Monday, August 04, 2008

Cohesion Between Contradictories

By Mamoon Alabbasi, "Gibran anniversary marked in London" - Middle East Online - London, UK
Wednesday, 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/].

No comments:

Monday, August 04, 2008

Cohesion Between Contradictories
By Mamoon Alabbasi, "Gibran anniversary marked in London" - Middle East Online - London, UK
Wednesday, 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/].

No comments: