Share this page!

Enter Twitter Thread URL to Unroll

Needs to be the full URL like: https://twitter.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on Twitter App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
@sharghzadeh
May 28 • 6 tweets • 3 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
Scrolly
What does Rumi’s poetry have to do with Iran and Afghanistan Fighting? A thread 🧵

Since the Tālibān takeover, Iran’s government has been cautious but not hostile to the new government, to the chagrin of Iranians and many Afghans, especially the Persian-speaking Tājiks. Image
Early in the takeover days, Persian-speaking Afghans in the Panjshīr region began to resist the new Tālibān government.

They were led by Ahmad Masʿūd, the son of famous commander Ahmad Shah Masʿūd.

Many Iranians and Afghans believed that Iran should have supported resistance. ImageImage
Recently, Iranian border guards clashed with the Tālibān, leading to a few deaths. It might be related to tensions regarding water rights.

This prompted Ahmad Masʿūd to tweet a hemistich from Rumi:

“Didn’t I tell you don’t go there? I am your friend.” Image
Simply put, it means, “I told you so, I am your real friend in Afghanistan.”

Sending political messages with poetry may seem esoteric, but it is quite normal in Persian political culture.

Ali Shamkhani, once Iranian Minister of Defense recently resigned with a couplet: Image
If you are interested in the role of Persian poetry in Iran’s political culture, check out this article I wrote two years ago:

newlinesmag.com/essays/the-key… Image
I have also explained similar poetic messages from Iran’s former foreign minister, Javad Zarif:

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with شرق‌زده sharghzadeh

شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @sharghzadeh

شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
May 29
The Navigating Differences document cements my theory that Islam in America will go the way of Judaism. 🧵
There will be reform-minded people, who compromise so many values that eventually their Islam becomes about biryani, TV shows, and Brown immigrant culture, in the same way that liberal Judiasm is about bagels, Jewish humor, Brooklyn accents, Chinese food on Christmas, etc.
Then there will be conservatives who are willing to compromise some things to exist in greater society, such as shaking hands with women, eating non-zabiha halal, mortgages, women marrying non-muslims, etc, the same way that conservative Jews have made similar compromises.
Read 7 tweets
شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
May 18
Muslims cry about Western colonization, our ancestors were engaged in the very same practises at the same level.

Muslims took slaves, looted, and erased cultures.

In an alternate timeline where Ottomans conquered the Americas, we would take pride in that as well.
Imagine a timeline where the majority of North Americans are Brown Muslims.

Then, poor European immigrants arrive and tear down statues of early Muslim leaders, complain that everything is too Muslim, etc.

Would a Muslim society accept that? I don't think we would.
This is why I find people who spend all day talking about colonization annoying.

We don't actually care about the crimes (which are only crimes in a liberal framework, by the way) we just care that we were the victims.

Had we been the victors, we would take no issues.
Read 7 tweets
شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
May 17
Wanton destruction of old sites is par for the course in our countries.

The impulse to study and preserve relics is Western. Europeans founded Egyptology, not Egyptians.

The tomb of Cyrus the Great was identified by Europeans. Before they arrived, it was a grazing ground. Image
This page has documented just some of the insane destruction unleashed on Ahl al-Bayt shrines in Iran and Iraq. The carnage is just unimaginable.

More examples
Read 4 tweets
شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
May 4
Arabic dialects would have broken into distinct languages à la Latin ages ago were it not for the Muslim emphasis on learning and preserving classical Arabic

Maltese is proof of this.
A shared ethnic identity is not enough to keep a language unified, Turkic languages broke up from one or two formal registers into a dozens of distinct languages.

You need a stronger motivator like religion to animate a strict adherence to a standardized language.
Without Islam, Malta broke off from the Arab world and joined the European cultural sphere, adopting Latin script and Italian loanwords.

I can imagine a future where secularized Arabic states grow increasingly disconnected without Islam and Qur'ānic Arabic.
Read 8 tweets
شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
May 3
Persian nationalists peddle the Pahlavi myth that the Cyrus Cylinder was the 'first charter of human rights.'

Please read the many translations, it's mostly just a self-aggrandizing document.

The modern usage of 'human rights' is a distinctly Western and liberal notion.
For anyone who doesn't believe me, you can read the entire translation. Please point out where 'human rights' are expressed, directly or otherwise:
britishmuseum.org/collection/obj…
I went to visit the cylinder ages ago, as a young child, wide-eyed and excited to see the famed cylinder I was told about.

Like other Iranians I had bought into the Pahlavi myth that somehow it had established human rights, but I'm sad to report this is just wishful thinking.
Read 6 tweets
شرق‌زده sharghzadeh Profile picture
May 3
"9 Signs of a Childish society": Image
1. Bad driving: Image
2. Disregard for rules: Image
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Send Email!

:(