Word: arabism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...luxury resorts and sun-dappled beaches to which they are bound. From above, the country's coral-fringed lagoons in the Indian Ocean look computer-generated: arrayed in turquoise pods, they stretch over an azure expanse that would span from Rome to Budapest. Ibn Battuta, the 14th century Arab explorer, hailed the archipelago as "one of the wonders of the world." Ever since, the Maldives has enchanted shipwrecked sailors, Hollywood celebrities and Russian oligarchs fortunate enough to wash up by its shores. Yet beneath this outsiders' vision of paradise lurks a more troubled reality - one shaped by 30 years...
...paradox here is that historically, Pakistanis have practiced a syncretic version of Islam that venerates saints and emphasizes a personal relationship with God. But the influx of Arab preachers during the war against the Soviets brought a more austere form of the religion. Shayan Afzal Khan, an Islamic scholar who writes about women and Islam, thinks Pakistanis lack the confidence to defend their moderate beliefs. "People are afraid to take on the mullahs because we can't quote the Koran the way they do," Khan says. "We have to take our religion back," but fear gets...
Since 9/11 you've begun performing all over the Arab world. I was surprised to read that a stand-up festival you helped organize in Amman was the very first in the Middle East...
With the "siege" lifted against Arab-Americans, do you still want to continue with this kind of comedy...
...would hope to be producing something with a lot of Arab-Americans, or even become the Arab Woody Allen. Finding really good projects that show Arabs and Middle Easterners in a positive, fun light. I think there's a horrible void in that these voices are not on American TV. We're not the first to try to use comedy to raise racial or social issues. Richard Pryor or Chris Rock or even Lenny Bruce - they were challenging people through their comedy, but still they were being funny. We're just following in the footsteps of people who have blazed...