With the serialization of The Malady of Islam taking up all weekdays (& will do for another couple of weeks), I’ll use Saturday’s post to list other items/events of interest. 1) A Review of Breathturn into Timestead in The Arts Fuse: Fuse Poetry Review: “Breathturn into Timestead” — A Magnificent Guide to the Enigmatic Poetry of Paul Celan Feb 25 2015 Once you have wrestled with Paul Celan, not against but … Read more Celan, Peyrafitte, Howe, Meyer.
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb translated from the French by Pierre Joris and Charlotte Mandell (9th installment) P A R T III Fundamentalism Against the West 19 Islam never had a Dante who summoned the intellectual audacity to make his writing address political events as they appeared in the reality of history. I dream of this genius that Islam did not create: he would have constituted the opposite … Read more Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Malady of Islam (9)
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb translated from the French by Pierre Joris and Charlotte Mandell (8th installment) P A R T II A Genealogy of Fundamentalism 17 In 750 the Abbasids unseated the Umayyads by trying to charge the function of the caliph with sacred character through the spiritual legitimacy conferred by belonging to the “people of the house.” This lineage had been forged by a descent which … Read more Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Malady of Islam (8)
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb translated from the French by Pierre Joris and Charlotte Mandell (7th installment) P A R T II A Genealogy of Fundamentalism 14 In a text published a few months before her death, Simone Weil warned with great lucidity that “an Americanization of Europe would certainly prepare an Americanization of the whole earth.” [1] She also foresaw the role America would play in the advent … Read more Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Malady of Islam (7)
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb translated from the French by Pierre Joris and Charlotte Mandell (6th installment) P A R T II A Genealogy of Fundamentalism 12 The movement that tried to take power in the lifetime of Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab came to nothing. The troops of the viceroy of Egypt’s, Mohammed ‘Ali (1769-1848), managed to chase the Wahhabites from the Hejaz after a violent campaign. (Jacques Berque … Read more Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Malady of Islam (6)
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb translated from the French by Pierre Joris and Charlotte Mandell (5th installment) P A R T II A Genealogy of Fundamentalism 9 To throw light on the genesis of Saudi Arabia and the formation of its ideology, it is necessary to go far back in the course of history. Before returning to the eighteenth century, one has to go as far back as … Read more Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Malady of Islam (5)
On a recent trip to Ramallah, we went to pay homage at Mahmood Darwish’s grave. It is no doubt the most amazing poet’s grave (plus museum) I’ve visited — fascinating to see the existence of Palestine defined & buttressed by a poet’s tomb. Some fifty young high school girls were visiting at the same time — cheerful, chattering, awe-struck yet playful. The museum was breathtaking — from the recreation of Darwish’s … Read more A Visit to Mahmoud Darwish’s Grave
ANTI-SEMITISM is on the rise. All over Europe it is raising its ugly head. Jews are in danger everywhere. They must make haste and come home to Israel before it is too late. True? Untrue? Nonsense. PRACTICALLY ALL the alarming incidents which have taken place in Europe recently – especially in Paris and Copenhagen – in which Jews were killed or attacked – had nothing to do with … Read more Uri Avnery: Anti-What?
Coming Monday the serialization of Abdelwabab Meddeb’s The Malady of Islam will continue. Meanwhile, a station break: Mawqif Título: Mawqif Antólogo: Pierre Joris Contenido: Poesía luxemburguesa Colección: Temblor de cielo Idioma: Español Editorial: La Otra y Instituto de Cultura de Durango, Conaculta Páginas: 288 Tamaño: 14 x 21 cm. Tipo de Encuadernación: Rústico Año: 2013 Precio: Moneda nacional 250 pesos, en el extranjero 25 dls. I SBN: 978-607-8167-37-1 Sinopsis … Read more Just out from La Otra: Mawqif by PJ + Video
The Malady of Islam by Abdelwahab Meddeb translated from the French by Pierre Joris and Charlotte Mandell (4th installment) 7. We have to acknowledge the flourishing of Islamic Fundamentalism and the global dimension it assumed. The event to which we were witnesses on September 11 2001 was made possible only by the mutation the Western model has gone through: it has gone from European to American. It is clear now … Read more Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Malady of Islam (4)