(Image Source: Matt Ruff’s Official Website)
About Matt Ruff: Matt Ruff is a well known novelist whose work has won numerous awards inclusing being long-listed for the 2005 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, winning the 2007 James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Washington State Book Award, two PNBA Book Awards, and two Washington State Book Award. Matt has [...]
Abdourahman Waberi’s Aux États-Unis d’Afrique was published in 2006, and the English translation, In the United States of Africa, came out in 2009. It’s a brief, lyrical and pointed satire that imagines our world in reverse: Africa is a region of stability and prosperity, united by a single government, with the desperate multitudes of the [...]
SWTXPC Panel: Science Fiction and Fantasy in the Islamic Milieu
I will be part of a panel on Islam and Science Fiction at the Southwest Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association annual conference. The three of us will be discussing science fiction themes especially in the context of Islamic cosmological doctrines and beliefs. If you [...]
Irfan Rydhan
As most “Star Wars” fans know, director George Lucas took spiritual elements, which are common in most major world religions to create his epic saga of good vs. evil. As a Muslim, I always thought of the “Jedi” as what a true follower of Islam should be like. Never mind the [...]
Ibn Safi is the pen name of Asrar Ahmad (1928-1980) who was a legendary and prolific Urdu fiction writer from Pakistan. He is one of the better known Science Fiction writers of Urdu, although his mostly famous for writing crime fiction and spy novels. He mostly famous for his works Jasoosi Duniya (Spy World) and [...]
Kolachi Trailer
Techistan has the scoop on an upcoming Science Fiction Movie from Pakistan called Kolachi. The movie was conceived by Summer Nicks who is originally from Australia but is now based is Pakistan. The movie is being produced by Summer Nicks, Meher Jaffri and Craig Peter Jones, and it is being directed by Mansoor Mujahid.
(Thanks [...]
Najiyah Diana Helwani
Background: Najiyah Diana Helwani is an American and is currently based in Syrian. She is the author of Sophia’s Journal: Time Warp 1857 - a time travel coming of age novel set in Kansas right before the Civil War. She has published a number of articles and pieces of poetry. Najiyah [...]
Irving Karchmar
Background: In the current interview we are going to break with tradition somewhat and interview a Fantasy author. Irving Karchmar is an American Muslim convert and is also a darvish of the Nimatullahi Sufi. He is also the author of Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel. The novel revolves around the discovery of [...]
Dr. Ali Mazrui, Kenyan born economist and scholar has written one work of science fiction titled, The Trial of Christopher Okigbo. In this 1971 work Mazrui makes use of a thematic device used throughout his writings, both fiction and non-fiction, that he labels ‘the triple heritage” of Africa, those faith traditions that have the strongest [...]
This 1962 novel continues Reynolds “North Africa series” and his attack on Islam started in Blackman’s Burden. The agents are finding success in moving the people away from Islam. His depiction of the Muslim leaders as corrupt and greedy has led to rebellion. Reynolds main character, Homer Crawford, sums up the feelings about Islam on [...]
