyi hii ni bidaa tupu

TRANSLATION: I agree with you'all, this is worthless, bidaa

And the last comment from the video:
astaghfirullah, this is not bi'dah. They are merely showing their love for our Master, Sayyidina Muhammad (saw). May Allah guide you and whoever believe this is bi'dah.

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Oman and Zanzibar: Al-Jazeera Special

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