Abdal Hakim Murad – Winter Reading List 2 (2)

Abdal Hakim Murad
Share Page

AI: Summary ©

The transcript discusses the history and significance of the black community in America, including Jefferson's actions and their use of media to inform people about their history. It also includes a recap of the five winter texts for reading, including the use of black literature in media and the Bible and "has been missing."

AI: Summary ©

00:00:00 --> 00:00:04
			Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu
salam ala Rasulillah, where early
		
00:00:04 --> 00:00:06
			he was happy woman well,
		
00:00:07 --> 00:00:12
			so this is, I believe the second
in our winter reading list
		
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16
			sessions, where we look at
publications recent and
		
00:00:16 --> 00:00:21
			occasionally not quite so recent
that we might be curling up with
		
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25
			during the long winter evenings,
some of which may actually be
		
00:00:25 --> 00:00:30
			appropriate as stocking fillers
for our non Muslim friends. So
		
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33
			we're not really looking at
detailed Fichte texts here. Nor
		
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37
			yet at masterworks of Islamic
philosophy, but rather a books
		
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40
			that are a little bit more
middlebrow, more general for an
		
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44
			ordinary reader that nonetheless
draw on important issues, but also
		
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47
			on some of the more recent
scholarship that's been happening.
		
00:00:47 --> 00:00:53
			So we've got quite a bouquet to
offer you in this little session.
		
00:00:53 --> 00:00:59
			And I wanted to start first of
all, with something that well is
		
00:00:59 --> 00:01:06
			100 years old, morbid you pick
tools novel the early hours. So
		
00:01:06 --> 00:01:10
			why am I choosing this? Well, it
has many virtues picked all we
		
00:01:10 --> 00:01:14
			know as probably the best known
translated into English of the
		
00:01:14 --> 00:01:19
			Holy Quran. But in his day, he was
a best selling and hugely revered
		
00:01:19 --> 00:01:23
			novelist. That was how he earned
his living. But he was also a
		
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26
			campaigner for Indian
independence. He was the editor of
		
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30
			the Bombay Chronicle, which was
deemed to be anti Raj. And so he
		
00:01:30 --> 00:01:34
			was fired from that. Close friends
with Ghandi, the Phil Avitus,
		
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37
			movement and so forth.
Interesting. And the introduction
		
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40
			to the book has a potted history.
If you're interested in Indian
		
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43
			Muslim heritage pictoral, there's
actually quite a quite an
		
00:01:43 --> 00:01:48
			interesting figure, but a
novelist. So he converted to Islam
		
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51
			about halfway through his novel
writing in Korea. And it's
		
00:01:51 --> 00:01:56
			interesting to see how the Islamic
preoccupations and deepening of
		
00:01:56 --> 00:02:01
			his sort of soul work unfold in
this literary genre. So this is
		
00:02:01 --> 00:02:06
			generally regarded as his best
novel, and also as his great
		
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09
			Islamic novel. In fact, I would
say it's the great Islamic novel
		
00:02:10 --> 00:02:16
			in the English language, the early
hours. And it's named after the
		
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17
			word Doha
		
00:02:18 --> 00:02:22
			the famous verse from the Quran,
which indicates that there will
		
00:02:22 --> 00:02:26
			always be a new dawn, never
despair. And what's it about?
		
00:02:26 --> 00:02:33
			Well, it's about the Balkan wars
of 1912. And the years leading up
		
00:02:33 --> 00:02:37
			to that final collapse of Muslim
power in Europe. So we think about
		
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39
			the Inquisition, the record is due
in Spain, but that's five
		
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42
			centuries ago. There's something
very similar is happening in the
		
00:02:42 --> 00:02:46
			east of Europe in the Balkan
Peninsula, more or less within
		
00:02:46 --> 00:02:46
			living memory.
		
00:02:48 --> 00:02:52
			So Pictou Pandit publishes this
novel in order to give people not
		
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56
			just a sense of what the politics
were, he himself was sympathetic
		
00:02:56 --> 00:03:00
			to the Committee of Union and
Progress and not very keen on
		
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03
			Abdulhamid autocratic rule quite
unlike Abdullah Quilliam, and some
		
00:03:03 --> 00:03:09
			other British Muslims are active
at the time, and he uses his novel
		
00:03:09 --> 00:03:13
			to present a sympathetic case to
the Committee of Union and
		
00:03:13 --> 00:03:20
			Progress through the eyes of a
simple ordinary Balkan, Turkish
		
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22
			Muslim soldier, camera Dean.
		
00:03:23 --> 00:03:29
			I won't summarize the novel nor
yet provide any spoilers. But for
		
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33
			me, it's a very interesting
indication of an earlier set of
		
00:03:33 --> 00:03:39
			crises which afflicted the OMA and
certainly hurt the conscience of
		
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43
			British Muslims at the time.
pictoral went on to create an
		
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46
			Anglo Ottoman society which
campaigned for the integrity of
		
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49
			the Ottoman Empire when some
Whitehall were thinking that it
		
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52
			should be broken up. And we can
see what a catastrophe that has
		
00:03:52 --> 00:03:57
			led to with new states like Bosnia
and Lebanon and Iraq, really not
		
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01
			working very well after the
Ottoman colorful umbrella is
		
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04
			withdrawn. So he kind of
prophetically anticipated the
		
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07
			disasters of the Middle East in
the Balkans in the 20th century,
		
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11
			after the Pax automatica was
withdrawn, but what's most
		
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14
			interesting for me in the book is
the way in which he depicts very
		
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18
			ordinary life and interesting
individual events against the
		
00:04:18 --> 00:04:25
			backdrop of late Turkish rule in
the Balkans. So here is just an
		
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29
			example of that. And all of the
book is well written em Forster
		
00:04:29 --> 00:04:33
			thought that he was one of the
great novelists of the day. But
		
00:04:33 --> 00:04:37
			here's a passage camera Dean has
fallen into
		
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41
			a espionage or counter espionage
		
00:04:42 --> 00:04:47
			ring in the Balkans and is sent on
a secret mission on the train,
		
00:04:47 --> 00:04:52
			which the Ottomans have built up
into the hinterland. So this is
		
00:04:52 --> 00:04:58
			from chapter 13. I'm readin in the
intervals of conversation looked
		
00:04:58 --> 00:04:59
			out at the ever changing
landscape.
		
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03
			As the train meandered up into the
hills with his dark green of
		
00:05:03 --> 00:05:08
			forest, here the blue of some deep
lake under a cloudless sky. It was
		
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11
			not the first time he had traveled
by the iron road, but it was the
		
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13
			first time he had been
sufficiently at ease in traveling
		
00:05:13 --> 00:05:17
			to look around him with such keen
enjoyment. This compartment where
		
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20
			he lounged was vastly different
from the trucks into which they
		
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24
			packed for soldier men. And this
was but it Kinji second class,
		
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28
			there was built in Jim first class
also on the train compartments,
		
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32
			like a casket need for holding
jewels, and some compartments
		
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36
			closely curtains were reserved for
women, the shrill voices the
		
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39
			inmates being herded every halt.
Everything had been arranged with
		
00:05:39 --> 00:05:43
			nice convenience and propriety.
The train possessed a cheery,
		
00:05:43 --> 00:05:47
			whistling voice, the guard watched
over all like a proud father. The
		
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50
			spice of danger in the expedition
was a source of energy to come
		
00:05:50 --> 00:05:54
			over a dean, making his mind alert
to notice trifles and filling him
		
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58
			with a sense of joyous life. He
felt quite sorry when the train
		
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02
			stopped at the station short of
Monastir, at which he had been
		
00:06:02 --> 00:06:06
			ordered to alight that guards book
for him to talk to a soldier who
		
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09
			was on the platform with the
result that he passed out without
		
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11
			the slightest difficulty.
		
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20
			And then he walks on to his
destination in this remote
		
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24
			Macedonian town. Out of the open
country, he passed suddenly into a
		
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28
			labyrinth of narrow markets with
scraps of awning hanging back like
		
00:06:28 --> 00:06:32
			overhead crowded with all sorts of
people, men in turbans, high crown
		
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35
			fizzes, CALPADS, multifarious
raiment, and women in stripe veils
		
00:06:35 --> 00:06:40
			of diverse us. Arriving at a
mosque he had a mind to enter and
		
00:06:40 --> 00:06:44
			make up his areas of prayer before
proceeding further. But as he was
		
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47
			on the point of doing so he saw a
face well known to him within the
		
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49
			gateway and quickly turned away.
		
00:06:50 --> 00:06:54
			It was the spy Khalil last unit
Salonika, the men who had so
		
00:06:54 --> 00:06:59
			nearly brought him to destruction
on a lying charge. What was he
		
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01
			doing in this country turn far
from the seat of government, the
		
00:07:01 --> 00:07:06
			source of pay for such as he
praying that the rogue might not
		
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09
			have seen him come readin hastened
to the barracks, the sight of his
		
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12
			old enemy had made him anxious to
bear the letter to its destination
		
00:07:12 --> 00:07:17
			instantly. So it's a kind of
thriller as well, but kind of John
		
00:07:17 --> 00:07:22
			McCurry in the Ottoman Balkans, it
has a romantic interest.
		
00:07:22 --> 00:07:26
			Inevitably, it's set against the
backdrop of the majesty of the
		
00:07:27 --> 00:07:31
			horrifying spectacle of the
collapse of the old empire. I
		
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34
			think it's a really good read.
It's only a little paperback,
		
00:07:34 --> 00:07:39
			perfect stocking filler. So we
must move on to my pick, number
		
00:07:39 --> 00:07:44
			two, German MagMod, the leaf of
the neem tree, the leaf of the
		
00:07:44 --> 00:07:49
			neem tree famous Indian tree used
in various medicinal and tea
		
00:07:49 --> 00:07:54
			making activities. And this is by
a member of the younger generation
		
00:07:54 --> 00:08:00
			of British Islam, a Londoner
somebody whose literary gifts have
		
00:08:00 --> 00:08:07
			already made Him known on the BBC,
and as a filmmaker, and as a poet,
		
00:08:07 --> 00:08:11
			somebody who insha Allah has much
to look forward to. And here we
		
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14
			have a very different British
Muslim voice, which is not the
		
00:08:14 --> 00:08:18
			voice of the British Muslim going
out to try and sort things out in
		
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21
			the Islamic world. But the
descendant of those who have
		
00:08:21 --> 00:08:25
			migrated under very difficult
circumstances from the Islamic
		
00:08:25 --> 00:08:30
			world, to the imperial capital of
London, dealing with its
		
00:08:30 --> 00:08:34
			materialism, the racism, the
Islamophobia, the risks of
		
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37
			assimilation, and I think it's one
of the most reliable and
		
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40
			accessible places to go to if
you're interested in that
		
00:08:40 --> 00:08:45
			particular aspect of the British
Muslim experience. So this is a
		
00:08:45 --> 00:08:50
			book which is mostly poetry, but
also contains certain short
		
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53
			stories and prose, anecdotes.
		
00:08:56 --> 00:09:00
			So walking through mer 11 breeds a
love of money. This is apparent.
		
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04
			The higher the ceiling, the
sweeter the fruit. If you look too
		
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07
			long at this place, and it's
brothers, you will wake in the
		
00:09:07 --> 00:09:11
			mornings with a mouthful of copper
and steel, a lack of saliva and
		
00:09:11 --> 00:09:16
			ears shorn of hair. Free to hear
all the nothings you need. behind
		
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19
			your eyes, you'll keep the names
of horses and the floor plans of
		
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20
			strangers homes.
		
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27
			Back home, we say is it your dad's
house, Baker Street doesn't live
		
00:09:27 --> 00:09:29
			under the feet of your aging
mother, even if we build a mosque
		
00:09:29 --> 00:09:34
			them. The curvature of a lip or
the long mile of an eye do not
		
00:09:34 --> 00:09:38
			need capital to burn, but it's
difficult to see with an eyeful of
		
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39
			ashes.
		
00:09:42 --> 00:09:46
			And then another representative
poem takes a village.
		
00:09:47 --> 00:09:51
			The only place I know like the
back of my hand is the back of my
		
00:09:51 --> 00:09:55
			hand and sometimes he could be
driving to in my head. They know
		
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58
			me in mirror poor and Gillingham.
On some nights they mentioned my
		
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59
			name in Karachi.
		
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03
			and perhaps once a decade, it's
uttered in Rajouri. But I doubt
		
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05
			many can put a face to it that
		
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09
			they still ask about me at the
mosque at home, my only claim to
		
00:10:09 --> 00:10:14
			community, no other place smells
like elders before they died. I
		
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17
			can visit home for a few hours
every week to feel like a guest or
		
00:10:17 --> 00:10:21
			a friend of my father. How long
you allowed to claim a place
		
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23
			before you were accused of lying
		
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27
			before they stopped listening, and
the food you left out is no longer
		
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30
			edible, like spoiled fruit of a
whole town's labor.
		
00:10:33 --> 00:10:39
			She wants to do a third of these
thick, I receive a lot of poetry,
		
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40
			some good, some
		
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45
			disappointing, no, but this is
certainly one of the best
		
00:10:46 --> 00:10:50
			specimens of that emerging
discipline of British Muslim
		
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52
			poetry that I've received
recently.
		
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57
			get worse or trouble goes the
first line of the month manager.
		
00:10:58 --> 00:11:02
			I'm not as brave as Imam Ibn
Natalie. But my therapist said not
		
00:11:02 --> 00:11:06
			to respond with fear. She uses the
metaphor of a clock that I can't
		
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09
			take down that will be in the
other room if I try to go that
		
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13
			tells me I have to drown it out
that poetry is abstract, and I
		
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15
			need to target the senses.
		
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20
			I respond apprehensively listen to
her medicine. I think of cooking
		
00:11:20 --> 00:11:24
			more being outside and touching
the soft Life of Plants. Even
		
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27
			touching a pet she says it all
sounds so simple.
		
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32
			I'm no messenger. But I think of
the Arab Prophet asking his wife
		
00:11:32 --> 00:11:35
			to cover him. I think of
trembling, of being a strange
		
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36
			father.
		
00:11:37 --> 00:11:41
			If my body temperature and
neglecting responsibility, I think
		
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45
			of the skin on my hands
prematurely turning to rubber. I
		
00:11:45 --> 00:11:49
			wonder what happens when you mix
blood and obsession. If lineage
		
00:11:49 --> 00:11:53
			pulls from that well, or if that's
water only I use over and over.
		
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58
			They're quite atmospheric, always
short.
		
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02
			reminding me of certain other
		
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06
			British poets Danny absi, perhaps
comes to mind. But here we are
		
00:12:06 --> 00:12:11
			published in the United Kingdom in
2021. By Hotjar press, no doubt
		
00:12:11 --> 00:12:16
			available on Amazon and at your
local Islamic bookshop with any
		
00:12:16 --> 00:12:22
			luck. So moving on, we come to one
of my all time favorites by the
		
00:12:22 --> 00:12:28
			Danish Muslim journalists Kanade
holmboe Does it encounter does it
		
00:12:28 --> 00:12:33
			encounter which has subtitles and
adventurous journey through
		
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34
			Italian Africa.
		
00:12:35 --> 00:12:39
			Again, this is old, like the Pick
tool book came out in the 1930s.
		
00:12:39 --> 00:12:44
			But it's been reprinted. And I
think again, it's an example of
		
00:12:44 --> 00:12:48
			people in the early 20th century
pioneering arts that have
		
00:12:48 --> 00:12:54
			subsequently been explored by many
others. This is one of the first
		
00:12:54 --> 00:12:59
			works of travel writing by a
European Muslim hobo was from
		
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04
			Denmark, and had already published
a book about the French
		
00:13:04 --> 00:13:09
			suppression of the reef rebellion
in northern Morocco in the 1920s,
		
00:13:09 --> 00:13:12
			and worked quite regularly for
some of the major newspapers in
		
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13
			Copenhagen.
		
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17
			One of the few Muslims in the
whole country at the time, he
		
00:13:17 --> 00:13:23
			thought quite a pioneer are very
dedicated. And this is his very
		
00:13:23 --> 00:13:27
			hair raising trip almost
unbelievable at times, in a really
		
00:13:28 --> 00:13:33
			beat up old, falling to pieces
Chevrolet with a very eccentric
		
00:13:33 --> 00:13:37
			American traveling companion.
There is people that they pick up
		
00:13:37 --> 00:13:42
			here and there as they drive
across the Sahara Desert, from
		
00:13:42 --> 00:13:46
			west to east from Morocco trying
to go to Egypt. Again,
		
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50
			I don't want to offer any
spoilers. But in each one of these
		
00:13:50 --> 00:13:55
			countries, you get not just
vignettes of the traditional life
		
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56
			of the populations.
		
00:13:58 --> 00:14:04
			The poverty, superstition,
unshakable faith, heroism, you
		
00:14:04 --> 00:14:08
			also get a sense of the absolute
apartheid style distinction
		
00:14:08 --> 00:14:12
			between the rulers and the ruled
the French racism in North Africa,
		
00:14:12 --> 00:14:17
			the Italian racism in siren Erica
and in Tripolitania.
		
00:14:19 --> 00:14:25
			And the story becomes more and
more kind of nerve wracking until
		
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27
			he gets to Mussolini's Libya.
		
00:14:29 --> 00:14:34
			Mussolini, Mussolini bared his
teeth most effectively in his
		
00:14:34 --> 00:14:38
			African conquest in the invasion
of Abyssinia which was one of the
		
00:14:38 --> 00:14:43
			low points of the whole European
imperial story but also in the way
		
00:14:43 --> 00:14:47
			in which he occupied Tripolitania
and particularly siren Erica,
		
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50
			which had been quite happy and
loyal under the Ottoman Empire
		
00:14:50 --> 00:14:55
			until the same year 1912 When the
Balkan provinces were amputated
		
00:14:55 --> 00:14:59
			from the Ottomans. The Sultan's
God traditionally was made up of
		
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02
			of Libyans, they had been,
		
00:15:03 --> 00:15:07
			it'd been a very good
relationship. So he
		
00:15:08 --> 00:15:14
			kind of commutes between the world
of dandified, Italian military
		
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17
			officers, officers, and then at
various points as you drive to
		
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20
			learn, almost dying of thirst in
various places as this terrible
		
00:15:20 --> 00:15:26
			car breaks down again and again.
He starts to get to know as he
		
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30
			moves into the heartland of the
rebellion and siren, Erica is on
		
00:15:30 --> 00:15:34
			there and Mortara revolt, what
exactly the Italians are doing the
		
00:15:34 --> 00:15:38
			genocide, the herding of half the
population into concentration
		
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40
			camps, where they're basically
left to
		
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44
			starve to death unless they
convert to Catholicism, and they
		
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47
			get baptized, in which case, it's
a different story. It's a very
		
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49
			kind of religionist tale.
		
00:15:51 --> 00:15:58
			So here's an example of one story
that he encounters in siren airco
		
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01
			when he's talking to one of the
dissidents who are struggling
		
00:16:01 --> 00:16:06
			against the Italians. So this is
what this is. The story here is
		
00:16:07 --> 00:16:11
			a score of our men led by myself
at attended a Greek Festival in a
		
00:16:11 --> 00:16:15
			neighboring oasis. It lasted three
days, and we returned to our
		
00:16:15 --> 00:16:19
			oasis. It seemed quiet enough. But
the first person I met was my
		
00:16:19 --> 00:16:23
			wife. She came running to me
horror in her eyes, her hair
		
00:16:23 --> 00:16:27
			streaming down her back, her
clothes torn off her body. Oh, do
		
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30
			not come home do not come home,
she wailed. Allah forgive me for
		
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33
			having to tell you what has
happened. She sobbed and wailed,
		
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37
			and I could not get another word
out of her. I got off my camel and
		
00:16:37 --> 00:16:41
			then my brother appeared. He came
up to me kiss my cheeks and said,
		
00:16:41 --> 00:16:45
			Brother, you know as well as I do
that Allah alone beats out justice
		
00:16:45 --> 00:16:50
			to man. Muhammad is dead. Dead, I
said, but he was not ill. No, he
		
00:16:50 --> 00:16:54
			replied, our brother was shot. The
Italians have been here. They shot
		
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55
			every fifth man.
		
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00
			I was so shaken that I was
speechless. But my brother
		
00:17:00 --> 00:17:04
			continued. You must place your
trust in Allah, whatever happens.
		
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05
			Aisha is gone.
		
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09
			I chose my daughter and I could
not control myself any longer.
		
00:17:09 --> 00:17:14
			Tell me I cried. Is she dead? He
shook his head. No, he said, an
		
00:17:14 --> 00:17:18
			Italian Sergeant with some
Eritrean troops arrived. They
		
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20
			drove the camels away and when
they left with the animals, they
		
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22
			took Aisha with them too.
		
00:17:23 --> 00:17:27
			Oh, my brother, could you not have
spared my house, that shame in my
		
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30
			heart that sorrow? You knew how I
loved her. But you might rather
		
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33
			have killed her than that that
disgrace should fall upon my name.
		
00:17:34 --> 00:17:38
			I knew nothing until it was too
late. Eritrean soldiers kept guard
		
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39
			everywhere you were applied.
		
00:17:40 --> 00:17:44
			For a long time, I did not answer
him. Then I said, You must take
		
00:17:44 --> 00:17:48
			care of my wife and son of man who
is only nine years old stood
		
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50
			beside his mother. I'm going to
look for Aisha
		
00:17:52 --> 00:17:56
			I left the oasis on my only
remaining camel. I did not know
		
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59
			that I was never to see it again.
I searched for many months in many
		
00:17:59 --> 00:18:03
			towns, and at last I found her.
She had been put in a public
		
00:18:03 --> 00:18:06
			brothel in Derna house where
everyone could commit literally
		
00:18:06 --> 00:18:11
			for payment. The chief clenched
his hand around his rifle. She
		
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14
			knew me and I asked her to come
with me. But she shook her head
		
00:18:14 --> 00:18:18
			and wept. Her father, she said, I
believe that I am ill. And if I've
		
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21
			got that illness, I shall never be
well again.
		
00:18:22 --> 00:18:26
			Aisha I forgiven you, as Allah
will pardon us all. How did you
		
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26
			get here?
		
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30
			The Italian carried me away when
they took the camels and
		
00:18:30 --> 00:18:34
			afterwards I was brought here to
this house. She sobbed. Only Allah
		
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36
			the merciful knows what I suffered
at that moment.
		
00:18:37 --> 00:18:41
			Kill me father, she asked, I shall
never escape from this place, and
		
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43
			death will be a favor when it
comes from your hands.
		
00:18:44 --> 00:18:48
			So I killed her, kissed her
forehead and fled, fled to the
		
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49
			mountains.
		
00:18:50 --> 00:18:54
			Everyone was silent. I could not
answer him. I was too deeply
		
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55
			moved.
		
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59
			That's just one of the stories
that he hears. And he's got the
		
00:18:59 --> 00:19:03
			ear of a journalist. He's looking
for these human interest stores,
		
00:19:03 --> 00:19:08
			stories that put a kind of flesh
of reality on the bare bones of
		
00:19:08 --> 00:19:12
			what the historians record of what
colonial rule in those places was
		
00:19:12 --> 00:19:16
			actually like colonialism plus
Mussolini plus Catholicism plus
		
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17
			race theory.
		
00:19:19 --> 00:19:24
			A dreadful story. Moving on now to
my pick, number four. This is
		
00:19:24 --> 00:19:29
			called Saracen chivalry, councils
on valor, generosity and the
		
00:19:29 --> 00:19:33
			mystical quest by Pierre Xia,
Inayat, Han,
		
00:19:34 --> 00:19:39
			this is a different kind of
narrative. It's a sort of
		
00:19:39 --> 00:19:44
			historical novel, but taking the
form of insight into the principle
		
00:19:45 --> 00:19:49
			of what Islam calls fatawa. That
is to say the chivalry that
		
00:19:49 --> 00:19:54
			connects the need to act
ethically, outwardly, even on the
		
00:19:54 --> 00:19:58
			field of battle, with the need to
act correctly and heroically
		
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00
			against the demons and the enemies
within
		
00:20:00 --> 00:20:04
			And these things have to be united
as with the twin pointed sword of
		
00:20:04 --> 00:20:09
			Imam Ali, who was regarded as the
great hero of the warriors of
		
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11
			fatawa. So, this book
		
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16
			designed in many ways for a non
Muslim readership, I think in
		
00:20:16 --> 00:20:20
			order to present these, these
virtues to them
		
00:20:22 --> 00:20:27
			is a kind of imagination of a book
that spun off from the great
		
00:20:27 --> 00:20:31
			pacifier legend poster for the
Knights of the Round Table. King
		
00:20:31 --> 00:20:35
			Arthur, the holy grail that kind
of heart of European mythmaking,
		
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36
			sacred symbolism.
		
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40
			Some of you will know the story
		
00:20:41 --> 00:20:45
			that according to Volf, hyung von
Eschenbach, who was the German
		
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48
			13th century author of The Great
Parsifal story, one of the
		
00:20:48 --> 00:20:51
			monuments of medieval literature
really
		
00:20:54 --> 00:21:00
			the king of Anjou Gomorrah that
goes off as a night to offer his
		
00:21:00 --> 00:21:04
			services wherever chivalry is
understood, and he enters the
		
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06
			service of the Khalifa of Baghdad,
		
00:21:08 --> 00:21:13
			for whom he performs many deeds of
heroism. story says he's a
		
00:21:13 --> 00:21:17
			Christian, but the Khalifa is
Muslim. And that world of chivalry
		
00:21:17 --> 00:21:20
			salad in Richard the Lionheart
often brings together in a kind of
		
00:21:20 --> 00:21:24
			mutual respect in a strange way,
the two rival civilizations.
		
00:21:25 --> 00:21:30
			He goes off to a mythical kingdom
in Africa where he falls in love,
		
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32
			of course with Queen Bella cane.
		
00:21:34 --> 00:21:41
			He marries her, he is white and
she is black as ebony, and leaves
		
00:21:41 --> 00:21:45
			her pregnant and then goes on to
continue his night. arrogancy.
		
00:21:45 --> 00:21:50
			According to the story, she dies
of grief. He marries again how to
		
00:21:50 --> 00:21:54
			Lloyd up in Europe and has another
son.
		
00:21:55 --> 00:22:01
			So the first son is Farah fees,
who emerges as a kind of mottled
		
00:22:01 --> 00:22:05
			half white half black strangeness.
And the second son the half
		
00:22:05 --> 00:22:09
			brother is policy file becomes
cost the hero of bargainous
		
00:22:09 --> 00:22:13
			greatest opera and a major figure
in the Grail legends.
		
00:22:14 --> 00:22:17
			The Grail is not very big in this
particular book, and the book
		
00:22:17 --> 00:22:20
			takes the form of Queen Bella
canes.
		
00:22:22 --> 00:22:28
			Advice to her not yet born son,
Pharaoh fees, urging him to uphold
		
00:22:28 --> 00:22:33
			the honor of the house of Andhra
but also the honor of the
		
00:22:33 --> 00:22:38
			Shuttleworth tradition in Islam.
So this is a kind of photo Vietnam
		
00:22:38 --> 00:22:41
			as medieval Muslims sort of
calling it goes through the basic
		
00:22:41 --> 00:22:45
			practices of religion, and the
basic virtue. So here's a couple
		
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46
			of examples.
		
00:22:47 --> 00:22:53
			This is Queen Bella Cain, writing
to her unborn son fees to her
		
00:22:53 --> 00:22:57
			Gomorrah, it pains me more than I
can say that I will not see you
		
00:22:57 --> 00:23:01
			grow to manhood. I will not see
your form, hear your voice or feel
		
00:23:01 --> 00:23:06
			your touch. Even still, I will
turn toward you that your face may
		
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09
			be veiled to me. I pray and trust
that I will be given the sight to
		
00:23:09 --> 00:23:14
			see what is in your heart. With
eyes of fire I will watch over you
		
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16
			delighting in your happiness and
mourning your grief.
		
00:23:17 --> 00:23:21
			Before long you will be a young
man. The lengthening of your limbs
		
00:23:21 --> 00:23:25
			needs only time. If a boy merely
eats he will grow. But to become a
		
00:23:25 --> 00:23:29
			young man in the true meaning of
the word to become a fetter a
		
00:23:29 --> 00:23:33
			chivalrous youth, something more
is wanted. Your nourishment must
		
00:23:33 --> 00:23:37
			be virtue, generosity, courage,
courtesy and wisdom must be your
		
00:23:37 --> 00:23:41
			constant practice. In garments.
You must aspire to the knighthood
		
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43
			of purity and you must attain it.
		
00:23:45 --> 00:23:48
			For as long as men and women have
risen towards the good in thought,
		
00:23:48 --> 00:23:51
			word and deed, so long has
chivalry graced the Earth.
		
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55
			Whenever revelation has come down,
the order of chivalry has rallied
		
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58
			to the prophets call, renewing its
fealty to the ancient covenant
		
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02
			time and again with the sweat and
blood of its worth is it has
		
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03
			redeemed its vow.
		
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08
			One of the earliest sections of
the book goes through the five
		
00:24:08 --> 00:24:13
			pillars in which the queen is
explaining to her unborn son, the
		
00:24:13 --> 00:24:16
			enormous importance of the five
pillars and their spiritual value.
		
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19
			So this is the section on proud
		
00:24:21 --> 00:24:26
			fees to Volga muret prayer is
ascension. When you bow down,
		
00:24:26 --> 00:24:30
			prayer lift you up. As your head
descends to the earth, your heart
		
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31
			ascends to the sky.
		
00:24:32 --> 00:24:36
			A Chevelle yet needs a Shavon
porphyries and camels are
		
00:24:36 --> 00:24:40
			commonplace. patter Lamont streets
are overcrowded with them. A real
		
00:24:40 --> 00:24:46
			Ghazi requires a mound of Brock's
noble breed. And what is that? The
		
00:24:46 --> 00:24:49
			Holy Breath of prayer the side
that rises beyond time and space.
		
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51
			Spirit rides the wind.
		
00:24:53 --> 00:24:57
			I trust you will perform your
prayer steadfastly. Prayer is both
		
00:24:57 --> 00:25:00
			a solemn duty and a delicate
pleasure. We
		
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02
			When you step onto your prayer rug
you step from the world of
		
00:25:02 --> 00:25:06
			becoming to the world of being.
When you lift your arms in praise
		
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09
			the burden of the past and future
falls from your back. And your
		
00:25:09 --> 00:25:12
			heart expands to greet the
presence of the present, which is
		
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14
			another name for the eternal.
		
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17
			They you stand on Earth, you bow
and rise in the temple of
		
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18
			eternity.
		
00:25:20 --> 00:25:23
			To pray five times each day with
gesture, thought and feeling is to
		
00:25:23 --> 00:25:26
			put in motion the tides have a
rhythm that will elevate your
		
00:25:26 --> 00:25:29
			soul. Deepen your peace, see you
through danger and guide you
		
00:25:29 --> 00:25:33
			towards the fulfillment of your
life's purpose. Hold on to this
		
00:25:33 --> 00:25:37
			rhythm. When all else crumbles
around, you let dust return to
		
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40
			dust, but prayer is heavens
portion.
		
00:25:42 --> 00:25:46
			And the sections on the cat and
the Hajj and Ramadan are also
		
00:25:47 --> 00:25:50
			simple to understand. It's not an
academic book, but there's
		
00:25:50 --> 00:25:54
			considerable depth here. And then
the second portion of the book
		
00:25:54 --> 00:25:57
			goes through the traditional
virtues of fatawa.
		
00:25:59 --> 00:26:02
			On wisdom, on courage, on
temperance, on generosity, on
		
00:26:02 --> 00:26:06
			justice, on nobility, and so
forth. So this is
		
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08
			definitely
		
00:26:09 --> 00:26:14
			worth giving to non Muslim
friends, because it's about
		
00:26:14 --> 00:26:17
			fellowship, it's about that use
chivalric things held in common,
		
00:26:17 --> 00:26:21
			but within it within the book is A
Vindication of the basic spiritual
		
00:26:21 --> 00:26:27
			principles of Queen Bella cane,
the mythical Muslim queen. So this
		
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30
			one is published by omega
publications of New York.
		
00:26:32 --> 00:26:36
			Strongly recommend it. So we come
to the last of my five picks for
		
00:26:36 --> 00:26:41
			this year. This is by Jeffrey iron
Bowden, who is an academic in
		
00:26:41 --> 00:26:44
			America has already published a
number of interesting things,
		
00:26:44 --> 00:26:48
			particularly on Islam and American
literature, Islam and the
		
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48
			enlightenment.
		
00:26:50 --> 00:26:55
			This is his most recent offering
Jefferson's Muslim fugitives, the
		
00:26:55 --> 00:26:59
			last story of enslaved Africans,
the Arabic letters and an American
		
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00
			president.
		
00:27:01 --> 00:27:06
			Well, you can already see that
this is a book by an academic
		
00:27:06 --> 00:27:10
			that's aiming for a larger public.
And there's been a certain amount
		
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10
			of interest
		
00:27:13 --> 00:27:18
			in Jefferson and his relationship
to Islam, ever since, of course,
		
00:27:18 --> 00:27:23
			the famous episode in 2007, I
think it was when Congressman
		
00:27:23 --> 00:27:28
			Keith Ellison of Minnesota, when
he took his vow of office to enter
		
00:27:28 --> 00:27:33
			the Congress did so. Not in the
Bible, but on Thomas Jefferson's
		
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36
			own copy of the Koran, which I
think was probably sales
		
00:27:36 --> 00:27:41
			translation. And in that era of
war on terror, mad Islamophobia,
		
00:27:41 --> 00:27:44
			of course, that gave the
journalists something to chew on.
		
00:27:45 --> 00:27:48
			And then Denise Spellman has
written a book about Jefferson's
		
00:27:48 --> 00:27:51
			grant Jefferson's relationship to
deism certain trends in the
		
00:27:51 --> 00:27:55
			enlightenment that were influenced
by certain Islamic texts and
		
00:27:55 --> 00:28:00
			traditions, a certain sort of
Unitarianism a certain sort of
		
00:28:00 --> 00:28:04
			insistence that the personality of
Jesus is enormous ly impressive,
		
00:28:04 --> 00:28:07
			but only if you consider him to be
really a human being rather than
		
00:28:07 --> 00:28:11
			divine. That's another story. But
in in Jeffrey's book, what we have
		
00:28:11 --> 00:28:14
			is something that looks at some
documents.
		
00:28:16 --> 00:28:19
			And these documents originate and
he begins the book rather
		
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22
			dramatically, with a stormy
evening at the White House in
		
00:28:22 --> 00:28:27
			1807. And Jefferson's already had
a hard day traveling his horse
		
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29
			almost drowned, there were floods.
		
00:28:30 --> 00:28:34
			And so he's sitting in the White
House when a mysterious person
		
00:28:34 --> 00:28:39
			sends a message saying, I have
something a vast importance to
		
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39
			tell you
		
00:28:40 --> 00:28:43
			guys admitted, I guess it's a bit
more difficult these days.
		
00:28:45 --> 00:28:49
			And it turns out that the man
comes with two mysterious
		
00:28:49 --> 00:28:54
			documents, which nobody can read
from two fugitives who had been
		
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55
			arrested in Kentucky.
		
00:28:57 --> 00:29:00
			What's the significance of this?
Well, again, there's spoilers. The
		
00:29:00 --> 00:29:05
			book weaves in and out of larger
questions of Jefferson's and early
		
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07
			America's relationship with
		
00:29:09 --> 00:29:12
			the Muslim world. But this is
specifically about literature
		
00:29:12 --> 00:29:17
			generated by slaves. So here you
have these two fugitives who are
		
00:29:17 --> 00:29:22
			sending letters it seems to the
president in the White House, when
		
00:29:22 --> 00:29:26
			they are Muslims who've been
enslaved and are in chains and it
		
00:29:26 --> 00:29:29
			seems to have escaped several
times from various forms of
		
00:29:30 --> 00:29:34
			incarceration, including the
famous Christian prison and in
		
00:29:34 --> 00:29:37
			Kentucky, make it over state lines
into Tennessee that on its own
		
00:29:37 --> 00:29:42
			would make it a great movie. So
they send letters complaining of
		
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44
			their treatment, but the letters
were in Arabic,
		
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48
			in a kind of West African mother B
type script.
		
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52
			And they say
		
00:29:54 --> 00:29:57
			in the who Allah Delica Shaheed
god is their witness. They're
		
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59
			doing it partly to alert you
		
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02
			One who's at the top of the
American pyramid, that massively
		
00:30:02 --> 00:30:06
			unequal society, to the reality of
what's happening right at the
		
00:30:06 --> 00:30:09
			bottom and people who aren't even
kind of Christianized Africans,
		
00:30:10 --> 00:30:14
			but Ishmaelites. So, from the
bottom, unlettered to the top.
		
00:30:16 --> 00:30:21
			So, I'm burden goes through these
documents, which is found, it
		
00:30:21 --> 00:30:24
			seems, I think it's the
Massachusetts Historical
		
00:30:24 --> 00:30:27
			Institute, he actually discovered
them and they're reproduced here
		
00:30:27 --> 00:30:31
			for the first time. And then he
uses this as his cue to talk about
		
00:30:31 --> 00:30:35
			the neglected story of these
people who are at the bottom that
		
00:30:35 --> 00:30:41
			Ishmaelites that the rejected ones
of American society, who not only
		
00:30:41 --> 00:30:46
			have the wrong race, but also have
the wrong religion. Because there
		
00:30:47 --> 00:30:51
			is Muslims and therefore, mores,
Saracens, the parodic metric
		
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52
			others Ishmaelites.
		
00:30:54 --> 00:30:57
			So that weaving together of a
Muslim identity with an African
		
00:30:57 --> 00:31:02
			American identity is something
that has been significant for the
		
00:31:02 --> 00:31:05
			kind of Malcolm X Muhammad Ali
phenomenon later on, for Keith
		
00:31:05 --> 00:31:10
			Ellison as well. But what has not
been really brought to the surface
		
00:31:10 --> 00:31:14
			recently is the fact that these
African slaves, they often were
		
00:31:14 --> 00:31:18
			highly literate, and could produce
books when given a chance, in
		
00:31:18 --> 00:31:24
			Arabic, on flip on doctrine, and
they could quote the Quran. The
		
00:31:24 --> 00:31:28
			first of these actually is not the
documents that Jeffrey is
		
00:31:28 --> 00:31:34
			disinterred, but a document that
goes back to 1750 or so. And there
		
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35
			are others.
		
00:31:36 --> 00:31:40
			Very moving tiny little fragments
scribbled down sometimes in
		
00:31:40 --> 00:31:44
			prison, sometimes on plantation
sometimes in extremely difficult
		
00:31:44 --> 00:31:47
			circumstances, that hardly anybody
in America could read. Jefferson
		
00:31:47 --> 00:31:50
			certainly didn't know what these
things said, it took a long time
		
00:31:50 --> 00:31:52
			before anybody could start to
		
00:31:53 --> 00:31:56
			start to decode these documents.
		
00:31:58 --> 00:32:03
			And so this is work in progress.
There's so much sort of Black
		
00:32:03 --> 00:32:08
			Lives Matter, preoccupation,
generally legitimate about the
		
00:32:08 --> 00:32:15
			American caste system. But the
aspect of the enslaved that shows
		
00:32:15 --> 00:32:19
			that actually, many of them were
princes, many of them were highly
		
00:32:19 --> 00:32:23
			literate, many of them were deeply
devout and religious and saintly
		
00:32:23 --> 00:32:26
			men and women who could, right
that's not part of the narrative,
		
00:32:26 --> 00:32:30
			because generally, the kind of
Black Lives Matter world comes out
		
00:32:30 --> 00:32:34
			of a entirely European
enlightenment, Marxist idea, and
		
00:32:34 --> 00:32:37
			doesn't really like to acknowledge
other tributaries and other
		
00:32:37 --> 00:32:40
			cultures. It's certainly not
multicultural, although sometimes
		
00:32:40 --> 00:32:45
			will claim to be so the liberation
that they propose is based
		
00:32:45 --> 00:32:49
			entirely on European intellectual
genealogy. So this other story,
		
00:32:49 --> 00:32:52
			this other America, this truly
		
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55
			exiled and Israelite
		
00:32:57 --> 00:33:00
			principle, maybe there's other
documents to be found, maybe
		
00:33:00 --> 00:33:07
			movies to be made, may be an
awareness of the Islamic identity
		
00:33:07 --> 00:33:12
			and the literate Islamic identity
of many of those early African
		
00:33:12 --> 00:33:16
			Muslim slaves in really desperate
circumstances. They describe how
		
00:33:17 --> 00:33:21
			horrific it was plantation slavery
really was no joke
		
00:33:22 --> 00:33:25
			will come to the surface and we'll
start to see the natural
		
00:33:25 --> 00:33:29
			connection that exists between
sort of America white Protestant
		
00:33:29 --> 00:33:32
			Christian power gun lobby
Christianity, on the one hand,
		
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35
			that's not the only way of being a
Christian in America, but in the
		
00:33:35 --> 00:33:39
			kind of Bush era, the Trump era,
it seemed to be dominant. And on
		
00:33:39 --> 00:33:44
			the other hand, the rejected
eldest son, Ishmael Hotjar, the
		
00:33:44 --> 00:33:49
			ones who are cast out for being
half African, that really the only
		
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50
			religion in the world.
		
00:33:51 --> 00:33:55
			That is the that is founded by
somebody who has some African
		
00:33:55 --> 00:33:58
			blood because of course, the
Israelite story is precisely that.
		
00:33:59 --> 00:34:05
			So there's a lot more to be done
on this. Jeffrey has given a wider
		
00:34:05 --> 00:34:09
			story about Arabic literature in
early American Republican culture
		
00:34:09 --> 00:34:13
			and much of that is interesting as
well but certainly a something
		
00:34:13 --> 00:34:17
			that indicates how very ancient
apparently obscure texts can
		
00:34:17 --> 00:34:21
			really break surface and become
sensations nowadays and and shed
		
00:34:21 --> 00:34:26
			light on the actual meaning of
injustices and headline issues
		
00:34:26 --> 00:34:30
			today. I think this is definitely
a very interesting text and it's
		
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32
			Oxford University Press.
		
00:34:33 --> 00:34:37
			In New York, they're generally not
too expensive. 2020 Yeah, so it is
		
00:34:37 --> 00:34:42
			new, the reviews have still not
quite digested it but yep.
		
00:34:43 --> 00:34:48
			An excellent piece of scholarship
that also contributes directly to
		
00:34:48 --> 00:34:53
			the culture wars in modern
America, strongly recommended. So
		
00:34:53 --> 00:34:59
			that brings us to the end of my
five winter texts for reading as
		
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59
			we go through the
		
00:35:00 --> 00:35:05
			is dark and soggy month, but it is
encouraging to see how much is
		
00:35:05 --> 00:35:10
			being published now, often by kind
of piratical small publishers
		
00:35:10 --> 00:35:15
			these voices very often from the
margins, but then that tends to be
		
00:35:15 --> 00:35:18
			where truth is the story of
religions is all about God being
		
00:35:18 --> 00:35:21
			with the margins being with the
dispossessed being with the
		
00:35:21 --> 00:35:25
			discriminated against with the
Worcester Dauphine with the monka
		
00:35:25 --> 00:35:30
			theoretical Lobo home so hopefully
as we internalize this, and gain
		
00:35:30 --> 00:35:34
			what is really the message of all
of these texts, which is Allah,
		
00:35:34 --> 00:35:38
			Allah cliche in Shaheed, he is the
witness of everything. The elites
		
00:35:38 --> 00:35:41
			may not see it, but God sees it
and sees the real shape of
		
00:35:41 --> 00:35:46
			history. And it is the most that
I've seen, who will ultimately be
		
00:35:46 --> 00:35:49
			the worry theme as the Quran
insists they're the ones who
		
00:35:49 --> 00:35:54
			inherit in the next world if not
always in this. barnacle. Alfie
		
00:35:54 --> 00:35:57
			Kohn salam o aleikum wa
rahmatullah Cambridge Muslim
		
00:35:57 --> 00:36:01
			College, training the next
generation of Muslim thinkers