Kalimat: Magazine Feature.

I'm ecstatic about Kalimat magazine's fall issue, where my thesis project is featured. 

"Kalimat Magazine is committed to rejuvenating Arabic culture by providing an outlet for political, cultural and social expression within the Arab region and its Diaspora. At the same time, it is a visual communication tool that serves to change Western perception of Arabs. The purpose is to be an open outlet for expression and to increase participation within the cultural/creative scene, therefore, the content is created by Arab people, the writers are Arab, the editor is Arab, the people featured are Arab."

Flip to page 109 to read my article.

Open publication - Free publishing - More arab

*** Thank you so much Danah Abdulah ***

Muslima: Parent's guide book on Islam.

Part of my thesis project was a parent guidebook on Islam. Since parents are an integral part in a child's life, I felt intrigued to write this book; dispelling common misconceptions and misunderstandings on Islam.

(Click to enlarge)

Muslim.

For those of you aren't familiar with who I am. 

Here's a brief intro to who Lama, aka Lema is.

Place of Birth: United Arab Emirates

Raised in: Jordan

Country of Origin: Palestine 

Current City of Residence: San Francisco

Favorite Season: Winter

Loves: Paper 

Hates: Liars

Religion: Islam

So here's why I'm telling you all this...

Since moving to the U.S. I have felt a lot of questioning, 

confusion and misunderstanding from some people, first 

was because I was raised in the Middle East, and second 

was because, to some, I belonged to a so-called terrorist 

religion, aka Islam.

This made me feel uncomfortable and at unease. 

So, instead of smiling and nodding, I'm doing something about it...

I'm currently working on my MFA thesis project, and it's 

an educational program, targeting the younger generation.

I'm working with a beautiful team of artists I hand-picked myself.

They, and the final project will be revealed later in May, 2011.

The title of my project is: 

Amal, A Muslim Tale of Hope.

(Amal is translation for Hope, and it's also my name, 
Lama, written backwards)

***Calligraphy done by my friend Wael Omari***

Thesis timeline.

I'm pushing to graduate by December, my thesis topic is still in it's fetus phase, I'm picking names for my lets call it "baby".

*A brief on my thesis topic: It will basically be an educational campaign, teaching little girls residing in the United States on the people of Islam, women in specific, not necessarily Arab; to try and eliminate negative stereotypes and judgements for the future.

Here's a map of the stages of development for this baby.