Humaira Ameer Rasuli, Head of Medica Afghanistan

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01.07.2011''It's Not Easy Being an Afghan Woman''

She may laugh a lot, but Humaira Ameer Rasuli lives dangerously. The Afghan human rights activist speaks out in a country where women are still excluded from the development process. By Sandra Petersmann

Humaira Ameer Rasuli doesn't mince her words. "Women play no part in Afghan society. Their rights as citizens of this country are neither acknowledged nor respected." This fundamental criticism is directed against both the Afghan government and the international community. "At the moment all they are concerned with is trying to keep the peace. But what is peace worth if half the population has no share in it?"

Ameer Rasuli is the director of 'Medica Afghanistan', an aid organization that has been independent since December 2010. Like its German parent organization 'medica mondiale', it acts on behalf of women who have been the victims of violence. Rasuli laments "the persistent silence" that still surrounds Afghanistan's female population almost a decade after the fall of the radical Islamic Taliban regime.

Ameer Rasuli believes the root cause of this is the brutalization of the population through three decades of war. She says that the ongoing violence has reinforced the traditional, patriarchal tribal structures and made them even more difficult for women to break out of. "But it is also because of mistaken interpretation of the Sharia. It was always men who interpreted Islamic law, to their own advantage."

Lagging behind

"What is peace worth if half the population has no share in it?" - Humaira Ameer RasuliRasuli, the mother of a young son, knows that in making statements like these she also makes powerful enemies in the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, but it's something she is prepared to do. "After almost ten years of democracy, there are in reality only small democratic refuges. Women do not feel any real freedom. We're not allowed say what we think." She tries to do so nonetheless, as often as she can.

Ameer Rasuli is one of very few privileged women in Afghanistan. She studied for a degree in business management, followed by a couple of terms studying medicine.

"It's not easy being an Afghan woman," she says, smiling. She recalls an international workshop she took part in Germany. Other participants included women's rights activists from Bosnia, Liberia, Kosovo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "In these countries the violence against women is certainly comparable, but at least these countries do already have laws to protect them, and do sometimes apply them. It made me so depressed, because we're still so far behind in our development."

Article 23 of the new Afghan Constitution of 2004 declares that men and women have "the same rights and duties before the law", and that all forms of discrimination are forbidden. But Ameer Rasuli stresses that, for Afghan women, this is not their daily reality. "If the political will to apply the laws is not there, they mean nothing at all." The reality is that confident women in Afghanistan live in fear for their lives. Zakia Zaki, a brave radio journalist, was shot dead in 2007. One year later the courageous policewoman Malalai Kakar was assassinated.

Constitution and constitutional reality

The young women's rights activist acknowledges that, particularly in the big urban centres such as Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat, there has been visible progress. Women are seen on the street again; girls are going to school; some are also attending colleges of further education and universities. There are currently four more female ministers sitting in the lower house of the Afghan parliament than prescribed by the quota.

Devastating statistics: According to UN data, at least 1,600 mothers die for every 100,000 births, and 280 children in every thousand die before the age of fiveBut if you look at the country as a whole, for the vast majority almost nothing has changed as a result of the Western intervention in the autumn of 2001. The mortality rate for mothers and children is still one of the highest in the world.

The statistics are devastating. According to UN data, at least 1,600 mothers die for every 100,000 births. 280 children in every thousand die before the age of five.

Around 80% of all marriages are forced marriages. Around half of all brides are under 16. On average, every Afghan woman gives birth to six children. For almost 90% of Afghan women domestic violence is part of daily life, and in the majority of rape cases it is the woman who is deemed to have been at fault.

An un-Islamic organization

Only about 12% of all women over the age of 15 can read and write. The 31-year-old Ameer Rasuli can list endless cases of abused women who didn't know that using violence against them was forbidden. She tells of members of the Afghan parliament who pressurize her to abandon her work, saying that Islam envisages justice, not equal rights.

"I don't know what justice means to these members of parliament. In their eyes we are an un-Islamic organization, because as far as they are concerned violence against women doesn't exist."

Rasuli appeals to the international community not to abandon Afghanistan after the planned withdrawal of Western combat troops. "Our great hope is that if foreign powers continue to intervene, the government will have to enforce internationally applicable rights. We need the international community to care about and help us."

Membership without influence: The National Peace Council includes nine women, but they have "no clear role", Rasuli admonishesNonetheless, the director of Medica Afghanistan knows that there will not be a military solution for the problems of the Hindu Kush. She too thinks that the only way to achieve a solution is through difficult negotiations. She believes that negotiating with representatives of the Taliban movement is the right thing to do, but she also says that "the rights of women should not be sacrificed for peace".

However, Ameer Rasuli has little hope for the work of the High Peace Council under the leadership of ex-president Rabbani, who is to conduct talks with the Taliban movement on behalf of the Afghan government. Alongside powerful regional leaders, religious scholars and tribal elders, the 70-strong council also includes nine women, but they have "no clear role", and are again shrouded in silence.

Rasuli criticizes the fact that the West is financing the work of the Peace Council without first developing a joint strategy and establishing common aims. "This has been the fundamental problem of Afghan development for almost ten years," she says: the lack of a joint strategy and the lack of clear objectives. Nonetheless, she believes that without the support of the international community the women of Afghanistan will not benefit from any development at all.

Sandra Petersmann

© Deutsche Welle/Qantara.de 2011

Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins

Editors: Diana Hodali/Deutsche Welle, Lewis Gropp/Qantara.de

URL of this Page: http://en.qantara.de/wcsite.php?wc_c=16484&wc_id=16707

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Asadullah Syed

Women's Rights in the Arab World

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29.06.2011Are Saudi Women Next?

Nowhere in the world are women's lives more regulated than they are in Saudi Arabia. But, writes Mai Yamani, Saudi women activists are beginning to eloquently demand the removal of restrictions and an end to women's dependency

The unexpected visibility and assertiveness of women in the revolutions unfolding across the Arab world – in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and elsewhere – has helped propel what has become variously known as the "Arab awakening" or "Arab Spring." Major changes have occurred in the minds and lives of women, helping them to break through the shackles of the past, and to demand their freedom and dignity.

Since January 2011, images of millions of women demonstrating alongside men have been beamed around the world by television journalists, posted on YouTube, and splashed on the front pages of newspapers. One saw women from all walks of life marching in hope of a better future, for themselves and for their countries.

They appeared prominently – eloquent and outspoken, marching daily, holding caricatures of dictators and chanting calls for democratic change. They walked, bussed, travelled in carts, telephoned and tweeted with compatriots, motivated in part by social demands – above all for their own empowerment.

A petrified system

"The rule of law in Saudi Arabia is the rule of misogyny": Saudi women during the pilgrimage to MeccaThe contrast between this dynamic space for open protest and Saudi Arabia could hardly be starker. Saudi women find themselves living in a petrified system. Faces of the royal family are seen everywhere; the faces of women are shrouded, forcibly hidden.

Nowhere else in the world do we see modernity experienced as such a problem. Skyscrapers rise out of the desert, yet women are not permitted to ride with men in their lifts. Nor are they allowed to walk in the streets, drive a car, or leave the country without the permission of a male guardian.

Fatima, a young woman from Mecca, sent me an email at the height of the Egyptian revolution: "Forget about the cries for freedom; I can't even give birth without being accompanied to hospital by a mihrim (male guardian)."

She went on, "And the mataw'a (the religious police, known officially as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, and whose leader has ministerial rank) have been given the right to humiliate us in public." Indeed, the mutaw'a saw their wide powers enhanced even more by decrees issued by King Abdullah in March, after helping to suppress protests in the kingdom earlier in the month.

Breaking the silence and apathy

Breaking the law: Wahhabi clerics issued a fatwa that forbids women to access to the Internet without the supervision of a male guardianYet globalization knows no limits, not even those set by the guardians of Islamic probity. Nine-year-old Saudi girls chat online, disregarding fatwasissued by Wahhabi clerics that forbid them access to the Internet without the supervision of a male guardian. Many women remain secretly glued to satellite television channels, watching their peers in the public squares of Egypt or Yemen, beyond their reach but not beyond their imagination.

On May 21, a brave woman named Manal al Sharif broke the silence and apathy, daring to defy the ban on women driving. For the next week, she sat in a Saudi prison. But, within two days of her detention, 500,000 viewers had watched the YouTube video of her excursion. Thousands of Saudi women, frustrated and humiliated by the ban, staged a "driving day" on June 17.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that forbids women to drive cars. The system of confinement that the ban represents is justified neither by Islamic texts, nor by the nature of the diverse society that the Al Saud and their Wahhabi partners' rule. Indeed, it is far removed even from the rest of the Arab world – which has become glaringly obvious in the context of massive social upheaval almost everywhere else in the region.

The Wahhabi curriculum

Saudi business women on their way to work. "The system of confinement is justified neither by Islamic texts, nor by the nature of the diverse society that the Al Saud and their Wahhabi partners' rule," writes Mai YamaniEnforced segregation is mirrored in every aspect of Saudi life. Religious education constitutes up to 50% of students' curriculum. As a result, Wahhabi dogma penetrates every home in the country. Textbooks – pink for girls, blue for boys, each with different contents – emphasize the rules prescribed by Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, an eighteenth-century cleric and the founder of Wahhabism.

The Saudi judicial system is one of the most formidable obstacles to women's aspirations, relying on Islamic interpretations that protect a defensive patriarchal system. Indeed, not only do judges' decisions support the system, but the reverse is also true: patriarchy has become the driving force of the law.

Thus, Saudi women are barred from the legal profession on the basis of a Wahhabi stricture that "a woman is lacking in mind and religion." In other words, the rule of law in Saudi Arabia is the rule of misogyny – the comprehensive legal exclusion of women from the public sphere.

Demands to end women's dependency

Saudi rulers have announced that demonstrations are haram – a sin punishable by jail and flogging. Now some clerics have pronounced driving by women to be foreign-inspired haram, punishable in the same way. Yet, despite such threats, thousands of Saudi women joined "We are all Manal al Sharif" on Facebook, and countless other videos of women driving have appeared on YouTube since her arrest.

Like Mamal, they, too, have been detained, and the government appears determined to prosecute them. But Wajeha al Huwaider, Bahia al Mansour, Rasha al Maliki, and many other activists are nonetheless insisting that driving a car is their legitimate right, and are eloquently demanding the removal of restrictions and an end to women's dependency.

Rosa Parks' revolutionary bravery in refusing to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama municipal bus in 1955 helped spark the American civil rights movement. We shall soon find out whether Manal al Sharif's defiance of the Saudi regime's systemic confinement of women produces a similar effect.

Mai Yamani

© Project Syndicate 2011

Mai Yamani's most recent book is Cradle of Islam.

Qantara.de editor: Lewis Gropp

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Asadullah Syed

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Asadullah Syed

Imran Khan Meeting with "Saints" & "Pirs" & Jang Group Promotes "SHIRK".

Imran Khan Meeting with "Saints" & "Pirs" & Jang Group Promotes "SHIRK". http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2011/07/imran-khan-meeting-with-saints-pirs.html  Earlier Jang Group's Haroon Rasheed quoted Mansoor Hallaj on Osama Bin Laden whereas Osama and others like him were Ikhwanis (Jamat-e-Islami) and for them Mansoor Hallaj was an Heretic:) more shameful is the fact that Historically Mr. Haroon is wrong because there was time gap between the death of Sufi Master Junaid Baghdadi and Mansoor Hallaj and their meeting cannot be proved through any narration. Patriotic Reverse Gear of Kamran Khan & Jang Group/GEO TV. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2011/05/patriotic-reverse-gear-of-kamran-khan.html . When you insert the patchwork of Religion in Politics these efforts always end up in more confusion:) Mr Irfan Siddiqui [Noted Columnist of Daily Jang and Mentor of Dr. Shahid Masood, and Former PRO of President House Islamabad and earlier he was a Regular Columnist of Weekly Takbeer] is quite Islamist when in Pakistan while lecturing the Pakistani Politicians about Governance and Rule and Revival of Islam whereas he hismelf relaxed Islam's very basic prinicple i.e. Tawheed Monotheism while narrating his journey of Saudi Arabia and particularly his visit of Masjid Nabawi in Medina where he literaly presented Pakistan's Case before Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]'s Grave and wanted his intercession to "SAVE PAKISTAN". Mr. Irfan Siddiqui was least bothered about a FACT that Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] had passed away more than 1400 years ago and he [PBUH] cannot help Pakistan from his grave. Period. Irfan Siddiqui's Request to Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] & Polytheism [Shirk]. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/04/irfan-siddiquis-request-to-prophet.html Today i.e. 1st July 2011, Mr. Haroon ur Rasheed has quoted an Alleged Saint from Gojar Khan, Punjab, who was familiar with the technicalities of Military Dictatorships of General Pervez Musharraf who was supported by Imran Khan in Sham Referendum of 2002 Imran Khan's Alleged Principled Stand & General Musharraf's Fraudulent Referendum. http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2011/04/imran-khans-alleged-principled-stand.html  . Friday, July 01, 2011, Rajab-Ul-Murrajab 28, 1432 A.H http://jang.com.pk/jang/jul2011-daily/01-07-2011/col4.htm  The Saints of South Asian Models are as under: Iqbal's secret meeting with saints (Like Imran Khan Like Allama Iqbal (also met with a Saint) Iqbal's secret meeting with saints) URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5InKreewK1Y Excerpts are as under: "QUOTE" 1. Do not try to understand the Qur'ân ever. Else, you will go astray. Fifteen "Uloom" (sciences) are required to understand the Book. ("Maulana" Zakaria Kandhalwi, Fazael Amaal, p.2) 2. Do not read the Qur'ân with understanding, you will go astray. (Fazaael Aamal, "Maulana" Ashraf Ali Thanwi, p. 216) It is mentioned in Aamaal-e-Qur'aani, p. 134 by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi [published by Jasim Book Depot, Urdu Bazaar, Jama Masjid, Delhi] that if a woman has excessive menstrual bleeding, the verse (Surah Al-'Imran: 3:144) should be written on three different pieces of paper, one tied on her right and the other on her left and the third piece of paper with the Qur'ânic verse to be hung below the naval. This verse of the Qur'aan, "Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa-sallam) is no more than a Messenger, and indeed (many) Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels (as disbelievers)? And he who turns back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah, and Allah will give reward to those who are grateful." [Surah Al-'Imran: 3:144] 3. Delaying prayer once will cause a person to burn in the hellfire for 20.88 million years, just because he or she failed to pray on exact time. ("Maulana" Zakaria Kandhalwi, Fazaael Namaz, p.317) 4. Recite the whole Qur'ân in one raka'ah like saints did! [That will amount to more than 50 times of the whole Qur'ân in a single day!] (Fazaael Namaz p.64.) Saints recite 2,000 raka'ahs every day. They keep standing the full one month of Ramadhan reciting the Qur'ân twice a day! (Tableegh-I-Nisab Fazaael Aamal) 5. "Maulana" Ashraf Ali Thanwi separated the way of Salat between men and women in his book "Bahishti Zever." (Masjid Tauheed, Karachi. Muhammad Sultan) 6. When Shah Waliullah was in his mother's womb, she said a prayer. Two tiny hands (too) appeared for prayer. She was frightened. Her husband said, "You have Qutubul-Aqtab (Wali of Walis) in your womb (Hikayat-e-Awlia, p. 17 Ashraf Ali Thanwi) What a break-through! 7. Junaid Baghdadi was sitting when a dog crossed by. He merely glanced at the dog. The dog reached such glory that all dogs of the town followed him. Then he sat down and all dogs sat around him in meditation. (Ashraf Ali Thanwi. Imdad-ul- Mushtaq) 8. The holy messenger came to Shah Waliullah (in the 18 century!) and said, "Why do you worry? Your children are the same as mine." (Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Hikayat-ul-Awlia) 9. The prophet laid the foundation of Darul-Uloom, Deoband, India (in the 19th century) He comes to check accounts of the school. He has learnt the Urdu language. (Mubasshirat-e-Darul Uloom, and Deoband Number of the Darul-Uloom) 10. Mulla Mohammad Qasim Nanotwi saw in his dream that he was sitting in the lap of Allaah. (Biography of Mulla Qasim by Mulla Mohammad Yaqoob Nanotwi) 11. The advent of another Prophet is quite possible. (Mulla Abdul Hai Farangi Mahli and Mulla Qasim Nanotwi, Tahzeer-in-Nas, p.34, Athar Ibn Abbas, p.16) Why blame Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani only? 12. Disrespect to a monk is more perilous than disrespect to Allaah. (Mulla Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Al-Ashraf, p.23, Nov. 1991) 13. Dear reader, now read what p.154 " Islam or Maslak Parasti" says: According to the Qur'ân anything dedicated to other than Allaah in forbidden. It is our maulvi mind who declare virtuous such things as Koondas of Ja'afar Sadiq, halwa of Shabe barat in the name of Owais Qarni, haleem and sherbet of Imam Hussain and Niaz of the 11th in the name of Jeelani! 14. Risala Tazkara of Darul-uloom Deoband of 1965 claims: Anyone suffering from malaria who took dust from the grave of "Maulana" Yaqoob Nanotwi and tied this dust to his body, found instant relief. 15. Allaah cuts jokes with the Ulama of Deoband. One of them went to a well for "Wudu" (Ablution) He lowered the bucket in the well. It came back full of silver. The Holy man said to Allaah: Don't kid around! I am getting late for prayers. He lowered the bucket in again and this time it came back full of gold. (Risala Tazkara of Darul-uloom Deoband of April 1965) 16. In the night of Meraj (Ascension) Imam Ghazali rebuked Prophet Moses. Mohammed said, " Respect O' Ghazali!" (Malfoozat Haaji Imdaadullaah Muhaajir Makki, Imdad-ul- Mushtaq) by Ashraf Ali Thanwi. [Please note that Ghazali was born centuries after passing away of the holy prophet] 17. Take the right arm of a goat after Friday prayers. Be completely naked. Write Sura Yasin and the name of the person you want, then put the meat in the cooking pot. That person will fall in love with you. (Monthly "Khalid" Deoband Darul Uloom) 18. If you want to kill your enemy write A to T on a piece of bread. Recite Surah "RA'AD." Break the bread into five pieces and feed them to five dogs. Say to dogs, 'Eat the flesh of my enemy'. By the will of Allaah your enemy will have huge boils on his body. (Darul uloom Deoband "Khalid") 19. Say "Fazabooha" before you cut a melon, or any thing else (for that matter), you will find it sweet. (Aamale-Qurani, Ashraf Ali Thanwi) 20. Recite the verse "When the heaven will split." Write it (on a piece of paper) and tie to the left thigh of any woman in labor, child birth will become easy. Cut the hair of that woman and burn them between her thighs, childbirth will be easier still. (Aamal-e-Qurani, Ashraf Ali Thanwi) 21. During labor pains let the woman hold Mawatta Imam Malik for instant delivery. (Aamal-e-Qurani, Ashraf Ali Thanwi) 22. See what "Hakeemul Ummat" Thanwi says! Keep reciting "Al Mughni" during sex and the woman will love you. (same book, Ashraf Ali Thanwi) 23.The prophet laid foundation of Darul-Uloom, Deoband, India (in the 19th century). He comes to check accounts of the school. He has learnt Urdu language. (Mubasshirat-e-Darul Uloom, and Deoband Number of the Darul-Uloom) 24. When, "Maulana" Zakaria, the father of "Maulana" Yousuf Bannuri would fall sick, the prophet would come. He told the house servant, "Badshah Khan! I (the holy prophet), am also serving Zakaria. (Bayyanat 1975 Ashraf Ali Thanwi p. 7) 25. The prophet said to sister-in-law of Haaji Imdaadullaah Muhajir Makki, "Get up! I will cook meals for guests of Imdaadullaah." (Bayyanat p. 8, Ashraf Ali Thanwi) 26. "Maulana" Yousuf Ludhianwi taught a simple method to make interest (usury) Halal. Borrow from a non-Muslim. (Masaail-e-Jadeedah) 27. The wife of Mullah Jalaaluddin Rumi thought that his sexual desire had vanished. The Mullah came to know of her suspicion in a special trance of revelation (KASHF). That night he went to the wife and drilled her 70 times. (Please excuse the language) So much so that she asked forgiveness. (Manaqib-il-Arifain, p.70, by Shamsuddin Akhlaqi) Now please witness how far these Mujaddith's of Deoband can go! See what garbage Mulla Ashraf Ali Thanwi is trying to unload. The same Thanwi whom other Mullahs call "Hakeem-ul-Ummat"! 28. He writes on p.110 in "Imdaadul Mushtaq": There was a true monotheist. People told him if delicious food is part of the person of Allaah and feces too is a part of Him, eat both. Well, the Sheikh first became a pig and ate feces. Then he became a human being and ate food! Isn't that height of "wisdom" of our wise of the nation!" 29. Here is another pearl of wisdom from him: There was a Pir Sadiq from Ashraf Ali Thanwi's town. He taught his disciples "There is no God but Allah and Sadiq is His messenger." {Astaghfirullaah} The wise of the nation Thanwi declared that teaching OK. (Imane Khalis, p.109, Hazrat Masood Uthmani) 30. The holy messenger comes to Mulla Qasim Nanotwi and other big shots of Deoband, U.P to learn Urdu. He also checks accounts of the Madrasah. (Numerous references such as Haqaiq-o-Maarif, Deoband May 1975). 31. "Maulana" Yousuf Bannuri writes: The Prophet told my father, Zakaria! When you fall sick I also fall sick. Hazrat Ali had come to conduct the marriage of my father and mother. (In the 19th century!) (Iman-e-Khalis, pp. 7 and 8, Masooduddin Usmani, Fazil Uloom Deenia) Furthermore it is not a co-incidence that these beliefs are in the Fazaail Aamal, rather each one of the misguided views is a well-established belief of the Deobandis - the school of thought that the Tableeghi Jamaat originates from. This has been shown with ample proofs. please refer to the online book, "The JAMAAT TABLEEGH and the Deobandis - A Critical analysis of their Beliefs, Books and Dawah" This book is not a fazail-e-Aamaal Combat Kit, But is an Enlightening insight in to the Scholars and Founding Fathers of Deoband and their Sufistic Beliefs, As Deoband have been looked upon as the good Guys and the Barelwis as the Bad Guys, However after reading the writings of the revered scholars and Founder of Deoband one Realizes that the difference between the Barelwis and the Deobandis is Miniscule and they both Share the Same Sufistic Beliefs of PIRS, FAKIRS, MIRACULOUS POWERS OF SAINTS, APPROVAL OF GRAVE WORSHIP, ZIKR, MEDITATIONS, MOKSHA, TAWASSUL, LOOKING DOWN UPON JANNAH, DIRECT COMMUNICATIONS WITH ALLAAH and many other same beliefs. One is forced to conclude that this dangerous misinterpretation and twisting of Islaamic beliefs and practices has been deliberate, oft repeated and has been purposely concealed from the common man, This can in no way be attributed to ignorance on the part of the Deoband Leaders. Demented Sufis! I am superior to the prophets (Mohiuddin Ibn-Arabi, Hadeeqa Sultania p.190). I have denounced Islam. I believe this is incumbent on people. If Allah is God in the heavens, I am God on earth (statement of Hussain bin Mansoor Hallaj, Khateeb Baghdadi vol.8, Ibne Athir 11:140, Al Bidaya Wal Nihaya by Ibn Kathir). Men of knowledge see Shias as swines (Mohiuddin Ibn-Arabi, Futuhat Makkia 2:8). Sheikh Imam Abul Hassan Noori was in the company of his disciples. The call to prayers came. The Sheikh said, "It is death." Then a dog barked. The Sheikh replied, "Labbaik", meaning "Oh yes, my master" (Ibn-e-Jozi Talbees-e-Iblis p.383). My body has merged with the body of Rasulullah. Therefore, we are one (Shah Waliullah, Anfasul Arifain). I recite Sura Fatiha and walk across the river (Mulfoozat Moinuddin Chishti Ajmairi). In the assemblies of "URS" (communion of Sufi souls with God), spirits of the dead Sufis come to dance around (Mulla Abul Kalam Azad, Iman-e-Khalis p.63). Hazrat Dawood Jawarbi had seen Allah. When asked about Allah, he said, "Ask me not about His genitals and His beard. Ask about anything else (Al-Millil wal-Nahil, Imam Shehristani 1:96). Even better, the authorities should have painted Imam Shehristani a clown for conveying such rubbish. Allah is sitting in the heavens. I am the God on earth (Mansoor Hallaj, Ibne-Athir 2:140/Al Bidaya Wal Nihaya by Ibn Kathir). The priest in the church is our Allah (Ibn-Arabi, Qasasul Ulema p.53). There is no one else worthy of worship. Come and worship me (Mulla Jalaluddin Rumi, Mathnawi 4:52). Time for a laugh: This morning Allah wrestled with me. He floored me because I am 2 years younger than He is (Abul Hassan Kharqani, Fawaid Faridiya p.78). Alas! The Muslim fails to understand that Allah can be found only in idol worship (Sufi Mahmood Shabistri, Sharah Gulshan-e-Raz p.294). Hanafis are people who are pacing toward hellfire. The death anniversary of Imam Hussain must be celebrated like the Festival of Eid (Abdul Qadir Jeelani, Ghania al-Talibain p.190). My foot is on the neck of every saint, so I placed my foot on Hazrat Ali's neck (Abdul Qadir Jeelani, Asrar ul Qadam p.191). I hate the God who does not appear as a dog or cat (Ibn-Arabi, Khazeena Imaniya p.168). Whenever Khwaja Maudood Chishti wanted to see the Ka'aba, angels airlifted it to the land of Chisht (Malfoozat Khwaja Qutubuddin Bukhtiar Kaki, Fariduddin Ganj Shakar). This Khwaja Maudood Chishti is reported to be the ancestor of the famous Mulla Maudoodi. One thousand years have gone and so has the time of Muhammad. Now it is my time, the time of Ahmad. The second millennium is mine (Ahmad Sarhindi, so-called "Mujaddid Alf-Sani" [Revivalist of the second millennium], Mubda-o-Muad). Books of the Tableeghi Nisab "Fazael Aamal" were presented to the Holy Prophet (in the twentieth century!) and he accepted them (Behjatul Quloob p.12). Khwaja Qutbuddin Maudood Chishti's dead body flew in the air on its way to the graveyard. Khwaja Fareeduddin Ganj Shakar upon narrating this fell unconscious (Rahatil-Quloob, Ganj Shakar). He should have expired. Adam cried for 300 years. (So much so that) birds made nests on his face. His tears brought forth so much grass that it covered his (60 meters long) body (Rahatul Muhibbeen, Ameer Khusro, Khwaja Nizamuddin Awlia). A bird came and told us, "Tomorrow is Eid. Unlike humans we are free from lies." Sheikh Faqirullah knew a crow that often learned monotheism from him (reference same). If Awlia (saints) wish, they can accept invitations from 10,000 towns (and be there) at the same time (Ahmed Raza Barelwi, Malfoozat part I p.127). When Shah Waliullah was in his mother's womb, she said a prayer. Two tiny hands appeared for prayer. She was frightened. Her husband said, "You have Qutubul Aqtab (Saint of Saints) in your womb (Mulla Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Hikayat-e-Awlia p.17). What a breakthrough! The Prophet laid the foundation of Darul Uloom, Deoband, India (in the 19th century!). He comes to check the accounts of the school. He has learnt Urdu from the Ulema of Deoband (Mubasshirat-e-Darul Uloom, and Deoband Number of the Darul Uloom). Was this tale made up to lend credence to the Deoband Mulla factory? You decide. Allah revealed Himself to me as an extremely beautiful woman, decorated with fine ornaments and garments. She suddenly embraced me and merged into my body (Shah Waliullah, Anfasul Arifain pp.94-95). One night I started flying from heaven to heaven until I reached the Prophet. He accepted my allegiance (reference same, pp.38-39). The sun cannot rise before greeting me. The new year, the new month, the new day, dawn not without greeting me and informing me of every single event (Malfoozat Ahmed Raza Barelwi about Ghaus Azam Jeelani). A wolf was brought before prophet Jacob. He said to the wolf, "Tell me about my son, Joseph." The wolf said, "I am an animal, but I do no backbiting" (reference same). Prophet Job prayed, "O' God! Give me 12,000 tongues so that I may recite your name." God accepted his prayer and infested his body with 12,000 insects (reference same). The mosquito that killed Nimrod was lame (Malfoozat Chishti). Hazrat Uthman brought home a fish. All the firewood burnt off, but the fish remained fresh (uncooked). When the Prophet asked it the reason, the fish said, "I had sent my salutations to you once" (reference same). Shah Waliullah believed in the Unity of Existence. He believed that insects, animals, idols and human beings were all God (Syed Farooq Al-Qadri, Anfasul Arifain). Allah has only 99 virtuous names. I have more than 99, in fact 4000 (Shah Waliullah for his uncle, Anfasul Arifain p.210). Some people told Shah Abdur Raheem (Shah Waliullah's father) that they were trying to find God. My father said, "I am He!" They stood up and shook hands (reference same, p.93). Why didn't they prostrate?! God came to me in a cloak in the guise of an extremely beautiful woman. I became passionate and said, "Cast aside your cloak." The response came, "The cloak is very thin. It reveals my beauty." I insisted, upon which the cloak was lifted (quote of father and son: Shah Abdur Raheem & Shah Waliullah, Anfasul Arifain p.94). The great Pir (master saint) of the 19th century, Ahmad Raza Khan Barelwi, has been quoted in his Malfoozat p.32 that "Prophets are alive in their graves like ever before. They eat, drink, pray and receive their wives in the grave and engage in sex with them." Now watch God's retirement plan: Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani claimed: Allah has made me eternal and has joined me with Him. He has given in my hand this world and the Hereafter and all Creation (Jeelani, Malfoozat Fuyuz Yazdani, Fath-e-Rabb-ani, Majlis 51). Prophet David and Prophet Mohammad both sinned because they saw the beauty of unclothed women. Then Uria's wife and Zaid's wife became haram (forbidden) for their husbands (Ali Hajweri, alias "Daata Ganj Baksh," Kalamil Marghoob p.349). [This Rascal Data basically quoted the False Narration of Hisotry of Tabari] Junaid Baghdadi said that Prophet Solomon was the illegitimate son of David from Uria's wife. Sheik Seerin wrote that Surah Ahzab of the Qur'an means to say that Muhammad the Exalted was hiding the carnal love of Zainab (the wife of Zaid), in his heart (Malfoozal Al-Aasl p.219). A wife of the Holy Prophet saw a male sparrow mounting the female sparrow. She challenged the Prophet. When the night set in, the Prophet mounted her in a most furious manner 90 times and said, "See! There is no deficiency here" (Shamsuddin Akhlaqi, Manaqib-il-Arifain pp.70-71). These dogs and swines are our God (Fusoosul Hukm, Mohiuddin Ibne Arabi). Ba-Yazeed Bistami, supposedly the head of all saints, is quoted in his Malfoozat (book of quotes): I am Glorious, the Ultimate, the Pure. My glory is beyond description. My kingdom is greater than the Kingdom of God. Allah is in my pocket. My flag flies higher than the flag of Mohammad. I dove into the sea of true knowledge while the prophets watched by the shore. Ali Hajweri, "Daata Ganj Bakhsh," in his Kashfil Mahjoob, pp.255-256 supports Ba-Yazeed's claim that he was Allah in human form. Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri taught his disciples a different Kalema (creed) "There is no god but Allah and Chishti is His messenger" (Khwaja Fareed-ud-Din Ganj Shakar, Fawaed-us-Salikeen pp.126-127). Now what message is Sheikh Afeef-ud-Din Talmisani trying to convey when he says: The Qur'an is loaded with shirk (polytheism). True monotheism is that everything in the universe is God (Malfoozat Talmisani p.205). It was OK for the Pharaoh to say, "I am God". He, of course, was a part of the Essence of God (reference same). Ibraheem Adham reached the Ka'aba in 14 years because he prayed two nawafil at every step. But the Ka'aba was not found! "It has gone to visit Rabia Basri," came a voice from the heavens (Malfoozat Khwaja Uthman Harooni, Aneesul Arwah p.17). Doesn't it make us think why the Ka'aba could not go to meet the Holy Prophet in Hudaibiah? According to Sheikh Afifuddin Talmisani's Malfoozat page 177, Rabia Basri was in romance first with Hasan Basri and then with Ibrahim Adham. In Cordova, I fell in love with Fatima. In Makkah I fell in love with the beautiful Ain-ush-Shams. The spiritual windows opened upon me hence. (Sheikh Mohiuddin Ibne Arabi, Fusoosul Hukm) Ba-Yazid Bistami could take the soul of any person whenever he wanted. My uncle Abu Raza Mohammad, upon hearing this became angry and said, "Ba-Yazid could not return the soul (and restore life). I can take a soul and return it, as I want." Then my uncle took the soul of Rahmatullah and brought him back to life (Shah Waliullah, Anfasul Afrifain p.95). Junaid Baghdadi was sitting when a dog crossed by. He merely glanced at the dog. The dog reached such glory that all dogs of the town followed him. Then he sat down and all dogs sat around him in meditation (Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Imdadul Mushtaq)." The Holy Messenger came to Shah Waliullah (in the 18 century!) and said "Why do you worry, my son? Your children are the same as mine" (Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Hikayat-e-Awlia). It is obligatory upon a Mu'min (believer) that he quits eating and drinking. He must get weak to the point where he becomes unable to pray (Sahl bin Abdullah Tastari, Malfoozat Arabi p.289). Hazrat Sha'arani was the Sheikh of miracles. He resided in a meadow. He used to visit the town riding a wolf. He walked on water. His urine was drinkable like pure milk (Allama Tareshi's excerpts, Misra Tasawwuf p.194). Did Tareshi try it? Jalaluddin Rumi never prayed. When the time for prayers came he used to vanish. At last it was detected that he went to pray in Ka'aba (2000 miles away from Qunia five times a day) (Khwaja Nizamuddin Awlia, Rahat-il-Quloob). My uncle saw me create and destroy the universe (Shah Waliullah, Afasul Arifain p.210). Once there was a Sheikh who used to grab a dog every day and put him on the prayer rug and said, "O dog, you are in the hands of God!" Those dogs then started walking on water and healed people by giving them ta'aweez (amulets) (Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, Malfoozat). The dead body of a dervish was lying in a jungle laughing. I asked him, "You are dead, how can you laugh?" The dead body replied, "This is what happens in the love of Allah" (Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Malfoozat). The Universe lies within the Mount Caucasus. This mountain is 40 times bigger than the earth. A cow is holding it on its head (Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Dalilul Arifain). The people of Multan refused to provide fire to Shah Shams Tabrez for roasting meat. He became enraged and brought the sun down (and roasted the meat). People became restless with heat. They came to the saint and asked his forgiveness and then he ordered the sun to go back. Since that day the town became known for its hot summers (Ali Quli Baghdadi, Karamat Shah Tabrez p.233). A great saint Hazrat Abdul Wahab went to visit the grave of Pir Syedi Ahmad Kabir. Abdul Wahab saw a beautiful bondwoman. Syedi Kabir called from his grave, "Hey, do you like her?" The owner of the bondwoman instantly dedicated her to the grave. The dead Pir spoke again, "O' Abdul Wahab! Take her to the room in front and satisfy your desire" (Ahmad Raza Khan Barelwi, allegedly "the greatest master of Islamic law and reviver of the 19th century," Malfoozat part 3 p.28). Ibraheem Adham was Governor of Balakh. While hunting, a deer turned back and scolded him. Since that day Adham quit his rule (and became a saint) ("Daata" Ganj Bakhsh, Kalamil Marghoob p.229). When the companions went with the Prophet for ghazwat (Jihad) some of their wives had relations with other men (Mulla Jalaluddin Rumi, Feeh-ma-Feeh, Saleem Chishti, Islami Tasawwuf p.66). Women are the source of all tribulation in the world, religious or otherwise (Hajwairi, "Daata Ganj Bakhsh" in Malfoozat Barelwi). There was a 140-year old worshipper. He had a foot that was amputated. When asked he said, "I was in eitekaf (seclusion for worship in a masjid). I stepped one foot out. An angel warned me and I immediately cut off my foot with a knife" (Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri in Malfoozat Uthman Harooni). Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri writes in the same book that the moon and the sun eclipse because of the sins of people! The Holy Prophet had explained that eclipses occur according to the Divine Laws. A man stole shrouds from graves for 40 years, but he went to the highest degree in Paradise. Why? Because he held on to the prayer rug (he was steadfast in prayers) (Malfoozat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Ajmeri, by Khwaja Qutub Alam, Daleel Arifain). Watch for another wisdom from Chishti in the same book: The hellfire is placed in the mouth of a snake deep in the seventh level of the earth, otherwise the whole Universe would burn. Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki knew half the Qur'an by heart when he was born (Fawaid-as-Salikeen, Khwaja Fareed-ud-Din "Ganj Shakar"). What titanic forces prevented him from completing it?! Fareed-ud-Din "Ganj Shakar" (which means: the treasure of sugar) turned bushels of sugar into salt and again into sugar (The Beloved of God, "Mehboob-e-Elahi" Khwaja Nizam-ud-din Awlia, Rahatul Quloob). The Prophet attended the funeral of Barakat Ahmed. And I led the prayer, (i.e. the Prophet was his follower in prayer) (Ahmad Raza Khan Barelwi, Malfoozat). Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti says, "What do you ask of the Mount Caucasus? This mountain is resting on the head of a cow. The greatness and size of this cow equals 30,000 years of travel. Her head is in the East and her tail is in the West. She has been standing since eternity praising the Lord." Sheikh Uthman Harooni reports that after narrating this (insult to human intelligence), Sheikh Maudood Chishti and a companion sank into deep meditation. Both disappeared leaving their gowns behind. They had gone to take a stroll up the Mount Caucasus (Malfoozat Khwaja Chishti Ajmeri by Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki, Daleelul Arifain pp.85-86). They should have disappeared from the planet. By God! I know 99 out of 100 thoughts that come in the heart of an ant living in the lowest stratum of the earth. Allah knows all one hundred (Shah Waliullah, Anfasul Arifain p.205). "UNQUOTE" The Secret Saint of Imran Khan as defined by Mr. Nusrat Javed in Express News Hidden Hands Behind Imran Khan (Courtesy: Nusrat Javed/Express News) http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101275211&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20110629#

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Asadullah Syed

Sharing a culture

In this fifth and final article of the series, Jill Kamil takes a look at national identity

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The inspiration behind this series of articles (which appeared on the Opinion Page of Al-Ahram Weekly in the issues of 31 March, 21 April, 5 May and 9 June) was the remarkable and united effort shown by the protesters in Tahrir Square in the early days of the national uprising that started on 25 January 2011. Six months later there are incidents of sectarian strife, secularists running a "Constitution First" campaign, and Al-Azhar, the prominent seat of Sunni Islam, highlighting the need to respect freedom and human rights "as well as commitment to the principle of citizenship".

It is this last comment, made by Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb in the "Al-Azhar Document" on Egypt's future, that attracted my attention. Citizenship implies national identity, and national identity is not a question of nationality but of common points in people's lives -- whether national symbols, national colours, culture, cuisine, traditions or shared political objectives. Cleopatra, for example, was last in a line of ethnic Greek sovereigns and has been immortalised as a beautiful seductress, while in fact she was an intelligent and politically astute figure who fought Rome in the name of Egypt (and was, by all accounts, not especially beautiful). Another ruler, the Albanian-born soldier Mohamed Ali, created an independent Egyptian state, laid the foundations of a prosperous economy, and turned a neglected Turkish colony into an Egyptian kingdom whose power was recognised throughout the Mediterranean world. In other words, national identity is not an inborn trait. It is a sense of belonging to one country, or to one nation; a feeling that is shared with a group regardless of citizenship status.

Egypt has experienced political, economic and spiritual growth through millennia, but it has also known discrimination and corruption in one form or another. Time and again the country has been exposed to elements that have stimulated its development, changed its outlook, and even inspired styles of clothing. Yet, alongside the differences, a tradition can be traced. It is manifested in crafts such as weaving, masonry and book-binding, and there are, in addition, fundamental resemblances that stand out less vividly but which show a remarkable continuity in location, tradition and ritual.

There are places in Egypt that are traditionally regarded as holy, and which have a history of sanctity long predating monotheism. Many ancient monuments were transformed into Christian churches. In turn, mosques have been constructed on the site of former Christian chapels.

Muslims and Christians alike pay homage to the sacred sites of holy people with shared customs of preparation and ritual: tents are put around the church or tomb and the area is decorated with flags, banners and lights. The night before the moulid (annual religious festival) market stalls are set up for the sale of toys, sweets, trinkets, paper hats and books. There are swings and puppet shows for children. The highlight of the occasion is the great zaffa, a procession through the streets of a picture of the Muslim sheikh or Christian saint in whose honour the moulid is held. Some moulids, like that of St George at Mit Damsis near the Delta town of Mansoura, are shared by Muslims and Christians.

In the Delta village of Damirah is a mound called Qafr Damirah Al-Qadim ("the castle of Damirah the ancient"). It is the site where the Christian St Dimiana, along with 40 virgins, was martyred in the reign of Diocletian. Today the community is predominantly Muslim, but many of the mosques have columns and other architectural elements which attest to the earlier Christian era. The annual moulid that takes place there is no longer in honour of the 40 adolescent girls, but of 40 Muslim soldiers killed during the conquest of Egypt in 640 AD. Such overlapping traditions attest to a common legacy. Qafr Damirah Al-Qadim is associated with 40 individuals who died for a cause.

As in ancient times, both men and women pay regular visits to the tombs of their relatives, and during the Eid, the Feast at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, sacrifice a sheep and give some of its flesh, along with bread, to the poor in the locality. Who would question that such a ceremony stems from ancient expiatory sacrifice, which is today regarded as alms-giving? Or that graphic pictures of the holy pilgrimage to Mecca (by ship or air) painted on the outer walls of houses in villages and towns in Upper Egypt are not a reflection of scenes in ancient Egyptian tombs of the pilgrimage (by boat) to the holy city of Abydos?

Change and continuity are not as paradoxical as they sound. Although there are very real political, social and ideological differences between various eras of Egypt's enduring civilisation, there is also a static factor. Egyptian leadership, for example, has always been associated with that great source of life: the Nile. Through progressive civilisations efforts have been made to harness its waters. From the earliest Pharaohs who ceremoniously wielded pickaxes to open new canals, to the present day when an initiative is underway to achieve sustainable development through the equitable usage of Nile Basin water resources, faith in a leader who is a provider, protector and controller of water is a factor that has outlived change. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Mamluks, kings and presidents have built canals, barrages, aqueducts and dams. Following the uprising this year, one of the first steps taken by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was to head a high-level delegation to Khartoum to consolidate relations between the two "sister countries" who share the water of the Nile.

There is a character and identity to Egypt that cannot be rendered in historical sequence because it transcends history. It has been transmitted from ancient times to the present in a stream of living culture. In accordance with Islam, which forbids the portrayal of any living likeness, there was an increasing production of abstract ornamentation in local workshops. The pottery produced in Fustat between the 11th and 15th centuries, for example, characterised by bright, glazed surfaces with a metallic lustre, was made for both Muslim and Christian patrons. Examples are on display in the Coptic Museum and in the Islamic Museum of Art and Architecture. Architectural elements that survive in mediaeval mosques and mansions are no different from the fine wooden ceilings, mashrabiya (latticed woodwork) windows, arches and tiles in geometric and non-figurative designs that are incorporated into the structure of the Old Wing of the Coptic Museum -- elements that were salvaged from derelict Coptic houses. As for textiles, those on display in the new Textile Museum in Al-Muizz Street in Cairo range from tunics of un-dyed linen with medallions and decorative borders to a variant of woollen loop weaving in which the weft is not pulled tight. This, one of the oldest and most famous of Egyptian crafts, which is used in cloaks, shirts and shawls, wall hangings, blankets and curtains made for Muslim and Coptic patrons alike. Metal lamps, perfume vessels, even eye paint -- all point to a shared tradition.

When it comes to religion, among both Christians and Muslims there is a strong tradition that supports the New Testament story of the Flight into Egypt. Some 22 sites in Egypt are associated with the event, and although Copts and Muslims are not always in agreement on the route taken by the Holy Family or on the duration of their stay in Egypt (Copts believe that it was for a little over three and a half years, while Muslims hold that it was seven) there are many sites where the tradition is upheld by both. Both Muslims and Christians, for example, relate that the Holy Family was warmly received at the Delta city of Belbeis, and that the inhabitants kept company with the Virgin, played with the child, and talked to Joseph Al-Naggar (the carpenter). There was once a tree in the city which after the visit became known as the Virgin Mary's Tree. It was reputedly cut down by Napoleon's soldiers in search of firewood. However, near the spot where it is believed to have stood at the crossroads of Ansari and Boghdadi streets, the mosque of Osman Al-Haress Al-Ansari stands today, built in commemoration of the visit.

East of Bahnasa, at the site of the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus -- which was largely Christian in the fifth century but is today predominantly Muslim -- local sheikhs quote a passage from the Quran (XXIII: 50) which roughly translates: "... and we have made the son of Mary and his mother a portent, and we gave them refuge on a height, a place of flocks and water-springs." They claim that Jesus attended school at Bahnasa and refer to the Arab historian Mohamed Al-Bakir (676-731) as their source.

Shared traditions and a common language point to a common patrimony. There is a Coptic-Arabic culture in Egypt, and it is surely timely to rewrite school textbooks for the rising generation to include the overlapping, and sometimes complex, coexistence between Muslims and Christians for the last 14 centuries.

The author's book Christianity in the Land of the Pharaohs was published by Routledge in the UK and USA in 2002.

URL of this Page: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1054/op1.htm

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Asadullah Syed