For decades, many Western company failed to appreciate the unique needs of Muslim consumers, marketing experts say. Worse, some companies offended potential customers by not understanding religious sensitivities. But as the Islamic population has grown in size and affluence — there are now 1.57 billion Muslims worldwide — more multinationals are seeking to tap into the market.

Read the full story : Advertisers Seek to Speak to Muslim Consumers :: New York Times :: August 11th 2010

Photographer Caroline Irby spent one year tracking down a child born in every country in the world (now living in the UK), then photographed and interviewed each one.
Exhibit on at the V&A Museum of Childhood until August 30th 2010

‘Homegrown’ is easily the production that stirred up the most controversy– and national attention– at this year’s Toronto indie theatre and arts festival, Summerworks.
Based on real events and experiences of the playwright Catherine Frid, ‘Homegrown’ centres around a seemingly unlikely friendship between the young man, Shareef Abdelhaleem, arrested and accused of terrorism in 2006 as part of the so-called ‘Toronto 18′, and, the lawyer/playwright, who is determined to separate the facts of the case from the secrecy, delays and media spin (easier said than done).

In November, 76 Tamil refugees escaped Sri Lanka on a rusty freighter. They arrived in Victoria, where they were met by RCMP and Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials, who promptly jailed them for three months on allegations of terrorism. It would be fully half a year before the CBSA would admit that it had never had any evidence.

For anyone who likes to think identity politics is dead, irrelevent or both - Gary Younge, the prolific writer/commentator for the Guardian has published a new book on 21st identity politics: Who are We-And Should …

We received this callout for an incredibly relevant project, which especially stands out in light of growing Muslim defamation and anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States. The Ground-Zero Islamic Centre debacle has stirred a few …

An Op-Ed at the New York Times by a former resident of Kenya’s most notorious slum - Kibera raises light on the controversial hot topic of Slum Tourism. The piece questions not only the ethics of …

By Reem Rahman.

This week, 1.6 billion Muslims around the world welcome the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Understanding the month of Ramadan not only highlights the essence of Islamic practice but also reveals …