[Autonogram] Spring update: Blue-Eyed Devil, censorship, and more.

[Ben Meyers, Autonomedia]

Greetings, Autonomedia list subscribers --

1. "Blue-Eyed Devil" by Michael Muhammad Knight now available, plus NYC
appearances this week.
2. "The Taqwacores" UK edition, in a censored version!
3. 2007 calendars now supercheap -- $3!
4. post-arrest Steve Kurtz video online at
http://www.autonomedia.org/kurtz_video

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1. We're happy to announce the publication of "Blue-Eyed Devil: A Road
Odyssey Through Islamic America," new from Michael Muhammad Knight (author
of "The Taqwacores"). Check it out at
http://www.autonomedia.org/blueeyeddevil

"Blue-Eyed Devil" is a travel narrative about a search for an indigenous
American Islam, as viewed through the eyes of a white convert. Michael
Muhammad Knight logged 20,000 miles criss-crossing the country on a holy
quest, following the permitted purposes of "spiritual travel" (seeing a
holy site, deriving instruction, seeking knowledge, visiting a venerable
person, and visiting the tomb of a saint), but also squatting in run-down
mosques, pursuing various crushes, and getting high in the woods with a
hashishiyyun. Over the course of his adventures, he learns a great deal
about the long history of Islam in American, a history which pre-dates
current immigration politics by more than a century. Taking a unique
perpective on Islam's intersection with race, gender, and Americanization,
"Blue-Eyed Devil" offer a brutally honest but ultimately compassionate
look at the marginal underground of Islam in America.

Andrei Codrescu loved the book, by the way, and wrote that it "should
contribute immensely to retiring the public's knee-jerk reaction to
Islam." He also said it was a masterpiece and compared it to "On the
Road," but we'll leave it at that.

Mike will be reading from the book and talking about his experiences
researching it, this coming Saturday, March 24, at 7pm, at Bluestockings
Radical Bookstore in New York City. Bluestockings is at 172 Allen Street,
1 block south of Houston. More details at http://www.bluestockings.com

Mike will also be a guest on the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade on WBAI
TONIGHT, Tuesday March 20th, at midnight, with host Bill Weinberg.
Internet listeners will find the program archived at http://www.morc.info
. NYC-area listeners can tune in at 99.5FM.

*  *  !!!  *  *

2. Michael Knight's earlier Muslim Punk Rock novel, "The Taqwacores," was
just published in a British edition by Telegram, and congratulations are
in order. However, at the last minute, the publisher got cold feet about
some of the more punk-rock passages in the book, and censored them!
Initially, they wanted Mike to rewrite certain parts they considerd too
blasphemous, which he refused to do. They eventually came to an agreement
that if deletions were to be made, they would be signified with three
asterisks.

To assist readers of the UK edition, we've put up a guide to the censored
edition on our website. It's an interesting read, in terms of what exactly
cannot appear -- some passages aren't too surprising, but the stoned
hashishiyyun who farts out zikrs after a round at Taco Bell? See for
yourself at http://www.autonomedia.org/taqwa_censorship

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3. If you still need a 2007 Autonomedia Calendar of Jubilee Saints,
they're going for cheap in our webstore -- $3 each (plus shipping), and
still only 25% used up! Get them while they last at
http://bookstore.autonomedia.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=498

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4.The ridiculous investigation of Steve Kurtz' political art practices
continues at a glacial pace. He spoke about the case and the impact it has
had on freedoms of speech -- in the arts and with
scientific research, in particular -- in a video posted recently on
youtube. View it at http://www.autonomedia.org/kurtz_video

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That's it for now. If you follow the links in this email, you'll see that
we've put up a new website. http://www.autonomedia.org. It's still in the
early phases, and feedback is welcome -- email
admin_at_autonomedia[dot]org.

bests, and happy spring,
Ben / Autonomedia