Continuing our series on the history of Muslim Media Activism in the Bay Area from last month, I was recruited by my local mosque, the South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA) in San Jose, CA shortly after the tragedies of Sept. 11th, 2001. According to Mohammad Azizuddin, the former Vice-President of the Mosque Board at the time, “[The] Majority of the SBIA membership is from San Jose, which is the largest city in the bay area in terms of Muslim population, but had… Read more
The Religion of ‘Star Wars’: Why People of All Faiths Embrace the Force
May 26, 2017 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
Yoda, seen here in The Empire Strikes Back, has parallels in many religious traditions. (Photo: Everett) Gwynne Watkins Writer Yahoo Movies May 25, 2017 A lifelong Star Wars fan from California, Irfan Rydhan always saw echoes of his Muslim faith in the concept of the Force. But when he began researching the parallels between Star Wars and Islam for a blog post, he was surprised to find a traditional Sufi figure that reminded him of Yoda. “Al-Khidr is described as a… Read more
Muslim Media Activism, Circa 1998
May 13, 2017 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
In 1998, I had been out of college (UC Berkeley) for 1 year and was living in Oakland, CA. After a year of working, I decided to join my friend Javaid, who recently got his degree in Radio & TV Broadcasting from SFSU to start a Video Production Company to serve the needs of the American Muslim Community (we wanted to make a feature film, but ended up making wedding videos instead). As there were always negative stereotypes of Muslims… Read more
Dubai: A Halal Foodie’s Paradise
February 10, 2017 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
I recently went on a family vacation to Dubai and stayed there for a little over 2 weeks. Dubai is known for many things, including extravagance as well as incompetence, but almost everyone agrees that it is one of the best places in the world for foodies. Being a “Halal Foodie” myself (someone who only eats Halal food), I of course ate a bunch of American “Fast Food”, since I can rarely eat that here in the United States. But… Read more
Internet: The Next Frontier
January 31, 2017 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
We have a vast array of media and tools available for communicating these days. Aside from offline methods, online communication is now a crucial part of our lives. Patheos, for instance, has been reaching thousands of people every day and helping to spread important information. The Internet is indeed the next frontier and studies by the University of Southern California confirm that. The online masters in communication management department of USC recently released a series of facts regarding how the… Read more
How to Hang on to your Faith in College
December 19, 2016 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
Whether you are studying on campus or for a remote program such as an online RN to BSN degree, having a religious faith can often be tough at college. No matter which faith you follow or what your beliefs are, many college students often find it more difficult to continue attending church or other religious gatherings, and many put their faith on the back-burner in favor of making new friends and putting time into studying for their degree. However, there’s… Read more
Left Over Turkey? Make Turkey Stuffed Dough!
November 24, 2016 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
Many people try to look for new & inventive ways on how to re-purpose the left-over turkey from Thanksgiving! One great idea we found is from Chef Nyela in Toronto, Canada: Step 1: Dough 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon yeast ½ cup warm water (100 F) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup olive oil 2 eggs Warm milk (about 1 cup or as needed) Directions To activate yeast, mix together the water, yeast and sugar. Let it… Read more
Construction Costs for Mosques in Trump’s America
November 22, 2016 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
The aftermath of the election of Donald Trump for President of the United States has brought more attention to parts of the country, which for many have been largely ignored by mainstream media: Middle America. Some of the strongest support for Trump came from Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee. Although they do not all fall under the category of Middle America, they do have very similar characteristics: Small towns, where many people are middle class, traditional family values, some… Read more
Family, Homeschooling and Further Education – Can You Make It Work?
October 29, 2016 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
Whilst family should always come first, there may come a time when you need to enroll on a further education course, whether to improve your employment prospects or simply to broaden your mind. It can be hard juggling multiple commitments, and if you home school your kids, too, you will find it even more difficult. Despite the problems, many families can and do make it work, so if you are thinking of enrolling on a doctorate in nursing practice, here… Read more
The Birth of a Nation: Film Review
October 7, 2016 By irfanrydhan 0 Comments
Recently my friend, Nizar Ahmed and I had a discussion on facebook about the new movie by Nate Parker called “The Birth of a Nation” which is the story of a slave rebellion in 19th Century America led by Nat Turner. Nizar believed the new film was a “remake” of the 1915 American Silent film of the same name (The Birth of a Nation) by D.W. Griffith, which was a pro-Confederacy, Anti-Black film which portrayed the Ku Klux Clan (the… Read more
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