Armchair travel – North Africa

It is still the dark continent in many ways. Dark not in absence of light, but dark in a positive, mysterious and thrilling way. I’ve wanted to touch African soil my entire life, and some strange sequence of events lead me there this holiday season. Just the upper left corner of it, Saharan Morocco. This is a very image heavy post, and there are stories behind each image. But I can’t tell them here, I’ll let you fill in the rest. This... Read More

Manhattan Masjid, or YMCA

Disclaimer I originally hesitated to comment on this, wondering if this was the appropriate venue to talk about a couple of pressing things. If it’s not a stretch, the subject does involve shared spaces, complex systems, and perhaps narrative storytelling. Don’t be alarmed, I’m quite a mild commentator, perhaps you share some of these views also. Headlines usually have a short lifespan for those not in them, but often we don’t... Read More

From Where We Stand – Portland Masjid

Islamic Center of Portland Dr. Cornel West recently said I like to be multi-contextual, which is much more important than being multicultural. I read that only a day before I visited a Mosque (Masjid) for the first time in my life. This was a heartwood trip. I’ve heard the call to prayer (Adhan) for years, I’ve even had a widget on my home computer blare out the call to prayer for about a year, much to the surprise of guests. What on... Read More

Fort Mixtape – #1!

This is exciting, our first mixtape! Having been inspired by the incredible bloggers that we follow often & the wonderful world of sharing music (Kitsune Noir + ISO50 + The Porch + Skull4Brains) I thought it was high time we contribute. So for this inaugural mixtape, the Fort has converted to the great teachings of Islam. Perfect timing, right? You were thinking about converting anyway, this will totally be the soundtrack on your journey to Mecca.... Read More