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In recognition of the growing talent and creativity of the Islamic blogosphere, alt.muslim and City of Brass are hosting the First Annual Brass Crescent Awards. The Brass Crescent Awards are named for the Story of the City of Brass in the Thousand and One Nights. Today, the Islamsphere is forging a new synthesis of Islam and modernity, and is the intellectual heir to the traditions of philosophy and learning that was once the hallmark of Islamic civilization – a heritage scarcely recognizable today in the Islamic world after a century’s ravages of colonialism, tyrants, and religious fundamentalism. We believe that Islam transcends history, and we are forging history anew for tomorrow’s Islam. These awards are a means to honor ourselves and celebrate our nascent community, and promote its growth. The Awards are loosely modeled after the successful Koufax Awards and consist of two phases. First, bloggers and blog-readers are asked to submit nominations for each of the categories listed below. Both muslims and non-muslims may paricipate in the nominations process. Nominations can be done in the official nomination thread at alt.muslim or City of Brass, or via private email. Self-nominations are encouraged! (Note: alt.muslim and City of Brass may not be nominated for any category.) After the nominations period has concluded, we will go through and post a list of nominees, along with brief descriptions of the blog and why they were nominated. This will serve as a snapshot that we hope will serve as a benchmark to track the growth of the Islamsphere over time. Please help us with this by leaving descriptive comments along with the nominations! Second, based on the number of nominations each blog receives for each category, we will select 8-10 finalists for each category. Voting will then take place for winner in each category. The blog with second-highest vote count in each category will be granted honorable mention status.
The nomination thread is here: 2005 Brass Crescent Nominations
These are the categories for this year’s awards:
Best Blog – The single most essential muslim-authored blog in the Islamsphere, witth the best overall writing and content.
Best Writing – Which blog is the most articulate, the most persuasive and well-reasoned?
Best Post – Which single post in the Islamsphere was the single most original, insightful, and important, above all the others?
Best Series – What regular, recurring feature in the Islamsphere deserves recognition for its comprehensiveness, its relevance to the concerns of the Islamsphere?
Best Iraqi Blogger – Whatever our opinions about the war, we can agree that Mesopotamia is once again fertile ground for self-expression and speech. Which blog from Iraq best captures the voice of the Iraqi people?
Best Non-English Blog – Whether it is in Urdu or Persian or some other language, which non-english blog deserves the most recognition, especially for promoting multilingual blogging? (not 100% of the posts need be non-english).
Best Group Blog – Which multiple group blog in the Islampshere has the best diversity of writers and the most interesting debate on Muslim issues?
Most Deserving of Wider Recognition – Which muslim-authored blog is a true diamond in the rough, one that everyone should know about but for the vagaries of the internet, few are aware?
Best Non-Muslim Blog – Which blog writen by a non-muslim is most respectful of Islam and seeks genuine dialog with muslims?
Best New Blog – Who’s the most interesting new muslim kid on the block?
Best Commenter – The greatest aspect of blogging is the community that springs up around the blogs and their comment sections. Which commentator in the Islamsphere deserves respect for the most consistently insighful and wise contributions to the debate?
Best Thinker – Who is the most stimulating, insightful, and philosophically wise among us? This category is intended to highlight a blogger who may not post daily, but when they do post, they really make an impact.
Best Female Blog – The woman’s voice in Islam is equal to the man’s, and in the Islamsphere we seek to make sure the female perspective is highlighted and given its rightful due. Which muslim woman’s blog has done the most to explore the role that woman play within Islam and society?
Note: With exceptions noted above, any blog is eligible for any category, including blogs authored by non-muslims. In defining the Islamsphere, we are not relying solely on adherence to the faith, but an affinity for parts of the diverse cultural fabric that Islam embraces and is embraced by worldwide.
Shahed Amanullah and Aziz Poonawalla run altmuslim.com and City of Brass.
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