~ElfceltRJL

Ahla" asdaqa'iy fi DeviantArt,

I can't believe my fortune, but this Saturday I'm shipping out to Palestine for two weeks to participate in a Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions summit! I can't wait to kick colonialism's ass, and I've set up a blog to chronicle my adventures: [link]

Besides taking a swing at I$rael, I am excited beyond belief at the IMAGES I'm going to bring back, between my sketches and my photos: stuff they don't want you to see (sand, sun and segregation: ya like that, IDF?!).

Wish us luck, and I'll see y'all when I get back!

As you can probably tell, I am an amateur calligrapher interested in Islamic art. I have stuck to drawing names, words and phrases since I am not a religious person, but lately have wanted to try writing longer quotes from the Qur'an as gifts for some Muslim friends. I asked a friend who is Palestinian to check my grammar on a phrase I had written on a sheet of homework that had been converted into an elaborate artwork. He said that he used to doodle Qur'anic verses on scrap paper but stopped, since they would be thrown away and this is prohibited.

I had no idea about this restriction, and realized I am treading in sensitive territory. I am new to this whole monotheism thing (raised without a religion), but recognize the sanctity and importance of the Holy Books and His word.

In the interest of avoiding cultural misappropriation, is a non-Muslim “allowed” or authorized to write Qur'anic verses? What are the “rules” concerning Qur'anic calligraphy? I do not want to make the mistake of producing artwork of religious verses if this is not my place to do so.

I saw that my icon had changed into a blue creature today and at first I thought that I was popular enough that someone hacked my account, but then I realized that everyone had a blue creature and was like, naww! ...So, a few random things to talk about:

Yesterday during the walk-out, it snowed. Ten years ago on this day, we got an April Fools' blizzard, which everyone here from New England (I'm from Massachusetts) remembers. I started thinking back to where I was ten years ago on this day. I believe I was 9 at the time, in 4th grade. I was fucking miserable in school, had no friends, a handful of undiagnosed disorders, and had literally only my art and imagination to keep me company outside of my home.

Ten years later, I am still drawing. (I never quit drawing during class, all you fuckers who told me to stop.) I am beautiful, healthier, more social, have lots of friends I can count on and actually enjoy spending time with them, am in a happy relationship and am used to living away from home. But ten years later, I am still in school.

Somebody tell me what the fuck's wrong with this picture.

An animation by my friend and fellow member of Students for Justice in Palestine, Noam, who went to prison for refusing to join the IDF army. I consider this friend a true hero.

[link]

See corresponding comic: [link]

I would like to call your attention to Oprah Winfrey's upcoming trip to Israel, to stand in solidarity with victims of terrorism. My friend Dina wrote an open letter to Oprah concerning the one-sidedness of her statement. Please check out Dina's letter and send a copy to Oprah if you support Palestine: [link]

NOTE TO CLARIFY: I am NOT an anti-Semite. Many of my best friends are Jewish, and I am fully aware of the atrocities that have been inflicted upon the Jewish people for more then two millenniums by countless hands. The Holocaust is /not /a horror to be ignored or taken lightly; I have spoken with survivors of this genocide whose nightmares of the death camps still haunt them to this day. I acknowledge that many innocent Israeli citizens have lost their lives as a result of the violence between the two states.

The flaw of the Zionist Movement was that it solved one refugee problem /by creating another/. Palestine was not a “land without a people”; it was populated by half a million people (mostly Arabs). Today, the Palestinians live under the stifling occupation of the Israeli government that continues to expand into Palestinian territory under an essentially apartheid rule. It is impossible to turn a blind eye to the injustice of the conflict which has cost untold lives on both sides. State-sponsored violence against civilians is terrorism, no matter where you are in the world.