By Amy Frykholm, "Three faiths, three friends Seattle's interfaith amigos" - The Christian Century - USA
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The third annual interfaith Passover Seder meal at University Congregational Church in Seattle was a "bring your own wine" event. Tables for 300 guests were impeccably set with goblets and fresh flowers; two kinds of charoset (a pasty blend of fruit and nuts prepared according to both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic styles); two kinds of horseradish (raw and sauced); and baskets of matzo. The tables buzzed with lively conversation.
Rabbi Ted Falcon stood at the front with a guitar player and two singers. He is a trim, white-bearded man who is constantly making jokes, but he also has an air of underlying seriousness, intensity, even melancholy.
"OK," he said. "We'll begin on page 22 of your handout." After two days of watching Falcon lead services, I had learned that he never begins on page one. He is likely to start on page 22, continue on page 11 and move on to page two.
"The Haggadah takes us on a spiritual journey," he says. "We learn to be freed from our inner pharaohs, travel in our wilderness and form our own dreams of the Promised Land.
"The participants at this event—which sold out three weeks before—were Jews, Christians and Muslims. Many came from Bet Alef, Falcon's "meditative synagogue" that meets in one of Seattle's suburbs. Some belonged to University Congregational Church, which was led by Pastor Don Mackenzie until his retirement in June. Others belonged to an experimental congregation led by Sufi Muslim teacher Jamal Rahman and known as the Interfaith Community Church. (Rahman calls it a church, he says, for "lack of a better term"; it's for people who meet on Sundays to explore their "spiritual paths" together, he explains.)
Falcon not only invited members of these three congregations to the Seder but asked Mackenzie and Rahman to speak. And Falcon didn't want generic spirituality talk from them; he wanted Mackenzie to mention Jesus or Paul and Rahman to refer to Muhammad and the Qur'an.
This kind of interfaith gathering is an increasingly common phenomenon across the U.S. Interaction between people of different faiths is hardly new, but a qualitative shift occurred after September 11, 2001, says Kathryn Lohre, assistant director of Harvard University's Pluralism Project. "There was a strong interfaith resurgence, driven by the desire of many people, perhaps Christians especially, to get to know their religious neighbors.
"Lohre says grassroots efforts have sprung up in many places. The old-style interfaith roundtables in which academics or religious leaders gathered to discuss their theological differences in formal meetings have given way to more informal efforts. These are often led or developed by laypeople, as in the case of the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, the Faith House in Manhattan, Women Transcending Boundaries in Syracuse and Daughters of Abraham in Detroit. People meet to take part in service projects, talk about family, share holiday celebrations or eat ethnic food.
For Rabbi Ted Falcon, Pastor Don Mackenzie and Brother Jamal Rahman, formal and informal meetings have led to deep friendships. They call themselves the Three Interfaith Amigos. The three men host the Interfaith Talk Radio show in Seattle, meet weekly for mutual spiritual direction and have embarked on writing a book together. Not only has their friendship grown over the years, but their congregations have become closer. A member of Falcon's synagogue leads the Gregorian chant group at Rahman's congregation. A meeting at any of the three congregations will likely include members of the other two.
"When we first started, the three of us were like three circles touching," Falcon says. "But over time, our circles have become more interlocked. We are still distinct circles, but we share more and more together."
In Seattle, the work of the Three Amigos has spawned the Northwest Interfaith Community Outreach, led by business executive John Hale. This organization helps to sponsor interfaith events and encourages what it calls interspiritual communication. Hale has a salesperson's easy smile and ready handshake—he seems like a man who would be comfortable in a corporate boardroom. So it was a little surprising and even unsettling to hear him speak the language of contemporary spirituality. Raised as a Presbyterian, Hale says that his upbringing "lacked nourishment," a nourishment he didn't find until he converted to Catholicism and discovered interfaith work.
For Hale, interfaith work involves both a conversation and a way of life. "It is heart work," he says, "not head work." The image that Hale likes—adapted from Meister Eckhart—is that each faith is a house with a basement. Deep in the basement is a trap door. If you go deep enough, you fall through the trap door into the shared river that flows beneath all faiths, the source of them all.
Hale's assertion of oneness would likely make Lohre at the Pluralism Project cringe. Many people, she notes, think interfaith conversation means "moving toward relativism." But "the assertion that 'at root all religions are the same' just isn't true. If you do any kind of careful comparative religion, you understand just how different religious traditions are." People do not need to adopt the rhetoric of "oneness" in order to care about their religious neighbors, Lohre argues. Relying on that approach misses the complexities of the various religions.
The Three Amigos would in some ways accept and in other ways reject Lohre's point. "The question of boundaries is absolutely essential," Falcon insists. "I must find a way to connect with another faith without taking on its identity. What we are doing is acknowledging other faiths as legitimate paths to a shared universal." The three recently discussed a newspaper editorial that criticized Christian groups for holding Seders in their churches—as if the Seder is a tradition possessed by Christians. The three agreed with the critique. Their own interfaith Seder, they noted, is a Jewish celebration, led by a Jewish rabbi, but with interfaith elements.
The three are also dissatisfied with the kind of interfaith service in which participants try to find a lowest common denominator of faith. Far more intriguing and satisfying to them is offering hospitality to one another in their respective congregations and working with one another on common projects. When they speak at one another's events, they speak from their own Jewish, Christian or Muslim tradition. They cite their own sacred texts and tell stories from their own traditions.
Nevertheless, the Three Amigos also tend to blur the boundaries. For example, Mackenzie has asked Rahman and Falcon to help him serve the elements of communion at a service at University Congregational. For him, it is deeply meaningful to have Rahman and Falcon holding the baskets of bread as the congregation comes forward to share in this central Christian ritual. It links the three men and the three faiths together. It is important to note that the UCC has a tradition of open-table fellowship at communion and that at University Congregational the elements are called "the bread of life" and "the cup of blessing." This communion service does not focus on the christological distinctives of the meal the way that many other Christian services would.
Falcon said that, for him, being part of a Christian communion service at the church felt like being on sacred ground. Sharing bread and wine is very much a part of Jewish culture, and he has himself hosted the sharing of bread and wine with his two friends in many other contexts, including the moment of entrance into the celebration of Shabbat. He said that though he would not hold a communion service in his synagogue, he believed he could participate in communion without taking on a Christian identity. Falcon likens faith and faith traditions to vehicles—when he is in Mackenzie's church, he is temporarily riding in that vehicle. That doesn't mean the vehicle becomes his, but he can ride along in it for a while without compromising his own. Likewise, he can invite others to ride in his vehicle.
Mackenzie observes, "I think Christians have misunderstood the Great Commission. When Jesus says, 'Go and make disciples of all nations,' we think he means go and make Christians of all nations. But he doesn't say that. To be a disciple of God means to be a disciple of love. Maybe he means that we are called to help people find the way of love." Mackenzie, who was a Presbyterian minister before serving at University Congregational, cherishes the theological and ecclesial freedom he finds in the UCC and believes that it has helped to foster the deep interfaith relationship he has with Falcon and Rahman.
The Three Amigos also emphasize that they are all members of Abrahamic traditions. Their shared ancestor makes possible a conversation about oneness or about what Rahman calls their "large and dysfunctional family" that would be more difficult to conduct with those outside the Abrahamic faiths. The three are in conversation with Hindus and Buddhists, but "for now," Rahman says, "we have a lot of work to do to heal the rifts in our own family."
The Three Amigos have not shied away from difficult conversations. The height of personal conflict came in the still-unfinished process of writing a book together. "There was," says Falcon, "a line written by Jamal about which I said, 'If that line is in the book, then I am not in the book.'" As Rahman recalls it, the line was about the security wall built by Israel: "The wall may keep out suicide bombers, but it cannot keep out the cries of oppression and injustice that could break through a thousand walls." For Falcon, who grew up in a passionately Zionist family, and who remembers that his grandfather planted a tree for him in Israel every year on his birthday, that particular sentence was too one-sided—it failed to recognize the suffering on both sides that is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The two resolved the issue by agreeing never to sign one-sided statements issued by their communities. Whenever a request comes to sign a petition or a public letter, they refuse if the issues are presented in a way that takes into account only one side of the story.
Rahman is a slight Bangladeshi man, a third-generation Sufi teacher with an infectious, musical laugh. He teaches about Islam primarily through stories, humor and quotations from the Qur'an and the poet Rumi. He is a Sunni Muslim who believes that he is called to serve Seattle's unchurched. While not hawkish, he does highlight the suffering of Palestinians and issues a strong condemnation of Israel's policies. "What kept us talking, what allowed us to wander into this territory and stay while we tried to understand each other better, was that we were already longtime friends," says Falcon. "We had a lot invested in our relationship."
The Three Amigos' experience is emblematic of a larger reality in the U.S. today, says Haim Beliak, a Reform rabbi who is a member of several interfaith associations and a board member for the Progressive Jewish Alliance in the Los Angeles area. Because Christians and Jews in particular have been in conversation now for many decades, a level of trust has been built. Serious conversations about Israel and Palestine can take place between them because they have a history that is distinct from the tradition of Christian anti-Semitism. The challenge now is to include Muslims in such discussions and thereby resist what Beliak sees as a tendency in some quarters for Jews and Christians to pit themselves against Muslims by emphasizing a "Judeo-Christian" tradition. "When I hear that phrase," Beliak says, "I feel as if I were being speared by the hyphen."
Recently, Mackenzie, Falcon and Rahman reflected on who was showing up at interfaith events and who wasn't. They acknowledged that it is often easier to communicate across the lines of faith than to communicate with members of their own traditions who are suspicious of interfaith work. Falcon is ordained in the Reform tradition, but his synagogue is unaffiliated; he invented the term "meditative Reform" to describe the kind of Judaism he practices. Rahman designates himself a Sufi teacher, which places him to a certain degree outside conventional Muslim structures—though those structures are comparatively loose.
On the Christian side, the three acknowledged that they have their own biases against conservative Christians, whom they tend to see as narrow-minded and prejudiced against Muslims. In response, the Amigos decided to attend together a service at Christian Faith Center, a megachurch with two campuses in Seattle, led by pastor Casey Treat.
During his sermon on the day the Three Amigos visited, Treat remarked that "Christians and Jews share the same God, but Allah is a different matter." Mackenzie and Falcon both gasped. After the service, Rahman, Mackenzie and Falcon were invited to Treat's office. Rahman used the occasion to say to him, "I don't think Jesus would have said what you did about Muslims."
Rahman, Falcon and Mackenzie later worked with members of Treat's congregation on a Habitat for Humanity project for a local Muslim family. One important lesson from the experience, Rahman says, was the recognition that while he, as a Muslim, feels wounded by the behavior of many Americans, he is not alone in that feeling: many Christians also carry wounds. By understanding this mutual woundedness, the Three Amigos say, they have become much more patient when they confront people who disagree with their interfaith work. Instead of responding with anger or accusation, they try to ask more questions.
They used this insight when Rahman was asked by the director of Camp Brotherhood, an interfaith retreat center with a long history in Seattle, to donate a copy of the Qur'an that would be placed in the center's chapel alongside the Bible and the Torah. The proposal turned out to be controversial among the camp's board members, so the idea was dropped—and the board ended up removing all holy books from the chapel, something the three were not happy about. But instead of responding angrily and forgoing their association with Camp Brotherhood, the three have continued to try to meet with the board members to find a mutually agreeable solution.
Lohre of Harvard is convinced that informal interfaith efforts like that of the Three Amigos will continue to grow. If such efforts had been merely a reaction to September 11, they would have faded long ago. But because so many people are now involved in interfaith friendships and because so many interfaith activities have involved young people, interfaith work is not likely to vanish—and the relationships can only deepen. The most successful groups, Lohre says, provide acts of service and hospitality as well as activities for people of different generations.
Not everyone is prepared to applaud such encounters. Anxiety about the loss of "shared values" is heard from many corners, leading some people to turn inward. And interfaith conversations are clearly in their early stages—they have not yet been a force in stopping wars, nor have they succeeded in shutting the doors of Guantánamo or in healing the wounds in the Middle East. But thousands of people have had concrete encounters with neighbors who belong to a different religious faith.
One often hears quoted in interfaith circles these words of God from the Qur'an: "O humankind, we have created you out of a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might come to know one another." [49:13]
At this point in history, coming to know one another remains a critical task.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
With the Power of Love
By Anand Krishna, "Sufi solutions to world problems " - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, IndonesiaMonday, 25 August, 2008
Sufi solutions to world problems: This was the title of my paper prepared for the Conference on Sufi Movements in Contemporary Islam, held in Singapore on Aug. 14 and 15, 2008, under the auspices of the National University of Singapore and the independent Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Along with the writer, Indonesia was represented by Prof. Azyumardi Azra, one of our prominent scholars. The organizers clearly took great pains to ensure that all the five continents were represented by scholars, professors and renowned thinkers of world.
Unfortunately, however, a good majority of them interpreted Sufi thought as Sufi-"ism", thus putting it on par with the other isms.
Sufi is not an ism. It is a way of life. Arab historian Al Beruni (973-1048 AD) wrote in his magnum opus on India that the word Sufi is derived from pailasopa, Greek for "love of wisdom". It has nothing to do with suf -- Arabic for wool -- or the woolen garment worn by the followers of the Sufi path. He further quotes Abu-alfath Albusti, who connects Sufis with safi or purity; thus a Sufi is one who lives purely, in the purity of simplicity.
A Sufi is not a renegade; he/she does not run away from society. He/she is not a recluse. Some Sufis may choose to live as hermits, but that is their choice. That is neither a requirement nor a condition to be a Sufi.
A Sufi today must remain in society and work for its betterment. I firmly believe that it is the Sufi thought that can save the globe. Hisham of the University of Warwick, UK, spoke on "Sufism and the War on Terror". He elaborated on how marketable Sufism is in the West today. It is being seen as an antidote to terrorism and violence in the name of Islam. But he also agreed that most of the Westerners funding so-called Sufi institutions were actually groping in the dark, not knowing which other way to go.
No, both Sufism and the institutionalization of Sufis cannot be a solution to the world's problems. Indeed, they will create more problems. In our own country, we have such examples aplenty.
The moment the Sufi way of life is institutionalized and becomes an ism, it is seen as a threat by all other established institutions, especially the religio-political institutions. Such institutions, as shown by history, have always been hostile, for they cannot do what the Sufis can. They cannot hold their parties together with the power of love, as Sufis do. They are fear-based societies, whereas the Sufis are love-based.
Sufi thought or way of life, without its institutionalization, is the solution to the world's problems today. Sufi thought must permeate our thoughts and penetrate through the thick and rigid blocks of our minds. The Sufi way of life must change our entire outlook toward life, and then we will have an entirely new society. We will have an enlightened society.
"My heart has opened up in every form: It is a pasture for gazelles, a cloister for Christian monks, a temple for idols, the Kaaba of the pilgrim, the tables of the Torah and the book of the Koran. I practice the religion of love: In whatsoever directions its caravan advance, the religion of love shall be my religion and my faith," wrote Ibn Arabi (1165-1240).
A society which is based on mutual understanding and appreciation and not merely tolerance is the need of the hour. The Singaporean minister for the environment and in charge of Muslim affairs, Yaacob Ibrahim, quoted the scholar Ibn Khaldum who described a Sufi as one who retires from other things and turns to God.
Good explanation, but the retirement required of a Sufi today is that of the heart. A Sufi's heart must not be attached to worldly things. His/her mind must be freed of all temptations. With a free heart and mind, a Sufi must remain in society.
We need Sufi economists and Sufi politicians who are not greedy and power hungry -- who are in the society to serve it. We need Sufi religious ministers who do not promise heaven hereafter but strive to create a heaven on earth. We need Sufi educationists to teach us how to unite in love and not divide in hatred.
Prof. Bruce Lawrence from Duke University in the United States quoted a very famous tradition wherein the Prophet's companion Hazrat Abu Bakr made an announcement that the Prophet was dead, but Islam lived on. For the Sufis, pointed out Bruce, both the Prophet and his teachings, his way of submission to the Lord's will are very much alive.
It is not enough that we study his life; we have to live the way shown by him. For, as pointed out in the Holy Koran, at the end of the day it is our behavior which matters: "On the day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions." -- 24:24
The Writer is a spiritual activist. Visit him at http://anandkrishna.org/eng/
Friday, August 29, 2008
It Speaks Directly To Alienation
By Eddie Harrison, "Five questions for...Dr Alan Williams" - Metro - London, UKMonday, August 25, 2008
The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey, followers of Sufi mystic Rumi, will perform their unique dance this weekend.
Persian scholar Dr Alan Williams will read from and talk about Rumi's work and its influence.
What will people see at this event?
A contemplative, peaceful, stately and graceful performance with a number of dervishes turning anticlockwise on stage, climaxing with a reading from Rumi. They're performing a Sema, which comes from a Persian word and means listening or auditioning. My talk will discuss how the Sema has developed into this form.
What kind of religion is Sufism?
Sufism is the mystical tradition of Islam, a side the West doesn't know much about. Since the 1970s it's gained some popularity among Westerners looking for an alternative to Christianity.
Why is Rumi's work and Sufism so popular at present?
An American poet called Coleman Barks started adapting his work, which led to interest from celebrities like Madonna.
Why does Rumi's poetry inspire people?
Although he's a 13th-century figure, he doesn't write like a medieval poet, he writes from the heart. His central theme is separation from each other and God, and the idea of overcoming that. It speaks directly to alienation and the fragmentation of society and individuals.
What else does your talk cover?
I'll be reading from my first volume of translations of Rumi, published by Penguin in 2006. The translation of the others will probably take me the rest of my life to complete.
Talk: Thu Aug 28, The Hub, 348-350 Castlehill, Edinburgh, 11am, £6. Tel: 0131 473 2000.
Performance: Fri Aug 29 and Sat Aug 30, Festival Theatre, 13-29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh. 7.30pm, £10 to £28. Tel: 0131 473 2000. http://www.eif.co.uk/
Alan Williams
Rumi Spiritual Verses
Penguin Classics
ISBN-10: 0140447911
ISBN-13: 978-0140447910
Looking for Classic Turkish Tastes
ANN/TZStaff report, "Sultanahmet square getting ready for holy month of Ramadan" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, TurkeyMonday, August 25, 2008
İstanbul's Sultanahmet square -- named after the famous Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) -- has long been the center of traditional Ramadan entertainment in the city and it is now being prepared to play this role once again.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Eminönü Municipality Mayor Nevzat Er said the Sultanahmet Ramadan Festivities are the most familiar and popular activity of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, in İstanbul.
Er said it will be the 14th year of the municipality-sponsored festivities and that some special activities will be held in the amphitheater next to the Firuzağa Mosque in Sultanahmet square. He stressed that the activities will not damage any of the historical sites there. On the contrary, he said, they will serve as an introduction to the historical part of the city for many people.
The mayor explained that they will not spend any public funds to organize these events, adding that profits from the rental of bazaar space to vendors will be the main source of funding.
The festivities will begin with recitations from the Quran and a concert of Sufi music next Monday after the Terawih prayer, a congregational prayer that Muslims perform after the night prayer during Ramadan.
Later in the month the after-Terawih program will feature speeches from prominent national figures, in addition to Sufi music performances. Every day there will be a fast-breaking meal, a Karagöz and Hacıvat shadow puppet show for children, story telling and plays telling the tales of Nasreddin Hodja.
Once again a traditional bazaar will be set up in Sultanahmet Square this year. There will be 80 stands in the bazaar, featuring Turkish cuisine, gift shops and traditional crafts. There will also be vendors throughout the square selling traditional foods such as kestane (roasted chestnuts), mısır (corn on the cob), kumpir (stuffed baked potato) and delicious drinks such as salep and boza. Gözleme (stuffed flatbread) and macun, a sort of cold taffy, will also be available for anyone looking for classic Turkish tastes.
[Picture: To ensure safety and hygiene, janitorial workers and security guards will be on duty every night. ]
İstanbul's Sultanahmet square -- named after the famous Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) -- has long been the center of traditional Ramadan entertainment in the city and it is now being prepared to play this role once again.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Eminönü Municipality Mayor Nevzat Er said the Sultanahmet Ramadan Festivities are the most familiar and popular activity of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, in İstanbul.
Er said it will be the 14th year of the municipality-sponsored festivities and that some special activities will be held in the amphitheater next to the Firuzağa Mosque in Sultanahmet square. He stressed that the activities will not damage any of the historical sites there. On the contrary, he said, they will serve as an introduction to the historical part of the city for many people.
The mayor explained that they will not spend any public funds to organize these events, adding that profits from the rental of bazaar space to vendors will be the main source of funding.
The festivities will begin with recitations from the Quran and a concert of Sufi music next Monday after the Terawih prayer, a congregational prayer that Muslims perform after the night prayer during Ramadan.
Later in the month the after-Terawih program will feature speeches from prominent national figures, in addition to Sufi music performances. Every day there will be a fast-breaking meal, a Karagöz and Hacıvat shadow puppet show for children, story telling and plays telling the tales of Nasreddin Hodja.
Once again a traditional bazaar will be set up in Sultanahmet Square this year. There will be 80 stands in the bazaar, featuring Turkish cuisine, gift shops and traditional crafts. There will also be vendors throughout the square selling traditional foods such as kestane (roasted chestnuts), mısır (corn on the cob), kumpir (stuffed baked potato) and delicious drinks such as salep and boza. Gözleme (stuffed flatbread) and macun, a sort of cold taffy, will also be available for anyone looking for classic Turkish tastes.
[Picture: To ensure safety and hygiene, janitorial workers and security guards will be on duty every night. ]
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Festivities Continue in Sehwan
Associated Press of Pakistan, "Festivities continue in Sehwan" - The Post - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Friday, August 22, 2008
Islamabad: Celebrations started Thursday in Sehwan Sharif, marking the annual Urs of Sufi saint Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
Thousands have thronged to his shrine for the three-day festivities celebrating his life, and the lanes and streets of Sehwan were packed with devotees, singing and dancing, in praise of the saint.
A devotional dance, widely known as 'dhamal', is a feature of the annual Urs.
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, whose real name was Syed Muhammad Usman was born in 1177 AD in Marwand, Iran. He reportedly stayed in Sehwan for six years and is believed to have performed several miracles. He reportedly died at the age of 97.
The PIA was operating special flights for the three-day celebrations, for the convenience of those travelling to Sehwan. Additional railway services were also offered during the three-day period.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Islamabad: Celebrations started Thursday in Sehwan Sharif, marking the annual Urs of Sufi saint Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
Thousands have thronged to his shrine for the three-day festivities celebrating his life, and the lanes and streets of Sehwan were packed with devotees, singing and dancing, in praise of the saint.
A devotional dance, widely known as 'dhamal', is a feature of the annual Urs.
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, whose real name was Syed Muhammad Usman was born in 1177 AD in Marwand, Iran. He reportedly stayed in Sehwan for six years and is believed to have performed several miracles. He reportedly died at the age of 97.
The PIA was operating special flights for the three-day celebrations, for the convenience of those travelling to Sehwan. Additional railway services were also offered during the three-day period.
The Moderate Voices of the Sufi Tradition
By Jay Tolson, "Paying Attention to the "Other Islam" - U.S. News and World Report - Washington, D.C., USAWednesday, August 20, 2008
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U. S. efforts to identify and support moderate voices within the Islamic world have been inconsistent and fumbling. Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that the long-term success in fighting terrorism will depend far more on the result of Islam's own internal debate than on the outcomes of the fighting in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
To the extent that it can influence that debate, the next U. S. administration might consider paying closer attention to followers of the Sufi tradition, a mystical and philosophical current within Islam. ("Sufi" itself as a term may have derived from the Arab word for wool, in reference to the simple, rough cloak worn by early Muslim ascetics).
In his new book, The Other Islam: Sufism and Global Harmony, Stephen Schwartz, a journalist and executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington, D.C., argues that Sufism "offers the clearest Muslim option for reconciliation between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds, as well as fulfillment of the promise that Islam shall be a religion of peace." U. S. News spoke with the author, himself a convert to Islam.
To the extent that it can influence that debate, the next U. S. administration might consider paying closer attention to followers of the Sufi tradition, a mystical and philosophical current within Islam. ("Sufi" itself as a term may have derived from the Arab word for wool, in reference to the simple, rough cloak worn by early Muslim ascetics).
In his new book, The Other Islam: Sufism and Global Harmony, Stephen Schwartz, a journalist and executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington, D.C., argues that Sufism "offers the clearest Muslim option for reconciliation between the Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds, as well as fulfillment of the promise that Islam shall be a religion of peace." U. S. News spoke with the author, himself a convert to Islam.
Excerpts:
What is Sufism?
What is Sufism?
Sufism is the esoteric, metaphysical, and mystical tradition within Islam, similar to and influencing [Jewish mystical] kabbalah and Catholic spirituality. It is the tradition in Islam that looks behind the sacred texts, behind the practice, behind the outward manifestations of the religion, seeking the inner truth, the truth of the heart.
When and where did Sufism emerge within Islam?
Sufis say that Sufism begins with Islam itself. There is the famous concept that the Creator was a hidden treasure who wanted to be known. And almost all Sufis trace their lineage back to Caliph Ali, who was a relative and fourth successor [caliph] of Muhammad. The first Sufis are generally considered to be the Basra school in southern Iraq in the first century and a half after the death of the Prophet, and actually the first famous one is a woman, Rabiya Al-Adawiyya. She was the first person to speak eloquently of divine love and love for God and God's love for creation and humanity.
Of the some 1.2 billion Muslims today, approximately how many are Sufis?
Husain Haqqani, who is now Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, had a conversation with me about this, and he said that we were pretty legitimate in saying that half of the Muslims in the world either are Sufis or consider themselves to be pretty much under Sufi influence or in some ways follow Sufi precepts. When you start breaking it down demographically and look at large Muslim societies like India, Indonesia, Egypt, Morocco, French-speaking west Africa, Turkey, and some parts of Central Asia, that figure of about half makes sense.
I've developed the proposition that you have two kinds of Sufism. You have a kind of generally diffuse Sufism in Muslim societies where basically the Islam of the whole society is very saturated with Sufism. Indonesia is one specific example of this. Then, overlapping with that, you have societies with the organized tariqat [orders], where Sufism is a social institution. In countries like Morocco, Kosovo, Turkey, Sufism is really belonging to a movement, going on Tuesday or Saturday night to dhikrs [ceremonies devoted to remembering God]; it's having a sheik and going to regular lectures, and participating in some of the social-welfare activities.
Taking a complicated case such as Iran, would you say that its deep Sufi tradition could potentially be a counterweight to the political-ideological Islam that now dominates?
When and where did Sufism emerge within Islam?
Sufis say that Sufism begins with Islam itself. There is the famous concept that the Creator was a hidden treasure who wanted to be known. And almost all Sufis trace their lineage back to Caliph Ali, who was a relative and fourth successor [caliph] of Muhammad. The first Sufis are generally considered to be the Basra school in southern Iraq in the first century and a half after the death of the Prophet, and actually the first famous one is a woman, Rabiya Al-Adawiyya. She was the first person to speak eloquently of divine love and love for God and God's love for creation and humanity.
Of the some 1.2 billion Muslims today, approximately how many are Sufis?
Husain Haqqani, who is now Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, had a conversation with me about this, and he said that we were pretty legitimate in saying that half of the Muslims in the world either are Sufis or consider themselves to be pretty much under Sufi influence or in some ways follow Sufi precepts. When you start breaking it down demographically and look at large Muslim societies like India, Indonesia, Egypt, Morocco, French-speaking west Africa, Turkey, and some parts of Central Asia, that figure of about half makes sense.
I've developed the proposition that you have two kinds of Sufism. You have a kind of generally diffuse Sufism in Muslim societies where basically the Islam of the whole society is very saturated with Sufism. Indonesia is one specific example of this. Then, overlapping with that, you have societies with the organized tariqat [orders], where Sufism is a social institution. In countries like Morocco, Kosovo, Turkey, Sufism is really belonging to a movement, going on Tuesday or Saturday night to dhikrs [ceremonies devoted to remembering God]; it's having a sheik and going to regular lectures, and participating in some of the social-welfare activities.
Taking a complicated case such as Iran, would you say that its deep Sufi tradition could potentially be a counterweight to the political-ideological Islam that now dominates?
I would say in Iran, and also in Saudi Arabia and to a less visible extent in Iraq, Sufism represents the main cultural, social, and religious alternative to the ideological forms of Islam that have recently dominated.
In Iran, the situation is very complicated because of the obstacles to reporting on what is really going on inside the country. Part of the argument of my book is that in both Saudi Arabia and Iran the Sufis can provide the basis for a transition away from the model of ideological Islamic governance toward a more normal type of society in which religion plays a large role, just as it does in Mexico or Poland, but a normal role.
Why have some Muslims, particularly those called fundamentalists or puritans, objected to Sufism?
In Iran, the situation is very complicated because of the obstacles to reporting on what is really going on inside the country. Part of the argument of my book is that in both Saudi Arabia and Iran the Sufis can provide the basis for a transition away from the model of ideological Islamic governance toward a more normal type of society in which religion plays a large role, just as it does in Mexico or Poland, but a normal role.
Why have some Muslims, particularly those called fundamentalists or puritans, objected to Sufism?
There are two objections. There is the theological objection, which begins with Ibn Taymiyya in the 13th century and continues with Wahhabisim starting 250 years ago, and that simply says that the Sufis elevate the saints or the sheiks or the Prophet himself to the equivalent of God, that this is like the Christians who view Jesus as a divine being, and that this is against the Islamic principle that only God is worthy of worship. That is the theological objection.
But in the 19th century, you have a situation in which the Ottoman Empire is heavily involved with Sufism; you also have the Persian Empire, which became Shia under Sufi guidance. These empires are the leading Islamic states at the time, and there was a group of Islamic reformers who looked at the situation of Islam, and especially the weakness of Islam faced by the West and the problems of western imperialism, and they said, "Well, Islam is weak because of the superstitious practices of praying over graves, the dhikrs, following sheiks, believing in saints."
So you have two streams that object to Sufism, the stream of puritanism and the stream of reformism. And course they could hook up and combine, as they did in Wahhabism.
As you point out in your book, Wahhabis are probably the biggest foes of Sufism.I've said for a long time you can have two visions of Islam as a religion, just as we can have two visions of Christianity as a religion.
You can view religion as a fairly narrow set of doctrines that require fairly rigid obedience in which the emphasis is on strictness, discipline, and outward adherence. Or you can see religion in civilizational terms. If you think the world is impressed when a young Muslim commits an act of terror, you are wrong, because the world is much more impressed by cultural achievements. The picture of the Taj Mahal means a lot more than a headline about a bombing to make people respect and become interested in Islam. The biggest difference to me is that Wahhabis don't view Islam civilizationally. They're against decorating mosques, against music, against anything beyond saying the prayers, going to the mosque on Fridays, keeping the prayers limited, maintaining this extremely puritanical, fundamentalistic, and limited view of religion as a set of doctrines according to which you live life in a very limited manner.
If you see that there is a variety of Islamic cultures, if you accept, for example, that most Indonesian women are not going to cover their faces, if you see that each of the Islams, the Islam of the Kazakhs or the Islam of the Moroccans, has a specific cultural character that is still Islam and believes in one God, one Prophet, and one Koran but also accepts that there is much else that goes with it, that's the Sufi mentality.
But in the 19th century, you have a situation in which the Ottoman Empire is heavily involved with Sufism; you also have the Persian Empire, which became Shia under Sufi guidance. These empires are the leading Islamic states at the time, and there was a group of Islamic reformers who looked at the situation of Islam, and especially the weakness of Islam faced by the West and the problems of western imperialism, and they said, "Well, Islam is weak because of the superstitious practices of praying over graves, the dhikrs, following sheiks, believing in saints."
So you have two streams that object to Sufism, the stream of puritanism and the stream of reformism. And course they could hook up and combine, as they did in Wahhabism.
As you point out in your book, Wahhabis are probably the biggest foes of Sufism.I've said for a long time you can have two visions of Islam as a religion, just as we can have two visions of Christianity as a religion.
You can view religion as a fairly narrow set of doctrines that require fairly rigid obedience in which the emphasis is on strictness, discipline, and outward adherence. Or you can see religion in civilizational terms. If you think the world is impressed when a young Muslim commits an act of terror, you are wrong, because the world is much more impressed by cultural achievements. The picture of the Taj Mahal means a lot more than a headline about a bombing to make people respect and become interested in Islam. The biggest difference to me is that Wahhabis don't view Islam civilizationally. They're against decorating mosques, against music, against anything beyond saying the prayers, going to the mosque on Fridays, keeping the prayers limited, maintaining this extremely puritanical, fundamentalistic, and limited view of religion as a set of doctrines according to which you live life in a very limited manner.
If you see that there is a variety of Islamic cultures, if you accept, for example, that most Indonesian women are not going to cover their faces, if you see that each of the Islams, the Islam of the Kazakhs or the Islam of the Moroccans, has a specific cultural character that is still Islam and believes in one God, one Prophet, and one Koran but also accepts that there is much else that goes with it, that's the Sufi mentality.
Why has the United States, and particularly the public-diplomacy arms of the government, been so poor at recognizing and highlighting the importance of Sufism, Sufi leaders, and Sufi organizations and, where possible, supporting them?
First of all, it's a daunting task for any westerners to engage with these issues. I've been engaged with them for a long time, and it's hard to sort them all out.
There is no denying that in the State Department and in the legacy of public diplomacy in dealing with the Islamic world, there has been a bias in favor of dealing with the official authorities, with the clerics, with the Saudi structures, with the Wahhabis and others who claim to represent a normative Islam and who have behind them the vast oil wealth and the special role of Saudi Arabia as an ambiguous but long-standing partner of the United States.
Public diplomacy has not attracted people who know or have much interest in this, and also there is a bias in academic study toward a normative and official Islam.
There is no denying that in the State Department and in the legacy of public diplomacy in dealing with the Islamic world, there has been a bias in favor of dealing with the official authorities, with the clerics, with the Saudi structures, with the Wahhabis and others who claim to represent a normative Islam and who have behind them the vast oil wealth and the special role of Saudi Arabia as an ambiguous but long-standing partner of the United States.
Public diplomacy has not attracted people who know or have much interest in this, and also there is a bias in academic study toward a normative and official Islam.
Now, if the United States or the West were to embark on some sort of wholesale embrace of the Sufis, that could conceivably lead to a problematical outcome. Sufism has always thrived because of its autonomy and its independence, and we can't compromise its spiritual autonomy in the name of a short-term or even long-term political advantage.
However, there are certain things, just in terms of the human-rights responsibilities of western democracies, that we should be able to do for the Sufis. In places where Sufis are under physical attack from Wahhabis—for example, in Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Iraq—I think democratic governments, human-rights organizations, and NGOs have a moral responsibility to point this out and engage in diplomatic interventions and to make it clear they are on the side of Sufis.
But first of all, that means that they have to sit down with them, meet with them, get to know them, invite them to diplomatic receptions, and consult with them fairly regularly. As long as the consultation is one that is based on respect instead of vulgar recruitment, I think it would be beneficial for both sides.
However, there are certain things, just in terms of the human-rights responsibilities of western democracies, that we should be able to do for the Sufis. In places where Sufis are under physical attack from Wahhabis—for example, in Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, or Iraq—I think democratic governments, human-rights organizations, and NGOs have a moral responsibility to point this out and engage in diplomatic interventions and to make it clear they are on the side of Sufis.
But first of all, that means that they have to sit down with them, meet with them, get to know them, invite them to diplomatic receptions, and consult with them fairly regularly. As long as the consultation is one that is based on respect instead of vulgar recruitment, I think it would be beneficial for both sides.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
From His Infinite Store
By M.V. Kamath, "Spiritual renaissance and Sri Ramakrishna" - Organiser - New Delhi, India2008 Issues: August 24
The 19th century was remarkable in many ways. Between 1526 and the first Battle of Panipat and the slow deterioration and final collapse of the Mughal Empire in 1857, a period of roughly three centuries and a quarter, Hinduism was under great strain.
With the arrival of the British and Christian missionaries, Hinduism was under no less strain. Islamic and later Christian onslaught had led Hindu society to do some hard thinking.
In Bengal, the first state to come under British administration, it led to the establishment of the Brahmo Samaj. It was also Bengal which gave Hinduism one of its most powerful protagonists. One suspects that the times called for such a man.
Born on February 17, 1836, to a devoted and deeply religious couple, Kushudiram and Chandra Devi Chattopadhyaya, he was named Ramakrishna. Called Gadadhar in his childhood—his friends called him Gadai—Ramakrishna was to make history as few others of his time like Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) or Pherozeshah Mehta (1845-1915) did.
We must remember the times. Those were days when the British looked down on Indian culture and civilisation in no uncertain terms as low, and condemned Hinduism as backward and mired in superstition. It was fashionable among the newly set up Bengali intellectuals to heap scorn on their own ancestral religion.
Something had to happen. It did. A child was born in a mud and thatch hamlet of Kamarkapur, eighty six miles north west of Calcutta. Then history took its course. Right from his boyhood, Ramakrishna as the child was named, showed spiritual tendencies. The author, Mehrotra, says that, “all while during those sylvan years (of his boyhood), Gadadhar’s body and mind were being made ready from within, for the awesome transformations that were to thrust him into terrifying, unknown, unlimited inner spaces.”
Terrifying is the right word. It is unimaginable that while he was still a boy, he attained spontaneous samadhi, a state of superconsciousness that was an unthought of phenomenon to the family. Once, when a Brahmin guru who was appointed to initiate Gadadhar into priesthood and had whispered a holy word in Gadadhar’s ears, it is reported that he uttered a loud cry and plunged into deep concentration that lasted for about five days!
There was strange ‘relationship’ between Gadadhar and the Goddess Kali. If he felt separated from Her, he would fall into a trance! As the appointed priest to Dakhshineshwar Temple, it is said that he was in daily communion with the Mother Goddess. Sometimes he would feel he had lost Her. His search would drive everyone at Dakshineshwar to paroxyms.
Some thought he was a mad man. His behaviour was unexplainable. In his young days he was known to be very caste conscious. Strange to think that he would be that. But he overcame it. He was frequently unconventional. Sometimes he would spend a great part of the day and night in a cremation ground, deep in meditation.
One never knew what he would do or what would happen to him at any given moment of time. Once, when performing a ritual, he began to shake uncontrollably and gradually became rigid and went into samadhi. This was to become a major feature of his life in the years to come.
His family got him married to a beautiful girl who came to be known as Sarada Devi. That didn’t change Sri Ramakrishna, as he came to be known. He merely became his wife’s spiritual guide. He left his child bride with his mother and worked at Dakhshineshwar where he undertook sadhana.
Then a women, a Bhairavi, came into his life who guided Sri Ramakrishna methodically, meticulously and consciously to peaks of spiritual vision and even took him through tantric sadhanas. She was to leave him in due course.
Then an advaitin monk, Totapuri by name, came into his life, towards the end of 1864. This was to lead Sri Ramakrishna into another mode of spiritual attainment. He went into nirvikalpa samadhi for an unbelievable six months without food or water. It is difficult to believe all these feats in this day and age. But these are recorded.
Once, a friend who had become a sufi told Sri Ramakrishna of the values of Islam. Without hesitation, Sri Ramakrishna decided that he would seek them. He dressed himself like a Muslim, with a prayer cap, recited Islamic prayers five times a day and even felt disinclined to see the forms of Hindu gods and goddesses, to the utter disgust of his devotees.
Then he gave that up and practiced Christianity, fascinated by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Years later he was to say that all paths lead to the same source and all religions are true, Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual journey lasted long and unevenly, but in the end he was to reach a stage where his spiritual status was acknowledged in full and he began to attract disciples from every segment of society.
Mehrotra says Sri Ramakrishna “gave to them all, without stint, from his infinite store of realisation”. Among them was Narendranath Datta, who was later to be transformed into Swami Vivekananda, born in Calcutta on January 12, 1863 of an aristocratic Kayastha family. How Narendra was transformed from a cynical, questioning young man to an ardent devotee is a story told in detail.
Narendra was at first violently disturbed by Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual power. How could he become a disciple of a mad man, he would ask himself. Sri Ramakrishna eluded judgment. He was a challenge and a riddle. It was when Sri Ramakrishna knocked down Narendra by the mere touch of his palm, that Narendra was to realise the spiritual prowess of one he took as his guru.
Sri Ramakrishna passed away on August 16, 1886 when he was hardly fifty. Sarada Devi was distraught until she heard the words of faith: “I have only passed from one room to another.”
One can’t imagine a more thrilling recounting of the story of the Saint of Dakhshineshwar. It is even difficult to imagine that such a person existed.
It must have taken Mehrotra years of immense research to write this magnificent biography, but he has done full justice to his subject. To say that it is an illuminating work is to make an understatement. Sri Ramakrishna was Thakur, the Master. This book tells how it all came about and understandably holds one spell-bound with the mystic unfolding of events.
Thakur: A Life of Sri Ramakrishna; Rajiv Mehrotra; Penguin Books; pp 178, Rs 250.00
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017
On a Space Odyssey in the Inner Landscape of the Travellers
By Kanakalatha Mukund, "Travel encounters" - The Hindu - Chennai, IndiaTuesday, August 19, 2008
Persian travel narratives of a crucial period of transformation and contact
Travel writing constitutes a distinctive literary genre, combining subjective perceptions with objective description of distant peoples and places, which open a window to an alien world to the reader.
However, the abiding perception is that the medieval and early modern travel-account is the sole preserve of European travellers; along with this goes the implicit assumption that western travel writing is “factual” while the “other” (that is Asian) travel writing is “fictional”.
This persists in spite of the long tradition of travel writing in Asia, from China which has produced many travel accounts, like the works of Chinese Buddhist monks Fahien and Hsuan Tsang among others, combining “travel-description linked with xenology.”
From West Asia we have, in the medieval period, the accounts of India by al-Biruni and later, by Ibn Batuta.
The main contention of the authors is that there exists a large volume of non-western travel literature little publicised though it might be. They specifically concentrate on accounts produced in different social and historical contexts in an extended region from Iran to India which was “inhabited by ‘Indo-Persian’ culture.”
In this zone, Persian was the dominant language and had become the main language not only of migrants from Iran or central Asia, but also of the local Hindus. There was thus a shared language, culture and literary tradition forged by the extensive use of Persian.
After thus setting out the basic contours of the background of the book, the authors begin a leisurely exploration of various travel accounts (safar nama) to India. The main objective of the authors is not to interpret the travel accounts by breaking up the text into “bite-sized fragments” but to “consciously follow its grain.”
Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam take the reader on a space odyssey over four centuries of the changing political landscape of India. They begin with a Sufi saint who fled from Delhi before Timur’s invasion to reach Gulbarga in the Deccan. The other two early travellers, Abdur Razzak and Nikitin, are better known and visited Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdoms at the height of their power and glory.
After an account of two “courtly encounters” with the Mughals, two chapters are devoted to travellers from Iran who came to India to seek their fortunes in the service of the Mughals. These capture a gamut of complex perceptions on the part of the travellers. Mughal India was clearly the most prosperous state in the region and was the land of opportunity for Iranians. Yet they remained convinced of the superiority of their own culture, while India was the inferior “other” with its largely non-Muslim population.
The authors point out that the present-day vision of a magical third world of solidarity certainly did not exist in the early modern period, and that the bonds which did exist were based on a few common points of reference.
Exchanges
While these works represented travel from the west to the east, people also travelled from India to the west. We are referred to the work of Khwaja Abdul Karim who travelled to Mecca accompanying Nadir Shah after his conquest of Delhi.
The last chapter deals with exchanges between the Ottoman Empire and the Mughals who, though conscious of their own importance and power, also regarded the Ottomons with deference because they were the custodians of the important Islamic centres of worship. This was acknowledged as a reference point of higher authority, and Tipu Sultan, in fact, used his interactions with the Ottomons to legitimise his own standing as the ruler of Mysore.
The book has an easy flowing style with a lively commentary on the various travellers visited in the book though the authors at times seem too caught up in the inner landscape of the travellers, which renders some parts of the book a little tedious. It must also be said, that the bizarre descriptions in the travel accounts do lend themselves to the observation that these are travel fiction and not facts.
This is a book that needs to be read at a leisurely pace for its flavour to be fully absorbed and appreciated.
INDO-PERSIAN TRAVELS IN THE AGE OF DISCOVERIES 1400-1800: Muzaffar Alam, Sanjay Subrahmanyam; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge House, 4381/4, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhli-110002. Rs. 695.
Through Suffering Beyond It
By Dr. Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal, "Poetry of Immense Grief: An Interview with Kamla Kapur" - My Himachal - Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, IndiaMonday, August 18, 2008
Kamla Kapur is a sensitive poetic voice, who lives half the year in a remote Kullu Valley in the Himalayas and the other half in California. Her poetry and short stories have been published in the original English and in Hindi and Punjabi translation in several journals and magazines.
In 1977, she won the prestigious The Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting in English. Her full length play, The Curlew’s Cry, was produced by Yatrik, New Delhi. A Punjabi translation of her play, Clytemnestra was produced by The Company in Chandigarh.
Her award-winning Zanana, was produced at the National School of Drama, New Delhi. Seven of her plays were published in Enact, New Delhi.
Since 1985, Ms Kapur has been commuting between the USA and India. Her full length plays, Hamlet’s Father, Kepler Dreams, and Clytemnestra were showcased at the Marin Shakespeare Festival in San Francisco, Gas Lamp Quarter Theatre in San Diego, and Dramatic Risks Theatre Group in New York, respectively. She was selected by the New Mexico Arts Division as the Playwright in Residence for two years.
She has recently completed her first novel, The Autobiography of Saint Padma the Whore, a chapter of which was published by in Our Feet Walk The Sky (Aunt Lute Press, Berkeley, California, USA), and a fantasy novel, Malini in Whirlwood.
Ms. Kapur has published two books of poetry: the critically acclaimed, As A Fountain In A Garden (Tarang Press. Del Mar, CA, USA-Hemkunt Publishers Private, Ltd., India, 2005) and Radha Sings (Rolling Drum and Dark Child Press, USA, 1987).
Ms. Kapur was also on the faculty of Grossmont College in San Diego, California for 18 years and taught creative writing courses in play writing, poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction, and courses in mythology, Shakespeare, and Women’s Literature. Kamla Kapur was also a freelance writer for The Times of India, The Hindustan Times and The Tribune; she had taught English Literature at Delhi University too. This multi-faceted literary genius talks to Dr. Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal in an illuminating email interview.
NKA: Pain is of paramount importance in As A Fountain In A Garden. For example, the expression “and left me/ here, / with this absence, this gift/ of grief” emotionally presents a glimpse of the seething volcano of grief inside.
Has the production of the just-mentioned poetry collection helped you in the release of your emotions of grief, anxiety and pain? I suppose, by the creation of this collection, you must have found some release, as literature is cathartic and therapeutic. What do you say?
KK: I don’t know how I would have survived the experience of my husband’s suicide without processing it through poetry.
It’s not to say that people who don’t write poetry don’t survive, or survive well, but without the outlet of poetry I might have fossilized in my grief, or developed a chronic habit of sorrow or even bitterness, and certainly a debilitating regret and guilt.
Poetry that is not merely release – crying is also that – is an adventure of the soul in its journey towards itself. It demands an utter honesty of experience and expression without which writing remains only cathartic and does not touch the depth at which it becomes art.
The discipline of crafting a poem with patience and honesty gave me the perspective and the detachment to pursue a subject that was very painful for me. Making art in this sense is the highest spiritual activity of humans, for it takes one through suffering beyond it.
Kamla Kapur is a sensitive poetic voice, who lives half the year in a remote Kullu Valley in the Himalayas and the other half in California. Her poetry and short stories have been published in the original English and in Hindi and Punjabi translation in several journals and magazines.
In 1977, she won the prestigious The Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting in English. Her full length play, The Curlew’s Cry, was produced by Yatrik, New Delhi. A Punjabi translation of her play, Clytemnestra was produced by The Company in Chandigarh.
Her award-winning Zanana, was produced at the National School of Drama, New Delhi. Seven of her plays were published in Enact, New Delhi.
Since 1985, Ms Kapur has been commuting between the USA and India. Her full length plays, Hamlet’s Father, Kepler Dreams, and Clytemnestra were showcased at the Marin Shakespeare Festival in San Francisco, Gas Lamp Quarter Theatre in San Diego, and Dramatic Risks Theatre Group in New York, respectively. She was selected by the New Mexico Arts Division as the Playwright in Residence for two years.
She has recently completed her first novel, The Autobiography of Saint Padma the Whore, a chapter of which was published by in Our Feet Walk The Sky (Aunt Lute Press, Berkeley, California, USA), and a fantasy novel, Malini in Whirlwood.
Ms. Kapur has published two books of poetry: the critically acclaimed, As A Fountain In A Garden (Tarang Press. Del Mar, CA, USA-Hemkunt Publishers Private, Ltd., India, 2005) and Radha Sings (Rolling Drum and Dark Child Press, USA, 1987).
Ms. Kapur was also on the faculty of Grossmont College in San Diego, California for 18 years and taught creative writing courses in play writing, poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction, and courses in mythology, Shakespeare, and Women’s Literature. Kamla Kapur was also a freelance writer for The Times of India, The Hindustan Times and The Tribune; she had taught English Literature at Delhi University too. This multi-faceted literary genius talks to Dr. Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal in an illuminating email interview.
NKA: Pain is of paramount importance in As A Fountain In A Garden. For example, the expression “and left me/ here, / with this absence, this gift/ of grief” emotionally presents a glimpse of the seething volcano of grief inside.
Has the production of the just-mentioned poetry collection helped you in the release of your emotions of grief, anxiety and pain? I suppose, by the creation of this collection, you must have found some release, as literature is cathartic and therapeutic. What do you say?
KK: I don’t know how I would have survived the experience of my husband’s suicide without processing it through poetry.
It’s not to say that people who don’t write poetry don’t survive, or survive well, but without the outlet of poetry I might have fossilized in my grief, or developed a chronic habit of sorrow or even bitterness, and certainly a debilitating regret and guilt.
Poetry that is not merely release – crying is also that – is an adventure of the soul in its journey towards itself. It demands an utter honesty of experience and expression without which writing remains only cathartic and does not touch the depth at which it becomes art.
The discipline of crafting a poem with patience and honesty gave me the perspective and the detachment to pursue a subject that was very painful for me. Making art in this sense is the highest spiritual activity of humans, for it takes one through suffering beyond it.
(...)
The interviewer, Dr. Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal, is Senior Lecturer in English at Feroze Gandhi College, Rae Bareli, (U.P.), India.
His interviews with a number of contemporary literary figures, as well as his research papers, book reviews, articles and poems have appeared in publications, including The Vedic Path, Quest, Pegasus, IJOWLAC, The Journal, Promise, The Raven Chronicles, Yellow Bat Review, Carved in Sand, Turning the Tide, Blue Collar Review, Bridge-in-Making, Confluence, Poetcrit, Kafla Intercontinental, Hyphen and South Asian Review. His book on Stephen Gill is to be published shortly.
His interviews with a number of contemporary literary figures, as well as his research papers, book reviews, articles and poems have appeared in publications, including The Vedic Path, Quest, Pegasus, IJOWLAC, The Journal, Promise, The Raven Chronicles, Yellow Bat Review, Carved in Sand, Turning the Tide, Blue Collar Review, Bridge-in-Making, Confluence, Poetcrit, Kafla Intercontinental, Hyphen and South Asian Review. His book on Stephen Gill is to be published shortly.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Relentlessly Displaced
By M.D. Nalapat, "Jammu confronts separatists" - Organiser - India
2008 Issues: August 24
After more than four years, during which only a high degree of public vigilance as well as a determined stand by the military prevented the UPA from effectively agreeing to a joint control of Kashmir with Pakistan, the people of India know that the Sonia team is unwilling to protect the secular ethos of India from the jihadist assault.
Apart from re-igniting jihad in Kashmir, the second major “contribution” of the Sonia team has been the spread of jihadist impulses from Kashmir to the rest of India. Till a resident of India’s hi-tech capital drove an explosives-laden car into an airport in the UK, our country could with pride point to the fact that none outside Kashmir had fallen prey to the blandishments of those who have made a business out of terrorism. Not a single Indian Muslim fought in the Kashmir insurgency, as distinct from nationals of the UK, Germany, Sudan and of course Pakistan. After more than four years of Manmohan Singh and Shivraj Patil, cities such as Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengalooru and Jaipur are hosting teeming colonies of jihadists. The intention of this multiplying brigade is to damage the prospects for India to emerge as a significant economic force. Should jihad become a routine of daily life in the metropolises, as the recent blasts indicate is happening,that would push India’s growth rate back to the 2 per cent “Nehru Rate of Growth”. As it is, the deliberate deflationary policies of the Sonia team have led to a deceleration in growth and an acceleration in inflation.
Already, corporates across the world are re-appraising their plans to shift major centres to India, and are choosing alternative locations in places such as Singapore,which have governments that are better able to combat international jihad. By the time Manmohan Singh demits office in 2009, India will most likely have joined Pakistan at the bottom of the list of countries where international investment is headed.That would be a victory for the ISI as sweet as the revenge they are now exacting on the US in Afghanistan for displacing the Taliban in 2001.
Since 1974, when Indira Gandhi decided to hand over Kashmir to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the state has moved steadily away from its secular traditions. From the outset, the new dispensation made clear through its policies that it was concerned only with the wellbeing of the Kashmir Valley and did not care for Jammu and Ladakh. Also, that Sunnis would enjoy a privileged status, with Shias and religious minorities being treated in a second-class fashion. Subsequently, within the Sunni community, Wahabbis were given preference, and moderate groups steadily marginalised. The expansion in the number of religious schools teaching exclusivism and hate that began during the latter half of the 1970s has continued unabated to this date. It is from these schools that thousands were recruited to fight the ISI-sponsored jihad in Kashmir. Interestingly, the number of Wahabbi youths illegally going across the Line of Control increased sharply after the Farooq Abdullah administration was replaced in 1984 with that led by his brother-in-law G M Shah, a change imposed by the architect of the 1974 re-installation of Sheikh Abdullah, Indira Gandhi.
Shah embarked on a process of open communalisation of the Kashmir administration, hoping thereby to win a base for himself. Wahabbis replaced Sunni moderates in positions of responsibility, and religious schools began sending selected students to Pakistan’s training camps, without any reaction from the central government. It was because New Delhi slept over Kashmir from 1984 to 1988 (the same way that the UPA is sleeping now) that Pakistan was able to launch a deadly insuregency in 1989 that almost separated the state from the rest of the country geographically. Although the sacrifice of the military and the security forces prevented the ISI’s plans from succeeding, the mental landscape of the Kashmir Valley has evolved in a manner far more congruent with the fanaticism of jihadists across the border than the Sufi traditions of Kashmir. Today, Sufi influence has all but vanished in the state, in part because of the fact that almost all national media outlets—both print and television—allow Wahabbis to monopolise column space and airtime. Secular, moderate voices among the Sunnis are ignored and even derided, during the few times that they are allowed to present their view. And since 1990, when the wahabbist Mufti Mohammad Sayed was appointed Home Minister of India by V P Singh, the Wahabbis have sought to expand their poisonous grip to include Ladakh and Jammu as well. Sufi, Shia, Hindu and Buddhist traditions are being relentlessly displaced by the Wahabi ethos. Small wonder that Jammu is now wracked by bombs, and Ladakh is going the same way.
Although the Congress Party won most of its assembly seats by promising an administration that would respect all groups, faiths and regions, yet on Sonia Gandhi’s intervention Mufti Sayed was thrust down the throats of moderate Kashmiris as chief minister. He worked to ensure the spread of influence of those favouring jihad, and has been so succesful that Kashmir today is where it was in 1988: on the cusp of a jihad. How many innocent lives, how many brave servicemen, will need to be sacrificed to save Kashmir from the perli that is now upon it? And will there ever be a reckoning for those national leaders guilty of having revived jihad in Kashmir, six years after its back had been broken in the field? Unlikely. At worst, they will go into exile to Italy, a land filled with noble architecture and immense scenic beauty.
Whether Muslim, Sikh, Christian or Hindu, each citizen of this country will face a grim future, unless international jihad be halted from its current all-India expansion. It was not accidental that the Union Home Ministry enabled SIMI to escape a ban, by giving insufficient evidence to the Delhi High Court. In like fashion, lack of will ensured the escape from Malaysia of Ottavio Quatrocchi in 2002. Evidence that had convinced a Swiss court had apparently not been enough for a Malaysian court, leading to the inference that official agencies then were as reluctant for their presumed target to lose as the Home Ministry has been in the case of SIMI.
After more than four years, during which only a high degree of public vigilance as well as a determined stand by the military prevented the UPA from effectively agreeing to joint control of Kashmir with Pakistan, the people of India know that the Sonia team is unwilling to protect the secular ethos of India from the jihadist assault. And in the form of the peoples movement in Jammu against the June 29 surrender by Governor N N Vohra to the dictates of the fanatics, the people have now taken matters into their own hands. Should the number of bombings and other jihadi outrages grow in the months ahead, what is happening in Jammu will get replicated across India. This is nothing less than a popular movement against Wahabbism, as reflected in official surrender to jihadist dictates. Across the major cities of India, people are on the verge of taking matters into their own hands,when confronted by the impotence of a state functioning under the control of Sonia Gandhi. Today Jammu, tomorrow the nation.
2008 Issues: August 24
After more than four years, during which only a high degree of public vigilance as well as a determined stand by the military prevented the UPA from effectively agreeing to a joint control of Kashmir with Pakistan, the people of India know that the Sonia team is unwilling to protect the secular ethos of India from the jihadist assault.
Apart from re-igniting jihad in Kashmir, the second major “contribution” of the Sonia team has been the spread of jihadist impulses from Kashmir to the rest of India. Till a resident of India’s hi-tech capital drove an explosives-laden car into an airport in the UK, our country could with pride point to the fact that none outside Kashmir had fallen prey to the blandishments of those who have made a business out of terrorism. Not a single Indian Muslim fought in the Kashmir insurgency, as distinct from nationals of the UK, Germany, Sudan and of course Pakistan. After more than four years of Manmohan Singh and Shivraj Patil, cities such as Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengalooru and Jaipur are hosting teeming colonies of jihadists. The intention of this multiplying brigade is to damage the prospects for India to emerge as a significant economic force. Should jihad become a routine of daily life in the metropolises, as the recent blasts indicate is happening,that would push India’s growth rate back to the 2 per cent “Nehru Rate of Growth”. As it is, the deliberate deflationary policies of the Sonia team have led to a deceleration in growth and an acceleration in inflation.
Already, corporates across the world are re-appraising their plans to shift major centres to India, and are choosing alternative locations in places such as Singapore,which have governments that are better able to combat international jihad. By the time Manmohan Singh demits office in 2009, India will most likely have joined Pakistan at the bottom of the list of countries where international investment is headed.That would be a victory for the ISI as sweet as the revenge they are now exacting on the US in Afghanistan for displacing the Taliban in 2001.
Since 1974, when Indira Gandhi decided to hand over Kashmir to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the state has moved steadily away from its secular traditions. From the outset, the new dispensation made clear through its policies that it was concerned only with the wellbeing of the Kashmir Valley and did not care for Jammu and Ladakh. Also, that Sunnis would enjoy a privileged status, with Shias and religious minorities being treated in a second-class fashion. Subsequently, within the Sunni community, Wahabbis were given preference, and moderate groups steadily marginalised. The expansion in the number of religious schools teaching exclusivism and hate that began during the latter half of the 1970s has continued unabated to this date. It is from these schools that thousands were recruited to fight the ISI-sponsored jihad in Kashmir. Interestingly, the number of Wahabbi youths illegally going across the Line of Control increased sharply after the Farooq Abdullah administration was replaced in 1984 with that led by his brother-in-law G M Shah, a change imposed by the architect of the 1974 re-installation of Sheikh Abdullah, Indira Gandhi.
Shah embarked on a process of open communalisation of the Kashmir administration, hoping thereby to win a base for himself. Wahabbis replaced Sunni moderates in positions of responsibility, and religious schools began sending selected students to Pakistan’s training camps, without any reaction from the central government. It was because New Delhi slept over Kashmir from 1984 to 1988 (the same way that the UPA is sleeping now) that Pakistan was able to launch a deadly insuregency in 1989 that almost separated the state from the rest of the country geographically. Although the sacrifice of the military and the security forces prevented the ISI’s plans from succeeding, the mental landscape of the Kashmir Valley has evolved in a manner far more congruent with the fanaticism of jihadists across the border than the Sufi traditions of Kashmir. Today, Sufi influence has all but vanished in the state, in part because of the fact that almost all national media outlets—both print and television—allow Wahabbis to monopolise column space and airtime. Secular, moderate voices among the Sunnis are ignored and even derided, during the few times that they are allowed to present their view. And since 1990, when the wahabbist Mufti Mohammad Sayed was appointed Home Minister of India by V P Singh, the Wahabbis have sought to expand their poisonous grip to include Ladakh and Jammu as well. Sufi, Shia, Hindu and Buddhist traditions are being relentlessly displaced by the Wahabi ethos. Small wonder that Jammu is now wracked by bombs, and Ladakh is going the same way.
Although the Congress Party won most of its assembly seats by promising an administration that would respect all groups, faiths and regions, yet on Sonia Gandhi’s intervention Mufti Sayed was thrust down the throats of moderate Kashmiris as chief minister. He worked to ensure the spread of influence of those favouring jihad, and has been so succesful that Kashmir today is where it was in 1988: on the cusp of a jihad. How many innocent lives, how many brave servicemen, will need to be sacrificed to save Kashmir from the perli that is now upon it? And will there ever be a reckoning for those national leaders guilty of having revived jihad in Kashmir, six years after its back had been broken in the field? Unlikely. At worst, they will go into exile to Italy, a land filled with noble architecture and immense scenic beauty.
Whether Muslim, Sikh, Christian or Hindu, each citizen of this country will face a grim future, unless international jihad be halted from its current all-India expansion. It was not accidental that the Union Home Ministry enabled SIMI to escape a ban, by giving insufficient evidence to the Delhi High Court. In like fashion, lack of will ensured the escape from Malaysia of Ottavio Quatrocchi in 2002. Evidence that had convinced a Swiss court had apparently not been enough for a Malaysian court, leading to the inference that official agencies then were as reluctant for their presumed target to lose as the Home Ministry has been in the case of SIMI.
After more than four years, during which only a high degree of public vigilance as well as a determined stand by the military prevented the UPA from effectively agreeing to joint control of Kashmir with Pakistan, the people of India know that the Sonia team is unwilling to protect the secular ethos of India from the jihadist assault. And in the form of the peoples movement in Jammu against the June 29 surrender by Governor N N Vohra to the dictates of the fanatics, the people have now taken matters into their own hands. Should the number of bombings and other jihadi outrages grow in the months ahead, what is happening in Jammu will get replicated across India. This is nothing less than a popular movement against Wahabbism, as reflected in official surrender to jihadist dictates. Across the major cities of India, people are on the verge of taking matters into their own hands,when confronted by the impotence of a state functioning under the control of Sonia Gandhi. Today Jammu, tomorrow the nation.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Dust Capable of Loving and Writing
By May Kaddah, "Bahgat’s Books" - Egypt Today - Cairo, EgyptAugust 2008 Volume # 29 Issue 08
Religion, politics and humor can be a tricky mix, but Ahmad Bahgat’s writing on Egyptian life hits the mark
Contemplative and quiet, satirical and resonant, mystical, deep and almost intangible. These are words that describe the long trail of thoughts left behind in the books of writer Ahmad Bahgat.
Especially observant of the world around him, Bahgat has written social satires that portray his understanding of Egyptian culture over the years.
In his short stories and novels, Bahgat explores the psyche of Egyptian men and women; of husbands and wives and their struggle in everyday life to fit into a cultural frame set by religion and tradition. Empathetic with the underdog in society, his plots also portray hardships in the life of petty employees inflicted by governmental negligence and nonchalance. Never lacking in humor, he explores major social corruption and the typical Egyptian mindset with the simplest of words.
Aiming to explain great truths in a way that anyone can understand, Bahgat communicates with his readers through plain language. As a daily columnist in Akhbar Al-Youm, his style throughout his books remains unpretentious, with a narrative, journalistic voice. Having also written the socially critical piece, Kilmitayn We Bass (Only Two Words), for radio, he doesn’t lack skill in reaching the mind of his audience through his lively imagination and poignant sense of humor.
Simplifying the Complex
Bahgat’s language remains simple even when tackling more complicated subjects. He ventures into the realm of religion, narrating stories from the Qur’an and exploring different religious dimensions. The introductions of his books always refer to an internal voice which compels him to write about Allah and his messages to mankind. In the introduction of his most popular book, Anbeya’ Allah (The Prophets of Allah), he explains in his own words, “I was writing as if another person inside me was dictating.”
Bahgat takes it upon himself to decipher these messages as he finds them in the lives of prophets and animals mentioned in the Qur’an. In Allah fil ‘Aquida al-Islameyya: Resala fil Tawhid (Allah in the Muslim Faith: a New Message in Monotheism), Bahgat explains that most modern books about God only trace the development of the idea of God for mankind.
He specifically dedicates this book to Muslims as he explains, in the words of Imam Mohamed El-Ghazali, that most books written about monotheism for theology students are difficult to understand, with tough language. With plenty of faith and inspiration, Bahgat tries to fill this gap between man and his understanding of the divine by analyzing and referring to stories of the Qur’an.
Yet, in his own words, he seems burdened with the task, as he confesses, “I know it is daring for dust like me to write about God. But what can be done if God has created dust capable of loving and writing?”
Religious Contemplations
Even though he started out by writing social satires and comedies, a religious undertone always constitutes part of Bahgat’s plots. He writes about an ongoing battle that began at the beginning of time between forces of good and evil. Earth is the battleground and the bounty is mankind.
The history of this battle is recounted in the masterpiece of his religious writing, Anbeya’ Allah. This popular piece has been published 35 separate times and translated into five languages, including English and German. Each version has sold over 10,000 copies.
The subject and title of the book is a classic subject in the world of Islamic theology, but Bahgat’s book remains unique in its ability to communicate with a broader audience through simple use of the Arabic language. The Qur’an is comprehensively explained, as Bahgat points out reasons for existence and the direction in which mankind is heading.
Giving a Voice to Animals
Divine messages are not only sent by humans to other humans but also by animals to humans. What may seem just a bird, a mammal or a plant is in fact to Bahgat an aya (sign) of Allah — a divine message. “I used to think of animals that accompanied prophets or were in his service and would visit the zoo almost everyday and stand in front of cages trying to break the obstacle of silence that enwraps these creatures and realized that there is genuine honesty in these creatures that doesn’t exist in human beings.”
Not finding a single book telling the tale of these animals, Bahgat took it upon himself to shed light upon these creatures who have been lost in what seems to him the greater light of prophets. This resulted in the Qassas el-Hiyawan fil Qur’an (Stories of Animals in the Qur’an).
“I did not envy [the prophet] Solomon for the gold with which he covered his palace walls because I know that when he died he did not take any of it with him. I did not envy him either because he could master the jinn, because I have no desire to enslave anybody. I did not envy him either for being a Muslim because I have been taught Islam by the most perfect of Muslims. I envied Solomon for one thing: the ability to understand the language of birds and animals and to speak with them.”
The personification of the animals played the most significant role in the writing of his book. As Bahgat explains, “the dominant weaving of this book is done in an artistic way, meaning it has imagination and creativity yet there are two other main streaks with this main weave and they are the religious and scientific streaks.”
In the religious thread, Bahgat explains, the plot is the same as that of the prophet the animal is serving but narrated from the animal’s point of view. For the scientific side, he researched the habits of the animals in his book to keep their behaviour factually accurate.
Repeatedly, the voices of animals wonder at the evil nature of mankind. The crow describes that on the day when he had to teach Cain how to bury Abel, “I felt an invisible force directing my wings towards Cain. I didn’t like Cain [but] a blessed angel ordered me to fly to him so I landed in front of Cain and started digging.
I evened the wings of the dead crow to his side then I put him in his grave. I screamed twice then piled dust over him then looked at the son of Adam. I flew towards the West and heard Cain as I was flying away, screaming how he failed to be like me and bury his brother. I imagined his cry was full of regret.”
Regardless of the evil or ignorance that emanates fr om mankind, Bahgat doesn’t fail to point out the superiority of humans. At the end of his narrative, the crow confesses that even though he knows the tragedy of Cain and Abel may repeat itself, he doesn’t know the wisdom behind it and admits, “It is not my job to know maybe mankind does.”
Containing 16 different stories of the Qur’an’s animal characters, Qassas el-Hiyawan fil Qur’an digs deep into history to understand and attain lost facts. Bahgat explains that, “all the time while writing I felt that the history page that tells the story of these animals has long been turned, but I am sure that nothing gets lost, not a word, not a sentiment, not an image or a situation.
It’s all hidden in the memory of time and becomes a secret eventually and it is known that looking for secrets is difficult [but] it was as if something was whispering inside me and telling me about all these secrets and where to find them.”
With such an interest in secrets, it is not surprising that Bahgat also ventured to write about Sufism.
Fascinated by the spiritual side of Islam and not just the ritualistic, Bihar el Hob ‘ind el Sufiyya (The Sea of Love of the Sufis) remains Bahgat’s most romantic book. Religion is an art to be mastered with love, he says.
“This book is about the art of divine love.” In it, the spirit and the mind join to explore and obey a higher power through love.
Not surprisingly, when it comes to inspiration, especially for his religious writings, Bahgat explains, “inspiration is God’s bestowal of success on a human.” The Sufis he most admires are El-Junaid, Jalal El-Din El-Rumi and El-Nathri.
Social Satire
Bahgat’s social satires analyze the life of the Egyptian lower classes and attribute their actions to their inherently Egyptian good nature — or to the whispering of the devil. In many ways, his early writing points to the religious direction to which he was headed later on in life.
In 30 Seconds of Love, a compilation of short stories exploring different social dimensions, his story, A Conference of Egyptian Devils, portrays the everyday life of devils as a mirror image of humans and their daily activities. The issue of the life of the masses and government shortcomings are raised as a young Egyptian devil struggles, exhausted and frustrated, with his work to corrupt Egyptians, for the simple reason that Egyptians are already so corrupt.
A conference is held for the young devil, along with 20,000 others who have filed for unpaid leave from their work in Egypt, or asked to be relocated, to give them a chance to defend themselves. This satire mocks the Egyptian social and governmental hierarchy through scenes of the everyday life of the typical poor Egyptian citizen.
Not lacking in humor, this conference takes place on the moon, “where there was a life-size picture of the son of Adam and under it a slogan for his fall. The General Director of Evil said ‘the participants should note that in spite of our animosity with human beings, we do not wish to take on their bad manners when speaking to elders.’”
As young and old try to defend themselves, an old and wise devil sends a message to the reader that, “all we do as devils we don’t actually do, it’s all acts of circumstance.” He then concludes, “In all honesty, we can not earn a living anymore in Egypt mankind has beat us [in doing evil] there.”
Politically Poignant
Political and social critiques are best portrayed in Tuhotmos 400 Bishart (Thutmosis 400, Conditionally), Bahgat mixes comedy with political sarcasm.
Thutmosis is the first Egyptian space shuttle that travels to the moon after 399 failed trials, piloted by characters Bayoumi, Tafida and Atrees. Unfortunately, the shuttle gets lost in space because they can’t find the moon, which seems to have changed its location.
The shuttle enters open space, which is regarded as American territory. Meanwhile, Tafida decides to make the hearty garlicky meal of molokheya to raise her team’s spirits and opens the shuttle windows to let in some air. Not familiar with the smell of molokheya, the Americans conclude that the Egyptians are testing nuclear weapons in space.
Unmerciful sarcasm throughout the book mocks reactions of Egyptian government employees to what started out as an event to boost national pride and instead became an international crisis between Egypt and America.
Though Bahgat’s books are religiously inclined, he does venture into the world of politics. After the death of Anwar Sadat, he was nagged by actor Ahmed Zaki to write about the life of the assassinated president. The result was the script for the blockbuster movie Ayam El-Sadat (Days of Sadat) starring the late Ahmed Zaki, Mona Zaki and Mervat Amin.
Besides the excellence of the cast, Bahgat’s approach contributed to the success of the movie due to his adherence to historical facts — an approach which gained him praise and appreciation from the Sadat family and the public.
The author’s social comedy Muzakirat Zowg (Diaries of a Husband) was produced as a TV series that portrays the marital relations of the lower and middle classes and features the theme of nagging wives. Also the movie Imra’a min Al-Qahira (A Woman from Cairo) featuring Magda El-Khateeb was based on his work.
Bahgat’s journalistic career placed him among the Egyptian people and helped him hone a simple and friendly voice that Egyptians young and old can respond to.
Highlights of his career include his coverage of the 1967 war, which earned him respect as a writer for Akhbar Al-Youm. He was later assigned by the same newspaper to meet with Alberto Moravia, one of the leading Italian novelists of the twentieth century.
Touring the world in pursuit of his journalistic career has left Bahgat with deep humanitarian concerns.
In his Sandouq el Dunya (The Box of the World) column, a daily feature in Akhbar Al-Youm, which he continues to write today, Bahgat provides commentary on what the average Egyptian faces in their daily life.
At the end of a career that has left many others in the shade, Bahgat leaves a trail of books behind him that make their way as quietly and humbly through the world as he has done throughout his life, and will continue to for years to come.
[Picture by Khaled Habib]
[Also on Ahmad Bahgat books: Sarcasm and Sufism by Samir Sobhi Al-Ahram on Authors A to Z http://www.arabworldbooks.com/authors/ahmad_bahgat.html#selections]
Religion, politics and humor can be a tricky mix, but Ahmad Bahgat’s writing on Egyptian life hits the mark
Contemplative and quiet, satirical and resonant, mystical, deep and almost intangible. These are words that describe the long trail of thoughts left behind in the books of writer Ahmad Bahgat.
Especially observant of the world around him, Bahgat has written social satires that portray his understanding of Egyptian culture over the years.
In his short stories and novels, Bahgat explores the psyche of Egyptian men and women; of husbands and wives and their struggle in everyday life to fit into a cultural frame set by religion and tradition. Empathetic with the underdog in society, his plots also portray hardships in the life of petty employees inflicted by governmental negligence and nonchalance. Never lacking in humor, he explores major social corruption and the typical Egyptian mindset with the simplest of words.
Aiming to explain great truths in a way that anyone can understand, Bahgat communicates with his readers through plain language. As a daily columnist in Akhbar Al-Youm, his style throughout his books remains unpretentious, with a narrative, journalistic voice. Having also written the socially critical piece, Kilmitayn We Bass (Only Two Words), for radio, he doesn’t lack skill in reaching the mind of his audience through his lively imagination and poignant sense of humor.
Simplifying the Complex
Bahgat’s language remains simple even when tackling more complicated subjects. He ventures into the realm of religion, narrating stories from the Qur’an and exploring different religious dimensions. The introductions of his books always refer to an internal voice which compels him to write about Allah and his messages to mankind. In the introduction of his most popular book, Anbeya’ Allah (The Prophets of Allah), he explains in his own words, “I was writing as if another person inside me was dictating.”
Bahgat takes it upon himself to decipher these messages as he finds them in the lives of prophets and animals mentioned in the Qur’an. In Allah fil ‘Aquida al-Islameyya: Resala fil Tawhid (Allah in the Muslim Faith: a New Message in Monotheism), Bahgat explains that most modern books about God only trace the development of the idea of God for mankind.
He specifically dedicates this book to Muslims as he explains, in the words of Imam Mohamed El-Ghazali, that most books written about monotheism for theology students are difficult to understand, with tough language. With plenty of faith and inspiration, Bahgat tries to fill this gap between man and his understanding of the divine by analyzing and referring to stories of the Qur’an.
Yet, in his own words, he seems burdened with the task, as he confesses, “I know it is daring for dust like me to write about God. But what can be done if God has created dust capable of loving and writing?”
Religious Contemplations
Even though he started out by writing social satires and comedies, a religious undertone always constitutes part of Bahgat’s plots. He writes about an ongoing battle that began at the beginning of time between forces of good and evil. Earth is the battleground and the bounty is mankind.
The history of this battle is recounted in the masterpiece of his religious writing, Anbeya’ Allah. This popular piece has been published 35 separate times and translated into five languages, including English and German. Each version has sold over 10,000 copies.
The subject and title of the book is a classic subject in the world of Islamic theology, but Bahgat’s book remains unique in its ability to communicate with a broader audience through simple use of the Arabic language. The Qur’an is comprehensively explained, as Bahgat points out reasons for existence and the direction in which mankind is heading.
Giving a Voice to Animals
Divine messages are not only sent by humans to other humans but also by animals to humans. What may seem just a bird, a mammal or a plant is in fact to Bahgat an aya (sign) of Allah — a divine message. “I used to think of animals that accompanied prophets or were in his service and would visit the zoo almost everyday and stand in front of cages trying to break the obstacle of silence that enwraps these creatures and realized that there is genuine honesty in these creatures that doesn’t exist in human beings.”
Not finding a single book telling the tale of these animals, Bahgat took it upon himself to shed light upon these creatures who have been lost in what seems to him the greater light of prophets. This resulted in the Qassas el-Hiyawan fil Qur’an (Stories of Animals in the Qur’an).
“I did not envy [the prophet] Solomon for the gold with which he covered his palace walls because I know that when he died he did not take any of it with him. I did not envy him either because he could master the jinn, because I have no desire to enslave anybody. I did not envy him either for being a Muslim because I have been taught Islam by the most perfect of Muslims. I envied Solomon for one thing: the ability to understand the language of birds and animals and to speak with them.”
The personification of the animals played the most significant role in the writing of his book. As Bahgat explains, “the dominant weaving of this book is done in an artistic way, meaning it has imagination and creativity yet there are two other main streaks with this main weave and they are the religious and scientific streaks.”
In the religious thread, Bahgat explains, the plot is the same as that of the prophet the animal is serving but narrated from the animal’s point of view. For the scientific side, he researched the habits of the animals in his book to keep their behaviour factually accurate.
Repeatedly, the voices of animals wonder at the evil nature of mankind. The crow describes that on the day when he had to teach Cain how to bury Abel, “I felt an invisible force directing my wings towards Cain. I didn’t like Cain [but] a blessed angel ordered me to fly to him so I landed in front of Cain and started digging.
I evened the wings of the dead crow to his side then I put him in his grave. I screamed twice then piled dust over him then looked at the son of Adam. I flew towards the West and heard Cain as I was flying away, screaming how he failed to be like me and bury his brother. I imagined his cry was full of regret.”
Regardless of the evil or ignorance that emanates fr om mankind, Bahgat doesn’t fail to point out the superiority of humans. At the end of his narrative, the crow confesses that even though he knows the tragedy of Cain and Abel may repeat itself, he doesn’t know the wisdom behind it and admits, “It is not my job to know maybe mankind does.”
Containing 16 different stories of the Qur’an’s animal characters, Qassas el-Hiyawan fil Qur’an digs deep into history to understand and attain lost facts. Bahgat explains that, “all the time while writing I felt that the history page that tells the story of these animals has long been turned, but I am sure that nothing gets lost, not a word, not a sentiment, not an image or a situation.
It’s all hidden in the memory of time and becomes a secret eventually and it is known that looking for secrets is difficult [but] it was as if something was whispering inside me and telling me about all these secrets and where to find them.”
With such an interest in secrets, it is not surprising that Bahgat also ventured to write about Sufism.
Fascinated by the spiritual side of Islam and not just the ritualistic, Bihar el Hob ‘ind el Sufiyya (The Sea of Love of the Sufis) remains Bahgat’s most romantic book. Religion is an art to be mastered with love, he says.
“This book is about the art of divine love.” In it, the spirit and the mind join to explore and obey a higher power through love.
Not surprisingly, when it comes to inspiration, especially for his religious writings, Bahgat explains, “inspiration is God’s bestowal of success on a human.” The Sufis he most admires are El-Junaid, Jalal El-Din El-Rumi and El-Nathri.
Social Satire
Bahgat’s social satires analyze the life of the Egyptian lower classes and attribute their actions to their inherently Egyptian good nature — or to the whispering of the devil. In many ways, his early writing points to the religious direction to which he was headed later on in life.
In 30 Seconds of Love, a compilation of short stories exploring different social dimensions, his story, A Conference of Egyptian Devils, portrays the everyday life of devils as a mirror image of humans and their daily activities. The issue of the life of the masses and government shortcomings are raised as a young Egyptian devil struggles, exhausted and frustrated, with his work to corrupt Egyptians, for the simple reason that Egyptians are already so corrupt.
A conference is held for the young devil, along with 20,000 others who have filed for unpaid leave from their work in Egypt, or asked to be relocated, to give them a chance to defend themselves. This satire mocks the Egyptian social and governmental hierarchy through scenes of the everyday life of the typical poor Egyptian citizen.
Not lacking in humor, this conference takes place on the moon, “where there was a life-size picture of the son of Adam and under it a slogan for his fall. The General Director of Evil said ‘the participants should note that in spite of our animosity with human beings, we do not wish to take on their bad manners when speaking to elders.’”
As young and old try to defend themselves, an old and wise devil sends a message to the reader that, “all we do as devils we don’t actually do, it’s all acts of circumstance.” He then concludes, “In all honesty, we can not earn a living anymore in Egypt mankind has beat us [in doing evil] there.”
Politically Poignant
Political and social critiques are best portrayed in Tuhotmos 400 Bishart (Thutmosis 400, Conditionally), Bahgat mixes comedy with political sarcasm.
Thutmosis is the first Egyptian space shuttle that travels to the moon after 399 failed trials, piloted by characters Bayoumi, Tafida and Atrees. Unfortunately, the shuttle gets lost in space because they can’t find the moon, which seems to have changed its location.
The shuttle enters open space, which is regarded as American territory. Meanwhile, Tafida decides to make the hearty garlicky meal of molokheya to raise her team’s spirits and opens the shuttle windows to let in some air. Not familiar with the smell of molokheya, the Americans conclude that the Egyptians are testing nuclear weapons in space.
Unmerciful sarcasm throughout the book mocks reactions of Egyptian government employees to what started out as an event to boost national pride and instead became an international crisis between Egypt and America.
Though Bahgat’s books are religiously inclined, he does venture into the world of politics. After the death of Anwar Sadat, he was nagged by actor Ahmed Zaki to write about the life of the assassinated president. The result was the script for the blockbuster movie Ayam El-Sadat (Days of Sadat) starring the late Ahmed Zaki, Mona Zaki and Mervat Amin.
Besides the excellence of the cast, Bahgat’s approach contributed to the success of the movie due to his adherence to historical facts — an approach which gained him praise and appreciation from the Sadat family and the public.
The author’s social comedy Muzakirat Zowg (Diaries of a Husband) was produced as a TV series that portrays the marital relations of the lower and middle classes and features the theme of nagging wives. Also the movie Imra’a min Al-Qahira (A Woman from Cairo) featuring Magda El-Khateeb was based on his work.
Bahgat’s journalistic career placed him among the Egyptian people and helped him hone a simple and friendly voice that Egyptians young and old can respond to.
Highlights of his career include his coverage of the 1967 war, which earned him respect as a writer for Akhbar Al-Youm. He was later assigned by the same newspaper to meet with Alberto Moravia, one of the leading Italian novelists of the twentieth century.
Touring the world in pursuit of his journalistic career has left Bahgat with deep humanitarian concerns.
In his Sandouq el Dunya (The Box of the World) column, a daily feature in Akhbar Al-Youm, which he continues to write today, Bahgat provides commentary on what the average Egyptian faces in their daily life.
At the end of a career that has left many others in the shade, Bahgat leaves a trail of books behind him that make their way as quietly and humbly through the world as he has done throughout his life, and will continue to for years to come.
[Picture by Khaled Habib]
[Also on Ahmad Bahgat books: Sarcasm and Sufism by Samir Sobhi Al-Ahram on Authors A to Z http://www.arabworldbooks.com/authors/ahmad_bahgat.html#selections]
Plans For Smooth Flow
Staff Report, "Urs of Baba Bulleh Shah" - The Daily Mail - Islamabad, PakistanMonday, August 18, 2008
Kasur: District Coordination Officer (DCO) has directed officers of various departments to make necessary arrangements for providing best possible facilities to the devotees reaching here for 251 st urs of Sufi saint Baba Bulleh Shah beginning from Aug 25.
He issued the directions while presiding over a meeting to review the arrangements for the annual urs.
The DCO also directed traffic police to make plans for smooth flow of traffic in the city.
[Baba's picture is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulleh_Shah]
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Immensely Missed
APP, "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s 11th death anniversary observed" - Associated Press of Pakistan - PakistanSaturday, August 16, 2008
Islamabad: The 11th death anniversary of world’s most outstanding vocalists the great Sufi qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was observed Saturday.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani singer who had worked with such Western musicians as Eddie Vedder, Peter Gabriel and progressive guitarist and producer Michael Brook, died at age 48, a private TV channel (Geo News) reported.
Born into a family with a centuries-long tradition of qawwali singing, Khan began recording in the early ‘70s after ignoring his father’s wishes that he pursue medicine.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and was considered as one of the greatest Qawwals in the world.
Khan was a master of qawwali singing, which combines lyrics from Sufi religious poems with hypnotic rhythms and vocal chants.
He never performed in English: he sang in Urdu, Punjabi and Farsi. Khan also captivated many Westerners, including such musicians as Vedder, Joan Osborne and the late Jeff Buckley, as well as Hollywood types like Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.
Khan had made a great impression on the music scene with his mix of Eastern poetic music with that of the West.
After travelling to London for treatment for liver and kidney problems, Khan was rushed from the airport to Cromwell Hospital, where he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Khan departed from this sphere on the 16th of August 1997, and will be missed immensely by his fans all across the globe.
[Picture from: http://tinyurl.com/66kyqj]
They Have A Message For Us
By Yoginder Sikanand, TwoCircles.net via Mudassir Rizwan, "A different Jammu that I know" - Indian Muslims - San Diego, CA, USASaturday, August 16, 2008
The agitation over the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir has now threatened to snowball into a full-fledged communal conflict.
The violence and the passions that have erupted in its wake are reminiscent, although on a much smaller scale, of the terror and mayhem that tore apart Jammu in 1947 in the wake of the Partition.
Some two lakh Muslims, according to some accounts, are said to have been slaughtered in the Jammu region, and many more forced to flee across to Pakistan, while, at the same time, the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley remained almost entirely peaceful.
Communal forces have long had a strong presence in Jammu (and in the Valley as well) and the current agitation in Jammu and the economic blockade of the Kashmir Valley has provided them with a chance to rear their ugly heads once again.
Jammu is burning. Slogan-raising irate mobs. Vehicles and offices on fire. Roads blocked. Long spells of curfew. Dozens of houses of Gujjar Muslims, who have consistently opposed the on-going violence in Kashmir, burnt to ashes. A Jammu different from the one that I like to remember.
For the past almost two decades I have been visiting the Jammu province almost every year without fail, to meet friends, visit places and trek in the mountains.
Jammu advertises itself as the 'City of Temples', but I find the scores of dargahs, gracefully-domed shrines built over the graves of Sufi saints or Pirs that are scattered across the town, more interesting.
Unlike temples and mosques, people of all faiths and castes flock to the dargahs. They provide the only arena where people of different communities participate together in common worship and devotion. They have a message for us in these times of hatred and violence in the name of religion and community, one that few care to hear, as the seemingly endless war in Kashmir and the on-going agitation in Jammu so tragically illustrate.
The stories that are told about several of the shrines in the town—their foundational myths, one could call them—reflect a fascinating historical process of negotiation of inter-community relations in a harmonious way.
These stories are often invoked to stress the point that people of different religions should live together in peace, that God is one, that all humans, at a certain level, are basically the same, and so on.
The first major Sufi to come to the Jammu region was Pir Raushan Ali Shah, whose dargah is located near the famous Raghunath Mandir, in the heart of Jammu town.
He is said to have performed many miracles, which, so it is claimed, so impressed the Hindu Raja of Jammu that he became his devotee and requested him to settle in his city. When the Pir died, the Raja had a grave constructed for him, which today is a popular place of pilgrimage for Hindus and Muslims alike.
Tucked away in an obscure corner of the market named after him in Jammu's busy commercial district is the dargah of Pir Lakhdata. After his death, it is said, half his body was taken by his Muslim disciples and buried according to Muslim rites. To his Muslim followers he is known as Zahir Pir.
The other half of his body was cremated by his Hindu followers, who revere him as Pir Lakhdata.
Another such shared shrine, skirting the boundary walls of the Jammu airport, is the sprawling dargah of Baba Budhan Ali Shah, which is particularly popular among the local Sikhs, for the Baba is said to have been a close friend of Guru Nanak.
At Ramnagar, on the outskirts of Jammu on the road to Srinagar, is the popular Sufi shrine of the Panj Pirs, the five Muslim saints.
Legend has it that five brothers of a Muslim family spent many years at the spot where the shrine stands in meditation and then left to go their own ways.
One day the five Pirs appeared in a dream to the Maharaja and admonished him for sleeping with his feet pointing to their chillah, the place where they used to meditate. The next morning, the Maharaja ordered the spot to be excavated, and an umbrella and five kettledrums were found.
Believing this to be a holy place, he ordered the construction of a dargah there. He then appointed his royal charioteer, Alif Shah, and a Muslim woman, Khurshid Begum, as custodians of the shrine.
The last time I visited the shrine it was looked after by a Hindu Rajput, husband of Khurshid Begum's daughter.
And then there is the shrine of Pir Mitha, located on a promontory on the banks of the Tawi, and connected, through myth and ritual to a Shaivite shrine on the other side of the river.
The Pir is said to have come to Jammu in the reign of Raja Ajab Dev in the 15th century. One day, the story goes, the Raja's wife fell seriously ill. The Pir cured the queen by performing a miracle, as a result of which the king and many of his subjects became his disciples.
Because of this, he had to face stiff opposition from some Hindu priests. His most vehement opponent was Siddh Garib Nath, a Shaivite yogi. However, the two soon became friends. Indeed, so close did they become that they decided to settle down together in the cave where the Pir lived. This cave is known as Pir Khoh or the 'Cave of the Pir'.
Legend has it that the yogi entered the cave and travelled all the way to Mattan in Kashmir, never to return again. After he disappeared, his disciples came to Pir Mitha, requesting him to accept them as his followers. The Pir declined, instructing them to be faithful to their own guru.
When this failed to satisfy them, the Pir relented somewhat and told them that they could, if they wanted, take his title of 'Pir', associated with Muslim mystics. That is why the cave is today called as Pir Khoh and the heads of the Nath yogis who still reside there are known as Pirs.
As I read and hear about Jammu going up in flames, my mind travels to the shrine of Baba Jiwan Shah, in the heart of Jammu town, where I have spent numerous quiet evenings simply watching people—Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others—pray and distribute food to itinerant mendicants.
The Baba, born in the mid-nineteenth century, took to the Sufi path at a young age, traveling from his native Punjab and finally settling in a Muslim graveyard in Jammu, preaching and making disciples, who included Hindus as well as Muslims.
Among these were Pratap Singh, ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, and his brother Amar Singh. The Maharaja fixed a regular monthly stipend for him and would often invite him to his palace. But, true to his Sufi tradition, he seemed to have cared nothing for power and pelf.
One of his chief disciples was an impoverished man from the Chamar or leather-working caste, considered as 'untouchable' by caste Hindus, who now rests in a dargah of his own adjacent to that of the Baba.
Shrines of men who trod the mystical path, who transcended narrow barriers of caste and creed. Shrines that speak of a different Jammu. Of the possibility of a different way of looking at, dealing with and going beyond with communal differences.
As I pen these lines, I wonder what the men who lie buried below their domes would have to say about the mayhem that is tearing apart their town and beyond in the name of religion and community.
[Visit Two Circles.net http://www.twocircles.net/]
[Picture: Jammu &Kashmir, Amarnath land row. Photo: The Indian Muslim]
Friday, August 22, 2008
Very Bright Future
By Nirmika Singh,"Keep the Faith" - Express India - IndiaSaturday, August 16, 2008
Sukoon brings alive forgotten songs of Sufi saints
One band is defiantly holding on to the sounds of the past. Sukoon, the month-old Sufi band, is celebrating the growing love for Sufi sounds.
The band moves beyond the usual Abida Parveen and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan numbers, and is going deep into the spiritual rhythms.
“We perform songs by lesser known Sufi writers like Hazrat Mir Dard and Shamsh Tab Rez Baba, apart from Amir Khusrau and the great Baba Bulle Shah,” says Amjad Khan, 31, percussionist of the six-member band.
His brother Kashif Ahmed plays the sarangi while Arshad Khan does wonders with the esraj, one of India’s many dying instruments.
The band is already teaming up with foreign musicians. They have just returned from a tour of Sweden, Austria and Italy, and have their bags packed for more shows abroad.
“It is sad that we do not receive the kind of response in our own country that we get abroad. Here, even mediocre bands that are packaged well are more popular,” laments Siraj Khan as he plucks an Egyptian tune on his mandolin.
It is a treat to watch Sukoon members, with the melancholic sarangi competing with the upbeat darbuka, a Turkish percussion instrument, or the resounding double bass to reach an uplifting crescendo before retreating to a softer and milder plane.
“Our father and teacher, esraj maestro Ustad Allauddin Khan, was doubtful when we wanted to experiment with world music. But he was reassured after watching one of our performances,” says Kashif.
They remain positive. “We will be cutting our album next year and have many concerts booked till then. The future of Sufi music looks very bright,” smiles Amjad.
[Picture: A Man Playing Sarangi. Etching by François Balthazar Solvyns. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarangi]
Sukoon brings alive forgotten songs of Sufi saints
One band is defiantly holding on to the sounds of the past. Sukoon, the month-old Sufi band, is celebrating the growing love for Sufi sounds.
The band moves beyond the usual Abida Parveen and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan numbers, and is going deep into the spiritual rhythms.
“We perform songs by lesser known Sufi writers like Hazrat Mir Dard and Shamsh Tab Rez Baba, apart from Amir Khusrau and the great Baba Bulle Shah,” says Amjad Khan, 31, percussionist of the six-member band.
His brother Kashif Ahmed plays the sarangi while Arshad Khan does wonders with the esraj, one of India’s many dying instruments.
The band is already teaming up with foreign musicians. They have just returned from a tour of Sweden, Austria and Italy, and have their bags packed for more shows abroad.
“It is sad that we do not receive the kind of response in our own country that we get abroad. Here, even mediocre bands that are packaged well are more popular,” laments Siraj Khan as he plucks an Egyptian tune on his mandolin.
It is a treat to watch Sukoon members, with the melancholic sarangi competing with the upbeat darbuka, a Turkish percussion instrument, or the resounding double bass to reach an uplifting crescendo before retreating to a softer and milder plane.
“Our father and teacher, esraj maestro Ustad Allauddin Khan, was doubtful when we wanted to experiment with world music. But he was reassured after watching one of our performances,” says Kashif.
They remain positive. “We will be cutting our album next year and have many concerts booked till then. The future of Sufi music looks very bright,” smiles Amjad.
[Picture: A Man Playing Sarangi. Etching by François Balthazar Solvyns. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarangi]
The Way to Correct Mistakes
By Paramanand Soobarah, "More shootings in Jammu and Kashmir" - Mauritius Times - MauritiusWeekly Issue 329, Friday, August 15, 2008
More shootings in Jammu and Kashmir
In retaliation for the reversal of the decision to grant some land for the purpose of creating reception facilities for Hindu pilgrims at the Amarnath Shrine in Kashmir, the Hindus of Jammu blockaded the road to and from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir [India].
This was a serious blow to the economy of Kashmir and of India, as all the produce of that state is routed to other Indian cities through Jammu. Last week a number of Hindu activists were killed in police firings; the number is not clear as the killing of a Hindu is not a great matter for the present government of India.
It would have been unreasonable to expect the Kashmiris to take this lying down. A large crowd including traders decided to march towards the Line of Control that separates the Indian and Pakistani parts of Kashmir; if they could not send their produce to Indian cities, they could try sending them to Pakistani ones: they have to live. They were stopped by the Police who fired live bullets at them: thirteen Muslims have been killed in the scuffle. Tension in Kashmir is at an all-time high.
The killing of protestors and rioters by police is a shameful crime wherever and whoever by it is committed. It is a matter of great shame that a country that sends satellites around the earth and is planning an expedition to the moon does not have the right equipment for crowd control. Even Israel uses rubber-coated bullets against Hamas rioters.
The normal device used against determined rioters is the water canon. In America they have developed a device that emits rays much like those of microwave cookers that can repel crowds very effectively. If set to work on a serious project, Indian scientists can without any doubt develop devices that control rioting crowds without have to kill or maim any rioter.
The best weapon any government can have against rioting is not to allow any situation to develop into a riot.
It is when politicians and two-way communications between the authorities and the public fail that rioters take over. In the present case it might have been possible to get away with the question of the land for the pilgrims if the plot were smaller, just the amount needed for the facilities, with the rest being a park accessible to everybody, whether a pilgrim or not.
All governments can make mistakes, but the way to correct mistakes is also an important matter.
If Chief Minister Goolam Nabee Azad had been allowed to negotiate with the Muslim protestors about the matter, he could have come up with a face-saving solution.
There certainly is a minority among the Muslim protestors who are not interested in reaching any peaceful solution with the Indian government: they have their own mission from across the border. The way things were handled has only served to make matters worse.
There is no saying how matters will end. No people have ever accepted to live quietly under gun law for ever. But in this case there seems to the added complication that the nature of the people seems to have changed, from Sufism to militant Islamism.
Is Kashmiriyat gone for ever?
[On this topic, read also: http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=Arjimand]
[Picture: Portrait of Maharaja Gulab Singh, former Governor of Jammu of the Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh, in 1847. (Artist: James Duffield Harding). Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir]
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A Symbolic Green Shawl
ANI, "Devotees throng mausoleum of a Sufi saint in Punjab" - Thai Indian News - Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, August 15, 2008
Mianwali (Punjab): Scores of devotees thronged the mausoleum of a Sufi saint, Pir Baba Sheikh Brahm, situated on the India-Pakistan border near Mianwali village in Punjab, to pay their obeisance on Thursday.
The shrine, located in the Khemkaran Sector, which is barely 100 meters inside Indian territory, was decorated with glittering festoons and resounded to loud devotional music.
Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs religiously visit the mausoleum, who legend has it was greatly inspired by the teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which looks after the shrine, allows pilgrims to visit the shrine only during the day. While the Indian pilgrims could easily reach the shrine and pay obeisance, their Pakistani counterparts had to be satisfied with festivities and celebrations on their side of the border due to international travel restrictions.
They had carried a symbolic green shawl that is ceremonially offered to the shrine and passed it on to the Indian security forces to be laid on the saint’’s tomb.
Virsa Singh Valtoha, a lawmaker representing the area, said: “Such common religious places could help in bringing the two age old rivals closer. Government should make arrangements so that Pakistani devotees of Sheikh could easily walk up to the ”dargah” (tomb) to offer prayers and seek his blessings as they did earlier.”
Villagers say, before the hostilities between the two neighbouring nations began, devotees from Pakistan were allowed to cross over to the Indian side to offer their prayers at the shrine.
For all pilgrims, the saint is regarded as manna from heaven. Though he is a 16th century contemporary of the Sikh saint Guru Nanak Dev, his followers believe his powers to bless them are witnessed even today.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Mianwali (Punjab): Scores of devotees thronged the mausoleum of a Sufi saint, Pir Baba Sheikh Brahm, situated on the India-Pakistan border near Mianwali village in Punjab, to pay their obeisance on Thursday.
The shrine, located in the Khemkaran Sector, which is barely 100 meters inside Indian territory, was decorated with glittering festoons and resounded to loud devotional music.
Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs religiously visit the mausoleum, who legend has it was greatly inspired by the teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which looks after the shrine, allows pilgrims to visit the shrine only during the day. While the Indian pilgrims could easily reach the shrine and pay obeisance, their Pakistani counterparts had to be satisfied with festivities and celebrations on their side of the border due to international travel restrictions.
They had carried a symbolic green shawl that is ceremonially offered to the shrine and passed it on to the Indian security forces to be laid on the saint’’s tomb.
Virsa Singh Valtoha, a lawmaker representing the area, said: “Such common religious places could help in bringing the two age old rivals closer. Government should make arrangements so that Pakistani devotees of Sheikh could easily walk up to the ”dargah” (tomb) to offer prayers and seek his blessings as they did earlier.”
Villagers say, before the hostilities between the two neighbouring nations began, devotees from Pakistan were allowed to cross over to the Indian side to offer their prayers at the shrine.
For all pilgrims, the saint is regarded as manna from heaven. Though he is a 16th century contemporary of the Sikh saint Guru Nanak Dev, his followers believe his powers to bless them are witnessed even today.
The Passing On of a Saint
By Jamaaludeen ash-Shadhili - Message Islam - Cape Town, South Africa
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Assalaamu 'Alaykum everyone
When I came back to the office now I received a very shocking email. It was from my dear friend and brother Achmat Kriel, and it informed me of the passing on of Shaykh Hassan Cisse.
Shaykh Hassan was from Senegal, and head of the blessed Tijani Sufi Order (Tariqa).
Alhamdu'Lillah I met Shaykh Hassan when he was in Cape Town a few years ago, and I was blessed to spend a lot of time with him and his companions. I have recently been listening to (for the umpteenth time) audio recordings of Shaykh Muhammad al-Yacoubi where he speaks about the passing on of Shaykh Abdurahmaan ash-Shagouri (Syria), and how these gnostics and Sufi Masters are a mercy for us on earth, and how their passing is a great loss to us.
This is how I feel about Shaykh Hassan. He has been doing so much work in Africa and all over the world in areas of spirituality, relief, and education. Read a brief (very brief) bio of him on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Hassan_Cisse.
I plan to do a tribute to him on Message Islam soon Insha'Allah.
As soon as I read Achmat's email I phoned Shaykh Fakhruddin Owaisi, who is from Madina and living and working in Cape Town for a number of years now. Shaykh Fakhruddin is a Mukaddam of Shaykh Hassan, and has gained a lot of respect worldwide in the Tijani Tariqa. Shaykh Fakhruddin said that the passing was this morning after Fajr, and Shaykh Hassan had just returned from Fez, Morocco - visiting the Maqam of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani.
Before ending I want to make 3 important points: Firstly, Tassawuf / Sufism is nothing foreign to Islam. It is, in fact, an integral part of Islam. I have written about this many times, but we have to defend the spiritual aspect of our Deen because there are misguided people popping up here and there saying that Tassawuf is a new innovation.
Also, there is no segregation or sects in Tassawuf. Yes there are many different Turuq (Sufi Orders) but they are merely different schools and paths with the same goal - ALLAH! Allah is the goal.
And we all love and respect each other. Today's occurences is a prime example. I follow the Shadhili Tariqa, my brother Achmat Kriel who informed me about Shaykh Hassan's passing is from the Naqshbandi Tariqa. Alhamdu'Lillah this is the beauty of the path of spirituality.
We have only love for everyone. Alhamdu'Lillah over the past few years I have grown to love Shaykh Hassan and the Tijani Tariqa, and just 2 Saturdays ago I was blessed to attend the Mawlid of Shaykh Hassan's grandfather, Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse which was held at Shaykh Fakhruddin's mosque in Hout Bay.
Secondly, Shaykh Hassan - and the Tijani Tariqa - is a proof that there is no racism in Islam. Shaykh Hassan had the blackest of black skin. Yet his skin colour made no difference. We loved him the same, learnt from him the same, and kissed his hand the same. I know white Americans who are students and followers of Shaykh Hassan.
No policy, no revolution, no law in the world can solve the problem of racism - only the teachings of Islam can!
Thirdly, you will notice I said that Shaykh Hassan "passed on" and not "passed away" - this is because Shaykh Hazim Abu Ghazaleh taught us this year that we really only pass "on" to another stage of existence. The ruh (soul) "tastes" death, it does not die.
I think this is something we need to reflect on, Insha'Allah.
For those in Cape Town, there will be Quranic recitals for Shaykh Hassan at the Tijani Zawiya in Guguletu tonight - in fact it's been going on all day already. I will be going, and I urge more people to attend Insha'Allah, especially if Allah blessed you to sit - even once - in the company of Shaykh Hassan.
I also urge people all over the world to prayer the funeral prayer in absentia for Shaykh Hassan - you can read the Fiqh ruling about this at the SunniPath website here: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=3&ID=4108&CATE=408.
My sister has informed me that people have even already left from South Africa to Senegal.
From Allah do we come, and unto Him is our return. May Allah Almighty bless Shaykh Hassan, give him a high rank in al-Jannah, forgive all his sins and shortcomings, and give him the companionship of the Blessed Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), Ameen.
And may Allah Almighty give ease in the hearts of his Mureeds (devout students) and his lovers (like myself, and hopefully yourself).
The unworthy servant of the people of Allah Jamaaludeen ash-Shadhili
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Assalaamu 'Alaykum everyone
When I came back to the office now I received a very shocking email. It was from my dear friend and brother Achmat Kriel, and it informed me of the passing on of Shaykh Hassan Cisse.
Shaykh Hassan was from Senegal, and head of the blessed Tijani Sufi Order (Tariqa).
Alhamdu'Lillah I met Shaykh Hassan when he was in Cape Town a few years ago, and I was blessed to spend a lot of time with him and his companions. I have recently been listening to (for the umpteenth time) audio recordings of Shaykh Muhammad al-Yacoubi where he speaks about the passing on of Shaykh Abdurahmaan ash-Shagouri (Syria), and how these gnostics and Sufi Masters are a mercy for us on earth, and how their passing is a great loss to us.
This is how I feel about Shaykh Hassan. He has been doing so much work in Africa and all over the world in areas of spirituality, relief, and education. Read a brief (very brief) bio of him on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaykh_Hassan_Cisse.
I plan to do a tribute to him on Message Islam soon Insha'Allah.
As soon as I read Achmat's email I phoned Shaykh Fakhruddin Owaisi, who is from Madina and living and working in Cape Town for a number of years now. Shaykh Fakhruddin is a Mukaddam of Shaykh Hassan, and has gained a lot of respect worldwide in the Tijani Tariqa. Shaykh Fakhruddin said that the passing was this morning after Fajr, and Shaykh Hassan had just returned from Fez, Morocco - visiting the Maqam of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani.
Before ending I want to make 3 important points: Firstly, Tassawuf / Sufism is nothing foreign to Islam. It is, in fact, an integral part of Islam. I have written about this many times, but we have to defend the spiritual aspect of our Deen because there are misguided people popping up here and there saying that Tassawuf is a new innovation.
Also, there is no segregation or sects in Tassawuf. Yes there are many different Turuq (Sufi Orders) but they are merely different schools and paths with the same goal - ALLAH! Allah is the goal.
And we all love and respect each other. Today's occurences is a prime example. I follow the Shadhili Tariqa, my brother Achmat Kriel who informed me about Shaykh Hassan's passing is from the Naqshbandi Tariqa. Alhamdu'Lillah this is the beauty of the path of spirituality.
We have only love for everyone. Alhamdu'Lillah over the past few years I have grown to love Shaykh Hassan and the Tijani Tariqa, and just 2 Saturdays ago I was blessed to attend the Mawlid of Shaykh Hassan's grandfather, Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse which was held at Shaykh Fakhruddin's mosque in Hout Bay.
Secondly, Shaykh Hassan - and the Tijani Tariqa - is a proof that there is no racism in Islam. Shaykh Hassan had the blackest of black skin. Yet his skin colour made no difference. We loved him the same, learnt from him the same, and kissed his hand the same. I know white Americans who are students and followers of Shaykh Hassan.
No policy, no revolution, no law in the world can solve the problem of racism - only the teachings of Islam can!
Thirdly, you will notice I said that Shaykh Hassan "passed on" and not "passed away" - this is because Shaykh Hazim Abu Ghazaleh taught us this year that we really only pass "on" to another stage of existence. The ruh (soul) "tastes" death, it does not die.
I think this is something we need to reflect on, Insha'Allah.
For those in Cape Town, there will be Quranic recitals for Shaykh Hassan at the Tijani Zawiya in Guguletu tonight - in fact it's been going on all day already. I will be going, and I urge more people to attend Insha'Allah, especially if Allah blessed you to sit - even once - in the company of Shaykh Hassan.
I also urge people all over the world to prayer the funeral prayer in absentia for Shaykh Hassan - you can read the Fiqh ruling about this at the SunniPath website here: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=3&ID=4108&CATE=408.
My sister has informed me that people have even already left from South Africa to Senegal.
From Allah do we come, and unto Him is our return. May Allah Almighty bless Shaykh Hassan, give him a high rank in al-Jannah, forgive all his sins and shortcomings, and give him the companionship of the Blessed Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), Ameen.
And may Allah Almighty give ease in the hearts of his Mureeds (devout students) and his lovers (like myself, and hopefully yourself).
The unworthy servant of the people of Allah Jamaaludeen ash-Shadhili
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Mushaaira: Rising Above Through the Language of Love
WSN Network, "VIPSA’s multi-lingual mushaaira attracts massive interest" - World Sikh News - San Jose, CA, USAWednesday, August 13, 2008
Milpitas, CA: Vishav Punjabi Sahit Academy of California organized a Multi Lingual Kavi-Darbar (Mushaaira/Poetry Recital) at Milpitas Community Library, recently that attracted a large number of literary enthusiasts from all South Asian communities and was well attended by prominent Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu poets.
The program started with a welcome note by Chairman of Academy’s Bay Area unit Resham Sidhu who stressed upon the need to bring people together rising above the narrow divisions and develop common bonds by sharing our life experiences through literary works.
Academy’s general secretary Jagjit Naushehrvi introduced to audience the distinguished poets Sham Narain Shukla (Hindi), Tashi Zaheer (Urdu), Dr. Gurumel Sidhu, Dr. Sohinder Bir (India), Gurdit Singh Kang, Resham Sidhu and Prof Sarbjit S Aulakh (India) and invited them to stage to preside over the function.
Program was conducted by renowned Urdu poetess from Pakistan Miss Noshi Gilani who started the Mushaaira by saying that only language of poetry is the language of love and we are here today to express ourselves through our poetry.
She invited the poets to recite their poems intermingling the Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi verses creating a very captivating environment.
The function was gifted with a very patient and literarily matured audience who applauded at every good verse with claps and calls for reciting it again.
Poems presented formed a wide variety of genre which included ghazals, nazams, songs, humor, romantic as well as poems written in multiple languages. Many of the poets presented their poems by singing (in tarannum).
Function was attended by Hindi poets Sham Narain Shukla, Neelu Gupta, Brahmanand Pandey, Archana Pandey, Nirmala Shukla, Davindra Shukla; Urdu poets Tashi Zaheer, Noshi Gilani, Ram Narain Raunki, Nasir Himayun, Azad Jallandhari, Ishar Singh Moman and Punjabi poets Dr. Sohinder Bir (India), Gurdit Singh Kang, Dr Gurumel Sidhu, Kulwinder, Surinder Seerat, Resham Sidhu, Gurcharan Singh Falak, Darshan Nat, Kamal Banga, Dilawar Chahal, Jagjit Naushehrvi, Amandeep Boparai, Karamjit Singh Noor, Prof Sarbjit Singh Aulakh (India), Harjinder Kang and Sukhi Dhaliwal.
Famous Punjabi singer Sukhdev Sahil and Sarabjit Kaur Bhasin (visiting from India) presented some very impressive pieces from Shiv Kumar Batalvi collection, Punjabi Sufi poetry and folklore.
Community activist Sardar Vikram Singh thanked all the poets and VIPSA organizing committee for putting together such a wonderful program.
Audience were so enthralled by the poetic environment that progam ran into after hours of the library’s closing time.
Milpitas, CA: Vishav Punjabi Sahit Academy of California organized a Multi Lingual Kavi-Darbar (Mushaaira/Poetry Recital) at Milpitas Community Library, recently that attracted a large number of literary enthusiasts from all South Asian communities and was well attended by prominent Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu poets.
The program started with a welcome note by Chairman of Academy’s Bay Area unit Resham Sidhu who stressed upon the need to bring people together rising above the narrow divisions and develop common bonds by sharing our life experiences through literary works.
Academy’s general secretary Jagjit Naushehrvi introduced to audience the distinguished poets Sham Narain Shukla (Hindi), Tashi Zaheer (Urdu), Dr. Gurumel Sidhu, Dr. Sohinder Bir (India), Gurdit Singh Kang, Resham Sidhu and Prof Sarbjit S Aulakh (India) and invited them to stage to preside over the function.
Program was conducted by renowned Urdu poetess from Pakistan Miss Noshi Gilani who started the Mushaaira by saying that only language of poetry is the language of love and we are here today to express ourselves through our poetry.
She invited the poets to recite their poems intermingling the Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi verses creating a very captivating environment.
The function was gifted with a very patient and literarily matured audience who applauded at every good verse with claps and calls for reciting it again.
Poems presented formed a wide variety of genre which included ghazals, nazams, songs, humor, romantic as well as poems written in multiple languages. Many of the poets presented their poems by singing (in tarannum).
Function was attended by Hindi poets Sham Narain Shukla, Neelu Gupta, Brahmanand Pandey, Archana Pandey, Nirmala Shukla, Davindra Shukla; Urdu poets Tashi Zaheer, Noshi Gilani, Ram Narain Raunki, Nasir Himayun, Azad Jallandhari, Ishar Singh Moman and Punjabi poets Dr. Sohinder Bir (India), Gurdit Singh Kang, Dr Gurumel Sidhu, Kulwinder, Surinder Seerat, Resham Sidhu, Gurcharan Singh Falak, Darshan Nat, Kamal Banga, Dilawar Chahal, Jagjit Naushehrvi, Amandeep Boparai, Karamjit Singh Noor, Prof Sarbjit Singh Aulakh (India), Harjinder Kang and Sukhi Dhaliwal.
Famous Punjabi singer Sukhdev Sahil and Sarabjit Kaur Bhasin (visiting from India) presented some very impressive pieces from Shiv Kumar Batalvi collection, Punjabi Sufi poetry and folklore.
Community activist Sardar Vikram Singh thanked all the poets and VIPSA organizing committee for putting together such a wonderful program.
Audience were so enthralled by the poetic environment that progam ran into after hours of the library’s closing time.
Out of the Quagmire
By Ratnadeep Banerji "The sway of the Bauls:Oblivious minstrels of soul" - Organiser - New Delhi, IndiaWeekly issue: August 17, 2008
Baul etymologically arises from Sanskrit batul or byakul that literally means divinely inane or fervently eager
The Charyapadas (Buddhist hymns) which gave rise to Bengali bear references to the precepts of Baul. It is conjectured that around 6th century AD, Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, culled this esoteric coterie of Bauls as a formal community though the word ‘Baul’ appeared in Bengali texts around 15th century.
Bauls are essentially mystic minstrels hailing from the hinterland of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Baul is not just a music tradition but it’s also a syncretic religious sect out of Vaishnavite Hindus, Sufi Muslims and Hindu tantric sect of the Kartabhajas as well as Tantric Buddhist schools like Sahajia.
Austerity and detachment is their keyword. Their itinerant cult possessing minimal accoutrement sans mundane trappings evokes a permeating effect of soul onto the macrocosm – unbound, unhindered and without obliterations. They remain out of the mundane quagmire despite being footed to the terra firma.
These undogmatic Bauls revel in a concept of iconography that transcends the visual apparent onto abstract, mystical rumination. And so, Radha-Krishna communion is embodiment of divine love and not idols to be worshipped in the home. This transmutes into subtle tenets on life taking cognizance of societal concerns and thereby churns out an admixture of exotic tradition of Baul wisdom.
(...)
Bauls are a very heterogenous group cutting across despicable denominations of religion, caste, creed and sex. Lalon Fakir (1774-1890), considered the greatest of them all had remarked, “What form does caste have? I have never seen it, brother, with these eyes of mine!”
They have varied lifestyles – domestics as well as ascetics, both exist. The ascetic Bauls do not marry and follow a strict ritualistic and religious lifestyle. They have no fixed dwelling place, keep hopping from one akhara to another. These akharas often come up in areas having graves of their earlier gurus and are kept at bay from the village communities.
The Bauls generally wear a sort of half-dhoti and an alkhalla on the top, both being saffron in colour. Traditionally Bauls don’t cut their hair so they coil it and make a bun atop their head. Around their neck they wear a rosary of basil beads and carry a big jhola, a shoulder bag.
The domestics however lead a family life though they opt to remain in secluded part of a village and do not mix freely with other members of the community.
Bauls do not pay heed to any organised religion being non-conformists, they are iconoclasts and humanists whose sole pursuit is to seek the moner manush – the God within, to ferret out the ultimate Truth through meditation. They bring about a fusion of the Sahajiya and Sufi concept of devotion believing that the human body is the seat of all truths centering which they follow some secret devotional practices.
(...)
Baul music solemnises celestial bliss of ethereal permeation. These songs of exultation are soul wrenching.
Several Baul songs have undergone changes owing to Vaishnava influence of kirtans and also under the influence of Sufism.
Though Baul songs are prevalent in both West Bengal and Bangladesh, they differ in both tune and theme. In West Bengal Baul songs, there is an increased presence of Sahajiya Vaishnavism while in Bangladesh, Baul songs have an affluence of Sufi ghazals.
The following couplet is an extract from an English translation of one of the most prevalent Baul songs. Every song may have two interpretations of human love or Divine love, the Bauls refer to them as lower stream and upper stream.
Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
He is lost to me and I seek him
wandering from land to land.
I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,
which is to light my life,
which I long to see in the fullness of vision
in gladness of heart…
(...)
Notwithstanding the paltry number of Bauls, it has left a profound impact upon Bengali culture. In recognition, Baul was accorded a berth among ‘Masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity’ by UNESCO in 2005.
Nabani Das Baul’s son Purna Das Baul made world tours apprising the sagacity of Bauls to the world. He wrote and composed numerous songs and recorded many albums in India, USA, Europe and Japan. Purna Das Baul was conferred ‘The Emperor of Bauls’ by then the President Dr Rajendra Prasad in 1967. So much so, a film has also been made on his life.
Every year during January there is a congregation on the riparian banks of River Ajoy at Kenduli in the district Birbhum of West Bengal. During the four-day long-fest they commemorate their Jaydeb lineage.
Again Lalon Shah’s akhda at Cheuria village in Kushtia holds a three-day festival annually during the full moon in the month of Falgun. Even sadhus flock the auspicious event. These days, one might encounter these mendicants singing in trains or aimlessly straying around.
A mutant form of Baul has also splurged in the west in America and Europe under the spiritual tutelage of Lee Lozowick. But western Baul integrates rock, blues and gospel though maintaining the same principles.
The Mirror of the sky, reflects my soul.
O Baul of the road, O Baul, my heart,
What keeps you tied, to the corner of the room?
This Garden Is Always Fresh
By Eric Ormsby, "Wisdom Like a Flower Bed: Sa'di's 'Gulistan'" - The Sun - New York, NY, USAWednesday, August 13, 2008
Common sense is probably the last thing we want or expect from poets. Give us confessions, prophecies, manifestos, but spare us the advice — especially advice in verse.
The poet should be a firebrand, not some mumbling old uncle. And yet, it wasn't always thus. In older cultures, not only in Greece and Rome but in India, Persia, and China, the poet was often seen less as a visionary than as a dispenser of wisdom.
This wasn't usually lofty wisdom; it was homespun, practical, and shrewd. It taught its readers how to live. And because it was cast in verse, its rhythms reinforced its hold; it stuck in the mind like a tune. It was common sense made musical.
Unlike his great contemporary Rumi, the medieval Persian poet Sa'di isn't much known in the West.
The first English translation of his masterpiece, the "Gulistan," or "Rose Garden," appeared in 1775; another version, by Francis Gladwin, was published in 1806 and went through no fewer than five editions. But these were trots, useful for civil servants and employees, such as Gladwin, of the British East India Company: Persian was the language of the Mughal court, and along with Urdu or Hindi, it was important for representatives of the Raj to try to learn.
And Sa'di was by common consent the most elegant stylist in Persian. His "Rose Garden," a unique compendium of terse proverbs and worldly-wise fables, of exquisite lyrics and earthy anecdotes, became their textbook.
In "The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di: Bilingual English and Persian Edition with Vocabulary" (Ibex, 448 pages, $60), Wheeler Thackston, a professor of Persian at Harvard, has assembled all the materials needed for a fresh appreciation of this curious masterpiece.
These include a straightforward translation (with the Persian text on facing pages), a glossary of Sa'di's Persian, a useful bibliography, and a short but detailed introduction. For all its obvious erudition — and usefulness to students of Persian — this isn't just a work for the specialist. Mr. Thackston clearly loves his poet and wants to bring him, two centuries after Gladwin's attempt, to new readers.
(...)
The "Gulistan" is written in a mixture of prose and verse. With the prose Mr. Thackston generally succeeds well in conveying Sa'di's style, though he's too much given to paraphrase where a literal rendering would have been more vivid.
In one tale a judge falls in love with a blacksmith's boy. The prudish Gladwin had changed the boy to a girl (though Persian has no grammatical gender, here the text explicitly says "boy"). Mr. Thackston, rightly, will have none of this. But when Sa'di in a play on words says of the judge that "the horseshoe of his heart was in the fire," Mr. Thackston reduces this to "consumed by love."
Sa'di's verse passages are in rhyming couplets, a form that Mr. Thackston finds "hopelessly old-fashioned" in English, and he makes no attempt to render them. That is probably just as well. Another Persian scholar, the late A.J. Arberry, did try this once and saddled Sa'di with lines such as "The sheep is neat and clean; the elephant a mass obscene." By contrast, Mr. Thackston's translations of the poetry capture its hard-bitten wisdom accurately enough but give little sense of its beauty.
Sa'di had good reason to prize common sense. The "Rose Garden" appeared in 1258, when he was turning 50. That was the same year in which the Mongols under the dread Hulagu Khan overran the Islamic world, sacking Baghdad, murdering the last caliph, and bringing the 500-year-old Abbasid dynasty to an end.
Though Sa'di himself — and his native city of Shiraz — remained unscathed, he had no illusions about the permanence of anything. He chose the rose garden just because of its fragility. As he said, once turned into words, "this garden is always fresh."
[Picture: Shelf Life; The back cover of Herman Melville's copy of 'The Gulistan, or, Rose-garden.' Photo from: Beinecke Rare Book And Manuscript Library, Yale University / The Sun]
Common sense is probably the last thing we want or expect from poets. Give us confessions, prophecies, manifestos, but spare us the advice — especially advice in verse.
The poet should be a firebrand, not some mumbling old uncle. And yet, it wasn't always thus. In older cultures, not only in Greece and Rome but in India, Persia, and China, the poet was often seen less as a visionary than as a dispenser of wisdom.
This wasn't usually lofty wisdom; it was homespun, practical, and shrewd. It taught its readers how to live. And because it was cast in verse, its rhythms reinforced its hold; it stuck in the mind like a tune. It was common sense made musical.
Unlike his great contemporary Rumi, the medieval Persian poet Sa'di isn't much known in the West.
The first English translation of his masterpiece, the "Gulistan," or "Rose Garden," appeared in 1775; another version, by Francis Gladwin, was published in 1806 and went through no fewer than five editions. But these were trots, useful for civil servants and employees, such as Gladwin, of the British East India Company: Persian was the language of the Mughal court, and along with Urdu or Hindi, it was important for representatives of the Raj to try to learn.
And Sa'di was by common consent the most elegant stylist in Persian. His "Rose Garden," a unique compendium of terse proverbs and worldly-wise fables, of exquisite lyrics and earthy anecdotes, became their textbook.
In "The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di: Bilingual English and Persian Edition with Vocabulary" (Ibex, 448 pages, $60), Wheeler Thackston, a professor of Persian at Harvard, has assembled all the materials needed for a fresh appreciation of this curious masterpiece.
These include a straightforward translation (with the Persian text on facing pages), a glossary of Sa'di's Persian, a useful bibliography, and a short but detailed introduction. For all its obvious erudition — and usefulness to students of Persian — this isn't just a work for the specialist. Mr. Thackston clearly loves his poet and wants to bring him, two centuries after Gladwin's attempt, to new readers.
(...)
The "Gulistan" is written in a mixture of prose and verse. With the prose Mr. Thackston generally succeeds well in conveying Sa'di's style, though he's too much given to paraphrase where a literal rendering would have been more vivid.
In one tale a judge falls in love with a blacksmith's boy. The prudish Gladwin had changed the boy to a girl (though Persian has no grammatical gender, here the text explicitly says "boy"). Mr. Thackston, rightly, will have none of this. But when Sa'di in a play on words says of the judge that "the horseshoe of his heart was in the fire," Mr. Thackston reduces this to "consumed by love."
Sa'di's verse passages are in rhyming couplets, a form that Mr. Thackston finds "hopelessly old-fashioned" in English, and he makes no attempt to render them. That is probably just as well. Another Persian scholar, the late A.J. Arberry, did try this once and saddled Sa'di with lines such as "The sheep is neat and clean; the elephant a mass obscene." By contrast, Mr. Thackston's translations of the poetry capture its hard-bitten wisdom accurately enough but give little sense of its beauty.
Sa'di had good reason to prize common sense. The "Rose Garden" appeared in 1258, when he was turning 50. That was the same year in which the Mongols under the dread Hulagu Khan overran the Islamic world, sacking Baghdad, murdering the last caliph, and bringing the 500-year-old Abbasid dynasty to an end.
Though Sa'di himself — and his native city of Shiraz — remained unscathed, he had no illusions about the permanence of anything. He chose the rose garden just because of its fragility. As he said, once turned into words, "this garden is always fresh."
[Picture: Shelf Life; The back cover of Herman Melville's copy of 'The Gulistan, or, Rose-garden.' Photo from: Beinecke Rare Book And Manuscript Library, Yale University / The Sun]
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
8,000 Museum-Goers Daily!
Konya Staff report, "Mevlana Museum may require appointments" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, TurkeyThursday, August 14, 2008
The Mevlana Museum in Konya, which also houses the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint and poet Mevlana Muhammad Jelaluddin Rumi, is considering accepting visitors through an appointment system in the coming months.
A commission that recently completed a study on the five-century-old structure urged museum officials to limit the number of visitors to the museum, where they said some of the walls were damaged.
The museum draws approximately 8,000 museum-goers daily, a high number for the 16th-century structure to tolerate, noted the members of the commission. In a report released this week they further said the building was in need of restoration.
Mevlana Museum Deputy Director Naci Bakırcı said a limit to the number of visitors to the museum might be implemented after a scheduled meeting of the Provincial Committee for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Assets.
He said that "an appointment system, which is already being implemented in European museums, might be put into practice."
If the committee decides that the building should undergo restoration, the work could take up to two years to complete.
The Mevlana Museum in Konya, which also houses the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint and poet Mevlana Muhammad Jelaluddin Rumi, is considering accepting visitors through an appointment system in the coming months.
A commission that recently completed a study on the five-century-old structure urged museum officials to limit the number of visitors to the museum, where they said some of the walls were damaged.
The museum draws approximately 8,000 museum-goers daily, a high number for the 16th-century structure to tolerate, noted the members of the commission. In a report released this week they further said the building was in need of restoration.
Mevlana Museum Deputy Director Naci Bakırcı said a limit to the number of visitors to the museum might be implemented after a scheduled meeting of the Provincial Committee for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Assets.
He said that "an appointment system, which is already being implemented in European museums, might be put into practice."
If the committee decides that the building should undergo restoration, the work could take up to two years to complete.
Young Gnawa with Hâl
[From the French language press]:Les jeunes talents gnaouas font leur show à Essaouira: le festival souffle sa cinquième bougie et met un accent particulier sur l'esprit du soufisme des confréries.
Par Khadija Smiri,"Les jeunes talents gnaouas font leur show à Essaouira" - Le Matin - Casablanca, Maroc - mercredi 13 août 2008
Young talents make their show in Essaouira: the festival is blowing its fifth candle and places particular emphasis on the spirit of Sufi brotherhoods.
As usual, the Essaouira Festival of Gnawa Young Talents -running from August 20th to August 23rd- promises a rich and varied programming. And among this year's several cultural innovations, it opens to the visual arts through the organization of a double exhibition entitled "Hâl, the whirlwind of genius".
The first exhibition -to be held in Dar Souiri- is conceived as a window on the specific universe of the Brotherhoods while the second, which will mount at the Bastion Bab Marrakech, will bring together works of twenty Moroccan artists (painters, sculptors, photographers, videographers) transcribing the experience of "hâl" or at least the unique and creative vision that each can have.
At the root of the Festival is the Association Essaouira-Mogador and its general director, Mr. Abderrahim Bertai.
Essaouira is a UNESCO World Heritage Site http://www.unesco.org
At the root of the Festival is the Association Essaouira-Mogador and its general director, Mr. Abderrahim Bertai.
Essaouira is a UNESCO World Heritage Site http://www.unesco.org
[See a video of last year's Festival des Jeunes Talents Gnaoua Essaouira 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TsnFIIXw00]
Monday, August 18, 2008
Some Famous Sufi Leaders
By Michael van der Galien, "Religion in Azerbaijan" - Poli Gazette - The NetherlandsTuesday, August 12, 2008
Azerbaijanis are tolerant and untraditional Muslims. Secularism has changed society profoundly.
When one talks about Azerbaijan with a Westerner, the latter will almost always say that he knows that Azerbaijanis are Muslim.
A slightly more informed Westerner may be concerned about extremism here. The reality is the opposite; most Azerbaijanis consider themselves to be Muslim by culture and tradition, but their views are not orthodox much less extreme.
(...)
After insisting to talk a bit more about the subject of religion and especially about Azerbaijan’s version of Islam - a topic about which the official was more than willing to talk - the topic changed to the Sufi mystics and their influence.
Azerbaijan was the home of quite some famous Sufi leaders. One of them the guide recalled, Seyyid Ali Imadaddin Nesimi, was killed in the 15th century.
He had, according to religious authorities, committed blasphemy by saying “I am God.”
More than anything else his execution resulted in more Azerbaijanis revering him.
He and other prominent Sufis have, like in Turkey, influenced Azerbaijani Islam considerably. Part of why Muslims in this country are so tolerant, the official explained, is because of this religious tradition.
(...)
[Picture: Statue of Imadeddin Nesimi in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasimi]
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Lion of the Heart
Culture Desk, "UGA hosts arts festival" - The Daily Citizen - Dalton, GA, USAFriday, August 15, 2008
Athens, GA: Music, drama, art and poetry will enliven the University of Georgia campus during the first UGA Arts Festival, a four-day celebration to be held Sept. 4-7 at the Performing and Visual Arts Complex to coincide with the dedication of the new Lamar Dodd School of Art building.
The festival will feature numerous performances and exhibitions, all open free to the public.
Featured events include a performance of French playwright Yasmina Reza’s award-winning comedy Art and readings by internationally known poet and translator Coleman Barks.
Also on hand will be the Amadeus Trio as part of the Franklin College Chamber Music Series.
(...)
On Friday, Sept. 5, events will include an outdoor stage sponsored by UGA’s Music Business Program; performances by the CORE Concert Dance Company and the Amadeus Trio; and a reading, “Lion of the Heart,” performed by Coleman Barks, who will be accompanied by Art Rosenbaum, who is equally well known for his work as an artist and as a music folklorist.
Barks is known worldwide as a poet and translator of the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi.
Rosenbaum is a painter, muralist and illustrator, as well as a collector and performer of traditional American folk music. Both Barks and Rosenbaum are retired UGA faculty members.
For additional information visit http://www.uga.edu/artsfestival/
[Picture from http://www.sufism.org/books/lion.html]
Pottery From Poetry
MN report, "Gail Kendall's 'Purpose of Labor' opens Aug. 26 at Sheldon Museum of Art" - Media Newswire - Lincoln, NE, USAMonday, August 11, 2008
Gail Kendall, Hixson-Lied professor of art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will present new ceramic artworks in "The Purpose of Labor," opening Aug. 26 at UNL's Sheldon Museum of Art.
Works in the exhibition respond to Robert Bly's translation of "The Kabir Book," ecstatic poems by the Islamic Sufi poet Kabir.
"I have been drawn to the imagery in many of these poems since I learned about them in the mid-1980s and felt this exhibition would provide me with a wonderful opportunity to create a group of works around a theme," Kendall said.
"This theme is allowing me to expand on recent work as well as consider a series of new vessels."
(...)
Additional information is also available on the Sheldon Web site, http://www.sheldon.unl.edu/
Works in the exhibition respond to Robert Bly's translation of "The Kabir Book," ecstatic poems by the Islamic Sufi poet Kabir.
"I have been drawn to the imagery in many of these poems since I learned about them in the mid-1980s and felt this exhibition would provide me with a wonderful opportunity to create a group of works around a theme," Kendall said.
"This theme is allowing me to expand on recent work as well as consider a series of new vessels."
(...)
Additional information is also available on the Sheldon Web site, http://www.sheldon.unl.edu/
A Commemoration Ceremony
TE/HGH, "Iran honors miniaturist Ali Moti" - Press TV - Tehran, IranTuesday, August 12, 2008Iran has held a commemoration ceremony in honor of the late master miniaturist and illuminator, Ali Moti in the capital of Tehran.
Prominent artists including Aidin Aqdashlou and Hannibal Alkhas attended the event and paid tribute to the late Moti.
Ali Moti died on July 31, 2008 at the age of 92 after a long period of illness in Riverside, California.
His paintings, mostly inspired by the Iranian poet Hafez, have been displayed at 37 international and domestic exhibitions.
Moti, who received his first gold medal in Brussels in 1953, is known for his unique illumination of the holy Qur'an.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
A Friend Of Roadside Flowers
By Ryszard Antolak, "Iran's Sohrab Sepehri at 80" - Persian Journal - IranMonday, August 11, 2008
There is a city somewhere beyond the seas
Where windows open on illumination...
Where the earth listens
To the music of your heart
And the wind carries sounds
Of the fluttering of mythical birds
October 7th 2008 marks the 80th anniversary of the birth of one of Iran's most celebrated modern poets, Sohrab Sepehri.
On that day, hundreds of people will make their way to the lonely, remote mosque of Mashhad Ardehal, (on the desert road between Kashan and Dilijan), to pay their respects, recite poetry and lay flowers on the grave of this much-loved poet.
Awaiting them will be no grand memorial tomb such as that of Hafez or Sa'adi: no pavilion with fragrant gardens, no trees to adorn and give shade. All they will see is a marble flagstone in the courtyard of the mosque (outside the women's entrance), sometimes trodden below the feet of visitors on their way to prayer.
The inscription on the stone reads:
"If you come to visit me
Tread softly,
Lest you break the fragile shell
Of my loneliness."
It is a modest, humble grave, one eminently in keeping with the character of the poet.
His was a truly singular voice in 20th century Iranian Literature: fresh and natural, almost childlike sometimes in its directness. At a time when other poets were wrestling with complex social and political concerns in their works, Sohrab Sepehri was an advocate of all that was small and personal, intimate and homely.
He was a friend of roadside flowers, of people walking home from work, of goldfinches and swaying poplars. For him, the most familiar objects - a willow, a red rose - could open suddenly to reveal an aspect of the Divine hitherto concealed.
He explained in his poem, "Water's Footfall", that the poet need not go beyond his own immediate environment to discover the wondrous and the divine.
Transcendence was perception, seeing through the everyday details of life to the empowered presence beyond.
"I am a Muslim.
And my direction of prayer is the red rose,
My prayer rug is... the fountain,
My prayer stone is... light,
The meadows are my prayer hall.
I kneel down when the muezzin wind
Calls out the time of prayer
From the cypress tree."
The words sound almost like a paraphrase of Ibn Arabi's famous profession of faith.
Born in Kashan in 1928, Sepehri's imagination was dominated by the Dasht-e Kavir, the desert that stretches before the city like a grey nothingness for a thousand kilometres.
Something of that emptiness, that loneliness, filtered into his bones and sank deeply into his heart.
"Come to me and I will tell you
How colossal my loneliness is"
It was as if the desert called out to him in an almost religious voice, (as it called many prophets and mystics in the past) and Sepehri responded both physically and metaphorically:
"Tonight I must go
I must take my suitcase
Large enough to hold the garments of my loneliness
And go to the place where trees sing out in epic song
And where the vast wordless expanse
Calls out to me: "Sohrab!"
Listen! There it is again!
I must find my shoes quickly".
He became a restless spirit, unable to settle, travelling the world in search of something he could never quite define, which lay just beyond the horizon, just out of sight.
During his wanderings, he encountered a variety of different literary styles, some of which found their way later into his poetry enriching the language in ways which bore the indelible seal of his genius.
Through his writing and his painting, he created a new home for himself (another Kashan) "on the far side of the night", one that could not be taken away from him by force or by distance.
"It does not matter were I am
Because the sky is always mine
And windows, ideas, fresh air, love"
In the end, his body "descended from a piece of pottery on Sialk Hills", longed for the soil of its birth.
He discovered at the age of fifty that he was suffering from leukaemia and that the illness was incurable.
In 1980, the poet made his final journey home to his beloved Kashan to be buried (according to his own wishes) in the grounds of Mashhad Ardehal.
(...)
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Godless Lover
By Joanna Lobo, "Panel charts our religious journey" - Daily News and Analysis - Mumbai, IndiaTuesday, August 12, 2008
On the launch of its 22nd issue, the editor of the magazine Gallerie hosted a debate on the relevance of religion in today’s world
On a rainy Sunday evening, while most Mumbaikars chose to sit out the rains at home, a debate was raging at the Crossword bookstore in Kemps Corner: How relevant is religion today?
The event marked the launch of the 22nd issue of Gallerie - the International Journal of Arts and Ideas. And the theme was ‘The Sacred and the Profane’.
So, headed by Gallerie’s founder-publisher-cum-editor, Bina Sarkar Ellias, an eclectic group of the city’s intellectuals and literati discussed their beliefs; the existence of God; and whether, as Karl Marx said, religion is indeed the opium of the masses.
Artist and poet, Gieve Patel, academician Dr Zeenat Shaukat Ali, actor Tom Alter, and poet Javed Akhtar were some of the panelists.
Ellias spoke about a change in the way religion has been perceived over the ages. “In earlier centuries, religion prescribed a moral code of conduct, which was very faithfully followed. Over the past few years, it has gone out of control.”
According to her, religion has relevance today, considering that 86 per cent of people in the world believe in the existence of God.
Dr Ali punctuated her speech with couplets from poet Mirza Ghalib and quotes from Albert Einstein and the Sufi saint, Rabia.
“Spirituality is inspiring oneself and others on the path of illumination. What is sad is that today, religion has taken the form of racial and ethnic discrimination, xenophobia, terrorism, and so on.”
She spoke of how Islam is misrepresented by everyone, including Muslims themselves. “Islam is a passive religion,” she stated firmly.
On the other hand, Patel drew parallels between the Soviet communists and Christians. “In both cases, the ideology is humane and non-violent. Yet the way it is practised is destructive and aggressive,” he said.
According to him, there are two basic factors to be taken into account. “There is an inborn perception in people that they are good and the rest are evil, and they have to destroy the evil before it overpowers them.
There is also the element of greed - by destroying the other person you get what he has, thus making you more powerful.” He argued that religion aside; people will always be aggressive.
Tom Alter began by citing his personal example of being surrounded by missionaries and other religious people all his life. Citing the example of Khuda Kay Liye, he challenged any Indian director to make a movie on an Indian religion without having cinemas burned down and screenings stopped.
“It is the misuse of religion that is the problem. When anyone starts using their religion against me, I have nothing more to do with that person.” He appealed to people to “make your religion better by being a better practitioner of it”.
A firm atheist, Javed Akhtar’s speech was eloquent. “Religion is based on faith - you aren’t allowed to question or discuss it, and there is no logic or reason behind it. What is the difference between faith and stupidity?”
He claimed that the power of religion lies in its numbers. “We are living in an era of schizophrenia. But there are too many people who believe and we cannot call all of them schizophrenic.”
He ended by saying that considering all the violence in the world today, “for God’s sake I hope there is no God”.
The discussion was followed by a Q and A session with the audience. A majority of the questions were directed at Javed Akhtar and Zeenat Ali. Thus ensued a heated debate between them.
Both laid out their points well and lost no time in putting them across. Some memorable snippets included Zeenat’s “having armchair discussions does not constitute religion. You need to go out on the field and see”, and Javed’s “all the religions in the world claim they can tell you everything, but can they tell you how to make a bicycle?”
Whether you are a believer or a non-believer, witnessing people talk about religion, was enriching. As one ponders the relevance of religion today, try finding some answers in Mirza Ghalib’s The Godless Lover:
When there was nothing, there was God
If nothing had been, God would have been
My very being has been my downfall
If I hadn’t been, what would it have mattered?
[Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghalib]
The Land Of Art-lovers
By TP Correspondent, "Punjab to have 3 more museums" - The Post -
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Pasrar: Punjab Minister for Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Dr Tanvir-ul-Islam has said that three museums are being constructed in Gujrat, Multan and Katas Raj in the province and the building of Kalar Kahar Museum is under-construction which will soon be completed.
He said this while talking to the journalists at Chawinda-Pasrur Monday.
The provincial minister further said the concrete measures would be taken for the promotion of Punjabi language and extending patronage to artists in order to enhance the cultural activities in the province.
He said that a large number of projects were being carried out in the province for the promotion of fine art by Lahore Arts Council and Punjab Arts Council.
Academy of Performing Art is already operating where diploma courses were being offered in calligraphy, photography, drama, dance, music, violin, 'satar', drawing, painting and tabla, he added.
Dr Tanvir said: "The Punjab is the land of 'art-lovers' and has a rich culture and it is our responsibility to transfer it to the next generation."
He said the government would utilise all resources for the promotion of art and culture.
To preserve the cultural heritage of Punjab as well as promoting Punjabi language and culture, Punjab Institute of Language Art and Culture has been set up which was translating the poetry of 'Sufi' poets in regional languages for creating brotherhood and harmony among the provinces, he added.
The provincial minister said the Heer Waris Shah had been translated into Urdu language whereas the poetry of Baba Fareed had been translated into Sindhi language so that people from other provinces could also learn about the cultural heritage of the other provinces.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Pasrar: Punjab Minister for Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Dr Tanvir-ul-Islam has said that three museums are being constructed in Gujrat, Multan and Katas Raj in the province and the building of Kalar Kahar Museum is under-construction which will soon be completed.
He said this while talking to the journalists at Chawinda-Pasrur Monday.
The provincial minister further said the concrete measures would be taken for the promotion of Punjabi language and extending patronage to artists in order to enhance the cultural activities in the province.
He said that a large number of projects were being carried out in the province for the promotion of fine art by Lahore Arts Council and Punjab Arts Council.
Academy of Performing Art is already operating where diploma courses were being offered in calligraphy, photography, drama, dance, music, violin, 'satar', drawing, painting and tabla, he added.
Dr Tanvir said: "The Punjab is the land of 'art-lovers' and has a rich culture and it is our responsibility to transfer it to the next generation."
He said the government would utilise all resources for the promotion of art and culture.
To preserve the cultural heritage of Punjab as well as promoting Punjabi language and culture, Punjab Institute of Language Art and Culture has been set up which was translating the poetry of 'Sufi' poets in regional languages for creating brotherhood and harmony among the provinces, he added.
The provincial minister said the Heer Waris Shah had been translated into Urdu language whereas the poetry of Baba Fareed had been translated into Sindhi language so that people from other provinces could also learn about the cultural heritage of the other provinces.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Huzur-u Pir
By Pat Yale Nevsehir, "Hacıbektaş the heartland of Alevis" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, TurkeySunday, August 10, 2008
Next weekend sees the generally sleepy central Anatolian town of Hacıbektaş spring to life for its 54th annual festival, a three-day jamboree that usually kicks off with some politicking before segueing into the fun part -- the singing and dancing.
For a small town, Hacıbektaş is surprisingly important, its importance lying in the fact that it is home to the shrine of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, a 13th-century Sufi thinker, originally from Khorasan in Iran, who arrived in what was then the village of Sulucakarahöyük some time between 1270 and 1280.
Here he developed a philosophy that emphasized the importance of science and reason and which allowed women an equal part in daily life; images of Hacı Bektaş usually show him embracing a deer and a lion, an allegorical rendering of his teachings about peace and tolerance (other images show him with a pigeon, the guise in which he is said to have flown to Anatolia).
When he died in 1337 he was buried in the village and as the influence of his writings spread, so the complex around his shrine grew. Today it is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Turkey.
Among the Alevis, the followers of Ali, a Muslim splinter group with perhaps 10 million adherents in Turkey, Hacı Bektaş is especially revered and the festival forms one of the highpoints of their calendar.
Unfortunately, at the moment the shrine and associated museum are being restored, making it hard to make much sense of what you see. Hacıbektaş is also one of those places, like Gallipoli, that you really need to visit twice: Once during the festival to soak up the atmosphere and again at another time when you will be able to look around in peace and quiet.
All things being equal, though, you approach the shrine via a gateway into a courtyard graced by a fountain with three waterspouts and a carving of a six-sided star.
From this first courtyard a small gate leads to the main part of the complex, a cloistered space containing a large (and currently empty) pool. Immediately to the right is a second lovely fountain, presided over by a carving of an amiable-looking marble lion which arrived from Egypt in 1853.
Two important buildings stand to the right of the courtyard. The first is the Aş Evi, or Cookhouse, which contains a number of oversized cooking pots, the most gigantic of them the Kara Kazan (Black Cauldron), which became very important to the Ottoman Janissary Corps, who would signal displeasure with a sultan by overturning a similar cauldron.
The second is a small mosque with a stubby minaret which was built in 1834 after Sultan Mahmut II had gotten rid of the Janissaries and closed down the Alevi/Bektaşı lodges.
On the left-hand side of the courtyard stand a guesthouse, bathhouse and laundry. However, the most important room is the Meydan Evi, an Alevi “cem” house where initiation and other ceremonies were carried out.
The focal point of this room is a stove with a 15th-century painting of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli on the wall above it and a huge wooden throne beside it. Best of all is the fine wooden ceiling whose nine separate layers represent the nine levels of the heavens.
A small corridor leads to the third courtyard where a bust of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk commemorates the visit of the first president of the Turkish Republic to the town in 1919, on the eve of the War of Independence.
The third courtyard acts as a ceremonial approach to the heart of the complex, the shrine of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli. Here, steps lead down to a corridor whose floor is said to cover the remains of the architect Yanko Medyan, who became an adherent of Bektaşism after falling from the roof and calling out to Hacı Bektaş for help.
To the immediate right of the steps is the oldest part of the complex, a small cell called a çilehane, or place of suffering, where the saint is thought to have spent long periods in seclusion.
An elaborately carved Selçuk-style portal leads through into the Kırklar Meydanı (Area of 40 Saints), a huge domed space which serves as a small museum, showcasing items associated with Bektaşi dervishes, including fierce-looking ear-rings worn by unmarried men, begging bowls and a traveling picnic set.
On the wall hang some fine examples of the sort of calligraphy that turns writing into pictures; in one particularly fine example a human face has been created out of the words for “Ya Allah, Muhammad, Ali.” The finest item on display is a 40-branched candlestick which was used in Bektaşi ceremonies.
A strikingly beautiful marble portal on the right-hand side of the door opens onto the room containing the shrine of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, otherwise known as Huzur-u Pir (the Presence of the Master), a particularly holy place where pilgrims will usually be praying.
To the left of the main entrance and up some stairs is the tomb of Güvenç Abdal, described in the Velayetname, the biography of Hacı Bektaş, as the most beautiful girl in the world.
Also in the third courtyard, tucked away behind an ancient mulberry tree, is the tomb of Balım Sultan (1462-1516), who became the second most important leader of the Bektaşi order. It is well worth popping your head in here if only to see a second, even finer 40-branched candlestick, its base supported on brass lions, its body decorated with brass pigeons and dragons.
Once you’ve finished inspecting the complex, it is easy to conclude that you have “done” Hacıbektaş, which is not a particularly prepossessing town.
In particular, the cultural center that was inflicted on it a few years ago is an eyesore of a white elephant, the echoing void of its lobby containing nothing more inspirational than two cases of costume dolls. Still, there are a couple of other sites worth seeking out, and these include the early 17th-century shrine of Bektaş Efendi immediately behind it.
Otherwise, walk down towards the Belediye building, passing a long line of stalls that sell Alevi/Bektaşı paraphernalia in a sort of Turkish take on Lourdes in France.
Just across the road from the Belediye, a house where Atatürk stayed in 1919 has been lovingly restored and boasts an especially gorgeous sitting room, with bench seats invitingly set up on either side of a table in a light-filled cumba (bay window).
If you continue down the road behind the Belediye you will also come across the town’s last remaining adobe houses, some of them centered on courtyards with porticos on each side, others with giant pots serving as literal chimneypots.
The restored Kadıncık Ana Evi (House of the Poor Woman) behind the graceful Akpınar Çeşmesi (fountain), where Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli is believed to have stayed, should be open to the public but probably won’t be.
The Kadıncık Ana Evi overlooks the Karahöyük (Black Tumulus) where the original settlement of Sulucakarahöyük stood from the Bronze Age until about the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. Finds from excavations on the hill are on display in the town’s small museum.
Where to stay
There is very little accommodation in Hacıbektaş itself. Most people stay in Göreme, Avanos, Üçhisar or Ürgüp and visit on day trips.
Evrim Hotel. Tel.: (384) 441 2900
Hünkar Otel. Tel.: (384) 441 3344
How to get there
There are daily dolmuş services to Hacıbektaş from Kırşehir and from Nevşehir via Gülşehir. It's a one-hour ride.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Beginning Of Everything
By Arsalan Mohammad, "Rhythm of Language" - The National - Abu Dhabi, UAESunday, August 10, 2008
It all starts with a dot.
“The dot is very important,” says Khaled al Saai, as he reaches for a fresh sheet of paper, dips a wooden blade into a pot of ink and swiftly marks a small neat square in the centre of the white page.
“This is the beginning of everything, the dot. It measures the letters geometrically. It gives identity to each letter.”
More dots appear on the sheet as Saai begins working with fluency. “It refers to Kaaba, when you look from above, the dot is rectangular. When it is rounded, it is the movement around the Kaaba, the dot itself between the two stages – no movement and the ultimate movement – between the calmness and movement. Classically, each style has its own dot.”
The 38-year-old, Syrian-born calligrapher is well-versed in classic calligraphy styles – as his reputation attests, he is one of the few young Arab artists who have transcended regional boundaries to achieve real international fame.
He has exhibited in both solo and group shows around the world, from Sharjah to Mexico and Boston to Bonn. He has been feted by major calligraphy events in Istanbul, Sharjah and Iran, as well as smaller arts festivals in Europe, often picking up first prize in biennial competitions, and beating down the cream of the region’s calligraphers.
Major wins over the past decade include four first prizes for Diwani Jali calligraphy at his alma mater, the prestigious in Istanbul Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), as well as a glut of prizes from Sharjah Calligraphy Biennials.
It’s his highly distinct style that immediately arrests the attention. It’s a perfect synthesis of old and new, spiritual and earthy. In his varied canvases – some pocket-sized, others stretching across gallery walls – he diffuses traditional techniques through a contemporary prism, deconstructs strictly-executed calligraphic styles within vast landscapes.
The results can reference Quranic verses, secular poetry or more simply, clusters of random letters into pictorial forms that thunder across the surfaces of his canvases.
(...)
Blending the cleaner, sharper lines of Thuluth with the opulence of Diwani Jali brings us closer to the trademark Saai style. But again, Saai’s love of experimentation emerges through his choice of media.
The usual ink and tempera and range of graduated wooden blades of any calligrapher is present and correct, yet there are inks made from substances like tobacco and crushed walnuts, which add extra texture and depth to his work.
“I have no direct influences,” he remarks. “I know all the Iranian artists, but I don’t have any Parsi style in my work. Usually, I work with a theme, I have everything I am doing translated to Arabic and try to convey the rhythm of the language in the visual art and that is a challenge.”
Citing favourites such as the late Lebanese painter Paul Guragossian and Syrian contemporary art legend Fateh Moudarres, Saai says he prefers to draw inspiration from his surroundings.
Porter [*] makes tentative comparisons to the Iraqi painter Hassan Massoudy, also featured in Word Into Art, but points out that Massoudy’s technique uses words with a much more straightforward approach.
Saai’s best pieces reflect his love of music. He recently staged a performance piece with a Jordanian musician, Khaled Jaramani, in which he responded visually to the lutist’s performance by echoing the music in his strokes as he painted words from a Sufi poem by Taher Riadh.
“I try to convey the rhythm of language in visual art and that is a challenge, there is a very deep dialogue between these two arts. Music complements the calligraphy.”
(...)
Khaled al Saai’s work can currently be seen at the XVA Gallery in Dubai (04 04 353 5383), the Majlis Gallery in Dubai (04 3536233) and the Green Art Gallery in Dubai (04 344 9888).
*[Venetia Porter, the assistant keeper of Islamic and contemporary Middle Eastern art at the British Museum in London, who included Saai in her recent Word Into Art exhibition in London and Dubai]
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
3:64 / one of His
Yale Center for Faith and Culture Reconciliation Program - Yale Divinity School - New Haven, CT, USAFriday, August 8, 2008
Loving God and Neighbor in Word and Deed:Implications for Christians and Muslims
All videos of the 2008 Conference (July 29 - 31) are now posted on the Yale Divinity School Webcast Page. To see the videos, click on the title of this article.
Related Links:
http://www.yale.edu/divinity/commonword/
[Picture: H.E. Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr; Keynote Address video, Thursday, July 31]
[Picture: H.E. Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr; Keynote Address video, Thursday, July 31]
Monday, August 11, 2008
In A Peaceful Manner
Staff Report, "Sufi Saint Abdullah’s birthday celebrated in Kattankudy amidst tight security provided by armed forces" - Asian Tribune - Colombo, Sri LankaFriday August 8, 2008
All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen, a Sufi Order, celebrated the 84th birth of Sufi Saint Sheihul Mufleen M.S.M Abdullah (RA) recently at Kattankudy, in the Batticaloa district, with the deployment of a large contingent of Police, Army and STF personnel in Kattankudy.
Sheihul Mufliheen M.S.M Abdullah (Ra) passed away on 6th December, 2006, at a private hospital in Colombo. In keeping with his wish the body of the spiritual leader was taken to the Head Office by his followers and intermitted according to Islamic rights.
But a group of religious extremists opposed to this organization, on hearing funeral ceremony M.S.M Abdullah (Ra) held in Kattankudy, instigated the people of Kattankudy to protest against this burial and inflicted enormous damage to public and private property and in particular over a hundred abodes of the followers were damaged and set ablaze.
This violent situation lasted throughout a week. The body of the spiritual leader was exhumed and taken away from the burial site in the pretext of demolishing an unauthorized building, the fate of which is yet unknown.
M.C.A. Hameed, President of the All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen told Asian Tribune that to seek justice for this inhuman act, a Fundamental Rights Case No. SC/FR 200/2007 was filed with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
The verdict was given on the 2nd July, 2008 by the Supreme Court presided by Justice Sarath N Silva, Justice J. Balapatabendi & Justice J. Dissanayake to those displaced to return back to Kattankudy and conduct their activities as in the past.
Accordingly hundreds Sufi Muslims went to Kattankudy and held the annual feast and the 84th birth anniversary on the 24th July, 2008.
A large gathering of Muslim and Tamil populace participated at the feast.
With the deployment of a large contingent of Police, Army and STF personnel in Kattankudy the feast ended in a peaceful manner.
Mr. Hamid said, All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen is a Sufi Order, founded 35 years ago by the spiritual leader Sheihul Mufliheen M.S.M. Abdullah (Ra).
The Head Office is located in Kattankudy with branches in other parts of the country.
He stressed that members of this organization strictly follow a non-violent spiritual path to achieve eternal peace and tranquility, self-realization or union with God through contemplation, meditation and purification of mind.
[Picture: Celebrations held in Kattankudy. Photo: Asian Tribune]
Hafez Commemoration Day
MNA Culture Desk, "Iranian institutions to honor Hafez expert Salim Neysari" - Mehr News - Tehran, IranFriday, August 8, 2008
Scholar Salim Neysari, who has corrected the Divan of Hafez, will be honored during ceremonies on October 10 and 11 commemorating Hafez at the Hafezieh (the tomb of Hafez) in Shiraz.
Cosponsored by Iran’s Center for Hafez Studies and Fars Studies Foundation, the annual event commemorating Hafez Day is to be held on October 11 in Shiraz.
Having the theme of “The Impact of Hafez on Later Literati and Writers,” the event consists of two sections: the academic meeting and the commemoration ceremony. The Iranian Center for the Study of Hafez will compile and publish the delivered lectures during the ceremony at a later date.
Hafez scholars Masud Farzad, Qodsi Shirazi and Rashid Eivazi were honored during the last year’s ceremonies on Hafez Commemoration Day.
Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini Kazeruni on “The Impact of Hafez on Bushehr’s Contemporary Poets,” Abbasali Vafaii on “The Impact of Hafez Ideology and Poetry in Uzbekistan,” Mahindokht Mashhur on “The Impact of Hafez on Tagore,” and Hassan Anvari and Mahmud Fotuhi will give papers during the event.
Hafez Commemoration Day is an occasion that gives admirers of his poetic works a unique opportunity to gather and hold discussions on the poetry, thoughts, and life of Hafez.
Mohammed Shams al-Din (1315 or 1317-1389) was born in Shiraz. He gained the respectful title Hafez, meaning “one who has memorized the Quran” as a teacher of the Quran.
Hafez’s work, collected under the title of the Divan of Hafez, contains more than 500 poems, most of them in the form of a Ghazal, a short traditional Persian form that he perfected.
[Picture: Aramgah-e Hafez (Hafez Mausoleum), Exterior view, courtyard with pools and pavilion, 1773/1953, Shiraz. Photo by Robert Byron. Source: Fine Arts Library, Harvard College Library/Archnet IMG08655 http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2379]
Sunday, August 10, 2008
From Doubt To Light
Culture Desk, "East meets West" - Barking & Dagenham Post - London, UK Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Anurekha Ghosh & Company presents a double Bill - Convince Me and Noor Light at the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford.
Conceived by award-winning dancer Anurekha and performed by international dancers and musicians, Noor Light is the meeting point of acrobatic martial arts and contemporary Kathak dance.
It traces the journey of a seeker, moving from doubt to light, and incorporating the songs and lyrical rythmns and mystical poetry inspired by Hinduism, Christianity, and Sufism [Islam].
In Convince Me, Anurekha seamlessly blends classic kathak with diverse musical genres from Persia to the Sufi music. In this collaboration, dancers and musicans bridge the gap between East and West.
This multi-layered exuberance of Indian classical kathak, a dose of flamenco, and a touch of ballet are theaded together.
Anurekha won the Asian Woman Achievement Award for Arts and Culture 2007.
Anurekha Ghosh & Company presents a double Bill - Convince Me and Noor Light at the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford.
Conceived by award-winning dancer Anurekha and performed by international dancers and musicians, Noor Light is the meeting point of acrobatic martial arts and contemporary Kathak dance.
It traces the journey of a seeker, moving from doubt to light, and incorporating the songs and lyrical rythmns and mystical poetry inspired by Hinduism, Christianity, and Sufism [Islam].
In Convince Me, Anurekha seamlessly blends classic kathak with diverse musical genres from Persia to the Sufi music. In this collaboration, dancers and musicans bridge the gap between East and West.
This multi-layered exuberance of Indian classical kathak, a dose of flamenco, and a touch of ballet are theaded together.
Anurekha won the Asian Woman Achievement Award for Arts and Culture 2007.
Anurekha Gosh and her company appear at Chelmsford Civic for one night on Sunday, September 14 at 7.45pm. Tickets price £14 are available from the box office, phone 01245 606505
[Picture from http://www.gobetween.us/en/biographiegosh.php Photo: Laurence Gonnard http://www.laurencegonnard.fr]
Saturday, August 09, 2008
A Religion Of Sufism Character
By Elbrus Seyfullayev, "Allahshukur Pashazadeh: “Islam is wanted to be a religion of Sufism character in the US”" - APA Azeri Press Agency - Baku, AzerbaijanThursday, August 7, 2008
“Islam is wanted to be a religion of Sufism character in the US”, Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office SheikhulIslam Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh said, APA reports.
He spoke about the outcomes of the visit to the US and noted that Islam of Sufism character was given preference in the US.
To him, Sufism is more hermitry than the religion.
“There is not statehood in the Sufism, but another world. I respect them. Hazrati Ali was Sufi as well”, he said.
Pashazadeh expressed his satisfaction with the level tolerance observed in the US.
Chechnya, Salafism, Sufism, Human Rights
By James Kilner (with Angus MacSwan), "Russia torture accuser disappears - rights groups" -Reuters - USAWednesday, August 6, 2008
A man who has publicly accused soldiers loyal to Chechnya's President Ramzan Kadyrov of abducting and torturing him has disappeared in the southern Russian republic, human rights groups said on Wednesday.
Mukhamadsalakh Masayev had spoken to rights groups and given an interview to the Novaya Gazeta newspaper last month in which he said Kadyrov's soldiers of seized him in 2006. He planned to bring a legal action against them.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said witnesses had seen camouflaged men stop Masayev in central Grozny on Sunday and pull him into their car. He has not been seen or heard of since, HRW said in a letter to Grozny's Prosecutor-General on Wednesday.
(...)
Masayev, a native of Chechnya who lived in Moscow, told human rights groups that Kadyrov's soldiers had abducted him because he preached Salafism -- a conservative form of Islam linked to the strict Wahhabism strand from Saudi Arabia.
Chechnya is a republic of about 1 million on the southern fringe of Russia which has traditionally practised the Sufism more mystical form of Islam.
[Picture: View of a gorge in the Caucasus Mountains in Chechnya. Early color photograph from Russia, created by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii as part of his work to document the Russian Empire from 1909 to 1915. Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechnya]
Friday, August 08, 2008
Into the Joy of the Spiritual World
By Can Bahadir Yüce, "Robert Bly: The best poetry is always religious" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, TurkeyTuesday, August 5, 2008
Washington: Robert Bly is one of the most influential poets of the "lyrical" tendency in contemporary poetry in the world.
Apart from his translations of the works of great eastern poets Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi and Hafez into English, Bly is also known for being an activist and a dissident.
His anti-war anthology, "A Poetry Reading against the Vietnam War," played a major role in the United States when it was released back in 1967. Bly also compiled another anthology, one of anti-Iraq war poems, after the start of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Bly wrote the poems in his two newest books in the "ghazal" structure and with a tendency to use religious motifs in his works. And now Bly's unforgettable poems in his "The Night Abraham Called to the Stars" (HarperCollins, 2001) are waiting to meet their Turkish readers.
He recently spoke with Today's Zaman about his poems and translations.
You gathered together poems written in opposition to the war in Iraq in an anthology. In this age, what is the role of poetry in terms of pacifism against wars and conflict? What can lyrical poetry suggest in this context?
Poetry is not a very effective way of protesting something like the war in Iraq. Still, it's important to use it. It's important for younger poets to know that older poets are willing to spend some time and put in effort to protest stupid acts of their own government.
I think the work we did against the war in Vietnam left a large impact all in all on the American public.
You translated poems of prominent Eastern poets like Rumi and Hafez into English. Your translations served in the promotion of these poems in the US. To when does your interest in Eastern culture and poetry date back?
I began my translation work by translating -- when I was in Norway as a student -- some of the good Norwegian poets. Then I moved over to Swedish and then to German for the translations of (Rainer) Rilke and others.
About 30 years ago I think I ran into Rumi and asked Coleman Barks to do a number of translations because I thought his soul fit with Rumi's very well.
For the last 14 years Leonard Lewisohn and I have been working on translations of Hafez. They've just come out in a book called "The Angels Knocking on the Tavern Door." I think they are the first accurate translations of Hafez into English, and they represent the best that I am able to do in that field.
And how about today's Eastern poetry? Are there any poets or writers that you closely follow in other Eastern literature? For example Adonis, he is still considered close to a Nobel Prize; what do you think of that?
About contemporary poetry, I do admire Adonis and I hope he gets the Nobel Prize soon. I'm also interested in a number of younger poets in Iran, but I haven't published anything of their work yet.
Translations you completed of Western literature, namely from (Federico Garcia) Lorca, (Pablo) Neruda, (Cesar) Vallejo and Rilke, show readers your view of modern poetry. My humble view is that, among these poets, you are much closer to Rilke in terms of the themes in your poetry. Is my assessment correct? Who are the poets in world poetry that inspire you?
I'm glad to hear that you think among the various European poets I've translated that I am closest to Rilke. He has been an enormous influence on my life.
Many times I've gone up to a cabin in the north woods and had nothing with me but Rilke. I think he has been the one calling me onward, away from the obsession with this world and into the joy of the spiritual world.
In one of your poems you wrote, "And we were right -- that poetry / Our poetry -- would bless everyone." How can you protect this belief, let's say faith, in the US. As you know, it has been said that the US is not an inspiring country for a poet.
You mustn't confuse the gross stupidity of the United States and its politics and general behavior with the intensely intelligent poetry community that we have hiding in the body of the country.
I think the United States is a perfect country for a poet. Walt Whitman is as good as any poet produced in Europe in the 19th century and we take courage from him.
Literary critic Charles Molesworth suggests that the importance of your poetry lies in the fact that you "write religious meditations for a public that is no longer ostensibly religious." In light of this comment, what do you think about the relationship between poetry and religion?
I think that all poetry, except for children's poetry and political poetry, aims toward the world of the soul.
So the best poetry is always religious. It's true that the public is no longer "ostensibly religious," but it never has been.
These days a number of younger poets have gained more knowledge about the soul from poets we have and read, such as Whitman and Rilke and Vallejo, than they do from churches. That's all right. The churches have a lot to do just keeping themselves upright. We have to do the rest.
You cited in one of your interviews the phrase of Wallace Stevens, "A poem should almost successfully escape the intellect." Considering that your poems have a purified expression, what does "intellect" mean to you? In other words, how is your relation with the "intellect"?
Stevens is a genius, a man with a marvelous intellect. But he knew that poetry was written by his playful side, the one he couldn't make use of in his work as an insurance executive.
So poetry always plays with the intellect and gives it little problems to solve while the imagination does the rest.
As for my relation to the intellect, I admire it and I owe a lot of money to it, but I wouldn't bring it home to dinner with my family.
Your interest in Islamic culture dates back decades. Poems in your last two books in particular were written in the "ghazal" structure, and these books were published after Sept. 11. Has the approach of your readers and literary critics changed since Sept. 11?
Anyone who has any sense is obviously devoted to the depth of the Islamic culture. Sept. 11 didn't change that at all, as far as I or my friends are concerned.
You can always find idiots who will fly an airplane into a tower. That's no reflection on the great Islamic culture.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Like Fire and Water
By Jan Glidewell, "Lessons of life contrast like fire and water " - Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL, USAMonday, August 4, 2008
Sometimes life can almost instantly go from the sublime to the terrifying.
On a beautiful day a few weeks ago, I was at Valley View, one of my favorite hot springs campgrounds in Colorado.
There, naturally heated water flows from a number of hot springs. It is dammed and redirected into a common stream that flows first into a large swimming pool, then into a hot tub and finally into a hydroelectric plant that provides power for the campground.
It is a beautiful wooded spot with ample places to meditate, muse on nature's beauty and serenity and on how we fit into the universe.
The night before I had attended a Sufi ceremony, called a Zikr in nearby Crestone, a small town with a long history of multiple spiritual traditions.
The ceremony, which included singing, chanting, dancing and a short homily on love by Shaykha Fariha al Jerrahi, was followed by whirling, a Sufi practice responsible for the term "whirling dervishes."
Shaykha Fariha is the spiritual guide of her New York-based Sufi community and graciously invited me to the ceremony.
The entire theme of the gathering was love and peace, beliefs common to both Islam and its Sufi mystics, and the bulk of my post-Zikr ruminations was on the belief expressed a while back by a Hernando County commissioner and supported by a member of Congress that Islam is a "hateful and frightening religion."
Any religion, no matter how peaceful, can have and, at times has had, its beliefs hijacked by some lunatic fringe — like the terrorists who have done just that to Islam.
Philosophical and spiritual musings are a great way to occupy oneself on a mellow summer day in the wilderness.
That ended as I worked my way down the mountain and back in cell phone range. Only then did I learn that my younger sister had been involved in a desperate flight for her life in the midst of a Washington state forest fire.
I had caught just a mention of the fire on the news, sandwiched between reports of larger and more numerous fires raging in California. I had called my sister a couple of times, getting only a dial tone. I wasn't really worried, just thought it would be a good opportunity for us to catch up.
When I did get through, I learned that she and her family were living in a hotel, and that she and her three adult children had just barely escaped the blaze that destroyed what had been a beautiful mountainside home in an area outside Spokane.
The area, where 13 homes were destroyed, is called, ironically, Valley View, the same as the place where I had been placidly contemplating my navel.
My physician brother-in-law was at work and my sister, her college-age daughter, and two sons, one of them autistic, had little warning before learning that they were surrounded. They and their two cats piled into their car with no time to grab anything, not even my sister's wedding rings or purse, and drove down the side of a mountain, watching trees around them explode into flame.
I reminded her that I am a Buddhist and we are about detaching from material things, although I am lousy at it.
"I have never been so ascetic in my life," she joked.
My sister is a gutsy woman, having been blessed with the best of the genes from our sometimes-questionable family gene pool.
I remember when she flew from Colorado to Florida, alone, with a knee so badly mangled in a skiing accident that it had to be replaced with an artificial joint.
And I have applauded from afar as she and her husband and two other children raised a non-verbal autistic son with unsurpassed love and understanding. A soon-to-be published book will describe that task with an eye toward helping other people in the same situation.
Later she found that her wedding album and a baby album had survived in a fire safe, and armed with only those reminders of their past, they have found a new home and are putting their lives back together.
I will help out with family pictures and other memorabilia, but, as she said, "I already got what was important. Nothing else matters."
I contemplate the universe. She understands it.
[Picture: Shaykha Fariha al Jerrahi. Click on this link to visit the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order http://www.nurashkijerrahi.org/main.htm]
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Well Represented Islam
By Niraj Warikoo, "African immigrants celebrate spiritual leader in Southfield" - Detroit Free Press Detroit, MI, USA
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Hundreds of west African immigrants gathered in a Southfield hotel this weekend to celebrate the life of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, a spiritual leader.
Most who attended had roots in Senegal and were part of the Mouride group, a Sufi Muslim order founded at the turn of the century by Bamba.
His grandson, Mame Mor Mbacke, attended the ceremonies Friday night and spoke about Islam, saying it is a religion of "peace, dialogue and understanding between people."
Speaking in the Wolof language, Mbacke said through a translator that extremists "did not represent Islam the way it should be."
Bamba taught an Islam that emphasized hard work, reason, and prayers, rather than rote memorization of the Quran, according to the event program.
Bamba, who lived from 1853 to 1927, also stressed non-violence in the struggle against the French colonial rule of Senegal.
In his talk, Mbacke said that Muslims should be tolerant and set a good example for others."No one will hate Islam when it's well represented," he said through a translator.
The ceremony included special prayers, songs, and recitations, continuing until early Saturday morning.
Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence was honored at the event and others from metro Detroit's African communities also attended.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Hundreds of west African immigrants gathered in a Southfield hotel this weekend to celebrate the life of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, a spiritual leader.
Most who attended had roots in Senegal and were part of the Mouride group, a Sufi Muslim order founded at the turn of the century by Bamba.
His grandson, Mame Mor Mbacke, attended the ceremonies Friday night and spoke about Islam, saying it is a religion of "peace, dialogue and understanding between people."
Speaking in the Wolof language, Mbacke said through a translator that extremists "did not represent Islam the way it should be."
Bamba taught an Islam that emphasized hard work, reason, and prayers, rather than rote memorization of the Quran, according to the event program.
Bamba, who lived from 1853 to 1927, also stressed non-violence in the struggle against the French colonial rule of Senegal.
In his talk, Mbacke said that Muslims should be tolerant and set a good example for others."No one will hate Islam when it's well represented," he said through a translator.
The ceremony included special prayers, songs, and recitations, continuing until early Saturday morning.
Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence was honored at the event and others from metro Detroit's African communities also attended.
Themes Based On Sufi Poetry
Staff Report, "Group exhibition at Nomad Art Gallery: ‘Summer Art Show’ brings out beauty of Eastern culture" - Daily Times - Islamabad, PakistanSunday, August 3, 2008
“The Summer Art Show”, an exhibition of experimental artworks of over 35 established and budding artists, opened on Saturday at Nomad Art Gallery.
Featuring over 150 paintings, the exhibition depicts different aspects of socio-economic and religio-political issues through landscapes, cityscapes, abstract, sketch-work, figurative imagery, miniatures, calligraphy and collage.
The works of prominent artists including Nina Amin, Nahid Raza, Anjum Ayub, Usman Ghauri, Mehar Afroz, Mehmood Ali, Nadeem Ahmed, Samina Ali, AQ Arif, Moazzam Ali, Asadur Rehman, Raza-un-Nabi, Hanif Khan, MA Bukhari and Tabasum Rizvi are on display.
(...)
Using the medium of acrylics, Ahmed focuses on the Sufi traditions, festivals, architectural heritage and people of Pakistan. Few of his themes are based on Sufi poetry depicting creative and experimental work while the portrayal of festivals also reflects cityscapes of Lahore.
Ahmed has used soft colours to give his work a pure display of Sufism with the traditional touch of Pakistani buildings.
(...)
Nomad Curator Nageen Hayat talking to Daily Times said Nomad Gallery was promoting art and culture. “Our main focus is to promote art and culture through indigenous crafts and thematic paintings, as this country is in dire need of promoting its true identity, especially at this crucial time,” she said.The exhibition of paintings and prints would continue up till August 18.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Rice Mixed With Chickpeas
By Imran Naeem Ahmad, "Bari Imam Shrine: Revival of Langar Khana result of food inflation" - Daily Times - Lahore, PakistanSaturday, August 2, 2008
Islamabad: The growing inflation has led to an increase in people queuing up for free food at the shrine of Islamabad’s patron saint Bari Imam.
Raja Jaffer, a worker at the shrine, told Daily Times on Friday while previously only beggars and the needy used to visit the ‘langar khana’, now the labourers were also joining in.
“The number of people coming here for free meals has more than doubled in recent months, so tremendous has been the price hike,” he said, asking how could the poor afford to pay for food when even an ordinary cup of hot tea was being sold for Rs 7.
On a normal day, the distribution of food starts early and continues through to 10.00pm. This ritual at the shrine that is located in Nurpur Shahan Village at the foot of the Margalla Hills has been going on for years.
Bari Imam, whose real name was Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi, was a 17th century Sufi. It is said that when he first arrived at the village, it was inhabited by dacoits but his presence and preaching drew them towards a pious way of life.
The ‘deg’ sellers in the vicinity of the shrine said rice mixed with chickpeas remains in great demand with people buying the stuff from their outlets and dispatching it to the “langar khana” for distribution as charity.
Inflation has broken the back of many people who now find their earnings not sufficient enough to cope with the skyrocketing prices.
(...)
According to WFP (United Nations World Food Programme) analysis, 38 percent of Pakistanis are food insecure, meaning not able to afford poverty line intake of 2350 kcal per day. The situation is such that people living below the line of poverty are facing severe malnutrition and hunger.
[Picture: the Tomb of Bari Imam in Islamabad. Photo by Asikhi, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bari_Imam]
Many Paths To The Kaabah
By Swati Chopra, "Q&A: 'Our jehad weapon is love'" - Times of India - India
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sheikha Cemalnur Sargut is a Turkish Sufi mystic. A former chemistry teacher, she is widely popular among the young in Turkey. Her teachings focus on the application of Sufi principles and ethics in daily life. She spoke with Swati Chopra:
How did you reconcile your study of modern science and philosophy with the Sufi way?
I was born into a Sufi family. In order to find things out for myself, I rejected my family's ideas and studied philosophy and chemical engineering. I examined philosophers' lives to see what i could learn from them, but saw that none of them was happy.
Nietzsche became mad, Schopenhauer predicted the end of the world. I turned to Samiha Ayverdi, my Sufi teacher, and asked her to show me somebody who was actually living what he or she was saying. She showed me Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273 A.D.).
Some years later, she asked me to teach the young. I said i knew nothing. She said, it is then you can teach. You cannot teach when you claim to know something. You are actually learning when you are teaching.
There are many schools of Sufism. How would you characterise yours?
There are different paths to the Kaabah, one chooses this and another chooses that. My teacher's teacher, Kenan Rifai, combined the four main Sufi paths, which stand for humbleness, knowledge, love and praying while living in the world fully. We are trying to bring these together.
Was this a new Sufi path?
Yes. Kenan Rifai was a revolutionary, as was Prophet Mohammed who broke the idols which are actually the ideas that bar our intellect, our mind. I try to do the same thing.
I am lucky because many people accept me. Perhaps it is because I don't want to show myself, but the beautiful face of religion.
The Sufi way is of love. Love is so precious, it is our weapon. Our jehad weapon is love.
Have you ever had to face controversy because of your beliefs?
It happens all the time. My teacher said that if everybody loves you, you are not a real murshid (Sufi teacher). Some people must not understand you, because wholeness is very difficult to understand.
People like to make war, to take one side. If you belong to all sides, then they don't want to accept you.
There is increasing tension between secularists and fundamentalists in Turkey.
Problems are created by a handful of people, and they seem huge because they have big voices. In terms of the headscarf controversy, covering actually means to cover our bad habits.
What is your way of teaching?
We try to live what we learn. When i went to the US 10 years ago, one man said: If I just listen to you, I will think of you for a few days. But because I saw all of you (Sheikha and her students), I saw how to behave, how to be what you say. That is very important.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sheikha Cemalnur Sargut is a Turkish Sufi mystic. A former chemistry teacher, she is widely popular among the young in Turkey. Her teachings focus on the application of Sufi principles and ethics in daily life. She spoke with Swati Chopra:
How did you reconcile your study of modern science and philosophy with the Sufi way?
I was born into a Sufi family. In order to find things out for myself, I rejected my family's ideas and studied philosophy and chemical engineering. I examined philosophers' lives to see what i could learn from them, but saw that none of them was happy.
Nietzsche became mad, Schopenhauer predicted the end of the world. I turned to Samiha Ayverdi, my Sufi teacher, and asked her to show me somebody who was actually living what he or she was saying. She showed me Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273 A.D.).
Some years later, she asked me to teach the young. I said i knew nothing. She said, it is then you can teach. You cannot teach when you claim to know something. You are actually learning when you are teaching.
There are many schools of Sufism. How would you characterise yours?
There are different paths to the Kaabah, one chooses this and another chooses that. My teacher's teacher, Kenan Rifai, combined the four main Sufi paths, which stand for humbleness, knowledge, love and praying while living in the world fully. We are trying to bring these together.
Was this a new Sufi path?
Yes. Kenan Rifai was a revolutionary, as was Prophet Mohammed who broke the idols which are actually the ideas that bar our intellect, our mind. I try to do the same thing.
I am lucky because many people accept me. Perhaps it is because I don't want to show myself, but the beautiful face of religion.
The Sufi way is of love. Love is so precious, it is our weapon. Our jehad weapon is love.
Have you ever had to face controversy because of your beliefs?
It happens all the time. My teacher said that if everybody loves you, you are not a real murshid (Sufi teacher). Some people must not understand you, because wholeness is very difficult to understand.
People like to make war, to take one side. If you belong to all sides, then they don't want to accept you.
There is increasing tension between secularists and fundamentalists in Turkey.
Problems are created by a handful of people, and they seem huge because they have big voices. In terms of the headscarf controversy, covering actually means to cover our bad habits.
What is your way of teaching?
We try to live what we learn. When i went to the US 10 years ago, one man said: If I just listen to you, I will think of you for a few days. But because I saw all of you (Sheikha and her students), I saw how to behave, how to be what you say. That is very important.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Timelessness, Transcendence, and Peace
By Bernama, "Call to teach journalism students proper reporting of Islam " - New Straits Times - Persekutuan, Malaysia
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Reporting on Islam or religion should be developed as a compulsory subject by institutions of higher learning in light of Western media’s misrepresentation of Islam
University Technology Petronas lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Murad Merican who proposed this idea, also suggested the setting up of a centre to look into news reports on Islam and other religions, and rectify misconceptions.
He said currently the method of reporting news on Islam and other religions, was too westernised in nature because contemporary media had its roots in the Industrial Revolution.“News reports and media began during the Industrial Revolution. The revolution emphasised materialistic concerns.
The values journalists hold in their profession today reflect on timeliness, the now, to sell news, and news must have conflict to make it interesting. “These are very capitalistic values. Religion, on the other hand, have opposite values, which are timelessness, transcendence, and peace as opposed to conflict.
“We need to learn how to report Islamic news or religious issues from an Islamic or religious point of view,” he said when presenting his paper titled“Orientalism, the Reportage of Religion and Journalism Education: Expanding the Space in the Dialogue of Civilisations”.
Ahmad Murad, who spoke on the second and final day of the International Conference on the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media (ICORM08) today, said no university had offered this much-needed subject.
“For so many years not one university in the world has a course called ’Reportage of Islam or Religion’. Yet this (misrepresentation of Islam or religion) is the problem we face today, everyday. I know a university in India had it in the 1950’s but I don’t know what has happened to it,” he continued.
He then asserted that the misrepresentation of Islam could not be accorded solely to the Western media since Muslims too had damaged their own image.
“Jalaluddin Al-Rumi is seen in very positive light by the West. He was one of the world’s foremost philosophers and Islamic scholars. Yet here in Malaysia, there are Malays who believe he was a heretic. When I named my son Rumi, some thought I was a heretic,” the professor lamented.
[To visit the Conference's website, click on this link http://www.icorm08.com.my/contact.html]
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Reporting on Islam or religion should be developed as a compulsory subject by institutions of higher learning in light of Western media’s misrepresentation of Islam
University Technology Petronas lecturer Prof Dr Ahmad Murad Merican who proposed this idea, also suggested the setting up of a centre to look into news reports on Islam and other religions, and rectify misconceptions.
He said currently the method of reporting news on Islam and other religions, was too westernised in nature because contemporary media had its roots in the Industrial Revolution.“News reports and media began during the Industrial Revolution. The revolution emphasised materialistic concerns.
The values journalists hold in their profession today reflect on timeliness, the now, to sell news, and news must have conflict to make it interesting. “These are very capitalistic values. Religion, on the other hand, have opposite values, which are timelessness, transcendence, and peace as opposed to conflict.
“We need to learn how to report Islamic news or religious issues from an Islamic or religious point of view,” he said when presenting his paper titled“Orientalism, the Reportage of Religion and Journalism Education: Expanding the Space in the Dialogue of Civilisations”.
Ahmad Murad, who spoke on the second and final day of the International Conference on the Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Media (ICORM08) today, said no university had offered this much-needed subject.
“For so many years not one university in the world has a course called ’Reportage of Islam or Religion’. Yet this (misrepresentation of Islam or religion) is the problem we face today, everyday. I know a university in India had it in the 1950’s but I don’t know what has happened to it,” he continued.
He then asserted that the misrepresentation of Islam could not be accorded solely to the Western media since Muslims too had damaged their own image.
“Jalaluddin Al-Rumi is seen in very positive light by the West. He was one of the world’s foremost philosophers and Islamic scholars. Yet here in Malaysia, there are Malays who believe he was a heretic. When I named my son Rumi, some thought I was a heretic,” the professor lamented.
[To visit the Conference's website, click on this link http://www.icorm08.com.my/contact.html]
Cohesion Between Contradictories
By Mamoon Alabbasi, "Gibran anniversary marked in London" - Middle East Online - London, UKWednesday, July 30, 2008
Lecture marking 125th anniversary of famous Lebanese poet held in London in honour of his work
A lecture dedicated to the life and works of the famous Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran [1883-1931] was held Thursday at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in London.
The lecture, which marks the 125th anniversary of the poet’s birth, was given by Professor Suheil Bushrui (University of Maryland, US), Director of the Kahlil Gibran Research and Studies Project.
Gibran, born in 1883 in Lebanon, was best known for his book The Prophet, which sold millions of copies worldwide.
His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages, while his paintings have been exhibited in many capitals of the world.
The event commenced with an introductory note by Mrs. Ibtisam Auchi, head of the Union of Arab Schools in the UK, which helped organise the lecture. She noted that the Lebanese artist was an acknowledged figure internationally before becoming known in the Arab Word.
Then Mohammed Said, a teacher at SOAS and a member of the Union of Arab Schools in the UK, gave a short introduction on the lecturer and emphasised the importance of teaching the works of Gibran, the artist who “linked east to west”.
“During the past twenty-five years, not a year passed that I did not pick a passage or two of Gibran to teach,” noted Said.
The lecture began with an emphasis on the relevance of Gibran’s work to many of today’s events. Bushrui argued that Gibran had sought long ago to build bridges between east and west, continuously promoting dialogue and peaceful coexistence.
“Gibran carried a message of peace, crossing the boundaries of race, religion and language,” said Bushrui. He advocated bridging the divide between east and west, woman and man, poor and rich, Muslims and Christians.
The lecture touched on the spiritual side of Gibran, which greatly influenced his work and view of the world. Gibran called for a “spiritual renaissance” that would eventually help our minds to find cohesion between contradictories and bring about a unity between “emotion and thought”.
The call, which came during an era of conflict and economic hardships, is seen as still vital in today’s world.
Gibran wanted people searching for life to begin looking within themselves in order to find it, Bushrui noted.
The poet not only believed in the unity of humanity, but also in the unity of religion, explained Bushrui. “All regions are one”, Gibran was quoted, echoing Arab mystic poets. He saw all faiths as stemming from the same source.
“Gibran was influenced by Islamic Sufism and the idea of religious unity,” noted Bushrui.
Sufi poets like Ibn Al Arabi and Al Ghazzali had a strong impact on Gibran, in addition to the influence of Al Andalus literature, which included Christian and Jewish poets in Spain, explained Bushrui.
Although Gibran was a Christian Maronite, his mind was open to the teachings of Islam.
“If you study Gibran, you cannot miss his position towards Islam,” said Bushrui, adding that the poet often cited from the sayings of Prophet Mohammed.
Bushrui quoted Gibran saying: “To Muslims from a Christian poet; I am a Christian and proud of that, but I love the Arab Prophet … and love the glory of Islam and I fear for it … I respect the Koran but disdain those who use it as a means against the cause of Muslims… as I disrespect those who use the Bible as a means to control Christians ... take it from me O Muslims, a message from a Christian… Jesus lives in one half of my heart while Mohammed resides in the other”.
The poet was in a unique position to bring people of different backgrounds together.
A Lebanese living in the United States, Gibran sought to bring some spirituality to the West while calling for more modernity in the Orient.
Gibran was not too happy with life in modern industrialised cities and while he did not deny the importance of commerce, he favoured a more humanitarian system that is just for everyone, especially the poor, Bushrui noted.
The Lebanese poet also seemed to have a special view on women, ahead of its time even in the United States.
“Leadership should be handed to women,” Gibran was quoted saying. “I owe all I have to women.”
Gibran’s perspective on nationality and citizenship seems to have a progressive ring to it, too.
“Though Gibran loved his country, he saw his loyalty to the whole of humanity,” noted Bushrui.
He saw himself as a ‘citizen of the world’ who would not side with own people should they harm others.
“All of earth is my homeland, and humanity is my tribe,” Gibran was quoted saying.
“Gibran believed in human rights, acceptance of the other, mutual respect, and unity in diversity,” Bushrui remarked.
Bushrui called for more attention to be paid to the work and life of Gibran, advocating a revival of interest in the Lebanese poet.
“Sales of The Prophet between 1980 and 1990 reached eight million copies, and the book was translated to many languages,” noted Bushrui.
“It became the second best selling book in the US after the Bible … his words were not just for a certain generation in the US but the whole of humanity,” stressed Bushrui.
Bushrui concluded that Gibran’s work has still a lot to offer to the world.
[To visit SOAS click on this link http://www.soas.ac.uk/]
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Gardens Inside
Trading Markets (Press Release), "WALNUT CREEK TO BECOME THIRD WEST COAST CITY WITH BUILDING BY PRESTIGIOUS FIRM" - Los Angeles, CA, USATuesday, July 29, 2008
Walnut Creek may soon become the third city on the west coast with a building designed by the internationally renowned firm of Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects, based in Manhattan.
These architects have designed the Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim and the 101 California Street building in San Francisco, as well as dozens of other high-profile structures throughout the world.
Now, Ritchie is working on a sanctuary for the 350-member Sufism Reoriented group on Boulevard Way in unincorporated Walnut Creek.
"I love this building," Ritchie said in a phone interview from New York. "I can't wait for it to be built. I think when you can express good architecture and you have a client that appreciates and enjoys it, it benefits everybody. It's small, but it could be a little jewel."
Members of the religious organization, who have been operating in a renovated former restaurant, are thrilled to have lured such a prominent architect to their project. Ritchie has run the award-winning firm since his partner, Johnson, died three years ago at age 98.
"For these well-known architects, we're small fish," said Carol Conner, who is the "murshida," or spiritual leader, for Sufism Reoriented.
"The basic design was really Alan's translation of the principles and specifications that I gave to him into a vision, into a form. I was just delighted."
Ritchie said he enjoys working on small projects because they allow him to express his
creativity. He was intrigued by Conner's description of Sufism Reoriented and what the group was seeking, he said.
He personally designed the new sanctuary and multi-use building for the group, developing 13 dome-shaped structures inspired by Mount Diablo and the surrounding hills. The circular, white buildings also symbolize unity, one of the group's core principals, Conner said.
"The Christian church builds their beautiful cathedrals in the form of a cross because of their love of that symbol, which is at the heart of their values and ideals," Conner said.
Ritchie said he envisions the round buildings "hugging" the congregation as they focus inward.
Unlike many grand cathedrals, the Sufism project will not be visible from a distance. Instead, it will be built partially underground so the domes won't exceed the neighborhood's 35-foot [m 10,5] height limit. In addition, the group has enlisted the prestigious SWA Landscape Design firm to help hide the building from public view, using plants.
Joe Runco of SWA said his firm joined the project in part because it likes to collaborate with talented architects.
SWA, which has California offices in San Francisco and Sausalito, is also working on the new California Academy of Sciences "green roof" and landscaping, as well as landscaping for the tallest building in the world, now under construction in Dubai.
The Sufism project presents challenges because landscaping will be planted on 1 to 4 feet [cm 30-120] of soil covering the rectangular roofs of the underground buildings, Runco said.
"It's definitely a different style of building, so I'm sure there are plenty of concerns from neighbors about, 'Will it seem garish or weird or not compatible?'" Runco said. "We're trying to create gardens inside the site. It's mostly underground, so there should be little or any evidence that there's anything going on there."
As a sign of their devotion to God, the congregation hopes to build much of the project itself, said contractor Chris Martin, who is a member of the group. He estimates the project, consisting largely of concrete blocks with precast stone cladding, will cost about $18 million.
Although some may consider the building to be simple because it will lack ornamentation, Martin said he and the congregation are excited by its intrinsic beauty.
"It's not elegant because of crystal and gold leaf," Martin said. "It's elegant because of its shape and design. We think it's gorgeous, and we hope a lot of people in the community will agree."
Celebrating
By Andrew Phelan, "City centre's first mosque" - Evening Herald - Dublin, IrelandMonday, July 28, 2008
From the outside, it's an ordinary-looking building on a busy street, barely attracting a second glance from the shoppers.
But behind its upper-floor windows, the unassuming terrace is home to Dublin's first city centre mosque. For the last week, the Islamic community has been celebrating the opening of their Talbot Street mosque, after a long planning battle.
The building actually represents a number of firsts -- it is also the first mosque on the northside and the first Sufi mosque in the State.
Called the Anwar-E-Madina, the mosque will cater for some 200 worshippers and joins the city's other Islamic centres at South Circular Road and Clonskeagh.
For several years, prayers had been held at a room in Moore Lane. The Talbot Street building was secured and planning permission granted by Dublin City Council last December, but this was appealed by local traders to An Bord Pleanala [The Planning Board].
During the hold-up, prayers were held at a cash-and-carry in the vegetable market at Little Green Street. The final go ahead for Talbot Street to open its doors was given last week.
For those who worked to make the project a reality, there are no hard feelings about the delays.
"Thank God it's all come to an end," Anwar-E-Madina's representative Manan Hameed said of the planning stages.
"The community really appreciates that something like this has been done in Dublin's inner city. It is a great honour to be the first Sufi mosque in Ireland.
"The welcome we have had in the Talbot Street area is fantastic as Ireland is a different ballgame to the way it was in the 80s and 90s. It's great to see such beautiful integration in a Dublin street."
Asked about the planning difficulties, Mr Hameed added: "We have absolutely no bad feelings towards anybody."
The upper three floors of two buildings at numbers 8 and 9 Talbot Street, above Langan Furniture and Rayhoon restaurant, were converted. They had been vacant since 2006 and were previously given over to non-retail commercial uses.
An Bord Pleanala found there was "no evidence" to suggest that the proposed development would detract from the existing premises in the area.
[Picture: Manan Hameed with Allama Hafiz Sadique in the new Anwar-E-Madina mosque. Photo: EH]
Saturday, August 02, 2008
To Keep These Rich Islamic Texts Well-Cared
By Mohamed Ahmed Bin Shihab, "Al-Ahqaf manuscript library preserves Islamic history and learning" - Yemen Times - Sana'a, YemenIssue: (1176), Volume 16 , From 28 July 2008 to 30 July 2008
The Al-Ahqaf Manuscript library is a unique jewel for us, carrying a reflection of the learned people that have come before us.
It is upon us to work and to re-establish the organization of this inheritance so that it might become clear in the hearts and in the books, according to Abu Bakr Ibn Ali Al-Mashhur, Islamic scholar and founder of numerous Islamic institutions.
This library was named Al-Ahqaf in reference to the old name of the Hadramout valley, as it was called in the Holy Quran in the Sura of the same name. It was established in 1972 by the Endowment for Private Libraries by the following individuals and their families: Umar Ibn Ali Al-Junaid and his brother Ahmed, Abdullah Ibn Umar Ibn Yahya, Hussein Ibn Abdul Rahman Ibn Sahl and Al-Kaf family.
The Al-Kaf library comprised the collections of Al-Kaf and Al-Husseini libraries, which originally belonged to the literary scholar and historian Saleh Ibn Ali Al-Hamed. The administrator of these libraries thought to make them one in order to facilitate reading and research while simultaneously easing maintenance and care.
The Ministry of Culture took charge of the administration and upkeep of this library. They later passed this task on to the Yemeni Center for Cultural Research, Museums and Archeology. In the early stages of setting up the library, there were some printed materials mixed in with the manuscripts and it was deemed necessary to separate one from the other.
To accommodate these, the Al-Ahqaf Library for Printed Matter was established. Subsequently, the decision to make the Al-Ahqaf library the main library for manuscripts in the country was thought of by the Minister of Culture for the government of South Yemen before the unification. About 200 manuscripts were added to the Al-Ahqaf library. Most of these came from two places; 80 came from the Sultani library in Al-Mukalla, and another 50 came from the library of Sheikh Al-Amoudi Ibn Shubat Ba Muhammad of the Amd valley. The remainder came from a number of different sources.
The Al-Ahqaf library has several departments, including the department of manuscripts that contains some 6,200 manuscripts arranged in cupboards according to subject: Qur’anic exegesis, Prophetic traditions, jurisprudence, Sufism, biographies and history, language and literature, medicine, and assorted collections (manuscripts containing more than one subject). Most of these manuscripts go back to the 10th and 11th century after Hijrah.
Among them are rarities like an edition of the Qur’anic exegesis by Al-Bayaan by Abu Jafar Ibn Muhammad Ibn Al-Hassan Al-Tusi and the second part of a medical text by Ibn Sina (Avicenna). This edition was copied in 633A.H. and contains margin notes that were copied from the author's edition.
Other departments include the Department of Printed Materials, which contains references related to the manuscripts and indexes for some world libraries, the Department of Computers and Photocopying and the Department of Maintenance, which has materials and equipment for bookbinding and restoration. Due to the great cultural inheritance it comprises, the Al-Ahqaf library must serve researchers and students coming from different foundations and governments as well as private and foreign universities who come to check manuscripts or do research.
Ahmed Al-Jifry, a student at Dar Al-Mustafa, an international center for Islamic studies, came to the library to check a manuscript on jurisprudence. "I always come to the library to see what our predecessors handed down to us. I am very proud to find a library like this in my country," he said.
Dr. Linda Bexberger is a historian who has visited the library and expressed her pleasure about the services that the library offers. "I am very pleased to see the good condition of the Al-Ahqaf Manuscript library these days and to see that catalogues and access are available to researchers and scholars," Bexberger added.
There are also visits from government officials and tourists and a considerable number of students and local visitors who come to visit the library on a regular basis. Dr. Abdul Rahim Seyid Bakr, the Minister of Higher Education, Academic Research and Culture in the Comor Islands, visited the library and wished to increase youth interest in the treasures held there.
"This is a rich heritage, so we hope that future generations protect it for those who will follow us," said Seyid Bakr. Despite the services that the library offers its visitors, there are still some obstacles that hinder their performance. The administrator of the library, Hussein Al-Hadi, said that the library faces some difficulties due to the low number of employees and the lack of courses to qualify those employees.
"The library still does not draw sufficient interest or support from the government or have sufficient financial supplies, even though it is a one of the most unique intellectual establishments in Yemen," said Al-Hadi. He added that there have been many manuscripts that came up for sale, but the library is not able to buy them because they do not have financial allocations for this purpose.
"The opportunity to acquire these manuscripts passes us by and we do not know where they end up," said Al-Hadi. Another problem is that the library is restricted in size. However, recently there have been talks to find a place for the library in the restored Al-Renad palace.
The task of preserving this inheritance is not specific to any one particular group, but rather everyone is responsible to do what they can to keep these rich Islamic texts well-cared for and held in high esteem.
The Underpinning Of His Remarkable Life
By S. Amjad Hussain, "Neurosurgeon’s death overshadowed but still significant" - Toledo Blade - Toledo, OH, USA
Monday, July 28, 2008
The passing of Dr. Michael DeBakey, the pioneer heart surgeon and researcher, earlier this month overshadowed the death of Dr. Ayub Khan Ommaya, a world-renowned neurosurgeon and researcher who passed away in Islamabad of Alzheimer’s disease on July 10.
A few years ago, when the disease took its hold, he moved back to Pakistan. He was 78.
Dr. Ommaya was born into a Sufi family from the Himalayan Hazara Hills of northern Pakistan. Sufism is a branch of Islam that while accepting and practicing the core values of religion also believes in pluralism and respect for other religions. That philosophy remained the underpinning of Dr. Ommaya’s remarkable life.
After graduating from King Edward Medical College in Lahore in 1953, he went to England as a Rhodes Scholar and received a doctorate in clinical biology from Oxford University, where he also was a member of the rowing team.
While in England, he was named the Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons, a singular honor for a young surgeon-researcher.
As is often the case in Third World countries, Dr. Ommaya could not get a suitable position when he returned to Pakistan, so he decided to go to the Unites States.
His ordeal was similar to the one faced by another brilliant scientist, the late Dr. Abdus Salam, who had faced a similar dilemma in Pakistan. In the late 1950s, he went back to England to teach and in 1964 established the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, that now bears his name. He was the recipient of Nobel Prize in physics in 1979.
Upon his arrival in the United States in 1961, Dr. Ommaya joined the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as an associate neurosurgeon. He had already made his impact on the profession by inventing a device to deliver chemotherapy to brain cancers. Known as the Ommaya Reservoir, the device is widely used the world over and has been pivotal in the development of all other medical ports now used.
His real genius, however, was to bring conceptual theory of the mechanism of head injuries into practice by bringing seemingly diverse disciplines to collaborate and find solutions. His centripetal theory of traumatic brain injury, tested in primates, was put to use by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in design changes and the development of safety devices for motor vehicles.
In the 1980s, as chief medical adviser to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dr. Ommaya commissioned a comprehensive report called “Injury in America.”
His friendship and close working relationship with then-Rep. William Lehman (D., Fla.), the chair of the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation, led to the establishment of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control.
As a neurosurgeon, his repertoire was wide and extensive but he excelled in the surgical treatment of vascular malformations of the brain and spinal cord. In one such case in 1977, he used a multidisciplinary approach with a heart surgeon, a heart bypass, extreme hypothermia, and total circulatory arrest to remove a giant vascular malformation from a 35-year old teacher from Rochester, N.Y.
The 19-hour-long operation was successful and caught the imagination of professionals and the lay public alike when a detailed account of the remarkable surgical feat was published in Readers Digest in August, 1978.
Dr. Ommaya was also a trained opera singer and, according to his Washington Post obituary, he often serenaded his patients and colleagues with his singing. He also had a deep insight into history, metaphysics, and religion.
In 2001, he published a lengthy article on the rise and decline of science in the Islamic world in the journal World & I.In it, through historic references and his ample knowledge of Islam, he discussed the decline of science among the Muslims.
His theory, expounded upon by other scholars as well, was that early Muslims looked at their religion in a pluralistic and inclusive way that provided the milieu in which various Islamic civilizations developed and flourished.
I first met Ayub in 1982, when he was elected president of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America and I, as president-elect of the association, worked with him. Though we were not close friends, we enjoyed seeing each other occasionally and discussing many subjects that were of mutual interest.
He was always cordial, courteous, gracious, and extremely thoughtful.With his death, science has lost a brilliant scientist who was also a polymath. His friends and colleagues have lost a truly remarkable and inspiring human being.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The passing of Dr. Michael DeBakey, the pioneer heart surgeon and researcher, earlier this month overshadowed the death of Dr. Ayub Khan Ommaya, a world-renowned neurosurgeon and researcher who passed away in Islamabad of Alzheimer’s disease on July 10.
A few years ago, when the disease took its hold, he moved back to Pakistan. He was 78.
Dr. Ommaya was born into a Sufi family from the Himalayan Hazara Hills of northern Pakistan. Sufism is a branch of Islam that while accepting and practicing the core values of religion also believes in pluralism and respect for other religions. That philosophy remained the underpinning of Dr. Ommaya’s remarkable life.
After graduating from King Edward Medical College in Lahore in 1953, he went to England as a Rhodes Scholar and received a doctorate in clinical biology from Oxford University, where he also was a member of the rowing team.
While in England, he was named the Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons, a singular honor for a young surgeon-researcher.
As is often the case in Third World countries, Dr. Ommaya could not get a suitable position when he returned to Pakistan, so he decided to go to the Unites States.
His ordeal was similar to the one faced by another brilliant scientist, the late Dr. Abdus Salam, who had faced a similar dilemma in Pakistan. In the late 1950s, he went back to England to teach and in 1964 established the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, that now bears his name. He was the recipient of Nobel Prize in physics in 1979.
Upon his arrival in the United States in 1961, Dr. Ommaya joined the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as an associate neurosurgeon. He had already made his impact on the profession by inventing a device to deliver chemotherapy to brain cancers. Known as the Ommaya Reservoir, the device is widely used the world over and has been pivotal in the development of all other medical ports now used.
His real genius, however, was to bring conceptual theory of the mechanism of head injuries into practice by bringing seemingly diverse disciplines to collaborate and find solutions. His centripetal theory of traumatic brain injury, tested in primates, was put to use by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in design changes and the development of safety devices for motor vehicles.
In the 1980s, as chief medical adviser to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dr. Ommaya commissioned a comprehensive report called “Injury in America.”
His friendship and close working relationship with then-Rep. William Lehman (D., Fla.), the chair of the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation, led to the establishment of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control.
As a neurosurgeon, his repertoire was wide and extensive but he excelled in the surgical treatment of vascular malformations of the brain and spinal cord. In one such case in 1977, he used a multidisciplinary approach with a heart surgeon, a heart bypass, extreme hypothermia, and total circulatory arrest to remove a giant vascular malformation from a 35-year old teacher from Rochester, N.Y.
The 19-hour-long operation was successful and caught the imagination of professionals and the lay public alike when a detailed account of the remarkable surgical feat was published in Readers Digest in August, 1978.
Dr. Ommaya was also a trained opera singer and, according to his Washington Post obituary, he often serenaded his patients and colleagues with his singing. He also had a deep insight into history, metaphysics, and religion.
In 2001, he published a lengthy article on the rise and decline of science in the Islamic world in the journal World & I.In it, through historic references and his ample knowledge of Islam, he discussed the decline of science among the Muslims.
His theory, expounded upon by other scholars as well, was that early Muslims looked at their religion in a pluralistic and inclusive way that provided the milieu in which various Islamic civilizations developed and flourished.
I first met Ayub in 1982, when he was elected president of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America and I, as president-elect of the association, worked with him. Though we were not close friends, we enjoyed seeing each other occasionally and discussing many subjects that were of mutual interest.
He was always cordial, courteous, gracious, and extremely thoughtful.With his death, science has lost a brilliant scientist who was also a polymath. His friends and colleagues have lost a truly remarkable and inspiring human being.
Friday, August 01, 2008
The Tomb of Shams
TTCulture Desk, "MP criticizes Tabriz City Council’s claim over Shams tomb" - Tehran Times - Tehran, IranJuly 27, 2008
Khoy Member of Parliament Mo’ayyed Hosseini-Sadr was enraged by the recent claim by the Tabriz City Council, declaring Shams is buried in Tabriz and not in Khoy.
All the historical documents in the world prove that the tomb of Shams-e Tabrizi is in Khoy, Western Azerbaijan, Hosseini-Sadr said, adding, “Shams-e Tabrizi originally comes from Tabriz but this does not mean that he is buried in Tabriz.”
This erroneous claim by the Tabriz City Council inflicts substantial damage to Iranian cultural figures, he said.
“I advise members of the Tabriz City Council to cease their erroneous claim, and if they possess any documents which support their statements, they should hand them over to the relevant organizations for further studies,” he continued.
He also referred to a previous declaration by Turkey claiming that Shams is buried in their country and remarked, “This sort of news provokes false beliefs in other countries and could lead to several more false claims in the future.”
“I hereby propose that the Tabriz City Council members make diligent efforts to introduce Shams as an Iranian cultural figure rather than spreading false reports,” Hosseini-Sadr concluded.
Born in the city of Tabriz, Shams lived together with Rumi in Konya for several years.
Shams has been immortalized in Rumi’s collection of poetry named the “Divan of Shams ad-Din of Tabriz”.
Rumi’s love for him and his bereavement at his death found expression in an outpouring of music, dance, and lyrical poetry.
The tomb of Shams is located in Khoy and is in the form of a 12-meter [39-feet] high cylindrical tower. The monument was erected by Shah Esmaeil in the Safavid era.
Against Extremism and Injustice
Staff Report, "No place for extremism in Islam, says Taseer" - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Saturday, July 26, 2008
There is no place for extremism in Islam since the essence of Islam is peace, love and equality, Governor Salmaan Taseer said on Friday.
He also added that Sufi poets had taught humanism to the world through their poetry.
He was addressing a gathering at the three-day celebrations of the 210th Urs (death anniversary) of renowned Sufi poet Syed Waris Shah.
Taseer also announced the renovation of the Malika Hans Mosque, where Waris Shah wrote his famous work ‘Heer’.
He also announced that celebrations of Syed Waris Shah’s 210th Urs would be held at the Governor’s House on August 7th.
Taseer said that Islam was a religion of peace. He said that Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) teachings of equality, love and tolerance had made the world an excellent place to live in. He added that in order to succeed in this life and the hereafter, everyone should follow Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) teachings.
He said that the Sufis of Punjab had taught people to love God and mankind through their poetry. He said that they had always stood against extremism and injustice in society.
He added that Syed Waris Shah’s poetry has always been a source of spiritual blessing for the people. He said that the concept of human brotherhood explained in classical literature should be introduced to the young generation to control intolerance and extremism in society.
He said that the government was working on plans to introduce Punjabi literature and culture in all government universities.
Culture Minister Dr Tanveerul-Islam said Sufi poets had given the people the message of loving humanity and God through their poetry.
Sheikhupura District Nazim Mian Jaleel Ahmed Sharaqpuri, Sheikhupura District Co-ordination Officer Salman Aijaz, Pakistan People’s Party leader Mushtaq Awan and other party leaders were also present on the occasion.
Later, a competition of mystic poetry was also held.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
There is no place for extremism in Islam since the essence of Islam is peace, love and equality, Governor Salmaan Taseer said on Friday.
He also added that Sufi poets had taught humanism to the world through their poetry.
He was addressing a gathering at the three-day celebrations of the 210th Urs (death anniversary) of renowned Sufi poet Syed Waris Shah.
Taseer also announced the renovation of the Malika Hans Mosque, where Waris Shah wrote his famous work ‘Heer’.
He also announced that celebrations of Syed Waris Shah’s 210th Urs would be held at the Governor’s House on August 7th.
Taseer said that Islam was a religion of peace. He said that Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) teachings of equality, love and tolerance had made the world an excellent place to live in. He added that in order to succeed in this life and the hereafter, everyone should follow Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) teachings.
He said that the Sufis of Punjab had taught people to love God and mankind through their poetry. He said that they had always stood against extremism and injustice in society.
He added that Syed Waris Shah’s poetry has always been a source of spiritual blessing for the people. He said that the concept of human brotherhood explained in classical literature should be introduced to the young generation to control intolerance and extremism in society.
He said that the government was working on plans to introduce Punjabi literature and culture in all government universities.
Culture Minister Dr Tanveerul-Islam said Sufi poets had given the people the message of loving humanity and God through their poetry.
Sheikhupura District Nazim Mian Jaleel Ahmed Sharaqpuri, Sheikhupura District Co-ordination Officer Salman Aijaz, Pakistan People’s Party leader Mushtaq Awan and other party leaders were also present on the occasion.
Later, a competition of mystic poetry was also held.
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