This blog is not only an evolution in understanding of the main themes of this course, AI54: For the Love of God and His Prophet, but also a dive into the the issues that have become important to me over the course of four years at Harvard. This blog gave me the opportunity to draw deeply for […]
Project Name:我们 (Phonetic: wǒmen, meaning: us) Medium: Ink drawings Summary: One theme that has been persistent throughout the course is that context is crucial, especially within the cultural studies approach. Sultana’s Dream by Rokeya Hossain depicts a feminist utopia, but it is specifically the utopia of a Muslim women living in the early twentieth century. There are clear influences of […]
Project Name: I-raq Medium: Poem Summary: This work was inspired by the novel Persepolis, which beautifully portrays the consequences of war (namely the loss of innocence, security, and community) and the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the fictional firsthand experience of September 11, 2001, in New York City. Both of these works inspired me to reflect on the impact of the Iraq War on […]
Project Name: Stencil of Amadou Bamba Medium: Poster board Summary: The essay by Roberts and Roberts carefully dissects the origin of one of the most widely circulated images of Amadou Bamba. The image in question is a terribly exposed photograph, but nonetheless espouses the key role the saint plays in “transcolonial” Senegal: The saint stands for hard work, […]
Project Name: Burdah of My Bits and Bobs (view it here, again due to technical difficulties) Medium: 3D collage Summary: The burdah is a mythical creature that appears in the mir’aj – it is a being with the body of a horse and the head of a man, and it plays a central role in the […]
Project Name: 99 Names – The Comic (view the comic here) Medium: Pen and ink Summary: What’s in a name? To use a stale Shakespeare quote: “A rose by any other name would be just as sweet”. But what happens when the subject at hand is God, and what happens when He has 99 names? In this project, […]
Project Name: ______ Is Where The Heart Is Medium: Digital collage Summary: One of the biggest takeaways thus far in the class is the notion that there is no one homogenous, monolithic Islam. Instead, culture acts as lens. Various groups around the world have adopted Islamic beliefs and practices, but in a way that are still cohesive with their own ways […]