Linden Prize Application

As additional authentication of Al Andalus in Second Life we'd like you to see this draft machinima created by resident Draxtor Despres when filming for resident Eureka Dejavu's project, understanding Islam. This film was not used in the Understanding Islam project.

Movie

I'll be adding a list of links to outside the blogs and publications featuring Al Andalus.


Here is a nice blog about Delia's preservation project in Al Andalus:
Stumbling Along, I found this

and
pictures

I've been asked to post the project summary as submitted. It appears below.

Thanks.

Second life provides a unique opportunity for individuals from the virtual world to participate in discussions on the topics that traditionally have divided the physical world, led to lack of understanding and in the worst cases, violence. The goal of the Al Andalus project is to give people a chance to discuss those topics in a safe place where all voices count.

Al Andalus originally anticipated a democracy guided by the basic principals of authentic Islamic law, including political participation, separation of powers and justice. In thirteenth century Al Andalus, Muslim, Christian and Jewish people not only co –existed peacefully, but thrived in their contributions to science, art, literature and philosophy. By mirroring that time and place architecturally, we hoped that a diverse, vibrant, creative community of individuals from different cultures and religions would develop, and it has.

Another goal was to highlight the principles of Islam as a form of government without the taint of terrorism or fundamentalist sects so often presented by western media. As both Christianity and Judaism had historically violent periods in their past, our goal was to focus on the basic commonalities in governmental systems of different cultures rather than differences. For this reason, we've left the details of what government will look like to the citizens. What has developed is a direct democracy that has no specific religious focus, but very strong expectations of tolerance, understanding, service and respect for the rights of all individuals.

Beginning as two sims with an artistic interpretation of Al Alhambra, we've added 4 homestead sims to the project to expand the scope. Each of the homesteads has its own focus: Albaycin focuses on sustainable land and water use, and is coordinated by Delia Lake who has developed the space to resemble the ecosystem of the Basque region, Almunecar, which hosts the film studio of Second Life Journalist Draxtor Despres. Sacromonte hosts the workshop of one of our major architects, Marino Nuvolari, who built the Alhambra palaces and the Christian chapel, the Jewish Temple, and the Mosque, patterned beautifully after the Great Mosque of Cordoba. Our current project adds a library of architecture, art, literature, tolerance and historical works of the era. The Al Garnata homestead is dedicated to the library project.

Collaborations of First and Second life organizations are critical. We've had presentations on water conservation, health care, Sufism, the Metaverse Republic, and more. We've hosted lectures on Tolerance, The Future of Religions/Religions of the Future, (with the Extropia Sims,) and a peace conference, "the Global Handshake Fair." The sim features a magic carpet guided tour, available in English, Spanish and German, and over eighty notecard info points.

We celebrated the 2008 winter holidays with an Arabian Nights party, an open house at the offices of MuslimServ, a non-profit organization devoted to ending hunger, and the grand opening of the Convivencia Institute, professionals devoted to creating trustworthy space. We often feature traditional music, including Sephardic, gypsy and flamenco and hope to develop an institute to support world music in Second Life. We host hundreds of visitors each week.

So far, this can only happen in a virtual world. With continued awareness, exploration and communication, we believe that peaceful co-existence in the physical world can be achieved as well. Winning the Linden Prize would secure the future of the project for many years, as all prize money would be used to sustain the sims. We respectfully ask for your serious consideration, and thank you for the opportunity to tell you about Al Andalus in Second Life.