SFRA Cancelled
A number of Science Fiction Cons that are being cancelled is increasing. The latest one to succumb to Coronavirus is SFRA (Science Fiction Research Association). I was looking forward to the conference, hoping to attend my first SFRA conference is 2020. However this won’t happen this year. Let’s all hopeContinue Reading
A Sci-Fi short by Mohsin Hamid in Financial Times
(Image Source: Financial Times) The award winning British-Pakistani novelist, Mohsin Hamid, published a short story on an Alien Invasion in Financial Times which was quite well received. Here is an excerpt from the story: A hot wind rattles the roof of our shanty. Corrugated metal bucks up and down, scrabbling againstContinue Reading
‘Muslim’ Magic in Medieval Malta
While there is no such thing as Magic in Islam, through out history people from Muslim cultures have esoteric things which have been described as magic by outsiders. (Muslim scholars universally consider Magic to be haram (Forbidden) in Islam.) In the medieval era Muslims in Europe were sometimes accused of practicingContinue Reading
Ali Pourahmad’s Short Sci-Fi Movies
Ali Pourahmad is a director and writer based in Iran who has directed a number of short Science Fiction movies. He not only directs but also writes the story line for his short movies which have a high element of CGI animation. Here is a summary of some of theContinue Reading
Egyptian Society for Science Fiction
I had the good fortune to meet the President of Egyptian Society for Science Fiction Dr. Hosam El-Zembely and its member Emad Aysha in Nasr City (a suburb of Cairo) at their headquarters last week. The Egyptian Society for Science Fiction (جمعية المصرية لأدب الخيال العلمي) is a Science FictionContinue Reading
Punjabi Star Wars!
Here is a preview of some of the artworks that we will be featuring in the inaugural issue of our Sci-Fi magazine. It is reimagine of Star Wars as a Punjabi folk tale with R2D2 and C3PO dressed in traditional Punjabi attire. This work is a collaboration between our editor and BabarContinue Reading
King Abdullah's Star Trek Connection
King Abdullah II of Jordon is the only reigning monarch in the world who has acted in a Science Fiction show and that show happens to be Star Trek. Back in 1996 when he was a prince, he had role as an uncredited extra in the 1996 Star Trek: VoyagerContinue Reading
Launching Takwin - A magazine of Islamicate Science Fiction
The Islam and Science Fiction has been around since 2005. As we are entering out 14th year soon, we are launching a project that we have been thinking about many years – The world’s first magazine focused on publishing Science Fiction inspired by Islamic civilizations and ethos. It will beContinue Reading
Bridging Cultural Divides through Fantasy/Science‐Fiction Role‐Playing Games
Amina Inloes has published a fantastic article on Professor MAR Barker in the latest issue of the joural Muslim World, here is the abstract: Muhammad Abd al‐Rahman (Phillip) Barker: Bridging Cultural Divides through Fantasy/Science‐Fiction Role‐Playing Games and Fictional Religion Abstract: “Muslims” and “Dungeons & Dragons” are rarely discussed in theContinue Reading
Spicing Up Sci-Fi: The Dunes Strike Back
Our friends over at Sindbad Sci-Fi are co-organizing an event around Frank Herbert’s Dune this weekend. If you are in London be sure to check it out. Here is the official info from their site: Spicing Up Sci-Fi: The Dunes Strike Back 2 pm | Saturday 28 April 2018 British Library,Continue Reading