Short thread on politics of representations about #Afghanistan.
It has already begun: Reduction of #Afghan people to vulnerable women, children to be saved by white savior (soldiers), & monster men.
As if there is no kindness in the men & no courage in the women. [1/11]
As if those white saviors [however noble their individual characters and actions] have not commissioned by the same system of pillage and proxy wars that drove Afghanistan to this point. [2/11]
It has already begun, the mention of the trillion dollars of minerals under #Afghanistan's soil that "the world" needs, revealing this "world" to be a consumerist monster whose appetite knows no bounds. [3/11]
It has already begun, the asking people to take in a trickle of refugees here and there, before pausing and asking what mad system created the refugees. [4/11]
It has already begun, the reminder that the refugees will not bring us COVID, as if half of all Americans have not refused the very vaccine that much of the rest of the world would walk for miles to receive. [5/11]
It has already begun, the narrative that refugees make "us" richer with kabobs, as if the refugees are anything but bearers of God's spirit, fleeing the disaster that the imperial games of England, USSR & USA, along with Empire-friendly militant forms of Islam created [6/11]
Resist, resist these narratives.
Ask always who created this mess, who benefits from it (diverting hundreds of billions of $$$ of taxpayer money to Military Industrial Complex, e.g. Lockheed Martin). Ask who pays the price (Afghan civilians & also American soldiers). [7/11]
Insist on better. Learn about the history of Afghanistan and her people. Yes, support the refugees, and stand up against the systems of destruction that create refugees. No one leaves their home unless there was no home to call home.
[8/11]
And each time you see a talking head on TV, remember this powerful poem: "This is not a humanising poem", by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan. [9/11]
We can only "humanize" those who are not already, fully human. The real task is to ask why is it, and how is it, that some of us have failed to see the already present full sanctity of the rest of us. [10/11]
For those of us in positions of comfort and safety, we will not ask the vulnerable, the fleeing, the exhausted, the wounded, and the traumatized, to smile, to sing, to cook, to perform their humanity for us. [11/11]
The great sage Ahmad Sam'ani wrote an exquisite commentary on the Asma al-Husna (Beautiful Names of God). In it, he brings out something powerful about breath, prayer, and the Names of God. (1/4)
In Rawh al-arwah, Sam'ani mentions the the litany of names mentioned in the Qur'an
(هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ)
[2/5]
Sam'ani mentions that every other name (al-Malik, al-Quddus, al-Salam, al-Mu'min, al-Muhaymin, al-'Aziz, al-Jabbar, al-mutikabbir, etc.) is made through moving the tongue and the lips. But the first name, HU, is simply the breath coming from the chest. [3/5]
The foremost Iranian vocalist, MohammadReza #Shajarian, has passed away after a long battle against cancer.
A short thread on the cultural significance of this cultural icon to the people of #Iran & #Persian speakers worldwide. #MohammadrezaShajarian#RIPShajarian
The people of Iran are mourning at the loss of their 80 year old icon and beloved vocalist Shajarian: hamshahrionline.ir/news/555685/استاد-محمدرضا-شجریان-درگذشت-خسرو-آواز-ایران-پر-کشید
Thousands of people gathered outside the hospital in which Shajarian had passed away, crying, singing, and commemorating the man universally referred to as Ostad Shajarian (“Maestro”):
Today’s public service announcement: When you see a poem or saying attributed to #Rumi in which he is reported as saying: “I am not a Muslim”, or “I belong to no religion”, it’s probably fake.
A short thread on fake Rumi poems. #mevlana#mawlana#masnavi#sufi#sufism#fakeRumi
One of the popular fake poems attributed to Rumi is the one that starts:
“What is to be done, O Muslims? for I do not know myself.
I am neither Christian, nor Jew, nor Magian, nor Muslim.”
چه تدبیر ای مسلمانان که من خود را نمیدانم
نه ترسا و یهودیم نه گبرم نه مسلمانم
The same poem has become so popular through its further re-translations:
[I am] “Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, Sufi, or Zen.
Not any religion or cultural system.”
A lot of discussions recently about works that present an inaccurate view of Islamic spirituality. I wanted to share a thread on accessible and accurate English primary sources on #Sufis, #Sufism#Islamic#spirituality.
(prioritizing primary sources, not secondary studies).
Love Is the Wine: Talks of a Sufi Master in America. By Sheikh Mozaffar Ozak. Sohbet genre book by a leading 20th century Sufi teacher. amazon.com/Love-Wine-Talk…
Beauty and Light. By Cemalnur Sargut. Powerful book by a leading female Turkish mystic. fonsvitae.com/product/beauty…
A thread on why 99.9% of Hafez quotes on the internet are… fake. Including the ones you probably like. A thread on #Hafiz#Hafez, or I should say #FakeHafez.
(Including the one here, which is alas, Fake!)
“Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, ‘you owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that! It lights up the whole sky.”
You like that one from Hafez?
Too bad. It’s Fake Hafez.
Fake.
“Your Heart and My Heart Are Very Very Old Friends.”
Like that one from Hafez too?
Too bad.
Also Fake Hafez.
Hidden in the last ten nights of Ramadan is a night called Night of Power (Laylat al-qadr). This is a night that Muslims cherish, a night that according to the Qur’an, the angels and the Spirit descend down.
Commentators differ on the identity of the “Spirit”. Some think it refers to the archangel Jibril (Gabriel), others say that it refers directly to God’s mercy.