Category Archives: Blog

Last night in Tashkent, a diplomatic function was held between Uzbekistan and the Sultanate of Oman to mark their collaboration in the construction of the Abi Al Raihan Al Bairuni Oriental Manuscripts Center — currently being built to safeguard more than 170,000 rare manuscripts. Since I live in the Sultanate of Oman and have done extensive research in Uzbekistan on Islam and cultural heritage, I’m excited about this joint endeavor to preserve literature and cultural heritage on the Silk Road…

I was fortunate this summer to spend most of August exploring wildlife with my family on safari in Tanzania and Zanzibar. Having witnessed so many lions in the wild, I can’t help but be concerned about their welfare and future. In a new National Geographic interview, Craig Packer, founder of the Serengeti Lion Project, discusses the serious threats that lions in East Africa are currently facing.

Whether I’m in Lebanon or on the road, I’m grateful to be able to keep in touch with my young Syrian refugee friends with smartphone technology. Whenever I’m out enjoying dinner with friends, my phone begins to buzz and light up with emoticons when the kids return home from shining shoes. In addition to improving their literacy, smartphones help these kids keep in touch with each other and far-away family members. For many Syrian refugees, a smartphone is a lifeline.

With the help and support of Oman’s Ministry of Social Development and the Directorate General for People with Special Needs, Oman Air has made exclusive arrangements to assist people with disabilities to provide accessible and affordable travel experiences.

I came across this beautiful astrolabe on Saturday, while touring the Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum in Muscat…

I practiced tai chi in the water this week-end, while relaxing with colleagues and friends on the beach in the Sultanate of Oman…

I took this photo yesterday of a copy of the letter sent by the Prophet Mohammed to the people of Oman, while I was touring the Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum in Muscat…

It’s painful to watch footage of Syrian refugees being treated like animals in Hungary — especially since I remember being greeted with open arms by members of the Muslim community in Hungary when I was doing research on the history of Sufism in Budapest (and getting in touch with my Slavic roots). Thanks to a grant I received several years ago, I conducted an interdisciplinary research project which explored Islamophobia, Muslim migration, Muslim tourism, and Sufism in Hungary and the Czech & Slovak Republics. My research in Hungary led me to the 16th century Sufi shrine of Gul Baba, an Ottoman dervish poet from the Bektashi Sufi Order.

Gul Baba (whose name means “Father of Roses”) was a beloved companion of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Though the circumstances of Gul Baba’s death are open to debate, he died in 1541 after the Ottoman capture of Buda. His tomb is one of the few traces left of the Ottoman presence in Budapest today. Little did I know when I arrived in Budapest from Bratislava how difficult it would be to find Gul Baba’s shrine. But getting lost on the way, it turned out, was part of the fun.

Though I managed to reach the district of Rózsadomb (Rose Hill) near Margaret Bridge on my own, I had trouble locating the steep hill that leads to his shrine. Failing to find any sign to point me in the right direction, I wandered instead into a traditional Hungarian restaurant–where they’ve been serving guests since 1780.

After fueling up on green pea soup, I followed the directions of the cafe owners–who told me that the shrine of this beloved Sufi “patron saint of the city” wasn’t far away. When I reached the base of Mecset utca (Mosque Street) on Rose Hill, I took a deep breath before starting the steep climb to see the sacred Sufi shrine of Budapest.

As I hiked up the cobblestone hill–past elegant villas with roses tumbling from their windowsills–there wasn’t a single tourist in sight. When I arrived at the small courtyard containing his stone shrine and a small rose garden, the only one there to greet me was a statue of Gul Baba himself–with a rose tucked inside his turban. Nearby the shrine, I spotted “Gul Baba Cafe.”

As I took off my shoes to step inside Gul Baba’s silent octagonal shrine (türbe), I slowly inhaled the sweet fragrance saturating the room from fresh roses placed in his tomb. The colorful prayer rugs and Arabic calligraphy reminded me of the countless Sufi shrines I had visited in Turkey.

While I was taking photos, a man who was speaking Hungarian and wearing a knitted skullcap entered the shrine with his friend to offer a prayer. After he took some photographs of his own, he approached me to ask if I was from Turkey. Surprised that I was from America, he invited me to join the Hungarian Islamic Community that night for a Ramadan feast–since he was the imam of the local mosque. As he told me about the practice of Islam and Sufism in Hungary, I learned that a number of Hungarian Muslims are involved in charity work around the world–including Sudan.

Peaceful memories forged from my exploration of Islamic history and practice in Budapest contrast drastically with the images on my screen today of Muslim refugees in Hungary being treated worse than prisoners. Having spent so much time with young Syrian refugees on the streets and in the refugee camps of Lebanon, I’m disturbed to see traumatized Syrian refugees having to contend with the violence of Islamophobia, xenophobia, and racism in Europe. I can only hope that the refugees in Hungary find safe passage soon to a new chapter in their lives so they can begin to heal not only from the physical and mental wounds of war, but also the emotional wounds of their inhumane treatment in Europe.

I’ve been very fortunate to travel far and wide, but my favorite place in the world is the country I currently call home–the Sultanate of Oman. Here’s a video that captures some of Oman’s endless beauty…

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being invited to meet with Taiwanese diplomats and young cultural ambassadors at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. All week, the Taiwanese students were hard at work sharing Taiwanese culture in Muscat through dance, kung fu, and acrobatics in hopes of encouraging mutual understanding and cooperation between Oman and Taiwan. The theme for this year’s delegation is: “Youth from Taiwan, Compassion for All.”

Here’s a scene from The Willow Tree, an Iranian film (with a blind protagonist) that plays like a modern Sufi parable. I included this soulful film by Majid Majidi in my new article, “From Leprosy to The Willow Tree: Decoding Disability & Islamic Spirituality in Iranian Film.”

In this video, A. O. Scott reviews the Iranian film A Taste of Cherry — which traces a middle-aged man’s quest to find someone to bury him after he commits suicide. I included this film by Abbas Kiarostami in my new article, “From Leprosy to The Willow Tree: Decoding Disability & Islamic Spirituality in Iranian Film,” for its unusual and compelling meditation on depression and suicide…

Here are some (dubbed) scenes from the Iranian film The Painting Pool. I included this film in my new article, “From Leprosy to The Willow Tree: Decoding Disability & Islamic Spirituality in Iranian Film,” because it tells the story of two parents with intellectual disabilities raising a son…

Here are some scenes from the Iranian documentary film خانه سیاه است (The House is Black) — which was filmed in a leper colony. I included this groundbreaking film, directed by female poet Forough Farrokhzad, in my new article, “From Leprosy to The Willow Tree: Decoding Disability & Islamic Spirituality in Iranian Film.”