On Monday, a representative of Qatar’s Doha Tribeca Film Festival said the Gulf state hopes to create a film hub for regional artists that will include education initiatives and community involvement, reports Reuters. Qatar is looking to become a cultural capital of the Gulf region, and establishing an annual film festival might assist it in doing just that. 

In a town south of Baghdad, a group of women are causing a bit of controversy by forming the first ever, all female wrestling team in Iraq. The New York Times reports that the team, which was formed in January, has hopes of going to the Olympics...if they are still around by then. 

Colonel Moammar Gaddafi, Libyan leader and resident mad man of North Africa, will be visiting the U.S. next month to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting. Though he usually makes headlines for his female bodyguards (and the amount of ammunition they carry), this time he is causing a stir because he will be bringing along his Bedouin tent. Yes, you read that correctly and it is exactly what you imagine it to be. 

Fashion Week is looming for New York City, but it looks like all eyes are on the apparel coming out of Gainesville, Florida this year, the fashion capital of the conservative South. This week, several students ranging from elementary to high school age were sent home from school for wearing anti-Islam t-shirts commissioned by the ever-stylin’ Dove World Outreach Center, known for its public disdain of Islam. Students were found wearing shirts with messages like “Islam is of the Devil.”

It seems to be the summer of bans in France. In June, we had Nicholas Sarkozy’s proposed ban of the burka. Now, a 35-year-old Muslim woman, identified as Carole, has been banned from a public pool in Emerainville, an eastern suburb of Paris, for wearing a burkini. Perhaps the French don’t like words that begin with “burk”? Oh no wait, they just don’t like Muslims. But how are they masking it this time? 

On Friday morning, the White House Blog released this video in which President Obama wished Muslims “Ramadan Kareem.” Accompanied by a message from Deputy Counsel Rashad Hussain, Obama’s speech was translated into a slew of languages (Arabic, Bengali, Dari, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, Urdu) to ensure that it reached a worldwide audience, but mainly a worldwide, Muslim audience. The video is part of the White House’s efforts to engage Muslims-Americans and improve foreign relations with Muslim-majority countries - relations that were practically destroyed while George Bush held office.

Last week we all met Joey, a non-Muslim American college student trying out Ramadan on YouTube. For those of you that watched his introduction, thanks for the words of encouragement! Joey’s fasting and his video diary have official begun, and the first few days were not so pretty. Find out how it went on the elan media section and keep checking back for more! As usual, post your comments or send us feedback at

The raging healthcare debate in America makes you wonder how other countries are coping with similar issues. We often hear of comparisons to Britain and continental Europe, but rarely do we hear of the healthcare structures of third-world countries that are too busy dealing not only with diseases, but myriad problems ranging from government corruption to terrorism. But, as we Americans are reflecting upon in recent weeks, what’s more important than health? 

In honor of Ramadan 2009, elan presents a three-part series reflecting on how young Muslims can approach the holy month from Imam Khalid Latif. Imam Khalid is the Executive Director of The Islamic Center at New York University (NYU), and one of the most notable and influential young Muslims in the United States. 

The artistic future of Saudi Arabia in a coin toss: Heros or Villains? Scouring the streets of Saudi are a pair of twenty-something indie filmmakers in an intriguing struggle - Todd Nims, an American raised in Saudi Arabia, and Ali Kalthami, a local, are shaking out the cafes of Riyadh for the stars of their unprecedented sitcom pilot “Almost a Rock Band.”