A Four Part Series from TTBOOK!

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Wisconsin Public Radio

WHEN WE MEET

Program 10-02-14-A

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Many of us first met Islam on 9/11 with planes slamming into the World Trade Center – not a very good first impression. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a proper introduction, as we talk with Muslims and Westerners who are redefining our relationship. From a Danish cartoonist with a fatwa over his head to the founder of the Muslim Punk movement. Meeting each other again, next time.

SEGMENT 1:

Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of "How Does It Feel To Be A Problem? Being Young and Arab in America." He talks with Jim Fleming about how 9/11 caused him to feel like an outsider in his own country. Also, Dilshad Ali is the US correspondent for IslamOnline dot net and former Islamic editor for Beliefnet dot com. She's a Muslim who grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota. She talks about reading the Christian-influenced Narnia tales to her children.

SEGMENT 2:

Alaa Al Aswany reads from his novel, "Chicago," and talks with Steve Paulson about it. Al Aswany is one of the top-selling novelists in the Arab world, but because copyright protections are weak there, he still works part-time as a dentist. He says this keeps him in touch with the people. He firmly rejects political Islam. Also, Michael Muhammed Knight wrote a novel called "The Taqwacores." He made up the word: taqwa is Arabic for piety and core means hardcore. Since the book came out, it's sparked a punk movement, a documentary and a full length feature film. Anne Strainchamps talked with Knight about how an Irish Catholic kid became an observant Muslim at age 16, and about the effects of his novel on other young Muslims.

SEGMENT 3:

Kurt Westergaard is the Danish cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban in a Danish newspaper in 2005. Riots ensued all over the world and a death fatwa was issued against Westergaard. He describes his situation to Steve Paulson and feels that within the Danish tradition of humor and free speech, he did nothing wrong. Also, until January 20 of this year, Swiss philosopher Tariq Ramadan was banned from the United States. He's also been banned from Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia. His admirers consider him one of the top Muslim reformers. Ramadan tells Steve Paulson that Islam should be viewed as a religion in its own right and not compared to the history of Christianity. He says Westerners should consider the opinions of the silent majority of Muslims, not the noisy minority.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 10-02-14-A.

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Books & CDs:

Tariq Ramadan, What I Believe (Oxford)
Alaa Al Aswany, Chicago (Harper Collins)
Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? (Penguin Press)
Michael Muhammad Knight, The Taqwacores, Blue-Eyed Devil, The Five Percenters Osama Van Halen, Impossible Man, Or, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Rise of Islam, and Journey to the End of Islam (Softskull Press)

Websites:

• To see a trailer of the film version of “The Taqwacores”:
  http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/471188/the-taqwacores.jhtml#movieId=1629713

Music:

• All break music came from "Music from the Motion Picture Factotum" by Kristin Asbjornsen on Milan Music - "Slow Day," " Dreamland," "Still Awake," "Drunk Driving," and, "Pickles."
• During Michael Muhammad Knight's interview on tacqwacore we heard the following music (ALL self-released music):
  "Poppy Fields" by Vote Hezbollah
  "Miskeen" by Al-Thawra
  "Kahnaquin 3am Death Raid" by The Sagg Taqwacore Syndicate
  "Evil Eye" by Sarmust
  "Sharia Law in the USA" by the Kominas
  "Chaku" by the Kominas

Distribution dates: week of 04/03/2011 - hour 2 week of 02/14/2010 - hour 1 click HERE for timings and cues

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