Op-ed: In Defense of Zionism

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Michael Oren

The founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl

They come from every corner of the country—investment bankers, farmers, computer geeks, jazz drummers, botany professors, car mechanics—leaving their jobs and their families. They risk their lives for an idea. The idea is Zionism. It is the belief that the Jewish people should have their own sovereign state in the Land of Israel. They believe their idea is worth fighting for. Yet Zionism, arguably more than any other contemporary ideology, is demonized. In a region reeling with ethnic strife and religious bloodshed, Zionism has engendered a multiethnic, multiracial and religiously diverse society. Arabs serve in the Israel Defense Forces, in the Knesset and on the Supreme Court. To live in peace and security with our Palestinian neighbors remains the Zionist dream. [link]

Mr. Oren was Israel's ambassador to the U.S. from 2009 to 2013. He holds the chair in international diplomacy at IDC Herzliya in Israel and is a fellow at the Atlantic Council. His books include "Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East" and "Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present." 

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For Muslims In Gaza, End Of Ramadan Marred By Fighting

NPR NEWS
By Emily Harris

Members of a Palestinian family break their fast with the iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan.

ISRAEL--The Muslim holiday, which began Monday, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. This year, it also marks three weeks since the current war in Gaza started. Eid al-Fitr is a religious holiday and a family celebration. Relatives offer each other gifts of cash and chocolate. Kids look forward to special cookies and new clothes. But on the first day of what is traditionally a three-day holiday, Israeli jets continued their offensive in Gaza, and Hamas militants continued to launch rockets into Israel — despite a call by the United Nations for both Israel and Hamas to implement a humanitarian cease-fire for "the Eid period and beyond." [link]

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Television: Making Dramas About Mideast Can Be Complicated

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Dave Itzkoff

Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in the mini-series “The Honorable Woman.” Credit Des Willie

BRAODCASTING---The fourth episode of “The Honorable Woman,” a serialized thriller that makes its Sundance TV debut on Thursday, opens on a world-weary MI6 officer, sitting at a dinner party where two other guests are discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As the camera zooms in on the officer, the conversation can be heard degenerating into a vulgar, name-calling argument and then a silverware-rattling wrestling match. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

I have a bad habit. As Palestinians and Israelis clash and die in Gaza, I've remained a bystander. Tomorrow evening on Monday, July 28, the Islamic holydays of Ramadan end following a month of fasting and prayer to rid ourselves of bad habits. Prayers are said in the direction of the Kaaba, a cubed black building at the center of Mecca, and my prayer is that before Ramadan ends that I will stop being a bystander. That's why "Diversity" by Siddiqa Juma (above) is my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhist Art of Week: Takashi Kikuchi and Park Dong-ki team-up for exhibit [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: Mannerist paintings of Pontormo, aka Jacopo Carucci [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Hindu deities get muscular makeovers; a ripped Vishnu [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: Palestinians and Arabs hang tough at the New Museum [More News]
• Judaic Art Week: Jews and the first kosher comic books blazing trails [More News]

Join the journey. When you follow religious artists, you look for others who do the same. Some of us join as "Collectors" and make policy decisions; others join as "Friends" who gather for the dialogues; and most of us join as "Subscribers" to this "free" weekly newsletter; (or follow on: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud).

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Siddiqa Juma is Featured in Dubai's Celebration of Contemporary Islamic Art for Ramadan

THE NATIONAL
By Hareth A. Bustani

"Diversity" by Siddiqa Juma is one of the works on show at Emaar Pavilion. Courtesy Ahlan Art Gallery, London

DUBAI---This Ramadan, Dubai celebrates the spirit of modern Islam with an international contemporary Islamic art exhibition – in the heart of its urban Downtown area. The collection, from the London-based Ahlan Art gallery, has taken residence at Emaar Pavilion’s the Gallery, and its Ramadan tent. Hassan Mawji, the co-founder of Ahlan Art and the charity Mount Elimu, welcomes Ahlan Art’s first exhibition at the venue. Mawji says the piece to look out for is the one right by the entrance – "Diversity," by Siddiqa Juma. The image depicts the Ka’aba, surrounded by a sea of different coloured dots. Diversity celebrates the way in which Muslims from across the world are brought together for the Haj pilgrimage, a microcosm of the Muslim community at large. [link]

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Palestinians and Arabs Hang Tough at the New Museum

ARTNET NEWS
By Christian Viveros-Fauné

Installation view, “Here and Elsewhere.” Photo: Benoit Pailley, courtesy New Museum, New York.

NEW YORK---At times walking through the New Museum, with its more than 13 hours of film and video, can feel like an Islamic Cultural Center revival of the French Nouvelle Vague. Early on in their contentious essay for the catalogue accompanying “Here and Elsewhere,” the New Museum’s sprawling, sometimes trying, yet illuminating exhibition of recent art from the Arab world, the show’s curators ask a remarkably timely question: “Is it possible to imagine a history of art that is completely divorced from cultural or social histories?” An exhibition that brings together 45 artists from 12 countries working in different media and from different cultural contexts, “Here and Elsewhere” makes a silk purse from the sow’s ear that is the “progressive” response to exhibitions with a geographical remit. [link]

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Metamorphosis of a City: From Constantinople to Istanbul

ISLAMIC ARTS MAGAZINE
By Maida Suljević

Hagia Sophia / Photo by Elvira Bojadzić, © Islamic Arts Magazine

TURKEY---When the walls of Constantinople under attack by the Ottoman army collapsed on May 29, 1453, the first thing Sultan Mehmed II did was to enter the famous Hagia Sophia and transform 'The Soul of the Byzantine Empire' into a mosque, making the dream of his great grandfather Bayezid I come true. Hagia Sophia was cleaned, carpets were laid and the first Friday prayer was held on June 1st, 1453. The waqf was immediately founded so that all needs of the new Imperial Mosque would be taken care of. Istanbul, an example of the cultural exchange between civilisations occurring throughout the history of humankind, is a witness to how Byzantine sacred monuments were preserved by the Ottomans after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It therefore grants us the privilege of admiring masterpieces of Byzantine architecture today. [link]

The dome of the Kariye Museum / Photo by Maida Suljević

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Philippine's ‘Unitas’ Features Muslim and Christian Artists

THE PHILIPPINE STAR

“Cities of the Past” by National ARTIST ARTURO LUZ

PHILIPPINES---Eid’l Fitr marks the end of Ramadan for Muslims all around the world. For this year’s Eid’l Fitr Festival, the concept for the art exhibit will be to provide an opportunity for Muslim artists to come together with their Christian brothers in the spirit of unity. It is in celebration of this unity of both Muslims and Christians that Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc., together with Galerie Joaquin Podium and the Podium Mall, present “Unitas: Muslim and Chrisitan Artists as One.” The exhibition will feature works that use not only Islamic but ecumenical and universal motifs and themes, from the likes of National Artists Abdulmari Imao, Arturo Luz, and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, as well as noted artists Toym Imao, Rameer Tawasil, Jamila Tamano, Dominic Rubio, Jovan Benito, and Aljo Pingol, as well as fashion designers Len Cabili, Amir Sali Aluk, Patis Tesoro and Cora Manimbo. [link]

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Islamic Art Works Displayed at Tehran Qur’an Exhibition

PRESS TV

The 22nd International Holy Qur’an Exhibition kicked off at the Sacred Defense Garden Museum on July 6

IRAN---Many Iranian and international artists have flocked to the 22nd International Holy Qur’an Exhibition in Tehran to showcase their latest creations, Press TV has reported. Representatives from 16 countries including Spain, Russia, Kuwait, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Turkey and several other countries are displaying a variety of their works at the exhibit of this year. Iran’s international Qur’an exhibition which is annually held during the blessed month of Ramadan, aims at stimulating development and promotion in concepts of the holy Qur’an. [video]

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10-Day Islamic Art Exhibition Opens in Peshawar, Pakstan for Ramadan

THE NATION

The astounding collection includes copies of the Quran in various styles of
calligraphy dating back to the eras of long-forgotten emperors. PHOTO: PPI

PAKISTAN---A ten-day exhibition on “Islamic Calligraphy and Manuscripts”, organized by Directorate of Archaeology and Museums Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was inaugurated here on Saturday. Amjad Afridi, Advisor to Chief Minister on Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Museums and Youth Affairs, opened the exhibition at a ceremony, held at Peshawar Museum. The exhibition will continue till the end of Ramazan. More than 105 pieces of calligraphic artwork artistically inscribed with selected verses from the Holy Quran were showcased at the Museum.[link]

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Travel: An Edification Vacation in Chautauqua, NY

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Lisa Schwarzbaum

John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, lectures at the Chautauqua Institution.

NEW YORK---A week at Chautauqua is a microcosm of what we can make of our lives, if only we remember to slow down and pay attention. For nine weeks every summer, the 750-acre campus is a cheery, low-keyed welter of lectures, classes, concerts, theater, dance performances and art exhibitions. It’s a place — far from Westchester — in which I spent a happy week last month, drawn to a hidden utopia that has, over the years, welcomed Mark Twain and William Jennings Bryan, Franklin Roosevelt and Sandra Day O’Connor. Opportunities for spiritual uplift continue to figure prominently on the daily agenda, with services conducted every morning. But the extended denominational menu now includes Roman Catholic, Unitarian, Christian Science, Quaker, Jewish and Zen Buddhist gatherings, and Friday Muslim prayer. [link]

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Op-Ed: Leading Through Great Loss in Gaza

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Nicholas Kristof

ISRAEL---In the carnage of Gaza and the Middle East, the most unlikely people have stepped forward from their grief to offer moral leadership. The family of Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old Jewish boy who was one of three kidnapped and murdered, said in a statement after the apparent revenge killing of a Palestinian boy: “There is no difference between Arab blood and Jewish blood. Murder is murder.” [link]

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Raelian Swastika Campaign Calculated to Stoke Controversy

RELIGION DISPATCHES

History of the Swastika in world religions

ARIZONA---This weekend a plane flew over Coney Island and the Rockaways towing a banner with a swastika and an ad for proswastika.org, a new initiative by the Raelians—a religious movement that believes humans were created by ancient extra-terrestrials, and whose insignia is a swastika inside of a hexagram. According to Raelian spokesperson Thomas Kaenzig, the swastika was brought to Earth millions of years ago by our alien forefathers, which is presumably why Raelians believe the symbol appears in cultures all over the world. This weekend marked the end of “International Swastika Rehabilitation Week,” part of an attempt to reclaim the symbol from its Nazi associations which also featured street activism in Las Vegas. [link]

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As Israel Hits Mosque and Clinic, Air Campaign’s Risks Come Home

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By STEVEN ERLANGER

Damaged copies of Islam's holy book the Koran lie on the rubble from a destroyed mosque following an Israeli military strike in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on July 12, 2014.

ISRAEL---As Israel’s air war against Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters in Gaza entered its sixth day on Saturday, a pair of bombings threw the difficulties of the campaign into painful relief: Israel bombed a mosque, which its aerial photos indicated was harboring a weapons cache, and a center for the disabled, killing two residents and wounding three, as well as a caretaker. [link]

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Conceptual Artist Nina Yankowitz Plays Word Games With Sacred Texts

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Joyce Beckenstein

A mannequin styled as a priest, one of five “robotic devotees” in the exhibit.

NEW YORK---The artist Nina Yankowitz is known for projecting words in glass houses, and oh how they can shatter the place. For “Criss-Crossing the Divine,” her current exhibition at Guild Hall in East Hampton, she takes on sacred texts. “Criss-Crossing the Divine” combines scriptures, digital games, video art, three-dimensional animation and robotic avatars. Examining intolerance through the lens of five major religions — Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism — the lively, intuitive piece provides visitors with a different way to experience art, despite its rather serious implications. [link]

Nina Yankowitz: “Criss-Crossing the Divine” is at Guild Hall, 158 Main Street, East Hampton, through July 27. Information: guildhall.org or (631) 324-0806.

In addition to a priest, mannequins depicting a Jew, a Buddhist, a Hindu and a Muslim greet visitors.

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Movie Review: ‘Honour,’ a Thriller About British Muslims

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Jeannette Catsoulis

Aiysha Hart in "Honour," a feature written and directed by Shan Khan. Credit Neil Davidson/108 Media

HOLLYWOOD---Folding social realism into a woman-in-peril thriller, “Honour” confronts the problem of so-called honor killings among British Muslims with brash economy and first-feature zeal. There’s nothing amateurish, however, about Shan Khan’s writing and directing, unless you count a weakness for melodrama and a pacing more suited to entertainment than to enlightenment. To that end, the actors work hard to sell a story that never slows to ponder moral gray areas or explain the religious or cultural underpinnings of the heinous behavior on display. [link]

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Op-Ed: Religious Freedom in Peril

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Nicholas Kristof

A Pew Research Center study found Muslims victims of religious repression in about as many countries as Christians. A Sudanese court in May sentences a Christian woman married to an American to be hanged, after first being lashed 100 times, after she refuses to renounce her Christian faith. Muslim extremists in Iraq demand that Christians pay a tax or face crucifixion, according to the Iraqi government. In Malaysia, courts ban some non-Muslims from using the word “Allah.” In Pakistan, for example, a brutal campaign has been underway against the Shiite minority. Likewise, Iran represses the peaceful Bahai, and similarly Pakistan and other countries brutally mistreat the Ahmadis, who see themselves as Muslims but are regarded as apostates. Pakistani Ahmadis can be arrested simply for saying, “peace be upon you.” [link]

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78 Different Qurans From 48 Countries Exhibited in Istanbul

WORLD BULLETIN
By Ummu Gulsum Sarioglu

The facsimile of the Quran of Uthman has been published
by Research Center for Islamic History Art and Culture (IRCICA).

TURKEY---Hand-written Qurans along with the ones written in several languages are exhibited in Istanbul during holy month of Ramadan, the month when the Quran was first to be revealed by Allah. Organized by Insan Publications, the exhibition hosts several valuable pieces including one of the most precious of them, a facsimile of the Quran of Uthman, the third caliphate of Muslims who were assassinated while reading Quran. The oldest Quran presented is 300 years old, which is present alongside Qurans in 48 languages from 78 countries. The languages varied from Korean and Zulu to Kashmirian and Telugu. [link]

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Qatar’s National Museum Eyeing 2016 Opening

DOHA NEWS
By Shabina Khatri

In this video published on YouTube in late April, QMA offers a peek into the construction of the National Museum.

QATAR---Despite a minor fire last month, construction for Qatar’s upcoming National Museum remains on track, and an opening date is scheduled for 2016, Qatar Museums has confirmed. When completed, the museum, located across from the Corniche near the Museum of Islamic Art, is expected to look like a desert rose that appears to grow out of the ground. It will join Qatar’s growing collection of cultural facilities, including the MIA, which opened in 2008, and the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf), which saw a 2010 launch. [link]

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Indonesia's National Gallery Showcases Abstract Artist Sadali’s Legacy

JAKARTA GLOBE 
By Norman Harsono

Guests looking at S. Handono Hadi’s ‘Al Fathikah E.’  (JG Photo/Norman Harsono)

INDONESIA---Ahmad Sadali passed away from an illness in Bandung in 1987 at the age of 63 but he has left a legacy of artwork in his name and inspired many Indonesian artists. In recognition of his work, the National Gallery of Indonesia choose him as this year’s maestro for its annual Exhibit for Indonesian Visual Arts Maestros. The public will have free access to view his works until July 14. He was an artist, a teacher and a devout Muslim. He used marble paste — a cement-like substance — to make the texture more pronounced. Many of these works also feature Arabic calligraphy quoting the Koran. He may also use pure gold ink as a finishing touch. Noticeably he avoids depicting concrete images, following a more traditional line of Islamic art. [link]

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