Slavery and Patriarchy in South Asian Islam and Beyond

 The book Jinnealogy: Time, Islam, and Ecological Thought in the Medieval Ruins of Delhi engages with important aspects of intercultural relations, both horizontally and vertically in the current day-and-age. The significant sites of South Asia are visited through ethnographies. Human-jinn relations at popular ruins such as Firoz Shah Kotla tell us of “Islam as an ethical inheritance and not a religious identity, the inheritance of a premodern past shared by Muslims and non-Muslims.” Yet this inheritance also involves kinship, which has been profoundly shaped by religious identity and the more unsavory aspects of humanity, such as slavery.

Sometimes the textual evidence is a bit scant, which leads to strenuous conclusions, such as the uncritical citation of the work of Dr. Asma Barlas (2002). Barlas claimed that the Qur'an is egalitarian and anti-patriarchal. Dr. Taneja also entertains this notion by quoting the parts where Barlas notes that the Prophet Muhammad was not the father to any men but a daughter. The life of the Prophet happened as such, and some Muslims use the narratives to productively help them understand the text in their own times. (The gender question has again taken the mainstream news with the Taliban preventing women from attending schools in 2021.)

I also accepted the genealogy of Muhammad--noble father to a noble daughter-- as suitably prescriptive in modern times for many years, until I read David S. Powers' book Muḥammad Is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Making of the Last Prophet. In the book, Powers showed that the Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd, was disowned. Zayd's recorded response to Muhammad's renunciation that he is not his son was affirmative: 

"I am Zayd bin Haritha (زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة)‎," 

"Haritha" being his birth father's name. Readers also learn in Powers' book that Zayd was a former slave. It is interesting that the question of paternity continue to haunt the lives of ex-slaves even to this day. If Zayd was born during Malcom X's time, perhaps he would have renamed himself as Zayd X. And perhaps his response to the renunciation would have been different if his circumstances were different. But Zayd still had several progeny from his marriages with many wives. So the patriarchal genealogy continues through bin Haritha--despite the fact that Zayd chose to recover his name before enslavement after his adopted father Muhammad renounced their relationship, which was crucial to freeing him from slavery. Luckily for Zayd, the renunciation did not subjugate him to slavery again. If I did not read Powers' book, I would continue to grapple with Barlas' argument and the baffling extent to which patriarchal relations exist throughout the Muslim world. While some men are choosing to use their kunya with their daughters' names as a progressive move now, daughters continue to be identified within their patriline, as a person of a Muslim background noted in her essay for Sumou mag. https://www.sumoumag.com/read/names

"Last year, I decided to get my maternal lineage tattooed on my right arm—and through that, I will carry with me four generations of strong women who have given life to that tree but whose names, voices, and histories have been brushed away and made invisible. But I see you, now everyone sees you, and you will never be forgotten." 

- Mneera

It is also interesting that in South Asia where caste is usually identifiable with one's last name, the practice of using one's father's name as a last name can replace the caste hierarchy of last names with a gendered hierarchy. This is usually done by some South Asian Muslims who converted in the past two hundred years. "Khan," once a marker of Mongol heritage, has been sufficiently localized into a South Asian patriarchal and casteist identity.

According to the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, this is the first Mongol Khanate coin that bears the name of Allah, a significant step for the Islamization of Asia--

Dirham - "Ilkhan" Hulagu Khan

© Altaycoin

Obverse

La ilah illa allah

muhammad rasul allah

salla allah 'alayhi

Reverse

Qaan
al-a'zam
mongke qaan
hulagu
khan

 In conclusion, I am slightly disappointed with the sweeping idealizations in this otherwise rich book by Dr. Taneja. If we are to inherit the rich past, it must be done with caution since much of the past is entangled with relations of slavery.

Egypt's minorities and the history of the Fatimid State

review of Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report

The opening of the book perhaps sets it up for a historical misunderstanding. Muslims are by default "arab conquerors," despite the histories written about the civilizing missions of Ismaili dais, who later founded the Fatimid dynasty. Simply put, Muslims were once civil minorities as well, who did not come to Africa merely as conquerors. The Fatimid state has a curious similarity with the current Egyptian state in terms of how it relates to minorities--make the elites among Copts and Jews part of their social legitimacy. (Jews-- not so much in today's Egypt.) If we keep this continuity theme in mind, then the idea of "religious minority" in Egypt is different than the "Jewish" in Europe problem, posed by Dr. Saba Mahmood in her book at the very beginning, within the context of Marx's "Jewish Question." Jewish people in Europe were never elevated to the status of Fatimid-era Copts. There is even a book which discusses the violent nature of European states in the 16th century and the connection with the roots to the Holocaust by another author, but I have not read that book. Mahmood highlights the challenges faced by judiciaries in both Europe and Egypt in the 20th century, yet does not delve into the social contracts of the Fatimid state. Minorities can indeed hold power amongst themselves, ruling over the sha'ab (non-elite classes of people).
Secondly, the changes and ruptures she notes about the Coptic community is interesting, which I am not too familiar. Yet the minority status-as-marginalization is not really a historically rooted one, even if Copts were persecuted by the Byzantines. The Fatimids, again, were also not welcomed in Egypt in the beginning. They faced challenges by the populace, both Muslim and otherwise. The Fatimids gained authority without socio-cultural hegemony in some periods. Among the regular non-ruling class Muslims, many did not accept the infallibility / authority of appointed Ismaili imams and some also saw the business-missionizing aspect of Ismaili'ism as dubious. The question of rule was shaky even for Fatimid Muslims when they gained the seats of power, who ostensibly shared the faith of non-Ismaili Muslims in Egypt. Mobs harassed representatives of the state, showing how the process of conversion was uneven and shaky.

The author rightly points to differing policies toward minorities between Ottomans and Mamluks; however, that later stage of Sunnification in Egypt (e.g., the co-optation of Al-Azhar which was founded by Ismaili'is) is not sufficiently explained in her opening chapter. Those who are inclined to view Egypt's history dynastically may be more accepting of her periodization.  

The Baha'i faith, which she explored later in the book, also poses a similar question. Since the founder regarded their revelation as temporally continuous with The People of the Book (Jews -> Christians -> The House of Muhammad -> Shi'a Muslim imams -> Bab), rather than an a priori difference from the beginning of Time. This tension is left unexplained, perhaps for the purpose of her argument.

I am using the term Ismaili from a modern perspective as well, which needs some qualifications. for those who are not familiar with the history. Dr. Khalil Andani has a wonderful Zoom lecture on this subject for those who are interested:

tools and steps for children coping with the loss of caretakers or friends

During COVID and war, many children around the world have lost their parents or primary caretakers. I decided to share the following, which is slightly edited from a book. 

Feel free to distribute it in your own language during this emergency. These resources also apply to other situations, when the caretaker is absent from the child for other reasons. 

Some of the possible symptoms of the child in confusion:

Strong emotional response experienced when the loss is mentioned.

Lack of appetite, nightmares, restlessness, inability to concentrate, irritability, tearfulness, or social withdrawal that began subsequent to a loss.

Marked drop in school grades, and an increase in angry outbursts, hyperactivity, or clinginess when separating from parents.

Feelings of guilt associated with the unreasonable belief to have caused the loss or not having prevented it. 

Avoidance of talking at length or in any depth about the loss.

(Fill in the other symptoms in the case you observe): __________________, __________________, 

__________________.

GOALS

Grieve around the loss.

Complete the process of letting go of the lost significant other.

Reach a point of emotionally reinvesting in life.

Address feelings of guilt, depression, or anger

Other Goals: 

__________________, __________________, __________________.

METHODS

Read a children's story about death & loss and afterward discuss the story. 

Assess the possibility of suicide risk or depression.

Assess the home, school, and community for mental hygiene. 

Use various art therapy techniques with clay, fingerpaints, and/or markers to help the child creatively express their feelings connected to their loss; ask them to give an explanation of their creation. 

Tell the story of loss with fiction or puppets

Identify feelings through games and graphs

Ask the child to write a letter to the lost person 

Explore the child's thoughts and feelings of guilt and blame surrounding the loss, replacing irrational thoughts with realistic thoughts

Conduct a pretend phone conversation in which the child apologizes for the behavior if they believe that itis the cause for the loss.

Ask the child to bring to a session pictures or mementos connected with the loss and to talk about them with the therapist

Encourage and support the child to look angry, then to act angry with props, and express anger through words.

Assist the child in making a record of their life in a book format to help present a past, present, and future life 

راديو اليمن: جلب التراث الموسيقي الثري لجنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية إلى مصر

 راديو اليمن: جلب التراث الموسيقي الثري لجنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية إلى مصر

تعد الموسيقى والأزياء اليمنية التقليدية ، التي تعلوها العود اليمني المعروف باسم الطربي ، من بين أبرز ما تم تشكيله حديثًا في الفرقة

عطي متولي ، السبت 5 أكتوبر 2019

راديو اليمن

على مدى السنوات القليلة الماضية ، تصدرت اليمن عناوين الصحف بسبب الاضطرابات السياسية والأزمات الإنسانية. لجأ قسم كبير من السكان إلى البلدان المجاورة ، واستقر بعضهم عبر شبه الجزيرة العربية ، بينما اتجه البعض الآخر إلى أركان العالم الأربعة. وبالمثل ، أصبحت مصر موطنًا للعديد من الأفراد والعائلات اليمنية الفارين من الحرب والمجاعة.

في سيل الأخبار عن وضع اليمنيين في بلدهم ، غالبًا ما نتغاضى عن الثقافة الغنية التي يحتفظون بها ، قرونًا من التراث المغلف بالهندسة المعمارية والفنون والموسيقى. في حين أن العديد من الكنوز الثقافية لا يمكن نقلها ، فإن الموسيقى هي التي لديها القدرة على التحرك عبر الحدود السياسية والجغرافية ... في الواقع منذ أبريل الماضي ، تم نقلها إلى عتبة دارنا ، مع فرقة راديو اليمن.

في غضون بضعة أشهر قصيرة ، قدمت راديو اليمن عروضها للجمهور في العديد من الأماكن الفنية والأماكن الحميمة في جميع أنحاء القاهرة ، ساحرة بالموسيقى اليمنية الجمهور المتزايد بشكل متزايد ، سواء من الشتات اليمني أو من السكان المحليين الذين رحبوا بهذا المسعى المثير للاهتمام.

"راديو اليمن هو فرقة غير تقليدية للغاية تعزف موسيقى تقليدية للغاية مع لمسة. مهمتنا هي إعادة إنشاء هذه الأغاني القديمة من كل من شمال اليمن وجنوبه ومشاركتها مع جماهير جديدة في جميع أنحاء العالم ، ونقل الموسيقى اليمنية إلى مراحل أكبر وأكبر "، بحيث يقدم الموسيقيون أنفسهم على صفحة الفرقة على Facebook. 

لكن الأمر الأكثر إثارة للاهتمام هو أن راديو اليمن لا يلمس حواسنا السمعية بموسيقى فريدة فحسب ، بل يوفر أيضًا متعة بصرية ، حيث يرتدي الموسيقيون خلال الحفلات الموسيقية الأزياء اليمنية التقليدية.

جديد ، جديد ومليء بالعاطفة ، بعيدًا عن الوطن ، ومع ذلك احتضنه جمهوره المحلي بحرارة ، تمكن راديو اليمن من اتخاذ خطوات كبيرة في وقت قصير جدًا. لم يمض وقت طويل على لقاء الفنانة المصرية زينب أبو طالب بالموسيقي اليمني المقيم في القاهرة محمد الحجري في ما اعتقدوا أنه سيكون مجرد تبادل ودي للأفكار الإبداعية.

 تتذكر أبو طالب كيف أن اهتمامها بالموسيقى اليمنية وجهها إلى الحجري ، عازف عود يمني: "التقينا قبل عامين ونصف فقط". هي في الأصل خريجة كلية الطب في القاهرة وطالبة سابقة في بيت العود ، أبو طالب هي أيضًا مغنية بارزة مع عروض محلية وإقليمية للموسيقى العربية التقليدية ، الموشحات والمواويل ، وعدد من الجوائز باسمها ، بما في ذلك واحدة لأداء منفرد لأغنية زي العسل لصباح في مهرجان فنون الجامعات (2003) وأخرى في 2009 لأداء منفرد لأغنية "العشق" لأم كلثوم.

راديو اليمن

زينب أبو طالب ومحمد الحجري من راديو اليمن (الصورة: بإذن من راديو اليمن)

في اكتشافاتها الإبداعية ، تواصل تحدي نفسها بمجموعة متنوعة من النكهات الجديدة ، منتقلة من التراث المصري إلى التراث الهندي ، وحتى الكوري. عندما وصلت أبو طالب إلى موسيقى الخليج العربي ، أدركت أنه يجب عليها أولاً معالجة الثقافة الموسيقية اليمنية لأن الأخيرة أثرت بشدة على المنطقة بأكملها. مع نمو شغفها ، بدأت في الاقتراب من أفراد المجتمع اليمني ، وكوّن العديد من الأصدقاء في الطريق.

"وجهتني صديقة إلى الحجري" ، كما تكشف ، مضيفةً كيف أن لقاءاتهما الأولى تألقت بالإبداع ولغة فنية مشتركة ، وكم تعلمت من تلك الاجتماعات وكم استمتعوا باللعب معًا. في ذلك الوقت ، قام الثنائي ، غير مدركين لما كان يحدث ، بزرع البذرة الأولى لإذاعة اليمن.

Al-Hejry performing in Cairo

يشرح الحجري قائلاً: "لقد غادرت اليمن منذ أربع سنوات ونصف ووصلت إلى مصر منذ ثلاث سنوات ونصف" ، ولفت انتباهي إلى دقة الثنائي بقيمه نصف السنوية. ويضيف أنه في العام بين مغادرة اليمن والاستقرار في مصر ، جرب حظه في إندونيسيا وماليزيا ولبنان وعُمان ، لكنه شعر براحة أكبر لدى وصوله إلى مصر: "رغم أنني بعيد عن منزلي وعائلتي ، أشعر وكأنك في المنزل هنا. الناس في غاية السهولة والترحيب ".

بدأ الحجري مسيرته الموسيقية في اليمن كعازف عود وملحن. تشمل محفظته العديد من العروض عبر مجموعة متنوعة من المنظمات والسفارات والفنادق في صنعاء ، وظهوره خلال TEDx. تم استخدام إحدى مؤلفاته كموسيقى خلفية لفيلم من إنتاج الصليب الأحمر اليمني. وبما أنه ، كما يكشف الحجري ، لا توجد معاهد عليا لتعليم الموسيقى في اليمن ، فقد اكتسب مهاراته ومعرفته من زملائه الموسيقيين والموارد عبر الإنترنت.

ومع ذلك ، لم يتماشى اهتمام هجري الموسيقي مع آراء عائلته حول ما يجب أن يفعله "الرجل المناسب" للعيش.

ويوضح الحجري أن اختياراته كلفته الاغتراب عن الأسرة وأصوله. وجد مجتمعه الخاص من العقول المبدعة. كما أنه كان وحيدًا عندما غادر اليمن وجاء في النهاية إلى مصر.

"كنت مصمما على دراسة الموسيقى في القاهرة لذلك التحقت بالمعهد العالي للموسيقى العربية. لقد ركزت على الدراسة ولم أؤدي حتى اجتاز طريقي عروض زينب "، يوضح مشيرًا إلى عروضهم الأولى في مقهى صغير ، حيث بدأت حفلاتهم الموسيقية نصف الأسبوعية تثير اهتمام العملاء. "هذا عندما فكرنا في إنشاء مشروع من شأنه تعزيز التراث الموسيقي اليمني ، إلى جمهور أكبر."

يضيف أبو طالب أنه سرعان ما انضم إليهم أصدقاء يعزفون الموسيقى: عازف الطبلة (الدربوكة) المقيم في القاهرة مارشال بوديكر من الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية وعازفة متعددة الآلات تؤدي على الطبلة في الفرقة ، ماريا ك.

"لم نقصد إنشاء فرقة متعددة الجنسيات ، لقد حدث ذلك للتو. ربما كان الأمر أسهل في ذلك الوقت: أربعة منا يعزفون الموسيقى اليمنية ، وندمجها مع الموسيقى والإيقاعات المصرية ، ونستمتع بأزياءنا اليمنية ... "ما يعتقده أبو طالب بأنه مزيج عفوي قد أكد في الواقع على تفرد راديو اليمن.

ومن المهم أيضًا الإشارة إلى أن الحجري يعزف على العود المصري والعود اليمني التقليدي المعروف باسم الطربي. على عكس العود المصري ، الذي يتخذ شكل الكمثرى ، فإن الطربي له قوام أرق من الخشب ومغطى جزئياً بالجلد.

 يعد صوت التربي عنصرًا مميزًا في موسيقى صنعاء (أحد التقاليد الموسيقية اليمنية الرئيسية) ، وهو فريد جدًا بالنسبة للعروض الفردية ، ويخلق ظلالًا جميلة مع آلات أخرى مثل الجيتار.

مع صفاته الفريدة من نوعها على طول الطريق ، يتم إدارة راديو اليمن من قبل كل من أبو طالب والحجري اللذين يتشاركان المسؤوليات الفنية والتنظيمية للفرقة. كما يشرح الحجري ، فهو وراء اختيار العديد من عناصر الذخيرة التي تضيف إليها بوطالب صوتها الفني المهم ، وتتصدرها بوعي أفضل بالأماكن التي يمكن أن تؤدي فيها إذاعة اليمن.

يطلعني الحجري باختصار على ذخيرة الفرقة ، بدءًا من الإشارة إلى أربعة ألوان رئيسية للموسيقى اليمنية ، والتي تؤديها إذاعة اليمن: "أولها غناء وموسيقى سنان (المرتبطة بالعاصمة اليمنية) ، وهي أقدم تقليد غنائي في اليمن. البلد وشبه الموشح. والموسيقى الحضرمية الأخرى: بها الكثير من الأنماط الإيقاعية المتأثرة بتلك الموجودة في إفريقيا والهند ، وهي قريبة من موسيقى الخليج العربي. موسيقى لحجي مبهجة للغاية في إيقاعاتها وألحانها بينما الموسيقى العدنية ربما تكون الأقرب إلى قلوب المصريين لأنها استوعبت الكثير من التراث الموسيقي المصري وكذلك الهندي: ثقافة منفتحة للغاية ".

Faisel Alawy

من بين أهم ما يميز ذخيرة راديو اليمن مقطوعات تمثل كل لون من ألوان الموسيقى اليمنية.

 تغني الفرقة يا ذا تبون الحسيني لفيصل علوي (موسيقى لحجي) ،

 والحب والبون (حب وقهوة) لعلي العنسي 

 وباشل حبك معي لأبو بكر سالم (حضرمي) ،

 ومحل ما يا إجباك لمحمد سعد عبد الله (عدني).

 بالإضافة إلى الذخيرة اليمنية ، تضيف الفرقة أيضًا بعض التراث المصري وستكشف قريبًا عن التكوين الأصلي في حفل موسيقي في ساقية الصاوي في 20 أكتوبر.

 

محمد سعد عبد الله (عدني).

"نأمل أن ننمو بينما نحاول جذب جمهور أكبر والمزيد من الوسائط إلى حفلاتنا الموسيقية. نحن نروج للتراث الموسيقي لليمن ، ونظهر أن هذا البلد الجميل لا يتعلق فقط بالحرب والأزمات الإنسانية. لدينا رسالة قيم تمتد لقرون لكي ننشرها ؛ قال الحجري وهو يسجل الاهتمام المتزايد بالفرقة ، "إنه شغفنا ولكنه أيضًا مسؤولية كبيرة".

وبدعم من الحجري ومشروع إذاعة اليمن ، يبدو أن بوطالب قد وجدت دعوتها. بتواضع لاستقبال الجمهور ، تأمل أن تفعل المزيد. "آمل حقًا أن يصل راديو اليمن إلى ما وراء مصر. علينا تعزيز الثقافة اليمنية لثروتها وجمالها. إنها ثقافة قريبة جدًا من قلوب العديد من الدول ، وتتردد صداها جيدًا بالتأكيد في مصر ، "كما تقول ، مضيفة أن" العديد من الأشخاص والهيئات ساعدت إذاعة اليمن على النمو ، بما في ذلك ملوك السعيده للملابس التقليدية التي تقدم أزياء للفرقة. وأحمد محمد سكران ، المدير العام لاستوديو فايب لتطوير الفنون حيث نجري معظم التدريبات. "

مع كل الشغف والعمل الجاد ، من الممكن جدًا لإذاعة اليمن أن تحقق أحلامها قريبًا.

History of Irrigation by William I. Jones

The word "irrigation" refers to a large variety of activities. Many think of irrigation as a storage dam on a majestic river with off-take structures and a network of canals and drains. For others, it is a well equipped with a pump that is linked by water channels to nearby fields, or a tool to lift stream water to a field by hand, or stone weirs to trap seasonal water in a wadi, or bunds, sluices, and pumps to control water levels in a delta. These varieties of irrigation have little in common except that they all involve moving water to a place and time where it benefits crops. They all result in farming that uses more labor and produces more output per hectare than before.

This diversity makes it difficult to analyze irrigation. A study of Pakistan's Indus system, with its immense dams, thousands of kilometers of canals and drains, and millions of farms requires different categories than a study of a tubewell in Bangladesh that permits a handful of farmers to extend cropping in winter months, or a study of a several-hundred hectare Brazilian farm served by well, pump, and central pivot sprinkler system. 

The engineering and agronomy are totally different; so are the underlying elements of social organization.

Irrigation is associated with “high levels of cropping intensity, and organizationally advanced civilizations." Initially, farming depends on rain and takes place where the water regime and other factors (such as temperature and soils) are favorable. Population growth then pushes farming into marginal areas, raising the marginal costs of expanding production. At some point, it pays to invest in irrigation to expand production instead of expanding the land frontier. Initially, irrigation occurs where the unit investment costs to increase production are lowest and then expands to more marginal, more expensive sites. The rising costs of developing ever more marginal sites for irrigation are compensated by the development of cost-saving techniques unique to irrigation. As the economic and agronomic milieu changes, so does the selection of appropriate irrigation structures and system.

Characteristically, irrigation started in the best farming areas. As population density rose, the costs of expanding the farming frontier became prohibitive. The Nile Valley is a good example; the drying of the Sahara desert forced people into the Nile flood plain. The river valleys of China, south India, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Japan, Korea, Mesopotamia, and Sri Lanka offer less dramatic examples. The fertile islands of Indonesia (Bali, Java, and Madura) early reached high population densities; the sea then became a natural barrier to crop expansion. Sometimes, the losers of wars have established agricultural frontiers in their refuge areas to preserve their identity.

In the last 50 years, irrigation development has continued to be concentrated in areas of high population density and high population growth, most notably in parts of China, India, and certain other Asian countries. Where population density was lower but growth was high (and especially where there is enough rainfall for rainfed farming to be practical), agriculture expanded mainly by bringing new lands into cultivation. This was the case in most of subSaharan Africa, Latin America, “except the dry west coast, and pockets of Asia. 

Yet this horizontal expansion was minor compared to the vertical expansion brought about by technological improvements. For the 1962-90 period, 8 percent of the increase in world cereal production is attributable to horizontal expansion and 92 percent to "vertical" increases produced by irrigation and other intensification measures. The same proportion applies for developing countries as a group. Even in the remaining areas with greatest land availability, subSaharan Africa and Latin America, "vertical" expansion accounted for 52 percent and 71 percent respectively of the increase.

The "vertical" intensification, mainly in wheat and rice production, that began in the late 1960s has been called the Green Revolution. This is not the place to recount the history or predict the future of the Green Revolution. Suffice it to say that plant-breeding innovations have gone hand-in-hand with increased use of fertilizers and the expansion of irrigation. New, high-yielding varieties outperform their predecessors over a wide range of conditions, but they outperform them by much more when the plants get nutrients and water where and when and in the amounts they prefer.

By 1970, with world farm prices still high, technological optimism which had risen to the point that development planners sometimes asserted that agriculture could be the leading growth sector had inspired increased agricultural investment. A large share of public agricultural investment, and a significant part of private investment, was in irrigation.

Private investors respond to market forces, while public-sector planners typically share the popular perception that agricultural intensification will take care of itself. World Bank lending to irrigation projects became significant in 1960, rose dramatically from 1973 to a peak in 1978, and has fallen since then. When agricultural prices started to rise and there was pessimism about food supplies, the Bank began to invest heavily in irrigation, a trend that intensified during the Green Revolution period. The continuous and substantial fall in world staple food prices since then has prompted the Bank to lessen its emphasis on irrigation. Whatever the likelihood of this future scenario may be, the stakes for the world's poor are high.

Buddhism and Medicine

I wrote the following in my senior year and submitted it as the final paper for a course taught by a Pomona College professor. She said that this topic was very challenging. I hope it can benefit all sentient beings. 

 Buddhism and Medicine: Karmic Solutions and Spiritual Cultivation for the Body

This paper will first introduce the images and rituals associated with the worshiping two healing bodhisattvas, explicating the relationship between Buddhist institutions, rituals, and myths. Then the paper will introduce Vimalakirti’s use of healing sickness as a metaphor for enlightenment. This connection between the moral and spiritual with the physical wellbeing is extended in Ming Dynasty medical practices. In order to show Buddhism’s moralizing influence on medicine, this paper will also look at the effect of Buddhist medicine in lay and monastic people of the Ming Dynasty. This paper will also argue that medicine is a tradition inseparable from religion. Religion continues to mark its presence in medical diagnoses in modern times.

 

Section 1

Buddhism is a constantly evolving tradition and adapts to different cultures when it transmits to different places. Medicine is one aspect that changed and expanded alongside the Buddhist tradition. An ascetic religious movement in India generated the earliest Indian medical knowledge.  A portion of this movement became known as Buddhism and established the medical knowledge of early Buddhist monasteries. A systemic classification of food led rise to the similar classification of medicine in the Buddhist tradition. Buddhist medical knowledge gradually included rules pertaining to drugs and treatments for specific ailments. Medical knowledge was a regular component of Buddhist scriptures and became part of the standard curriculum in monastic universities. When Buddhism began to spread to other parts of Asia, integral parts of the religious system such as medical institutions and practices also spread. The system of medicine was transmitted nearly in its original form to other parts of Asia through the activity of Buddhist missionaries and pilgrims. Buddhist medicine also influenced other religions in the Indian subcontinent.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the healing of the body permitted the calming of the mind and the cultivation of awakening. The obligation to heal the sick was stipulated in disciplinary codes in the Mahavagga of the Vinaya Pitaka chapters. The followers of the bodhisattva path were said to be able to heal both spiritual and physical afflictions. The monk's role as a healer initially served his fellow bhikkus. According to a Mahavagga story, the Buddha requested monks to take care of a certain sick monk. He declared, “You, O bhikkus, have neither a mother nor a father who could nurse you. If, O bhikkus, you do not nurse one another, who, then, will nurse you? Whoever, O bhikkus, would nurse me, he should nurse the sick.” The new Mahayana movement democratized the monastics practice of medicine. The followers of the Bodhisattva path practiced the healing of both spiritual and physical afflictions through magical utterances and their rituals, as well as transmitted techniques of empirico-rational ayurvedic medicine. This tradition produced monk-healers and Buddhist monastic hospices and infirmaries.

The terms bhaisajya-raja and bhaisajya-samudgata in earlier Mahayana works became the evocative names the two spiritual-healing Bodhisattvas. According to the traditions of Suramgama-Sutra, the two Bodhisattvas were originally accomplished physicians. Through life after life of study and practice of healing abilities, they also cultivated spiritually and achieved a great awakening. The Buddha certified their achievements and gave them initiation names noting their special healing abilities. The Buddha specifically singled out them to perform the principal function of propounding the Buddhist doctrine.

The idea of spiritual healing and the practice of curing by worshiping a deity were assimilated and adapted from indigenous medical ideas current in northwestern India, Central Asia, and China. Buddhist sutras are known for its material power. Buddhists believe that they would be protected from sinking into the dreadful paths of existence in the form of animals or hungry ghosts if they hear the names of the Bodhisattvas. When Sakyamuni revealed the bhaisajya-guru sutra, it deeply affected several fierce spirit-beings (yaksas) that caused diseases. The yaksas took refuge in the Three Jewels and vowed to aid all sentient beings who circulate the sutra. They recommended a simple ritual for invoking the Buddha of Healing in order to cure disease.

In the case of a difficult childbirth, if the mother calls out the Thathagata, her pain will be removed and the child will be born without defect. Another Sanskrit Buddhist text The Sutra of Golden Light contains medical information in the form of chants. The goddess of speech Sarasvati explains a therapeutic method in which bathing should be attended by spells, medicines, and incantations. There were also myths of a type of medicine that whoever sees this medicine will be cured of all diseases. 

Buddhists use images as tools for the invocation of the deity in meditation, prayer, and ritual worship. Specifically, images are important for worshiping and invocating the Buddha of Healing. For the healing effect, the ill person must not only mentally or physically construct an image: the image must have the “spirit-force of the Buddha and merge with the viewer. When one’s own body becomes the Tathagata’s body or merges one’s mind with the Divine Mind, the most profound healing can take place.” Entire healing bodhisattva cults were devoted to bhaisajya-guru and the iconography of the deity was established. The cult of the healing Buddhas and bodhisattvas reached its height of popularity in China. Scholars speculate that aesthetic experience intensifies spiritual experience and uplifts the consciousness to aid in the healing process. 

Buddhist images emphasize the depiction of light or flames emanating from the form of the Buddha. Special texts of the Buddha of Healing describe that his body can radiate a lapis lazuli effulgence. The Buddha told the bodhisattva Maitreya in a Chinese sutra, 

“The Bodhisattva of Supreme Healer is sixteen yojanas tall. He is purple-gold in hue, and his body emits a radiance like the golden color of the rose-apple and sandalwood tree. Within this circle of light [his radiant aura], there are 16 millions of manifestation Buddhas, all having a standard height of eight fee, seated in the posture of meditation upon jeweled lotus blossoms.” 

In Hsuan-tsang’s version of the bhaisajya-guru sutra, in the section of vows, the Buddha is described by his name as the “Master of Healing, the Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata.” The meditation text on the two Bodhisattvas of Healing emphasizes the light that emanates dramatically from deities.  

The radiance’s color, lapis lazuli, or purple-blue, is another important aspect of deity worship among the Buddhists who wish for health. People of the ancient world regarded the rare, semi-translucent stone-gem lapis lazuli as a potent metal with curative strengths. The emphasis of it found in the bhaisajya-guru sutra, gives the gem a special status in Buddhist spiritual healing. In the Lotus Sutra, The teacher of the dharma is compared to the purity of a lapis lazuli mirror, reflecting all images without distortion. The standard depiction of many Buddha-images’ begging bowls is carved from lapis lazuli. Inside holds the Divine nectar of enlightenment (amrta), which further links the gem with healing powers.

The famous Vimalakirti Sutra also strengthens the connection between the bodhisattva ideal and the healer. Lay Buddhist Vimalakirti also used his own bodily illness to expound the Dharma to thousands of people who went to see him. He uses illness as a metaphor for explaining general suffering in the human realm. “[This body] suffers, it is tormented, a meeting place of manifold ills… This body is plague-ridden, beset by a hundred and one ills and anxieties.” Later in the sutra, Vimalakirti explains to Manjusri that illness arises from attachment to ego.

A bodhisattva who is ill should think to himself: "Now these illnesses of mine all spring from the deluded thoughts, the upside-down thinking and various earthly desires of my past existence. They have no real existence, so who is it who suffers illness? Why? The four major elements come together, and therefore we apply a makeshift name, calling the thing a body... But the four major elements have no master, and the body has no 'I' or ego. And these illnesses too all arise from attachment to ego." 

While the ailing bodhisattva has the power to cut off pain or pleasure, yet according Vimalakirti, “he allows himself to feel such sensations.”  The bodhisattva never seeks for external extinction of pain, which parallels his or her act to delay enlightenment for guiding all sentient beings.  Vimalakirti notes the danger of excessively delivering healing powers based on one’s own experiences. The ailing Bodhisattva that controlled his mind might say, "I have regulated and controlled myself, and now I must regulate and control other living beings!" Vimalakirti argues that “he should simply rid them of their illnesses and not deprive them of anything, merely teaching and guiding them so they can cut off the source of illness.” Vimalakirti also uses illness to explain the Buddhist concept of expedient means (upaya). 

“Though the bodhisattva's body may be ailing, he should constantly abide in the realm of birth and death, bringing benefits to all living beings and never giving in to weariness or revulsion. This is called expedient means. He should further view the body and realize that the body is never rid of illness, that illness is never rid of the body, and that this body and this illness are neither prior nor posterior to one another.”

The Vimalakirti Sutra shows that healing metaphor of the bodhisattva runs deep in Mahayana Buddhism in terms of bodhisattva’s role in helping others achieve enlightenment and the method of expedient means. 

Similar to Vimalakirti’s teachings, an illness can serve as a major event that propels one onwards towards higher spiritual attainment in the case of the Buddha of Healing as well. Buddhists explain that healings are granted to the ill person’s sincere act of faith in the Buddha of Healing. When hearing the Buddha of Healing’s name, from invoking his spiritual force through calling out his name and from offering ritual worship, “insight arises and causes the person to reform the patterns of his deeds, words, and thoughts.” The healed person thus arises of the aspiration to attain enlightenment (bodhicitta). 

The Buddha is often referred to in Buddhist scriptures as the Great Physician and his teachings or Dharma are often compared to a prescription which if followed will cure illness and suffering. The traditions of the Buddhist healing deities is connected with teaching the Law in the Lotus Sutra, a key text that dates to the first century B.C.E. The highest forces of the invisible realms respond to the teacher of the law, with unlimited protection, strength, and comfort. The “Teacher of the Law” is directed towards the Bodhisattva King of Healing, and healing is thus closely related with the teaching of Divine principles. The teacher is the vessel that conveys the Law to those who are “ill” and the Law heals.

 

Section 2

According to the Avatamsaka Sutra, those who have created negative karma by killing will suffer two consequences: “frequently suffering from illness” and “having a shorter life.” Buddhist teachings, especially those found in East Asia, indicate that negative mental emotions “such as greed, anger, and ignorance” exacerbate or even cause physical illnesses. The purification of these emotions can in turn lead to healing. Negative mental afflictions were interpreted in terms of behaviors such as killing, stealing, improper sexual activity, drinking. Karmic retribution of these actions includes illness and disease. Descriptions of the mental root of illness also can be found in a late Ming text entitled “Chanting for Ill Monastics” (Bingseng tichang). Buddhist explanations for various sorts of illnesses tended to converge. While people’s bodies may seem to be either strong or weak, ultimately, however, there is no inherent reality to anyone’s body—all bodies are “empty.” Therefore, “there is neither illness nor cure; there is no cure because there is no illness. Illness does not reside in the head; illness does not reside in the stomach; illness does not reside in the ear; illness does not reside in the eye; illness does not reside in the hand; illness does not reside in the foot. As long as one realizes that everything is originally empty, then there is nothing to be attached.” The solution also was also simple: “Chanting for Ill Monastics” claims that the Medicine Buddha (Bhaisajya-guru) responds to the entreaties of everyone. He “does not need to feel the pulse, nor ask about symptoms. He simply provides a dose of coolness, and [a method by which] all troubles may be resolved through concentrated cultivation (dhyāna and samadhi).” Given this view of illness, monks and nuns were often encouraged to regard illness as part of their religious practice. 

Monastics’ attitude toward Buddhism also spread to the lay community and acted as an effective method for preaching.  Buddhist temples and Buddhist monk-doctors in the Ming Dynasty offered medicinal help, often free of charge. Buddhist medicine also placed a much greater emphasis on the mental and karmic origins of illness than other medicine traditions in China at the time. Many Ming women specifically believed that illness could be relieved if not cured by activities that worship the Buddha, which includes “repeating the name of the Buddha, chanting sutras, carrying out rituals of confession, making donations, following a vegetarian diet, abstaining from killing animals and releasing living creatures from captivity.” Scholar Chen Yu-nü argues that Ming Dynasty women from all levels of society found in Buddhist notions of the karmic sources of illness a plausible explanation for their suffering. Ming Dynasty Buddhist teacher Yunqi Zhuhong also argued that “improper thinking [is the root of] illness,” and advocated chanting the name of the Buddha for healing purposes: “Chanting the name of the Buddha is [the best] medicine; chronic illnesses cannot be cured by pills and doses. This view of illness offered a viable explanation and helped alleviate the distress of people who suffer from incurable illnesses. As a result, wealthy and elite women who suffered from serious diseases sought alternative methods of secret prescriptions or religious prayer. While some women became Buddhists, others became nuns in order to cure herself or her family members of diseases.

Scholars have noted that illness ironically became one of the few ways in which women enjoy a relief from social pressures. Buddhist medical traditions also offered women the opportunity to exercise agency through actively self-treatment in the form of religious practices. While mainstream “rationalist” medicine treatments shunned upon Buddhist methods, for both monastic and lay women, Buddhist medicine often offered an important alternative. For example, orthodox literati doctors refer to wandering monk-doctors who were not affiliated with any particular temple and would be willing to treat a woman in her home as “worthless doctors.” Yet in face of social and familial pressures, Ming Dynasty women had fewer means by which they could achieve a measure of psychological relief than men. Buddhists who preached medical services successfully cultivated Buddhists who practiced the aforementioned religious practices to purify the mind. While this may not cure the illness it could make the suffering bearable. Many Buddhist practitioners still believe that illness is a result of past deeds (karmāvarana) and that illness can serve to strengthen one’s religious practice to this day. Some devout believers may fail to seek medical treatment and exacerbate a minor illness.

الأزمة الزراعية والبيئية المستمرة في اليمن

 خلال السبعينيات ، مولت المساعدات الخارجية زيادة كبيرة في عدد وحجم مضخات المياه. بدأ اليمنيون في استبدال مصادر الغذاء المحلية ببدائل مستوردة أرخص ، مما حفز التحول من زراعة المواد الغذائية الأساسية إلى محاصيل نقدية أكثر ربحًا. كانت هذه المشاريع مفيدة في تطوير اقتصاد زراعي كثيف استهلاك المياه ساهم في أزمة المياه في اليمن.

تعتمد اليمن الآن على الواردات في 90 في المائة من المواد الغذائية الأساسية. تم التقاط مدى تدهور البنية التحتية اليمنية بشكل لافت للنظر في صور الفيضانات المدمرة في صيف عام 2020 ، والتي تفاقمت بسبب انهيار العديد من السدود. على الرغم من نظام الري المعترف به تاريخيًا في البلاد ، لم يتمكن اليمنيون من التقاط الأمطار الثمينة وكان بإمكانهم فقط التحسر على الدمار الناجم عن وفرته.

(-Author: Asher Orkaby for MERIP.org)

في عام 1998 ، كان عبد الرحمن الإرياني عامل إغاثة شابًا محليًا يشرح الوضع المائي اليائس في تعز ، جنوب العاصمة صنعاء. كانت المياه شحيحة لدرجة أن بعض الأسر كانت تحصل عليها مرة واحدة كل ستة أسابيع.

في عام 2009 ، أصبح الإرياني الآن وزير المياه والبيئة في الحكومة اليمنية ، ولا يزال سكان تعز ينتظرون ستة أسابيع لتدفق المياه من الصنبور ، وفي صنعاء ، تحول الوضع من سيء إلى كارثة تلوح في الأفق.

يقول الإرياني: "نحن في أزمة. وهذا متوقع ... نحن نستخدم ما يقرب من 100 في المائة أكثر من المياه المتجددة السنوية المتوفرة في صنعاء".

شاحنة صهريج حسن الجبوري في مضخة على جانب الطريق على طول أحد الشوارع الرئيسية في صنعاء. يقضي الجبوري وزملاؤه السائقون أيامهم في بيع المياه للفنادق والمطاعم والمنازل الخاصة.

يقول إن الرحلة النموذجية تكلف 1000 ريال ، أو حوالي 5 دولارات. إذا اضطر إلى القيادة لمسافات طويلة ، فقد تكلف أكثر قليلاً.

تعد أزمة المياه في اليمن ، جزئيًا ، نتيجة حتمية للتزايد السريع في عدد السكان ، ومحدودية هطول الأمطار ، ومحدودية الموارد المائية.

ظهرت مجموعات دولية مثل البنك الدولي وصندوق النقد الدولي مع مجموعة من الحوافز لحمل المزارعين على حفر الآبار واستخدام طبقات المياه الجوفية بدلاً من الطريقة القديمة لالتقاط مياه الأمطار.

أنور السهولي هو خبير مياه في مؤسسة التنمية الألمانية ، وهي لاعب رئيسي في جهود إصلاح المياه في اليمن. ويقول إن أكثر من مليون فدان من الأراضي الزراعية التي كانت تُروى بمياه الأمطار تُروى الآن بالمياه الجوفية ، باستخدام طرق غير فعالة تفقد كميات هائلة من المياه للتبخر والتسرب.

يقول: "علينا عكس العملية الآن ، وتعويد الناس على تجميع مياه الأمطار. علينا أن نشجع الحصاد من الفيضانات ، من كل قطرة نحصل عليها ، ووقف حفر أي آبار أخرى".

(Source: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120619082)

يتسبب نقص الوقود في عام 2019 في تعريض حوالي 230 ألف هكتار من الأراضي الزراعية للخطر ، لا سيما في المناطق الشمالية والغربية من تهامة وصعدة وحجة وإب وتعز والمحويت وأجزاء من محافظات الجوف.

يقول علي عبد الغني المقتري ، باحث زراعي في محافظة تهامة ، إن محاصيل الحبوب في العديد من المناطق قد دمرت لأن المزارعين غير قادرين على تأمين الري الكافي.

وبحسب غيلان ، فقد أدى نقص المياه في بعض حقول الطماطم إلى القضاء على المحاصيل بالكامل ، مع امتداد الضرر أيضًا إلى جذور النباتات.

يمكن رؤية آثار أزمة الوقود بسهولة في الأسواق المحلية حيث ارتفعت أسعار المحاصيل وكان هناك انخفاض غير مسبوق في القوة الشرائية بين السكان المحليين.

(Source: https://www.scidev.net/global/news/yemen-fuel-crisis-takes-heavy-toll-on-agriculture/)

1. وقد أدت المحنة إلى انخفاض الأمن الغذائي بسبب فقدان سبل العيش ، وفي المناطق النائية ، الغذاء من أجل الكفاف.
2. تشمل الدوافع الرئيسية المرتبطة بالنزاع ما يلي: الهجمات المباشرة على المزارع والبنية التحتية الزراعية ، والحرب الاقتصادية واقتصاد الحرب ، مما يحد من الوصول إلى المياه ، والمدخلات الزراعية والأسواق ، وانهيار الحكم.
3. إن الآفاق الفورية قاتمة في مواجهة الجراد والفيضانات والأضرار المتراكمة وفقدان المساعدات الإنسانية المرتبط بـ COVID-19.
4. عندما يسمح الوضع الأمني ، يجب أن تضمن برامج الإنعاش الزراعي أنها مستدامة بيئيًا ، وتوفر زيادة الإنتاجية والأمن الغذائي وسبل العيش الآمنة.

مواقع رصد الجراد وتدخلات المكافحة 2014-2020. تم الحصول على البيانات من منصة Locust Hub ، منظمة الأغذية والزراعة.

https://www.scidev.net/global/news/yemen-fuel-crisis-takes-heavy-toll-on-agriculture/

.مصادر الاستيراد اليمنية: الإمارات والصين هما الشريكان التجاريان الرئيسيان

بعض الأغاني تخليدا لذكرى مقاومة الاستبداد

 

1. 

 المشي على جليد “شيشاهاي”

2. 

 شارع سلامة

رجل يرقد في شارع سلامة

سقط طقم الأسنان على جانب الطريق مبتسما

عندما تأتي إليه

يختلف عما تعتقده

لن يقبلك كما كان من قبل

ستشعر أن شيئًا ما قادم إليك

إنها ليست خسارة ، إنها فقط حزينة

صديقي العزيز ، عندما تمشي في شارع بينغ آن

قال لي أخي:

إذا شعرت بالحزن ، فانتقل إلى

شارع سلامة

 إذا شعرت بالضياع

لا تذهب إلى

شارع سلامة

3. 

 السيدة وو

بعد تخرج ملكة جمال وو

العمل كبنك لأكثر من عشر سنوات

مؤخرا كان أعزب

اذهب إلى Nathan Road بنفسك في يوم الإضراب

عند الغسق

الطرق كلها شباب يرتدون قمصانًا سوداء.

أطلقت تسيم شا تسوي ومناطق أخرى بالفعل الغاز المسيل للدموع

مشاهدة مباشرة على طول الطريق

استمع إلى الناس المخيفين في الشوارع يتحدثون عن النشر

من الصعب تحمل كل من يتحدث عن الذهاب إلى مركز شرطة آخر

الآنسة وو تجلس تحت إشارات المرور وتأكل سيجارة

في اللحظة التي جلست فيها

لديها تنهد لا يوصف

أخيرًا ، هرعت شركة Riot للخروج

عندما ركضت الآنسة وو بعنف

ركض أسرع من أي شخص آخر

قرر أنه سيغادر في المستقبل

4.

 مونولوج من الحالم

5.

الطيور البحرية

6. 

سمال داغ

سمال داغ موطني الفقير بحيرة سلكار

ماذا ستكون أيامي كجندي

جئت إلى ذهني مرارا وتكرارا

تربيتي الفقيرة حيث تم قطع الحبل السري وغسله

نحن على الاقدام وليس على الخيول

نحن أثقل من المشاة

المشي لمدة 15 يومًا

وصلنا إلى مدينة أومبي

أنا عمري مثل الهريس المزدوج * ، سنتي ؛ ماشية**

ذهبت بعيدا مع جر القدر

سامال داغ ، وطني المسكين قد ترك ورائه

من المرعى الضائع نحن قطيع *

نحن على الاقدام وليس على الخيول

نحن أثقل من المشاة

المشي لمدة 15 يومًا

وصلنا إلى مدينة أومبي

كان لدي والدين

كانوا كبار السن

من كتب هذه الاغنية

كان رثاء 16 (عمر)

7. 

عد الناس كلعب

جاء الولد المسكين إلى الشارع يو

ملقى على الأرض وعد الناس للعب

الولد الفقير ليس لديه ما يفعله طوال اليوم

ملقى على الأرض وعد الناس للعب

واحد إثنان ثلاثة أربعة

واحد اثنان ثلاثة اربعة خمسة ستة سبعة ثمانية

تسعون أحد عشر واثني عشر

الساعة 13

عد وعد ، لقد ذهبت

عدت الشخص ، قاطعت

سأغني أغنية بعد ذهابي

جئت إلى هذه النغمة عندما قاطعت

إنها هذه اللحن

لا يزال هذا اللحن

إنها هذه اللحن

لا يزال هذا اللحن

أغني وأغني ، غنيت حتى يحل الظلام

أغني وأغني ، غنيت حتى الفجر

غني وغني ، غنيت لمنزلك

غني وغني وغني لك في باب منزلي

لا يزال هذا اللحن

الغناء فوق السماء يو

إنها هذه اللحن

غنى يو الشارع

لا يزال هذا اللحن

الغناء فوق السماء يو

إنها هذه اللحن

غنى يو الشارع

هاي هاي هاي هاي

جاء الولد الفقير إلى الشارع

ملقى على الأرض وعد الناس للعب

اجلس هنا وغني والعب

8. 

مجهول

9. 

كيف لا يصنع الفولاذ

ملخص الأحداث المتعلقة في اليمن 2021

 

23 يونيو: اندلاع إطلاق نار في مدينة عدن وسط مجموعات مجهولة. اشتعلت النيران في بعض المباني.

فيديوهات أخرى

https://twitter.com/i/status/1408154630647914500

يشرح بيثان مكيرنان ، مراسل صحيفة الغارديان في الشرق الأوسط ، لماذا يمكن أن يؤدي هجوم الحوثيين الجديد إلى المزيد من البؤس لملايين المدنيين المحاصرين في مرمى النيران.

حلول الطاقة والمولدات

شرح نظام البطاريات المستخدم في المكلا من جميع جوانبه ومزاياه وعيوبه ومقارنته بالمولدات الكهربائية

البنك الدولي يوافق على منح 20 مليون دولار لدعم إطلاق التطعيمات ضد كوفيد -19 في اليمن

الاتصال: ابراهيم

ealharazi@worldbank.org

واشنطن ، 17 يونيو / حزيران 2021 -

 وافق البنك الدولي اليوم على حزمة منحة بقيمة 20 مليون دولار أمريكي. تتكون هذه الحزمة من 9 ملايين دولار أمريكي من المؤسسة الدولية للتنمية (IDA) ، و 7.76 مليون دولار أمريكي من مكتب الشؤون الخارجية والكومنولث والتنمية في المملكة المتحدة (FCDO) ، و 3.25 مليون دولار أمريكي من صندوق التأهب والاستجابة للطوارئ الصحية (HEPR). 

Queering Paternity in Academia and Art

The book Jinnealogy: Time, Islam, and Ecological Thought in the Medieval Ruins of Delhi engages with important aspects of intercultural relations, both horizontally and vertically. The significant sites of South Asia are visited through ethnographies. Ruins such as Firoz Shah Kotla tell us of “Islam as an ethical inheritance and not a religious identity, the inheritance of a premodern past shared by Muslims and non-Muslims.” Yet inheritance also involves kinship, which is also shaped by religious identity and the more unsavory aspects of humanity, such as slavery.

Photo from "Story at every corner"

https://storyateverycorner.com/feroz-shah-kotla/

Sometimes the textual evidence in the book is a bit scant, which leads to strenuous conclusions, such as the uncritical citation of the work of Dr. Asma Barlas (2002). Barlas claimed that the Qur'an is egalitarian and anti-patriarchal. Dr. Taneja also entertains this notion by quoting the parts where Barlas notes that the Prophet Muhammad was not the father to any men but a daughter. The life of the Prophet happened as such, and some Muslims use the narratives to productively help them understand the text. I also took accepted the genealogy as suitably prescriptive in modern times for many years, until I read David S. Powers' book Muḥammad Is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Making of the Last Prophet. In the book, Powers showed that the Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd, was disowned. Zayd's recorded response to Muhammad's renunciation that he is not his son was affirmative: 

"I am Zayd bin Haritha زَيْد ٱبْن حَارِثَة‎," 

Haritha being his birth father's name. 

Readers also learn in Powers' book that Zayd was a former slave. It is interesting that the question of paternity continue to haunt the lives of ex-slaves even to this day. (If Zayd was born during Malcom X's time, perhaps he would have renamed himself as Zayd X.) And perhaps his response to the renunciation would have been different if his circumstances were different. But Zayd still had several progeny from his marriages with many wives. So the patriarchal genealogy continues, despite the fact that Zayd chose to recover his name before enslavement after his adopted father renounced their relationship. If I did not read Powers' book, I would continue to grapple with Barlas' argument and the baffling extent to which patriarchal relations exist throughout the Muslim world. Some men are choosing to use their kunya (Abu Leila, for example) with their daughters' names as a progressive move now. Yet many daughters of the Middle East continue to be identified within their patriline, as a person of a Muslim background noted in her essay for Sumou mag. (Read it here)

Mneera writes: "Last year, I decided to get my maternal lineage tattooed on my right arm—and through that, I will carry with me four generations of strong women who have given life to that tree but whose names, voices, and histories have been brushed away and made invisible. But I see you, now everyone sees you, and you will never be forgotten."

It is also interesting that in South Asia where caste is usually identifiable with one's last name, the practice of using one's father's name as a last name can replace the caste hierarchy of last names with a gendered hierarchy. This is usually done by South Asian Muslims who converted in the past two hundred years. In conclusion, I am slightly disappointed with the sweeping idealizations in this otherwise rich book by Dr. Taneja. If we are to inherit the rich past, it must be done with caution since much of the past is entangled with relations of slavery.

My own biological father practically stopped speaking to me some years ago when I did not feel comfortable calling him by his title on WeChat. A few years later, many Uyghur and Kazakh families started fracturing and disappearing, all the while performing their loyalty to the party on WeChat for self-survival. The little contact people had with their families continued to be hosted on this platform that otherwise censors most forms of minority expression. I was first astonished when I saw Uyghur people continue to use the app when they are overseas, fully aware that their activities are being watched by the genocidal state. Now, perhaps their behaviors makes more sense in the context of American slavery and its afterlife. 

My biological mother, also in a series of startling moves, became employed by a company run by a Chinese man from Inner Mongolia. She practically became a cultural interpreter among the diverse employees, in addition to being the scientist. A white co-worker there asked her what his tattoo meant. It was the Japanese kanji character for Buddha, yet it looked like a Chinese character.

My mom did not know this character and later asked me. After I told her, she told him. He chuckled and said he thought it meant "father." And then in a characteristically American fashion, he said, Buddha is a father symbol of the east, so it is not that far off. If I was there, I would promptly correct him according to Buddhist principles which I have studied for many years. Yet on the other hand, it would be quite embarrassing since he cannot easily undo this etymological mistake on his body. 

Today, during eclipse season, I reminisce how many contemporary Chinese intellectuals claim that such and such Japanese or Korean practice came from China when they are visiting such places. In such a claim of lineage, Chinese intellectual tourists perhaps seek to recover paternity or the comfort of "family" standard. I do not know how many times tour guides faced the decision with asserting their individuality or accommodating such exclamations as benign. The novelist Changrae Lee delves into such uneasy patterns in many of his works that explore kinship and adoption.

I enjoy playing the qanun for disrupting such interactions and assumptions as well. While one could argue that the qanun originated from China, which has a long civilization and an instrumental relative called the guqin, today the social meaning of the music of the guqin largely diverges from the social meaning of the music of the qanun. Furthermore, after the Cultural Revolution, Chinese teachers of those times have been largely challenged by the generation that followed them in violent as well as non-violent forms. (For example: My mother told me that she wrote an essay denouncing one of her female teachers in 2nd grade.) Thus, the Confucian lineage of respecting teachers as father-mother figures has been challenged and negotiated since; just like the way slaves have been groomed to call their owners "Mother" and "Father" in the past and in the present.

BBC News: Maids for Sale

I remember a Saudi artist Abdullah who visited the Maghreb in recent years and surveyed the works of people there. His style focuses on the indigenous flavor of Saudi society, which might appear to some as orientalist since modern machinery is mostly absent from his works. In an interview on Instagram live during quarantine, he appreciated the artists, the galleries, and their creativity. Yet he also expressed that he was unsettled and upset that many people there drank alcohol to his interlocutor, who presumably would share his discomfort. I wondered if this sort of exclamation is parallel to the cultural paternity that Chinese tourists express when they visit Japan and Korea. 

Perhaps Africana Studies and Black studies face a similar issue today. If we are to claim a lineage from Africa while also accommodating the various forms of kinship and expressions of sexualities that exists in America today as well as in the past of Africa, then perhaps Black studies is the answer. But if there is an urge to preserve W. E. B. DuBois as the founding father of such studies, then Africana Studies perhaps is still the way to go.