Fourth Annual Brass Crescent Award Winners Announced
Posted Dec 16, 2007

Fourth Annual Brass Crescent Award Winners Announced

The Brass Crescent Awards, a joint project of altmuslim and City of Brass, is an annual awards ceremony that honors the best writers and thinkers of the emerging Muslim blogosphere (aka the Islamsphere). Nominations are taken from blog readers, who then vote for the winners.

What are the Brass Crescent Awards? They 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.

BEST BLOG:  Spirit 21 (Shelina Zahra Janmohamed) Nominators call Shelina Janmohamed’s Spirit 21 “intellectual without being overbearing” and “insightful”.  HONORABLE MENTION Jihad of Umar Lee

MOST DESERVING OF WIDER RECOGNITION:  The Islamicist  The mysterious Islamicist writes the “funniest posts this year” in a “post-9/11 confessional.” “A comic talent in the making.”  HONORABLE MENTION HijabMan & KufiGirl The ubiquitous HijabMan runs a “quirky blog” that delves into subjects “below the radar on most blogs.” “Needs more attention.”

BEST DESIGN:  Deenport  Blog and information aggregator DeenPort’s technical wizardry earned it a place on this list.  HONORABLE MENTION Sunni Sister (Umm Zaid)  The SunniSister blog was nominated for Sheba Sanders’ “Persian” template, which is currently displayed on the page.

BEST GROUP BLOG:  Indian Muslims  A group blog featuring Indian Muslims that “is an excellent source of information and opinion” with “an eclectic mix.”  HONORABLE MENTION Muslim Matters  The new group blog Muslim Matters has an “amazing diversity of opinion” about Islam which “has taken off unbelievably.”

BEST MIDEAST/CENTRAL ASIAN BLOG:  Raising Yousuf, Unplugged (Laila El-Haddad)  Long time favorite Leila El-Haddad offers an “inside view of the situation in Palestine” coupled with the stories of raising her young son.  HONORABLE MENTION Sabbah’s Blog  Palestinian exile Sabbah, now in Bahrain, writes “one of the most popular Middle Eastern blogs” on the Internet.

BEST SOUTH/SOUTHEAST ASIAN BLOG:  An Indian Muslim’s Blog  The Indian Muslim’s Blog is “journalistic” and “quite classy in it’s content and convictions.”  HONORABLE MENTION The Other Malaysia (Farish Noor)  Farish Noor’s The Other Malaysia provides “great insight” into a fascinating country. “No other Malaysian blog like it.”

BEST NON-MUSLIM BLOG:  Informed Comment (Juan Cole)  Professor Juan Cole’s “excellent description on Iraqi/Middle East/Muslim issues” is full of “informed thoughts” on foreign policy.  HONORABLE MENTION On the Face (Lisa Goldman)  Past winner Lisa Goldman’s posts about encounters with Palestinians, Lebanese, and other members of the Arab world “are always excellent.”

BEST POST OR SERIES:  Umar Lee, Rise and Fall of the Salafi Dawah in the US.  Umar Lee’s personal experiences of the Salafi Movement in America is a “must read for all Muslims” and among “the best series… over the year.”  HONORABLE MENTION Ali Eteraz at Comment is Free, Islamic Reform (parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7)  Ali Eteraz’s “thought-provoking whirlwind tour” of seven posts on Islamic Reform in the Guardian’s Comment is Free is “earth-shattering.”

BEST MULTIMEDIA BLOG:  The Reminder Series (Baba Ali)  The wildly popular video blogger Baba Ali provides “humorous, witty, and original” anecdotes about Muslim life.  HONORABLE MENTION Islamophonic (Riazat Butt)  Riazat Butt, a reporter for the UK’s Guardian newspaper, started Islamophonic as a side project and ended up with an award-winning podcast.

BEST IJTIHAD:  (Which blogger is the most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post?)  Ali Eteraz  The ever present Ali Eteraz is “controversial” but “brilliant and a provacative pleasure to read.”
HONORABLE MENTION Akram’s Razor (Svend White)  Svend White “knows his religion” and “brings it incisively into the modern world of academia.” Plus, “he talks about fun geek stuff too!”


For more information on the annual Brass Crescent Awards visit http://www.brasscrescent.org/