Wednesday, December 15, 2010

QR Codes and Kufic Script?

Quick foot note to yesterday's post on QR codes: I'm struck by a visual similarity between QR codes and certain forms of Arabic calligraphy using the Kufic style, in particular the square Kufic designs:


Not sure what cutting-edge digital possibilities are there or would even be halal, but it's an interesting visual comparison, at least.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Ummah Relations rolls out; PR people as mythical creatures

Ummah Relations,The PR/training firm I'm launching to help Muslim-media relations, did a large scale rollout this week.

For the rollout, I did a company introductory video (embedded below), and included the audio of a speech, "Your Other Ummah: Lead By Deed," based on a previous blog entry here. Response has been pretty good so far, with a couple of media interviews scheduled for next week about the project.



I had met with the Muslim Student Association earlier in the week, and a reporter happened to be there, doing a story on the group. The story ran here. While the tenor of the article is that MSA kids are just like any other group of students on campus, a few commenters found that approach to be patronizing.

(I was quoted briefly in the piece and was delighted to be endowed with unusual superhuman powers enabling me to transform into mythical creatures)!

Next up: I'm preparing a white paper, along with a colleague, on basic proactive strategies that immigrant and Muslim communities can adopt when a national news event may affect their community.