Aman Ali and I have been on the road for the past 15 days exploring Muslim America. We started our trip in Alaska, somehow ended up in Hawaii and are now on our way to Mississippi. Our challenge is to visit a different mosque in a different State everyday during the Islamic month of Ramadan and then blog about it on our site by the end of the day. We are fasting on the trip and will be driving close to 13,000 miles. Here are some of the people we have encountered the past 15 days.

Day 1: Anchorage, Alaska. Mohammad Obeidi came to Alaska on a whim in the 1960's and worked as a cab driver. He would also sell prints of famous paintings on street corners. Soon enough, he made enough money to open a small gallery. Now, Obeidi is one of the leading art collectors in Anchorage.

Day 2: Seattle, Washington. Ann Holmes was an Episcopalian priest who was ousted from the church when she declared that she was both Muslim and Christian.

Day 3: Corvallis, Oregon. As the night prayer begins, Ali Godil sits off to the side and writes a note to MoMo, a friend who is now in prison after attempting to bomb a christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon.

Day 6: Las Vegas, Nevada. We covered Amanullah last year on our blog when he was going through an inner conflict of being the board member of the mosque and also being the manager of slot machines at MGM Grand Casino. Amanullah is still working the same job and impatiently waiting for retirement.

Day 8: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. David (left) stands with his wife, Nor. They met and married through the Islamic Pink Pages, a matrimonial newsletter, when Nor was in Singapore teaching at a school and David was in a South Dakota prison.

Day 8: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Basheer Butcher is a full-blooded Native American that converted to Islam in 2001. He hails from the Sioux tribe and grew up on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. He now lives in Sioux Falls and is active in the Muslim community here of about 3,000 people.

Day 10: Omaha, Nebraska. Marshall Taylor sits on the concrete that once was Malcolm X's birth home. Marshall and a close group of his friends have created a foundation that is working to create a cultural center in Omaha in his honor.

Day 10: Omaha, Nebraska. Lutfullah Wali embraced Islam in the early 1950s and built the first mosque in Nebraska with his hands. He is now above the age of 100 and reclusive. He spends his entire day at home swimming in his mess.

Day 10: Omaha, Nebraska. The entire upstairs of Lutfullah's house is covered in vulgar scribbles and cryptic drawings that he has been making for the past five years.

Day 13: Little Rock, Arkansas. A lady pours Rooh Afza, a red sherbet, drink into cups in preparation of the break fast meal.

Day 14: Houston, Texas. Aman Ali, co-creator of 30 Mosques, takes a break from the road and stands in the middle of a blooming cotton field.

More: 30mosques.com

Two women wearing niqab pass through a broken street. 115 is the number to call an Edhi ambulance. The number is imprinted over all Edhi paraphernalia.

I wanted to share some notes on what we (Omar Mullick and I) have been doing in Karachi. Abdul Sattar Edhi, the main subject of our film, is primarily known for his ambulance service in Pakistan. He started out with a small blue van in the 1950's called the "Poor Man's Van" and went around Karachi transporting the dead and sick to their fated destinations. Little did he—or anyone in Pakistan—know that he was the first and only ambulance in the entire country. To this day, Edhi is at the forefront of providing first response care to Pakistanis while the local city and provincial governments lag far behind.

The ambulance service is the largest and most well known program the Edhi Foundation provides. There are about 30 check posts around Karachi that have at least three ambulances for dispatching around their designated area.

It's important to note that these ambulance drivers aren't paramedics. They are only required to have a driver's license and be able to read and write in Urdu. Many of them don't know CPR and are taken only through a very basic training before becoming a driver. The main job of an Edhi ambulance driver is to transport patient X from point A to point B. The lack of qualifications is a little frightening since there of road side accidents and shooting casualties an ambulance picks up in a day.

I remember feeling a little uneasy watching a live stream of a terrorist attack in progress because the police were nowhere in sight. A minute later I heard sirens and saw an Edhi ambulance pull up. The driver exited his van and ran off camera with a stretcher. The police showed up ten minutes later. The importance of the Edhi ambulance in Pakistan goes without saying.

The photos in this blog post were taken during our time with the Edhi ambulance drivers and dispatchers in Korangi Town.

Asad, an Edhi ambulance driver, sticks his head out during a sweltering day in Lala-abad. Most ambulances don't have an A/C unit. The Edhi Foundation has to keep costs down to maintain their affordable RS 100 ($1.20 USD) fee for transport.

Asad waits for a patient in the back of his van. The back contains only a stretcher and an oxygen tank.

An ambulance driver rests on a table at the Korangi dispatching center. The Edhi driver's shift is 24 hours. Drivers take many breaks throughout the shift. They work every other day, 15 days a month.

Mahmood, an ambulance dispatcher, talks to a friend on the phone during a blackout. The Korangi center loses electricity about five times a day. During some night shifts, the electricity doesn't come back till the morning. A small generator powers the phones and a tiny bulb -- just enough to keep the work day moving.

Two police officers ride on a bike. In Karachi, it is illegal to have a passenger on your motorcycle (except for women, children and the elderly). Clearly, those who enforce the law aren't around to follow it.

Notes on the Edhi Ambulance]]> http://boingboing.net/2010/07/21/the-pakistani-ambula.html/feed 12 http://boingboing.net/2010/07/14/the-real-secret-iden.html http://boingboing.net/2010/07/14/the-real-secret-iden.html#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:00:20 +0000 Bassam Tariq Mutant Registration Act. I found this on my friend's Facebook. An imam who looks ambiguously Asian leads a cast of superheroes in salaah, the Islamic prayer, at what seems to be a mosque.]]> Mutant Registration Act. I found this on my friend's Facebook. An imam who looks ambiguously Asian leads a cast of superheroes in salaah, the Islamic prayer, at what seems to be a mosque. I asked my friend if he knew who made this, and he had no idea. This painting(?) is incredible. Whoever made it, get at me, now.

EDIT: I realized that not everyone knows Muslim's start their prayer in this stance. Edited the second sentence for clarification.

]]> http://boingboing.net/2010/07/14/the-real-secret-iden.html/feed 35 http://boingboing.net/2010/07/06/shah-jo-risalo-on-co.html http://boingboing.net/2010/07/06/shah-jo-risalo-on-co.html#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:01:12 +0000 Bassam Tariq

On Sundays, most Pakistanis will turn away from their usual Indian TV consumption and catch Coke Studios on one of the many Pakistani channels that have syndicated it. I blogged about the show last year.

I wanted to share a new song that was in the second episode of the new season. The song is called Moomal Rano. I'm not familiar with the Sindhi poets and singers, so here's the description from the Coke Studios website:

Shah Jo Raag fakirs from Bhit Shah take centre stage with 'Moomal Rano', a sur from Shah Jo Raag Risalo. As they sing and chant 'Moomal Rano', the fakirs also mark a monumental first of collaborating their unique five-stringed dhamboora with western instruments.

The sur and translation follow...

O mian, Allah mian...
O God, my Lord

(repeat)

Russ ma russan ghoryo
Even if you are upset with me, I am still willing to lay down my life for you

Chudd raana raida-ee
My lord, speak to me once again

Lapay tij latif chay, kamil khachaie
My lord, forgive your Latif for all his faults and mistakes

Oooooo kar maaf madai
Forgive all the mistakes

Ta sodha sukhiyani theeyaanm mian
I will only be at peace when my Lord will reciprocate my love

O Allah, kar maaf madai
My lord, forgive all my faults

Waee (Vai)

Ao rana ruh raat tunjhi chaangul khay chandan chariyaan
My lord, stay with me tonight and I'll make sure that the Beast (camel) you ride is taken care of as well

Raatiyaan deehaan rooh-a mein tann tunhinjhi taat
My lips move all the time remembering you, be it day or night

Waithi nit niharyaan
I sit, gazing into the distance waiting for your return

Acheen jay pirbhaat
Waiting till the wee hours of the morning

Mookhay aeen mehndra waee tuhjhi waat
It is only the song of your remembrance (waee) that I have on my lips, my Lord

Adyun, Abdul Latif chaee daatar deedum daat
O sisters, the Lord will be forgiving and will shower his blessings on Latif

(Shah Jo Risalo by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai)

(Lyrics and translation by Mohammad Qasim Maka, professor and director Institute of Sindhology)

Coke Studios ]]> http://boingboing.net/2010/07/06/shah-jo-risalo-on-co.html/feed 18 http://boingboing.net/2010/07/01/an-intimate-moment-o.html http://boingboing.net/2010/07/01/an-intimate-moment-o.html#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:03:08 +0000 Bassam Tariq There is homosexuality in Pakistan, like there is in Iran and the rest of the world. It's just this moment isn't one of them. And though these two men are holding each other in a way that made me raise an eyebrow, they probably didn't think twice when posing. But what do you all think? Is it possible that two heterosexual men in the States could hold each other like this and no one would question their sexual orientation? Is there even a social threshold for "acceptable" hetero same-sex intimacy?

This photo was given to me by one of the subjects of our documentary. He wanted me to scan some photos he took while he was at the beach with his friends. He didn't think much into this photo, which makes me wonder, why does my mind go there and his doesn't?

Ashi stands by the door of the shared house where she lives with Aziz and Nighat. (Photo: Bassam Tariq.)

Last week, my uncle took me to meet one of his old neighborhood's infamous icons, Aziz Mamoo. She lives in a small one bedroom shack located in the heart of a very disturbed ghetto. Aziz Mamoo is transgendered or, as they're known in South Asia, a hijrah. At the age of 11, she was kicked out of her house by her brothers and found refuge with the local hijrah guru, Hajji Iqbal. Iqbal took her in and taught the young Aziz how to sing and dance. Every town in Karachi has a designated guru who is in charge of the hijrahs in their area. The guru becomes both the mother and father to their communities hijrahs. The local guru feeds them, provides them shelter, and teaches them how to pray and live a modest life. When there is a birth of a child that is considered intersex, some families leave the infant at the guru's doorstep. After the death of Hajji Iqbal, Aziz Mamoo became the local guru of her neighborhood. Countless babies have been left at her doorstep and though she has very little to offer, she never turns them away. The two kids that live with her now are Ashi and Nighat. Many more lived with her before, but she kicked them out after they started doing, as she calls it, "number two work." 'Number two work' is a euphemism for prostitution and it's become a common job for many hijrahs in Karachi.

According to Aziz Mamoo, there are two kinds of hijrahs: those that dance and pray at weddings and aqiqahs (a celebration commemorating the birth of a child), and those that prostitute or beg for money on the main roads. Aziz Mamoo despises the latter.

"Woh bhanchots!" Those sister-fuckers, she curses, "they give us a bad name. We don't beg on the streets. We may not have much, but we do have our dignity."

Aziz Mamoo, center, sits on her charpoi with her two daughters, Ashi, left, and Nighat. (Photo: Bassam Tariq.)

My uncle grew up in Karachi and has had a lot of friends that frequent the prostitute hijrahs. He mentions that many men dress up as hijrahs just to be accepted as homosexuals. As he puts it, his friends rave about the fellatio these hijrahs give. There is a grey area when it comes to the street hijrahs, they are either transvestites or transgendered, but there really is no way of knowing from the surface. My uncle was keen on asking Aziz about her own sexual desires.

She was quick to reply, "We cannot bare a child nor do we have the ability to impregnate. We just desire two things: good clothing and decent food. With what we do, we make enough to live."

Aziz Mamoo started to feel a little uneasy and kept looking over at her clock. I wondered if we were overstaying our welcome, nevertheless, I was compelled to ask another question.

"If I have a child that's transgendered, would you recommend me bringing them to you? Or do you feel I should keep the child and raise them?"

It's important to note that in the middle of asking this question, Aziz interrupted me and muttered,

"God forbid that you have a transgendered child." After she let me finish my question she continued, "Keep them. take care of them, educate them. Don't let them stray into our line. We are uneducated. We scour our neighborhoods day and night looking for someone that will hear us sing and dance. This is no way for anyone to live."

Minutes later, my uncle signaled to me that it was time for us to leave. After we said our good byes, I asked Aziz Mamoo what she was doing for the rest of the day.

"It is Sunday," she said, "today is for us."

(Edit: Changed transgendered to intersex in first paragraph. Thanks, AnneH)

Ashi and Nighat laugh at an inside joke. (Photo: Bassam Tariq.) ]]> http://boingboing.net/2010/06/29/aziz-and-her-dignity.html/feed 40 http://boingboing.net/2009/10/05/a-farewell-and-edhi.html http://boingboing.net/2009/10/05/a-farewell-and-edhi.html#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:32:43 +0000 Bassam Tariq Bassam Tariq is a Boing Boing guestblogger who is the co-author of 30 Mosques. A blog celebrating the NYC mosques during the Islamic month of Ramadan.]]> Bassam Tariq is a Boing Boing guestblogger who is the co-author of 30 Mosques. A blog celebrating the NYC mosques during the Islamic month of Ramadan. He lives in Harlem, NY.

This will take a little bit of explaining. I built this prototype of the Spoonbox out of wood, plexiglass, zinc plates, measuring spoons, and closeout radioshack parts. It hooks up to a CD player and small amplifier which cause the spoons to dance. There are small speakers behind the spoons that move in response to the sounds on the CD which I carefully composed using low frequency sine waves and kitchen sounds. The speakers, in turn, blow small puffs of air into the spoons which cause them to bounce/vibrate in rhythmic patterns. It really must be seen to be understood, but this video might give you some sense of what it does.

At a time when President Obama used the example of American Muslims in his Cairo address to indicate that Islam had "always been a part of America's story..." the exhibit presents a culmination of one photographers deliberate effort to take the visual language of black and white 35mm photography, through which 20th Century America has often looked at itself, and open up that narrative to include the latest birth pang in American cultural life. To that end, Can't Take It With You, which was pursued with singular purpose by a photographer deeply engaged with the idea of what it means to be American, promises to be one of the more important visual documents of the young 21st Century.

Dookie-Poo is not the smartest of all the Poos in Pooville but he tries real hard and he has good intentions. Dookie never quits because he's just too dumb to do so. He tries way beyond the point of all reasoning. Dookie doesn't think much about anything. In fact he almost never thinks at all.

Is anyone here following We Love You So? A blog Spike Jonze and Co. set up giving us a  nice glimpse into all the little insights and influences that helped bring Where The Wild Things Are to life. The photo above is from their Where the Wild Things Ought To Be Contest, a cute photoshop competition that has some really clever entries. 

Ch ch check it out- http://weloveyouso.com

Iqbal's women are not nude or semi-naked or involved in some illicit acts as their profession might suggest. They are mostly some unknown and unremarkable women of modest looks and appearance.

But what troubles us most in Iqbal's women is the fact that they silently poke our conscience and raise questions about the otherwise obvious hypocrisy of our society.They raise the questions that 'respectable' Pakistani society rather not to ask of it self. And that is what makes Iqbal Hussain so 'controversial!'