#amir safi

[ukdamo]

Saffron

Amir Safi

My mother picks up the pestle and mortar and does to saffron what the clerics have done to her country/ pours in steaming water till the liquid in the bowl becomes the Caspian swallowing the sun/ it smells like a home I have not returned to in 10 years/ saffron/ pound for pound/ the most expensive spice in the world/ worth more in its weight than gold/ if customs found it, they would surely throw it away/ but my grandmother is a high stakes smuggler/ her currency is my mother's joy/ every time she visits, she brings some in her luggage/ and my grandmother always comes through/ and my mother always becomes a festival of lights/ looks at my father/ reminds him that it is her saffron/ approaches me with the same enthusiasm I had as a boy catching a fish/ holds the small packet between her thumb and her index finger and says/ you cannot find saffron this good in America, Amir/ you cannot find saffron like this anywhere, but Iran/ and this is where I learn the limitations of the American dream/ that you cannot find here what you already have/ and I laugh because if customs found it they would surely throw it away/ and I laugh at how borders can make the most valued feel worthless/ but, thankfully, they were not victorious this time/ nor are they ever/ because my grandmother is a high stakes smuggler/ her currency is my mother's joy/ and my grandmother always comes through/ and my mother loves to feed her boys/ so my mother does what Iranian mothers do best/ and we eat until the diaspora dissolves/ until it's time for my brother and I to fight over who does the dishes/ my mother exclaiming to my grandmother/ these boys are American/ they never learned taarof/ I tried to teach them, but they learned all of their manners from their father.

[imaginemirage]

"To be Muslim is to watch your mosque set on fire and not say a word because you do not know yet if it was the supremacist or the fundamentalist. Which is to say you do not know yet whether you are expected to be outraged or apologize."

Amir Safi

[nakibistan]

List of notable Muslim allies of queer, trans or LGBTQI+ folks

Imam al-Nawawi – ally of Mukhannathun or trans femmes, female transsexuals and effeminate queers

Saint Khawaja Gharib Nawaz – ally and patron of Hijra and Khawaja Sara communities

Saint Baba Bulleh Shah – ally and patron of Muslim Khawaja Sira communities

Saint Lal Shabaz Qalander – patron of Khawaja Sira & trans Muslim communities

Abu Muhammad Ali Ibn Hazm – ally of queer Muslims

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - ally of transgender & intersex folks

Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi - ally of trans & intersex folks

Amina Wadud - ally of LGBTQI+ Muslims, founder of Queer Islamic Studies and Theology (QIST)

Gulbanu Khaki/Gul Khaki - ally of LGBTQ+ muslims, mother of a gay imam

Khaled Hosseini - ally of transgender & proud muslim dad of a transgender child

Siddika Jessa - LGBTQI+ activist, mother of a gay muslim son

Ani Zonneveld

Pamela Taylor

Laura Silver

Omid Safi

Kecia Ali

Ghazala Anwar

Ensaf Haider

Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur

Farid Esack

Zaitun Mohamed Kasim/Toni Mohamed Kasim

Anne-Sophie Monsinay

Imam Kahina Bahloul

Imam Philip Tuley

Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle

Farouk Peru

Abdennur Prado

Ingrid Mattson

Hasan Minhaj

Reza Aslan

Alia Bano

Zaid Ibrahim

Azahn Munas

Ayman Fadel

Inayat Bunglawala

Shahla Khan Salter

Nakia Jackson

Jeewan Chanicka

Taj Hargey

Michael Muhammad Knight

Maajid Nawaz

Shehnilla Mohamed

Mustafa Akyol

Writer Sabina Khan

Activist Jerin Arifa

Urvah Khan - LGBTQI+ ally, co-founder of Muslim Pride Toronto

Imam Khaleel Mohammed

Imam Tareq Oubrou

Imam Dr Rashied Omar

Shaykha Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi

Shaykha Amina Teslima al-Jerrahi

Scholar Hussein Abdullatif

Maysoun Douas

Fátima Taleb

Aydan Özoğuz

Omid Nouripour

Özcan Mutlu

Ekin Deligöz

Cem Özdemir

Artist Nadia Khan

Marina Mahathir

Siti Musdah Mulia

Karima Bennoune

Grand Mufti Sheikh Assadullah Mwale

Muneeb Qadir

Dr. Amir Hussein

Dr. Sana Yasir

Dr. Sali Berisha

Dr. Omer Adil

Hashim Thaçi

Albin Kurti

Supermodel Nadia Hussain

Irish-Bangladeshi singer Joy Elizabeth Akther Crookes

Salma Hayek

Fouad Yammine

Pakistani Director Asim Abbasi

Pakistani Actress Nadia Jamil

Indian Actor Saqib Saleem

Indian Actor Irrfan Khan

Indian Actor Aamir Khan

Indian Actress Zeenat Khan/Aman

Indian Actress Shabana Azmi

Indian Actress Saba Azad

Indian Actress Sara Ali Khan

Indian Actress Huma Qureshi

Indian Director Zoya Khan

Pakistani Actor Furqan Qureshi

Bangladeshi Actress Azmeri Haque Badhon

Actor Muneeb Butt

Indian Actress Zareen Khan

Indian Actor Imran khan

Pakistani Actress Mehar Bano

Filmmaker Faruk Kabir

Filmmaker Saim Sadiq

Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Riz Ahmed

Zayn Malik

Sally El-Hosaini

Malala Yousefzai

Hafid Abbas

Hojatoleslam Kariminia

Singer Sherina Munaf

Writer Alifa Rifaat

Writer Ismat Chughtai

Activist Nida Mushtaq

Activist Aan Anshori

Abdul Muiz Ghazali

Kyai Hussein Muhammad

Marzuki Wahid

Gigi Hadid

President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) - ally of waria or transgender females

Sinta Nuriyah - ally of trans & waria folks

Politician Keith Ellison

Mayor Sadiq Khan

Politician Ilhan Omar

Politician Rashida Tlaib

Politician Rushanara Ali

Politician Nabilah Islam

Politician Shahana Hanif

Politician Rama Yade

Politician Humza Yousaf

Politician Zarah Sultana

UK Sectratary General Zara Mohammed

Turkish politician Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Bengali Influencer Sobia Ameen

Shaykh Michael Mumisa

Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan

Mufti Abdur Rahman Azad - Hijra ally

Sheikh Hasina - Ally of hijra-intersex communities

Lawyer Iftikhar Chaudhry

Amani Al-Khatahtbeh

Professor Amel Grami

Professor Muhammad Aslam Khaki

Mohammad Hashim Kamali

Mehrdad Alipour

Lawyer Imaan Mazari/Iman Mazari

Shireen Mazari

Syed Murad Ali Shah

[sleeplessdreamer14]

this gfm is organized by Kirsty Safy Abbas from England, on behalf of a family trapped in 🍉

25-year-old Ghadeer is an accounting student from 🍉 who unfortuneoy lost everything due to the war. Kristy is trying to raised funds for Ghadeer and his family, consisting of his parents, four siblings (Ismail, 28, Amir, 18 and Loay) 15, Rola, 23, and Ismail's wife Manar, 24. They need £50k but have only raised £1,927 so far.

Even if your voice is all you have, use it. Reblog this whether you can donate or not. I have also included the 🔗 to their tiktok

[toughpaperround]

911 Cast Bios

Here's a list of them in one place, in order of appearance in 9-1-1 (fox, later abc). I choose them based on characters I enjoy, or where there are interesting connections / factoids to be found in their bios.

Gavin Stenhouse (The Priest)

Mariette Hartley (Patricia Clark, Abby's mother)

Claudia Christian (LAFD Capt. Maynard)

Debra Christofferson (Sue, Dispatcher)

Grasie Mercedes (Beth, in prenatal yoga class, 1x07)

Rebecca Wisocky (Marjorie, in lift crash, 1x09)

Connor Trinneer (bomb squad, 2x01)

Bryan Safi (Josh Russo, dispatcher)

Romi Dias (Chief Miranda Williams)

Ana Mercedes (Abuela Isabel)

Terri Hoyos (Aunt Pepa)

Christine Estabrook (Gloria, Dispatcher)

Devin Kelley (Shannon Diaz)

Wes Brown (Mounted Police Officer)

Rick Chambers (Dwight, newsreader)

Tara Karsian (Ruth)

Lawrence Pressman and Francis X. McCarthy (Mitchell & Thomas)

Romy Rosemont & Daniel Roebuck (Lola & Norman Peterson)

Brian Thompson (Capt. Gerrard)

Lou Ferrigno Jr (firefighter Tommy)

Brian Hallisay (Doug Kendall)

Julie Oullette (Blair, Elf Helper)

Marsha Warfield (Toni Wilson)

Danny Nucci (LAPD detective)

Sasha Roiz (LAPD Det. Ransone)

Paula Marshall (Helena Diaz)

George DelHoyo (Ramon Diaz)

Pepi Sonuga (Athena Carter, flashback in 3x07)

Nicole Delgado (Maynard, flashback in 3x07)

Eddie McGee (Frank the therapist)

Jack McGee (Red the retired firefighter, 3x16)

Deborah May (Cindy, 3x16)

Rumer Willis (Georgia, train Vic, 3x18)

Brooke Shields (counsellor, 3x18)

Dee Wallace (Mrs Margaret Buckley)

Gregory Harrison (Mr Phillip Buckley)

Colin McCalla (Connor, Buck's friend)

Chelsea Kane (Kameron, Connor's wife)

Aaron Staton (Daniel Buckley)

Laith Wallschleger (133 medic, 6x15)

Mark Lawson (pilot, 7x01)

Kathryn Boswell & Chris Gartin (hot-tub couple, 7x01)

Mercedes Colon (Ship Captain, 7x01-3)

Rick Cosnett (cruise crew, 7x01-3)

Eddie Jemison (cruise ship doc, 7x02-3)

Jesse Palmer & Joey Graziadei (7x04)

Richard Brooks (Chief Simpson, s7)

Exie Booker (Carl, 7x06)

Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Amir, s7)

Veronica Falcón (Cllr Ortiz, s7)

John Brotherton (Tim Nash, 7x08)

Tony Amendola (Herman, 7x08)

Paul Nobrega (Monty the Beekeeper, 8x01)

Hotshots group, s8: Callum Blue (Brad); Justin Taite (#1); Morgan West (director) & 1st AD

Bee-nado airplane gang: Cindy Chavez (Capt Dominguez); Devin McGee (Co-pilot); Bayley Corman (Tia); (Mr & Mrs Grandparent);

Adela Paez (Nurse Camila, 8x03 etc)

In draft ofc. Do check the updated OG post if you're looking at a reblog:

Finnigan and Silverman (divorcing couple, 8x06)

Zach Tinker (Officer Sparks, LAPD, 8x07)

Kelvin Han Yee

Glenn Plummer (Dennis Jenkins, 3x07, s8a)

Main resource is IMDb, with extra material from Wikipedia, podcasts or youtube on occasion. Where I use 911 images they are screengrabs I edited. Other images generally from imdb.

[afghanlogisticstours]

Things to Do in Afghanistan - Attractions & Tourist Spots

Certainly, Afghan Tours offers various attractions and tourist spots that showcase its rich cultural heritage, stunning landscapes, and historical significance. Here are some notable things to do and places to visit in Afghanistan:

Kabul: Explore the capital city, Kabul, and visit attractions such as the Kabul Museum, Kabul Zoo, and the historic Babur Gardens.

Herat: Discover the ancient city of Herat, known for its beautiful mosques, historical sites like the Herat Citadel, and vibrant bazaars.

Mazar-i-Sharif: Visit the Blue Mosque, also known as the Shrine of Hazrat Ali, one of the holiest sites in Afghanistan.

Bamiyan Valley: Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bamiyan Valley, known for the giant Buddha statues (destroyed in 2001) and its stunning natural beauty.

Band-e Amir National Park: Enjoy the breathtaking beauty of Afghanistan's first national park, known for its stunning blue lakes and limestone formations.

Panjshir Valley: Experience the scenic beauty of the Panjshir Valley, famous for its emerald-green landscapes, mountains, and historical significance.

Khyber Pass: Visit the historic Khyber Pass, a mountain pass connecting Afghanistan with Pakistan, known for its strategic importance and ancient history.

Minaret of Jam: Explore the Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the tallest brick minarets in the world, located in a remote valley in western Afghanistan.

Gardens of Babur: Relax in the historic Gardens of Babur in Kabul, which were laid out by the Mughal emperor Babur in the 16th century and offer beautiful views of the city.

National Museum of Afghanistan: Learn about Afghanistan's rich history and culture by visiting the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, which houses a vast collection of artifacts dating back to ancient times.

Darul Aman Palace: Explore the ruins of Darul Aman Palace, a symbol of Afghanistan's turbulent history, located on the outskirts of Kabul.

Chakhcharan: Visit the town of Chakhcharan in Ghor Province, known for its scenic beauty, historic sites, and traditional Afghan culture.

Ghazni: Explore the city of Ghazni, which was once an important center of Islamic culture and is home to historical sites such as the Ghazni Minarets and the Citadel of Ghazni.

Safi Landmark Hotel Rooftop: Enjoy panoramic views of Kabul from the rooftop of Safi Landmark Hotel, offering a unique perspective of the city.

Food and Culture: Experience Afghan cuisine and culture by sampling delicious dishes like kebabs, qabuli pulao, mantu, and Afghan tea while interacting with friendly locals.

[buttonpoetry]

The only way a Muslim can prove they’re in fact not a terrorist is by getting shot in the head by one; or at least that’s what they’d have us believe here in America.

FROM THE VAULT! Amir Safi, “Muslim Ban”

Performing at Rustbelt 2017 in Minneapolis, MN. Help us make Button Poetry more accessible!

[spitshinepoetry]

Throwback Thursday: warmup prompt

Write a poem and incorporate the following words (taken from Amir Safi’s “Ode to Whataburger”): shelter, honey, narrator, guilt, entertainment, hearts, tea.

[barbariankingdom]

Mamluk Glass Mosque Lamp, 15th century, made of enameled glass

in the name of the Amir Safy al-Din Shaykhu. 

Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo. 

[purplesimmer455]

Meanwhile, Megan headed to Newcrest to visit her kids. Amir was already up, and he hugged his mom while chatting about his day, and how he finally got the Vulpes card.

Megan: That’s great, sweet pea. Where’s your sister?

Amir: She’s getting ready. She said she’s going on a date tonight with this girl on her soccer team, and she wants to “impress her.” Honestly mom, after hearing Saf talk on the phone last night and be all sappy and giggly, I don’t think I want to date anyone when I’m older. 

Megan: (laughing) I know, Amir.

Then Amira came out and she and Megan made some small talk about their days and the weather and the kids. Amira told Megan that Amir was having a science fair this Friday, and Megan was like oh man I’ll be there. Then Safiya came down and Megan clocked in on her outfit.

Megan: Hey, is that my skirt?

Safiya: Yup, plus your old sweater and boots. I hope you don’t mind, I found them in a box in one of the closets and decided to wear them to my date with Mariana. I want to look cute for her. 

Megan: I don’t mind at all, and you look great Safi. You know I wore that exact outfit combo to my junior year school photo. I still have the yearbook, and me posing in front of our fall festival sign while holding a pumpkin to match the sweater

Safiya: (grinning) How many eons ago was that? 

Megan: Hey! That was only 2002 SE

Safiya: (laughing and adding teasingly)  Yeah mom, that’s so long ago for me. Anyways, do you guys think Mariana will like this?

Amira: For sure, behta*.

Also random but after Safiya left for her date, Luna came over and she and Megan bantered for a bit about fabrication machines, while Amira’s husband Emilio floated in the pool.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Given Shah Sulayman’s insularity and the inherent secrecy surrounding the inner court, the sources offer scant insight into its working. The way of circumventing this problem is to focus on the grand vizier, the official who straddled the dargah and the outer, more visible divan part of the court. For the reign of Shah Sulayman, this means examining the career of Shaykh `Ali Khan, who was appointed i`timad al-dawlah three years into the shah’s reign, served him for a full twenty years, and in this period became one of the most remarkable administrators of Safavid times.

Shaykh `Ali Khan Zanganah was born in 1611 or 1613 as a member of the prominent Kurdish Zanganah tribe. His father, `Ali Beg Zanganah, was a “holder of the rein” (jilawdar) under Shah `Abbas I who in 1618 had moved up to the position of master of the king’s stables (amir-akhur-bashi) and, under Shah Safi, had become a qurchi (a member of the tribal cavalry). Rising from the position of stable boy, Shaykh `Ali Khan in 1639 succeeded his brother Shahrukh Sultan as amir-akhur-bashi, at which point the latter became amir of the Zanganah. On Shahrukh Sultan’s death less than a year later,

Shaykh `Ali Khan took on his post again. From 1653 onward, Shaykh `Ali Khan served as khan and landholder (tuyuldar) of Kalhur, Sunqur, and Kirmanshah, the homeland of the Zanganah. In this period he demonstrated his negotiating skills by successfully mediating a conflict between the Lurs and their newly appointed leader, Manuchihr Khan. Over the years he must have acquired a reputation as a competent military commander as well, for in 1666 Shah `Abbas II called him with a contingent of the Zanganah to Isfahan and sent him as a military commander (sardar) to Khurasan with the task of putting a halt to Uzbek border raids.

`Abbas II’s death later that year and the enthronement of Sulayman did nothing to interrupt Shaykh `Ali Khan’s political career. On the contrary, the new shah in 1668 called him back to Isfahan, and, clearly impressed with his military competence, appointed him tufangchiaqasi (head of the musketeers). In June 1669, finally, Shaykh `Ali Khan succeeded the deposed Muhammad Mirza Mahdi as grand vizier.

THE HEIGHT OF POWER Shaykh `Ali Khan’s appointment as grand vizier must be placed in the context of the severe crisis that plagued the Safavid state in the mid- to late 1660s, when parts of the country suffered multiple bad harvests followed by outbreaks of famine and plague. A poor harvest in 1666, caused by widespread drought and locust swarms, followed by another meager yield in 1667, made provisions in Isfahan grow extremely scarce. Hoarding by bakers and grain merchants caused prices to go up nearly threefold, driving the urban population to penury. Conditions in the capital further worsened when, following the shah’s enthronement, the court returned to the city before adequate measures had been taken for provisioning the huge numbers of people involved.

The insolvency of the government, compounded by the effects of natural disaster, was brought into stark relief during Sulayman’s enthronement. Setting the tone for his future legitimacy, the accession of a new shah entailed a hugely expensive display of panoply— including the actual ceremony as well as tax remissions designed to buy popular support. Involving two coronations, the inauguration of Shah Sulayman put a particularly onerous burden on the taxpaying population. This flux of famine and royal extravagance coincided with a series of military threats to Iran’s borders. Uzbeks from Central Asia as well as Kalmyks and Cossacks from the steppes of South Russia—the latter led by the notorious rebel Sten’ka Razin— took advantage of the power vacuum caused by `Abbas II’s death to put pressure on the northern flank. The Cossacks in particular did great damage in the lands around the Caspian Sea, ravaging the southern littoral, Iran’s most productive silk-growing area, where they destroyed Shah `Abbas’s winter capital, Farahabad.

The heightened military alertness this unrest necessitated depressed the income derived from landed property known as tuyuls. Tuyuls, assignments of land or its revenue to individuals in return for service to the crown, usually in the form of providing troops, were officially granted for limited periods but in practice tended to become hereditary. Since the late sixteenth century a great deal of land thus alienated had been reappropriated as crown land (khassah). This process culminated under Shah `Abbas II but saw a partial reversal at the end of the same ruler’s reign, when the need for troops to counter the tribal threat in the north forced the state to reassign some territory as tuyuls. This renewed alienation of land, which continued into Shah Sulayman’s reign, naturally depressed royal income. Faced with a depleted treasury shortly after her son’s accession, the queen-mother is said to have persuaded him to transform his spendthrift habits into a policy of parsimony.

Shaykh `Ali Khan immediately embarked on a financial policy that combined cutting expenses with increasing revenue. Among the first problems he tackled was that of the tuyuls, which he set out to reappropriate for the crown. He also sought to rationalize the bureaucracy that oversaw the supply of silk from the Caspian provinces to the capital. He thus decreed a stricter observation of the annual silk supply to the VOC, demanding that the northern governors supply the full quota of 600 bales to the Dutch and forcing the latter to take whatever amount was actually delivered in Isfahan. 

Other trade-related measures taken by Shaykh `Ali Khan included attempts to extend state control over sugar, an important commodity used in great quantity by the populace, and the institution of a 5 percent tax on all bullion that merchants carried to the Persian Gulf coast with the aim of shipping it to India.  New taxes were imposed on the churches in New Julfa and the Armenian villages surrounding Isfahan. Tolls went up, too. Traditionally, merchants, aside from having to pay minor fees to rahdars (road toll takers), were charged road tolls only at the country’s entrance and exit points. In 1671, a 5 percent toll was instituted on merchandise leaving Isfahan.

In all this Shaykh `Ali Khan displayed a remarkable degree of diligence. Categorically refusing to indulge in the common practice of accepting bribes, he soon became known for his incorruptibility. Kaempfer insists that the vizier never relented in his uncompromising stand vis-à-vis bribery. It is true that few of his fiscal projects were wholly successful. Most foundered on the strength of vested landed and commercial interests or the ingenuity of private subterfuge. Shaykh `Ali Khan nevertheless appears to have been highly effective in collecting revenue for the royal treasury. 

He also garnered tremendous power in the process; less than a year after his installation, he was said to be in sole charge of the affairs of state. Nothing illustrated this better than the departure for Mecca of his main rival, Maqsud Beg, the nazir, who had been a major power broker in the last years of Shah `Abbas II’s reign. Maqsud Beg was temporarily replaced by his nephew, Najaf Quli Beg, but everyone saw the shah’s authorization of the nazir’s journey for what it was—a sign of Shaykh `Ali Khan’s ascendancy.

Shaykh `Ali Khan did not enjoy his unchallenged power for long. In the spring of 1672, less than three years after his appointment, the news broke that the grand vizier had fallen out of grace with the shah, who had ordered him to stay in his palace. The story of the dismissal is told in more than one version, but centers on one of Shah Sulayman’s periodic outbursts of anger involving the vizier’s refusal to drink wine in his presence.

Shaykh `Ali Khan’s formal removal from office was relatively brief; he was reinstated in June 1673. Yet it had immediate and long-lasting repercussions for the conduct of government. One observer spoke of a country in turmoil following the events at the court culminating in Shaykh `Ali Khan’s dismissal. In 1672, one of his sons took refuge with the Ottomans, suggesting the precariousness of the former vizier’s position. The immediate effect was a severe interruption in the execution of daily government under the officials who took over from him: commander of the musketeers Khusraw Khan and state treasurer Mirza Sadiq. Some of his policies were also reversed. The 5 percent fee on money transported from Isfahan fell into disuse, as did the tax on drawing bills of exchange. The tuyul reform may have been aborted in this period as well. However, Isfahan’s Armenians continued to pay their additional taxes.

Shaykh `Ali Khan’s removal resonated beyond his rehabilitation in other ways as well. He resumed his duties as soon as he was back in the shah’s favor, though in a manner that was a far cry from his earlier performance. He now shunned responsibilities, and procrastinated in managing the state affairs that he had formerly expedited so promptly. Most disastrously, his former self-assuredness had given way to insecurity. He never again seems to have performed the grand vizier’s quintessential task of informing the shah about the true state of the country. Shaykh `Ali Khan’s diffidence and restraint, best reflected in his new habit of handing over requests to Sulayman without unsealing and reading them himself first, naturally hampered the speed and efficiency of day-to-day politics. Many who came to the court for business were subjected to long periods of idle waiting before receiving attention, ran out of means in the process, and had to return home unsuccessful.

There were good reasons for the prudence Shaykh `Ali Khan henceforth displayed, for the dignified minister continued to be exposed to the shah’s whimsical behavior. In particular, his persistent refusal to drink alcohol periodically provoked the monarch’s wrath and mockery, leading to humiliating scenes of forced drinking. Most unsettling was the inconsistency in Sulayman’s behavior, with instances of cruelty alternating with demonstrations of remorse: after a night of gross insult, the shah would frequently offer his minister a robe of honor as a token of appreciation for his services.

Shaykh `Ali Khan’s aversion to ostentation and his lack of venality were uncommon traits in Safavid government circles. He disliked astrology and fortune-telling—a rare attitude at a court whose ruler led his life according to the forecasts of his astrologers. Known for his simple ways of dressing and eating, the vizier, who was married to only one wife, also led a strictly ordered life. All of this may have filled the shah with admiration mixed with jealousy, offering a partial explanation for his erratic treatment of the chief minister. Sulayman certainly did not skimp on expenses when it came to his own entertainment. In 1683 the shah organized a hunting trip that lasted from May until late July. Rumor had it that it cost the staggering (and no doubt exaggerated) amount of 200,000 tumans and the lives of some 800 people who perished from exposure and lack of food during the drive. But psychology alone does not explain Shaykh `Ali Khan’s dismissal and the precariousness of his position after his rehabilitation. 

We also need to consider issues of social status, of factionalism based on tribe and kin, vested interests among courtiers, and the changing political order in the late Safavid state. The first issue concerns Shaykh `Ali Khan’s Kurdish background and presumed religious affiliation, which reflect a Safavid tendency to recruit officials from a wide pool of talent—for reasons that combine considerations of merit and intended vulnerability. The Kurds suffered a reputation in metropolitan circles that went well beyond a general urban bias against rustics and mountain dwellers. Kaempfer claimed that the “Iranians” made a clear racial distinction between themselves and the Kurds, whom they considered stubborn, morose, and treacherous. Shaykh `Ali Khan’s rise from the ranks of a group with a pejorative reputation is aptly captured in the mocking verse:

رفته رفته قشو قلمدان شد شيخ علی خان وزير ايران شد Gradually the horse comb became a pen box Shaykh `Ali Khan became Iran’s chief minister

Kurdistan was not only marginal but also mostly Sunni, and Shaykh `Ali Khan was widely suspected of being a crypto-Sunni. If true, this is likely to have played a role in his strict observance of Islamic law, including his refusal to drink alcohol. His zeal in this expressed itself in measures such as a prohibition on the Armenian fur cap makers of Isfahan working in the city’s royal square, as well as the imposition of a new church tax on the Armenian community of New Julfa, earning him the reputation of being a ��grimme and seveare man espetially to Christians whom he greatly hates.” Yet he also put pressure on Zoroastrians in villages around Isfahan to convert to Islam, suggesting that he was less anti-Christian than favorably disposed to Islam.

Indeed, the extraordinary piety Shaykh `Ali Khan displayed may be interpreted as the concern of an official from a non-Shi`i region suspected of harboring Sunnite sentiments to emphasize his religious conformism by strictly abiding by the letter of the religious law. His enemies, in turn, are likely to have used every possible opportunity for innuendo on this sensitive point.  For instance, Giovanni Gemelli Careri, an ambassador to Isfahan, alludes to Shaykh `Ali Khan as the inspiration for Ottoman-Safavid peace, referring to the vizier’s alleged anti-Christian and secretly Sunni convictions. His observation about Shaykh `Ali Khan’s suspected Sunni leanings echoes the rumors that had surrounded this formidable magistrate from the time he was appointed grand vizier. Yet religion was probably subordinate to clear-headed political calculations based on an awareness of historical patterns.

Shaykh `Ali himself meanwhile made his own enemies. Sanson called attention to his tendency to engage in divide-and-rule tactics. This strategy was common, and increasingly involved Georgians and other people from the Caucasus, Daghistanis and Circassians, whose number in Isfahan alone reached an estimated 20,000 by the time of Sulayman’s reign.  It often took the form of appointments of Georgian officials to provinces inhabited by non-Georgians. An example of the resulting tensions occurred in 1674, when the people of Luristan revolted against Shah Virdi Khan, a Georgian governor who had been imposed on them. Suggesting that animosity existed between the vizier and the Georgians, Chardin recounts how Shah Sulayman humiliated Shaykh `Ali Khan by forcing him to shave his beard, which he was said to wear distinctly different from the short “Georgian” fashion popular with most courtiers. .... THE MAINTENANCE OF POWER Communication between the shah and members of the divan did not improve during the second decade of Shaykh `Ali Khan’s tenure as grand vizier. On the contrary, in late 1679 and early 1680 Sulayman struck new fears into the hearts of his state officials by treating Shaykh `Ali Khan and the nazir, Najaf Quli Beg, to the bastinado and by blinding the divanbegi, Zaynal Khan. Najaf Quli Beg was so intimidated by these latest events that he no longer attended to state affairs and requested permission to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca. In early 1681 Shaykh `Ali Khan himself reportedly joined the nazir in asking the shah for permission to perform the hajj. He never left Isfahan. The reason why his request had been rejected—if he indeed made such a request—remains unknown.

Despite this continued insecurity and his limited contact with the shah, now mostly confined to joint evening horseback rides, Shaykh `Ali Khan managed to maintain himself in his high post until his death in 1689. Not only that, but in the early 1680s, a period when many high posts fallen vacant in earlier years were left unfilled, the vizier’s stock seems to have risen again. The nazir was all but dismissed in 1682–3 and, aside from Mirza Razi, the only significant rival in the divan administration he was to face in his last years was qurchibashi Saru Khan Sahandlu. Appointed mint master as well in 1682, this official temporarily eclipsed Shaykh `Ali Khan and survived the vizier in his position as qurchibashi, only to come to an ignominious end himself in 1691.

Shaykh `Ali Khan’s remarkable staying power in the face of formidable opposition raises a number of questions. The first, Shah Sulayman’s personal motives for sparing his life, may be attributed to the shah’s alleged promise not to kill a vizier who had performed the hajj. What prompted the shah to reinstate his vizier may have been his own lack of ambition. Unlike his predecessors, Shah Sulayman never usurped direct executive power by getting rid of the most ambitious of his courtiers. Following his reinstatement, Shaykh `Ali Khan, in turn, was careful never again to antagonize his master. In 1684, for instance, he chose to present the news of a bloody Uzbek raid in Khurasan to the shah as an Iranian victory. Sheer common sense may have been another reason for Sulayman to reinstate his competent minister. The Dutch were not alone in believing that Shaykh `Ali’s authority guaranteed peace and stability in the country. When in 1675 the shah mistreated Shaykh `Ali Khan, qurchibashi Kalb `Ali Khan, who was known as one of his enemies, pleaded for his life, arguing that the entire country would be thrown into turmoil if the grand vizier were to die.

Shaykh `Ali Khan’s track record in fiscal matters must have been especially compelling. Clearly, no inner council could match his efficiency and effectiveness in raising revenue. Barely three weeks after his reinstatement, the vizier confirmed the validity of the church tax that he had imposed on the Armenians of New Julfa shortly after his initial appointment. Shaykh `Ali Khan also kept sending tax collectors to outlying regions. Time and again his officials visited Kirman with demands for revenue, imposing fines for sums in arrears. In 1683, one of his men was sent with the task of conducting a census of the Zoroastrians living in the city so that the poll tax to be paid by them could be accurately assessed. Shaykh `Ali Khan’s continued efforts to fill the shah’s coffers appear to have been very successful. The Dutch in 1682 claimed an increase of the royal treasury by 150,000 tumans under Shaykh `Ali Khan’s vizierate, attributing most of it to the absence of war and the resulting lack of high military expenditure. Writing shortly before Sulayman’s death, Sanson echoed this opinion by insisting that 50,000 livres (more than 1,100 tumans) accrued to the treasury each day. Shaykh `Ali Khan’s political survival did not hinge solely upon his service to the crown. Equally important was his shrewdness in catering to his private interests, his integrity in public financial matters notwithstanding. These centered on his ancestral homeland, more specifically Kirmanshah and Hamadan, where he managed vaqf (religiously endowed) property. He is said to have sabotaged a plan to irrigate the plain of Isfahan by connecting the waters of the Zayandah Rud with those of the Karun River for fear that the fertility of the Isfahan region would come at the detriment of the produce from the many villages he himself possessed around Kirmanshah and Hamadan.

Most significantly, Shaykh `Ali Khan followed the strategy by means of which every official of high rank solidified his post: he filled key functions with his own clients, relatives, and tribesmen. Unsurprisingly, Kirmanshah remained under his family’s control. In 1666, as Shaykh `Ali Khan was appointed sardar, army commander, Husayn `Ali Khan succeeded his father as the area’s beglerbeg. In 1667–8 Sulayman Khan, another of Shaykh `Ali Khan’s sons, acceded to this position again. In the 1680s the region was ruled by Shaykh `Ali Khan’s third son, Shah Quli Khan, who was to become qurchibashi in 1692 and grand vizier under Shah Sultan Husayn. We are well informed about the numerous other relatives Shaykh `Ali Khan managed to appoint to prominent political positions. When he became grand vizier in 1669, his function as tufangchiaqasi was taken over by one of his sons. This was only the first of a series of strategic appointments based on kinship. By 1679 the vizier had been in power long enough to have built a solid network of family members in high-ranking positions across the country. VOC director Casembroot gives a figure of twenty-five to thirty. Kaempfer claimed that a large segment of the country’s administration was in the hands of the Shaykh `Ali Khan clan. Some of its members held rank from earlier dates or changed posts over time. His brother Najaf Quli Beg, for example, had been beglerbeg of Qandahar under `Abbas II, later fell into disgrace and was imprisoned, but rose again to become vali (governor) of Marv shortly after Sulayman’s accession and coinciding with his brother’s appointment to the rank of grand vizier. 

Some held sensitive posts in the hierarchy. An unnamed relative was assayer of the mint (mu`ayyir al-mamalik) in the late 1680s. There is also the unspecified relative Dust `Ali Khan, possibly his second son, who in 1645 had received Khvaf and Bakharz in Khurasan as a tuyul and in 1648 was reportedly made ruler (hakim) of the Garmsir. The Dutch director, possibly referring to Ibrahim Beg, mentions a nephew of the vizier as occupying the post of “murason bassa” (amir-akhur-bashi?). Kaempfer refers to Hajji `Ali Khan, another nephew, as beglerbeg of Azerbaijan, and as sardar at the head of 20,000 troops who provided security at the borders of Turkey and Georgia. The same person also served as tufangchi-aqasi. The vizier’s eldest son, `Abbas Beg, appears as the amir-shikar-bashi. Several later sources, on the other hand, mention Husayn `Ali Khan, another of the vizier’s sons and possibly the second eldest, as becoming beglerbeg of Bihbahan and Kuh-i Giluyah in 1675–6. Khatunabadi, in addition, mentions Isma`il Beg as a son of Shaykh `Ali Khan who attained the military rank of centurion (yuzbashi). His youngest son, `Abbas Quli Beg, was said to be the police chief (darughah) and governor of the city of Qazvin.

Lastly, there is a clear connection between Shaykh `Ali Khan and the prominence of Kurds in high administrative posts in the 1670s. Kalb `Ali Khan, the ruler of Kurdistan under Shah `Abbas II, may have owed his appointment as qurchibashi in 1672 to Shaykh `Ali Khan, even if the two became enemies at a later date. Two of Kalb `Ali Khan’s sons, Shah Virdi Khan and Khan Ahmad Beg, became the governor and darughah, respectively, of Kirman. That city in particular saw a great influx of Kurdish officials, appointed to high positions or sent as tax collectors. This network helped Shaykh `Ali Khan to retain far more influence than his low public profile and apparent lack of preoccupation with state affairs would suggest. Relying on his ties and contacts in the provinces, he remained the official “on whom the entire administration of the realm rests.” In 1689 Shaykh `Ali Khan fell ill. Sanson expressed how much, in spite of everything, the vizier had managed to stay in command until his last days when he said that “the entire country languished with the vizier, for no one is able to take over the management of affairs during his illness.” In the autumn of the same year he died a natural death. Terribly upset at the passing of the grand vizier he had mistreated so badly, Shah Sulayman did not leave his palace or even mount a horse for a full year. Nor did he immediately appoint a successor, most likely in an attempt to save money.”

- Rudi Matthee, Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. London: I. B. Tauris, 2012. pp. 62-72.

Portrait is actually Shaykh ‘Ali Khan’s son Shah-Quli Khan

Signed by Hajji-Muhammad. Iran, probably Isfahan, dated 1696 Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper Lent by The Art and History Trust LTS1995.2.1

[barnesandco]

Cupcake, watermelon, sapphos

cupcake - are you a good cook?

I can make a mean batch of pakoray but that's pretty much the extent of my cooking skills.

watermelon - do films ever make you cry?

Not really. I get choked up pretty bad, though, and I think the first movie I almost cried at was Bridge to Terabithia. I still get a lump in my throat at the end of that one.

sapphos - favorite poet?

If you mean classic, traditional poet, then either Lord Byron or Maya Angelou.

But I watch an unhealthy amount of poetry slams and Button Poetry and stuff and I really enjoy Amir Safi's work, as well as Brenna Twohy.

[worldcupofhotness]

Meet the Team: IRAN

Now that squads have been announced, we can look more closely into the hotness of the individual teams. I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right? For each team, I’ll talk a bit about the squad, then highlight ten hotties.

Today’s team: IRAN!

This is the first time Iran have qualified for two World Cups in a row, and Iran look stronger this go ‘round. They’ve added some pacey wingers and an in-form striker to their well-organized defense. Many don’t expect them to make it to the knockouts, and it’s a shame because I wouldn’t mind looking at these faces longer.

Team Nickname: Team Melli (The National Team) Fan Chant: Iran! (6x clap)

Goalkeepers: 

Ali Beiranvand, #1 (home club: Persepolis FC)

Rashid Mazaheri, #12 (home club: Zob Ahan Isfahan FC)

Amir Abedzadeh #22 (home club: CS Maritomo)

Hot, young...talent.

Defenders:

Roozbeh Cheshmi, #4, (home club: Esteghlal Tehran)

Milad Mohammadi, #5 (home club: Akhmat Grozny)

Pejman Montazeri, #15 (home club: Esteghlal Tehran)

Majid Hosseini, #19 (home club: Esteghlal Tehran);

Ehsan Haji Safi, #3 (home club: Olympiacos)

What a jawline (with or without facial hair) and can rock a suit and a kit in equal measure.

Morteza Pourliganji, #8 (home club: Al Saad)

Stocky, hardy build. Eyebrow game on fleek (as the kids say), and great hair. 

Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, #13 (home club: Padideh FC)

Beautiful brown eyes, amazing bone structure, and a wink I’m happy to return

Ramin Rezaeian, #23 (home club: KV Oostende)

Ramin seems kind of like a frat boy, but like a really talented one with a sweet smile. So...it’s not terrible

Midfielders: 

Mehdi Torabi, #2 (home club: Saipa Alborz)

Saeid Ezatolahi, #6 (home club:  FK Amkar Perm)

Omid Ebrahimi, #9 (home club:  Esteghlal Tehran)

Vahid Amiri, #11 (home club: Persepolis FC)

Masoud Shojaei, #7 (home club:  AEK Athens)

That one friend you had in third grade whose father was so handsome and would ruffle your hair and laugh and tell you he was glad to see you again and even though he was totally wholesome (and now you know that was part of it), you felt things for the first time

Forwards:

Mehdi Taremi, #17, (home club: Al Gharafa)

Sardar Azmoun, #20 (home club: Rubin Kazan)

Ashkan Dejagah, #21 (home club: Nottingham Forest),

Karim Ansarifard, #10 (home club: Olympiacos)

I’m still processing the deltoids in the first pic, And I can’t even think about the thighs in the second.

Saman Ghoddos, #14 (home club: IFK Östersund)

Gorgeous eyes and looks like he gives really great hugs?

Reza Ghoochannejhad, #16 (home club: SC Heerenveen)

Reza, Reza, Reza. Stop.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh, #18 (home club: AZ Alkmaar)

Arguably Iran’s star player this year on the field. And off the field. I mean, are you seeing this? What is in the water in Iran?

[shamsaddinmegalommatis]

Best Wishes Eid al Adha 2022 & Ahmed Yasavi's Diwan-i Hikmet

Счастливого Курбан-Байрам!

Kurban Bayramı kutlu olsun!

Ciidul-Adxa Wanaagsan!

Құрбан айт мерекесі құтты болсын!

!   قۇربان ھېيت مۇبارەك بولسۇن

курбон хайит муборак !

Gurban baýramyňyz gutly bolsun!

!   عید قربان مبارک

Корбан бәйрәме белән!

!  عید الاضحی مبارک ہو

Иди Курбон муборак!

!   عيد الأضحى السعيد

Die besten Glückwünsche zu Eid al-Adha!

Joyeux Aïd el-Adha!

Орозо айт майрамыңыздар менен!

Gëzuar Kurban Bajramin!

Best wishes for a happy Eid al Adha!

Shamsaddin

==================================== 

Long before ….

Nezami Ganjavi (1141-1209)

long before ….

Muhi el-din ibn Arabi (1165-1240)

long before ….

Jalal al-din Rumi (1207-1273),

Haji Bektash Veli (1209-1271),

Safi-ad-din Ardabili (1252-1334),

Amir Khusraw (1253-1325),

and

Kemal Khujandi (1321-1400)

…….................... there was Ahmed Yasavi.

Ahmed Yasavi (1093-1166); one of the greatest mystics of the Turanian world at the crossroads between Tengrism and Islam

Divan-i Ḥikmet (the Book of Wisdom, Chagatai Turkic with Kipchak elements: ديوان حكمت); acknowledged as the Turkic Quran – pretty much like the illustrious Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, which is known as the Iranian Quran.

Ahmed Yasavi Mausoleum in Turkistan, Kazakhstan; built like the Arystan Bab Mausoleum (in honor of another 12th c mystic) by Timur (Tamerlane), the Islamic World Greatest Conqueror and Emperor in the late 13th c.

The Incredible Story of Divan-i Ḥikmet

"Divan-i Ḥikmet" is not only a monument of the religious Sufi literature; it is one of the most ancient monuments written in the Turkic language. Many researchers of the Turkic culture consider that it may be referred to the Karakhanid literature tradition. The sources of these poems are found also in the shaman songs of the Turkic nomads. The language of the monument contains the Kipchak elements. The famous "Divan-i Ḥikmet" is the common heritage of the Turkic people; the poems were handed down by word of mouth, from generation to generation, called upon people to honesty, justice, friendliness and patience.

The historic papers testify to the fact that "Ḥikmet" have been re-written many a time, edited, revised. The manuscripts of "Divan-i Ḥikmet" are kept mainly in the libraries of Tashkent, St. Petersburg, and Istanbul. In the depository of the St. Petersburg department of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences there are 23 lists of "Divan-i Ḥikmet" that are referred to the XVIII-XIX centuries. The Tashkent lists are kept in the collection of manuscripts belonging to the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, in the Institute of Manuscripts (56 copies). These copies are mainly referred to the XIX century.

In addition to the manuscripts in Kazan city the poems of Hojja Ahmed Yasavi were published in the Arab graphic. The most complete edition contains 149 "Ḥikmets" of 1896, 1905. Currently "Ḥikmets" are survived in many lists. At different periods the scientists investigated life and creative work of Hojja Ahmed Yasavi, devoted articles to the genial poet and philosopher. During recent decades "Divan-i Ḥikmet" were re-edited several times both in our country and abroad.

This work summarizes the main provisions of the Yasavi Tarika (mystical school). Ḥikmets preached Islam and contributed to further dissemination of Islam among people. Turkic speaking nations named "Divan-i Ḥikmet" as "Korani Turki" as notably they grasped Koran through "Ḥikmets" of Hojja Ahmed Yasavi, so Turks began to name Hojja Ahmed as "Hazret Sultan" - "Holy Sultan", and Turkistan as the second Mecca.

Ḥikmets of Hojja Ahmed Yasavi both preached Islam and called upon Turkic nations to a spiritual unity, sovereignty, stipulated for all necessary conditions to achieve these aims.

---------------

Hojja Ahmed Yasavi (died 1166) was a philosopher, Sufi mystic, and the earliest known poet to write in a Turkic dialect. He was born in the city of Isfijab (present-day Sayram, in Kazakhstan) but lived most of his life in Turkestan (also in southern Kazakhstan). He was a student of Arslan Baba, a well-known preacher of Islam. At a time when Farsi dominated literature and public life, Hojja Ahmed Yasavi wrote in his native Old Turkic (Chagatai) language. Yasavi's Divan-i Ḥikmet (Book of wisdom) is not just a religious relic of Sufi literature; it is also one of the oldest written works in the Turkic language. Yasavi begins with many elements of the shamanistic songs of Turkic nomads, then endows his poems, like all Sufi poetry, with many-layered meanings from the simple to the esoteric and infuses them with the spirit of Islam. Experts have suggested that the Divan has links to both the Chinese-influenced Karakhanid literary tradition and to the literature of the Kipchak of the Eurasian steppe. Divan-i Ḥikmet was long handed down by word of mouth. The printed edition presented here was published in 1904 by the Lithographic Printing House of the Kazan Imperial University. Kazan University was founded by Tsar Alexander I in 1804 and became the premier center for oriental studies in the Russian Empire.

----------------------

Selected Verses from Divan-i Ḥikmet in English Translation

For Muslims, my sagacity will be a teacher;

Whoever one may be, he must worship God.

My sagacious words speak only to those who understand.

Praising with prayers, immerse yourself in the Mercy of Allah.

Saying "Bismillahi ...", I will begin to say sagacious words,

distributing utterances like jewels and diamonds to students;

With tension in the soul, with grief in the heart, and with blood in my breath,

I open the pages of the legends "the Notebook of the Sledge".

I bless you all, who are thirsty for truth, unity,

and sincere conversations with kindred spirits.

May I be blessed (to meet) with the unfortunate and the destitute!

May I avoid those who are satiated with life or satisfied with themselves!

Wherever you see downcast leprous people, be gentle!

If such an unfortunate person is ignorant, share the secret knowledge with him,

in order to be closer to the Almighty on the Day of Judgment!

I ran away from the arrogant, the self-assured, and the proud people.

The Prophet knew the destitute, the unfortunate, and the orphaned people.

That night, he went out in the Miʿraj (Celestial Journey) to see (the Truth).

Ask, and sympathize with, the disadvantaged!

And I, too, decided to travel in the footsteps of the unfortunate.

If you are intelligent and wise, take care of the poor!

Like Mustafa (: prophet Muhammad), gather and take care of orphans everywhere!

From the greedy and mean, stay away!

Save yourself and become like a full-flowing river!

Turned into a callous, evil-tongued, and insidious being,

the false scholar, even when reading the Quran, does not do any good deed.

I have no fortune to allow to be wasted;

Fearing the wrath of God (lit. 'the wrath of Truth'), I am burning (although) without fire.

Pleasing the defenseless, the destitute and the orphans,

give (them what they need), respect them, and lighten their souls!

You will earn bread with hard work; with pure soul (true) humans come;

having heard these words from the Almighty, I convey them to you.

If one man does follow the tradition and does not believe, he will perish;

from callous and evil-tongued people Allah turns away;

in the Name of Allah, the Hell is prepared for them.

Having heard these words from the Blood of Allah (: Imam Hussein), I convey them to you.

Having adopted the rules of the tradition, I became a true believer;

having descended under the Earth alone, I received an insight;

I saw a lot of worshipers of the Lord and I understood;

I cut off sinful joys and pleasures - with a dagger.

Sinful feelings led people astray and destroyed them;

they forced people to put on airs in front of the common people, and then humiliated them.

They (: sinful feelings) did not allow people to read prayers and spells; people with sinful feelings made friends with the demons.

I forced myself to move away, piercing my flesh with the tip of a dagger (metaphorically said about the author's effort to move away from sinful feelings).

Those who are thirsty for radiant glory are mediocre slaves;

(contrarily,) the innocent people force themselves to behave humbly;

tombs of saints, verses of the Quran, hadiths are nonsense for those thirsty for glory.

Therefore, I drown myself in inescapable heavy grief (for the ignorant people).

In the spacious gardens of love for the Most High,

I want to be the nightingale that sings its sad songs at dawn;

In those hours, I want to see the radiant appearance

of my Allah, with the eyes of my heart.

Let the heart feed on love!

The body will be covered with clothes of happiness (: those suitable for prayers).

With the strength of love, I want to levitate,

and like a bird to descend on the branch of consciousness.

Until you taste the nectar of love,

until you put on the clothes of lovers (: those suitable for prayers),

until you gather faith and worship into one,

you will not be able to see the Divine Face of the Creator.

Help all people! Work like a slave!

Do good to unfortunate people!

If (Islamic times') scholars come, greet them with reverence while standing!

From mean people, there is no help.

The prophet always helped the poor and the crippled.

When you see the unfortunate, tears of sympathy (have to) flow.

It always hurts to see destitute and disabled people.

The handicapped persons' gratitude (for those who help them) is the highest recognition.

If you are a true believer, follow the path of the prophet to Allah!

If you hear their names, worship and praise them!

Try the fate of the destitute and unfortunate! Learn from them!

Become a support for the unfortunate and disabled! Understand them!

Oh, my Merciful Creator! Put me on the right path!

Enlighten me with your Mercy and Love!

Guide your erring servants on the right path!

This path is not possible without You.

To preach the Divine, a teacher is needed.

To this teacher, a reliable student is needed.

Working hard, they should earn the highest gratitude.

Such loving and devoted people will be marked by the Almighty.

People, who are in love with the Creator, have achieved their dreams.

Look! Do not disgrace yourself pretending to be in love!

Across the bridge named Sira ('life paradigm' of prophet Muhammad), which is thinner

and sharper than a sword's blade, liars will not pass into the Hereafter.

If you're in love (with God), love like this!

With the strength of your love, let the perfume reach people!

As soon as he hears the Name of Allah, he is ready for anything;

such a lover does not need earthly things.

------------------

Download the text as Word doc.:

[buttonpoetry]

We never saw anyone who looked like us and didn’t try to hide where they were from.

Amir Safi, "Ode to DJ Khaled"

[frankincenseisnotamonster]

The Villain

Deets:

Today is the day we get revenge. 

I wish I could say I was completely and without question the hero of my story. Perhaps I can be in some ways, BUT I wouldn’t be telling the full truth if I said I was the good guy in this story.

I have been thinking a lot lately about evil. With all of the actions taken by the  US government recently to vehemently and ruthlessly vie for profits over treating people humanely (i.e ICE tracking and ensnaring people, stealing children and throwing immigrants in detention centers, allowing a racist travel ban, and sabotaging workers unions)  I really felt in addition to taking action I had to turn inward as well and really contemplate how is that depth of evil able to manifest.

Now I would not say my level of evil is comparable to the level of administrative and generational trauma inducing evil the US government is able to commit, however I do have, yes some evil in my heart, yeah I do.

This evil for me is about venge. I am naming all my guitar battles. The one coming up in a few months I have been recently referring to as my “Summer of Green Fire”. Why green fire? Because green fire is of course the most vengeful fire their is! I look to stories like Sleeping Beauty and Game of Thrones to find some examples of this fire, this vengefulness. Maleficent makes a great statement in Sleeping beauty when all that green fires sweeps around the castle. I have always found the image so mesmerizing, its this real sense that this villain means business so you better not mess around ! Then my favorite, which I just never saw coming, Cersei Lannister at such an ideal moment gets revenge on her enemies with a gigantic surprise explosion of wildfire. Okay so now to be fair I am not aiming to set fire to my enemies. I did however want to hit them where it hurts (hence the guitar). I want them to know I’m not the type of girl to take things easily, and I want myself to know that too. So in some sense I can be construed as villain in my own story, I am seeking out these innocent guys and I don’t want to burn them, but I wouldn’t mind roasting their egos a bit :). And in the case of Cersei, there is some merit in having such a sly and insidious plan. I have to say I kind of idolize that slow and steady revenge that doesn’t seem like much at first and really packs a punch; kind of like lava slow, but essentially unstoppable. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What I find difficult about revenge is that it takes a certain amount of self-righteousness. When achieving revenge you are willingly and consciously taking actions into your own hands and imposing your own sense of justice and karma upon someone else you feel has wronged you. I know people say when you seek revenge you dig two graves or whatever and on some moral level I don’t really approve of revenge. Yet there is something I am hoping to try in this. I do want to get even, but revenge I think doesn’t always have to be all bloody and painful. I am following this sense of revenge not because I want to make someone else feel bad or see them suffer. My summer of green fire in a literal sense is about confronting someone, but more than that its about confronting myself and making peace with my own evil or “walking with my hyena”.

I use this term walking with my hyena because I heard it once in a great one woman show, Hyena by Romana Soutus put on by La MaMa experimental theatre club.  The hyena refers to our animal side, the baser instincts we always keep caged up to protect other people, our irrationality, our hatred, jealously, obsessions. In the end of the play the woman insinuates maybe suppressing those instincts isn’t so good for you, in fact it might make them worst, that might it be better to try to “walk with the hyena”. This is how I interpreted it. It meant a lot to me because before I saw that I tried, most of the time successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully to suppress thoughts and emotions I thought others wouldn’t like or that would drive them away. But theres a balance to strike  here. You have to speak your truth, and maybe there is a way to do that kindly, and with whimsy, and even a little mischief mixed in.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The guitar battles are about me learning guitar, stepping into something new for sure. Definitely learning a lot of patience. In a figurative sense its about that confrontation. Its confronting myself, my fear, my insecurities, and a system of oppression that has manifested in my habits in the past which confined me. It is not the man I seek to burn, but emotional and mental chains. I wanted to do this SO much I’ve created a whole ritual of guitar battles around it, so in a sense my rivals are more so there to witness and semi-take part in this battle, this battle in pursuit of freedom for myself.

As humans we are fallible and not always privy to the results of our actions, the fruits of our labor. I don’t know in the end if these guitar battles will be the rituals I intend them to be but  with intention I’ll move forward because its an experiment and frankly I haven’t found any other remedy to reconcile the unrest in my heart. In a way I really am like a villain because I am so stuck in the past, so unable to let go, ever fixated it’s like Amir Safi says in his spoken word poem “Brown Boy. White House”, “I still have callouses on hands I still have trouble letting things go”. I hope these guitar battles can be a ritual for healing and for practicing freedom even if theres some spite in it. In society and in the media I haven’t seen many fun ways people confront others about misunderstandings or pain so I wanted to make something for that, a vehicle that felt right to me that involved art, so now here I am.

So this is me free or flexing my muscles sort of. I feel like if I practice guitar intentionally or I practice expressing myself intentionally I hope that spills outward into other areas where actions and voices are needed concerning societal injustice. Sometimes that action can even be as simple as listening and making sure the center focus are on the people truly effected by evil in our society. This is me practicing then, and getting even and getting revenge, walking beside my demon (or hyena). I want to walk through the fire this time and not get burned. I am not so much interested in besting a guitar playing dude (although it is fun!), I’m interested in creating meaning, and a ritual to fully heal wounds from a patriarchal society.

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Fun fact about guitar practice:

I haven’t been practicing as much. I have doubts and am worried about my progress, but I’m still impossibly hopeful regardless! In true story fashion I am hoping to improve at fantastic rate in August, so we’ll see how likely that is.  And to be fair winning is not always about winning and losses don’t always have to be a loss right?!?! So for now I’ll just say I am frustrated and trying to love the practice and love the process.

Catch you on the flip side amigos! In the goddesses we trust.

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References

Hyena by Romana Soutus : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhGBp50wnk

La MaMa : http://lamama.org/

Amir Safi. “Brown Boy White House”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr0IVQ4b9TE