Raising Cain...

The continuing saga of The 99...

A couple of days ago I posted some info on the new documentary Wham! Bam! Islam! and Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa. I had tried to post an earlier video of Dr. Al-Mutawa talking about his project,  but was not able to embed it. Since then, Dr. Al-Mutawa kindly messaged me via Twitter with a link to a TED Talk, which I've embedded below.

These days, I try as clearly as I can to hear, see and speak everything through the heart. This video brought a smile from deep in human heart space:

Naif Al-Mutawa: The continuing saga of The99, superheroes inspired by Islam from TED Blog on Vimeo.

 

 

Documentary on the work of Naif Al-Mutawa: Wham! Bam! Islam!

WHAM! BAM! ISLAM! tells the story of Naif Al-Mutawa and his venture to create the first team of superheroes from the Muslim world called THE 99. Following the tumultuous journey of THE 99 from concept to reality, from international acclaim to censure by cultural gatekeepers, Al-Mutawa pursues his vision to bring new heroes to Muslim children while re-introducing Islam to the West.

This documentary by Isaac Solotaroff airs on PBS's Independent Lens on October 13th. WHAM! BAM! ISLAM!

 

You can get a free preview issue of The 99! -- see the Wham! Bam! Islam! film page on Facebook for details.

Naif Al-Mutawa has an undergraduate degree from Tufts University (with a triple major in clinical psychology, English literature and history), and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University. In addition, he holds a Masters in Organizational Psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University and an MBA, also from Columbia University.

Dr. Al-Mutawa has worked with former prisoners of war in Kuwait and the Survivors of Political Torture unit of Bellevue Hospital in New York. Having witnessed the trauma of people who have been tortured because of their religious and political beliefs, he decided to write a children's story that won a UNESCO prize for literature in the service of tolerance.

Here are some other links if you'd like to learn more about Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa and his work:

New Film Captures Struggle to Create First Muslim Superhero Comic (24 September 2011 at Branford Patch blog)

Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa's website

Article by Dr. Al-Musawa at Huffington Post (17 May 2011): The Future Depends on What the Meaning of "Was" Was

The 99: the Islamic superheroes getting into bed with Batman (Carole Cadwalladr, 23 October 2010 in The Observer)

 

Sam Sommers: On Race, the Death Penalty, and Troy Davis

I know that some people reading this will be furious at the suggestion that race could have mattered in a matter of life and death like this -- the facts are what they are, some might say. Certainly the Board can be depended on to have had legitimate reasons to see the two cases differently, right?

But this is what all too many people do when plausible allegations of racial bias come up. They'll admit that racism still exists, yet automatically hold fast to the argument that it couldn't have happened in the particular instance, even in the face of evidence that suggests there's a real discussion to be had.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

Media Justice Activists Launch Effort to Reach Black Web Users

Interesting article from Jamilah King at Colorlines via Truthout about the long history of deregulation of communication companies and how that has impacted communities of color.  King talks about "a tension that has long existed" between DC labor and civil rights groups and so-called “netroots” activists, which interests me because I see it in environmental justice work as well:

The Center for Media Justice will this week introduce Black Voices for Internet Freedom, a coalition of ten national groups who are working to educate users of their communications rights on the Web, and on their phones. The group is set to launch on Friday during a panel discussion in Washington, D.C.

via www.truth-out.org