ILLUME Media Seminar: Digital Journalism in the Age of Multi-Media Story Telling

April 5, 2010 By irfanrydhan

ILLUME magazine in assocation with the South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA) Media Committee, CAIR-SFBA, and the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC) present a special 2 -day In-Depth workshop for students of Media and Journalism as well as others who are interested in learning the art and techniques of professional story telling in the Digital Age. The weekend seminar will take place on April 17th and 18th, 2010 in the S.F. Bay Area. There is also a FREE panel discussion on... Read more

Bollywood King goes back to his Muslim Roots

February 15, 2010 By irfanrydhan

By no means am I a Bollywood (Indian Cinema) fan. I have only seen a handful in my life and never watched one in a theater – before last night when I went with my wife and a few friends to watch the King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and his new film “My Name is Khan” which is making headlines across the world because of it’s “Pro-Muslim” storyline – which is a rarity in Hindu dominated Indian cinema. A... Read more

5 Good Books for American Muslims (and everyone else)

January 3, 2010 By irfanrydhan

Last year, I did a lot of reading (probably the most since I graduated from college) and I thought it would a good idea to share my top 5 books (for some reason, I like listing things in 5 digit intervals:)). Some of these I have not fully completed reading yet, but have read enough of them to recommend them all:)! These are not in any particular order, but they are all very good in their own right. They all relate to Islam... Read more

November 19, 2009 By irfanrydhan

NetworkedBlogs Blog: Al Mihrab: The Place of War Topics: Architecture, Media, Islam Follow my blog Read more

My Top 5 Halal (Zabihah) Restaurants in the Bay Area

October 12, 2009 By irfanrydhan

Currently I have nearly 200 reviews on Zabihah.com – a website created by a friend of mine, Shahed Amanullah, about 10 years ago which is a user generated review site for Zabihah Halal restaurants across the world! Zabihah is an arabic word which means an animal is slaughtered according to Islamic dietary laws (similiar to Kosher for Jews) and it is Halal (permissible in Islam) for Muslims to consume. Since many people see my reviews online, I got the nickname of “Mr. Zabihah.com” from... Read more

30 Mosques in 30 days

September 17, 2009 By irfanrydhan

Here is a link to a blog by two Muslim guys (Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq) travelling around NYC every day in Ramadan having iftaar (breaking of the fast) at a different mosque each night. It’s pretty interesting because not only do they talk about the different types of food, but also the culture and history of the mosque as well. They also got some very nice pictures. Check it out here: http://30mosques.tumblr.com/post/189907332/day-26-masjid-at-taqwa#disqus_thread Read more

Architecture Pakistan: Bhong Mosque

August 29, 2009 By irfanrydhan

Check out this very interesting piece on Architecture in Pakistan, featuring the Bhong Mosque, which received the Agha Khan Award in Architecture in 1986. The mosque had 50 years of continuous construction from 1932 to 1982! This Article from Pakistan.Com was written by Owais Mughal: http://pakistaniat.com/2009/07/27/architecture-pakistan-bhong-mosque/ Read more

“New Muslim Cool” – is pretty cool

June 16, 2009 By irfanrydhan

I recently watched the “New Muslim Cool” documentary and was pretty impressed. The film directed and produced by Jennifer Maytoerna Taylor, is about a Puerto Rican Muslim convert, Hamza Perez, who as a former drug dealer, struggles to make a new life for himself, his family and his new Muslim community in Pittsburgh, PA. It is an inspiring story of how a young Muslim, who uses Hip Hop music to express his feelings in a very creative and productive way,... Read more

First Pakistani Starship Captain in latest “Star Trek” Film

May 13, 2009 By irfanrydhan

I watched the latest “Star Trek” film in IMAX this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised to see Faran Tahir, a Pakistani-American who played the lead villian in “Iron Man” last year, as Captain Robau of the Starship U.S.S. Kelvin. According to an article on scifiwire.com, Tahir was cast by Director J.J. Abrams specifically because of his ethnicity, which is a tradition of the “Star Trek” series since the 60’s when Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a mutli-ethnic cast... Read more

First Islamic Architecture Mosque Tour in the Bay Area

April 28, 2009 By irfanrydhan

The Islamic Society of the East Bay (ISEB) will host its first Islamic Architecture Mosque tour in Fremont, CA. The tour of the 10,000 square foot mosque and recently completed 13,000 square foot school building will be lead by Amin Adil Qazi, Architect, AIA (American Institute of Architects), and Shakeel Ahmed, PE. The tour will also include a presentation about Islamic influences on American Architecture by Irfan Rydhan, Assoc. AIA. “This event offers a unique opportunity for the Architectural community to... Read more