Comments on: Muslim Punk Rock, or What Fiction Can Do

By: Ansar al-Zindiqi

Ansar al-Zindiqi — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:29:35 +0000

I know that this is an attempt to give out yet another candy-coated version of Islam. I dare anyone to take on the crew at faithfreedomdotorg about this. Especially those who are still in the punk lifestyle.

P.S.: But while I’m at it here’s a quote from anarchist Emile Henry just before being guillotined:

“Beware of believing anarchy to be a dogma, a doctrine above question or debate, to be venerated by its adepts as the Koran by devout Moslems.

No! The absolute freedom which we demand constantly develops our thinking and raises it toward new horizons (according to the turn of mind of various individuals), takes it out of the narrow framework of regulation
and codification. We are not ‘believers!”

*Anarchism: From Theory to Practice, trans. Mary Klopper (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1970) 13.

By: gillian

gillian — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:44:56 +0000

In the 19th century, Oscar Wilde wrote that “Life imitates Art”. This means that life can metamorphose, following Art as a model. This statement has proven true in many cases. American cinema has changed many aspects of life and mentalities in post -World war 2 Europe. Asimov’s “Robots” have inspired many contemporary robot designers to realize their boldest concepts such as those new, amazing robots able to learn and adapt.
Arthur Clarke’s satellites are another, well known example.
However, this SF who inspired new inventions, was not a gloomy, moaning SF. It was brilliant and inventive. In order to become a model of life, SF (or any other kind of literature) has to be DYNAMIC. Not necessarily slap-happy, just dynamic.
A young person can build a sub-culture on an underground book. It is, however, clear that this book which influences someone to the point of willing that the dream described in there becomes a -partial or total- reality, is certainly not a book whose main theme is moaning and describing everything in black. OK, it does not have to be “Little House on the Prairie”. It is, however, bound to contain an optimistic point of view, something brilliant, original and constructive. People are not naive enough to believe in a fairy-tale-happy-for-ever world. But clever people are not convinced either by a ruined world, exclusively inhabited by losers and where hope is lost for ever.

By: Jetse

Jetse — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:46:56 +0000

Great post! On a somewhat related note, Ahmed A. Kahn and Muhammed Aurangzeb Ahmed have edited an anthology called A Mosque Among the Stars, whose stories portray Islam or Muslim characters in a friendly light. Disclaimer: it has one of my stories ("Cultural Clashes in Cádiz", which was originally published in the Amityville House of Pancakes, vol 1 back in April 1, 2004: so I'm certainly not jumping on a bandwagon), so I'm biased. I likewise hope it changes the world, even if only very small bit.