With the virtual flood of book digitalization quite a few obscure books are now available online either at archive.org or through Google. I recently came across a gem: a translation of a high school Arabic text used in Aden by the British at the start of the 20th century. The title page was shown in a previous post. The full text can be downloaded as a pdf here. The excerpt above offers some sound political advice, relevant even to leaders today.
Islamic terrorism has not posed as strong a threat as many feared, in part because of the failure of most Muslims to join the movement. Above, a veiled Muslim woman was among those protesting against the deadly attacks that took place in Mumbai in 2008;
photo by Amit Dave, Reuters
By Charles Kurzman, The Chronicle Review, July 31, 2011
Last month, a few hours after a bomb exploded in downtown Oslo, I got a call from a journalist seeking comment. Why did Al Qaeda attack Norway? Why not a European country with a larger Muslim community, or a significant military presence in Muslim societies? I said I didn’t know.
A second media inquiry soon followed: Given NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the number of disaffected Muslims in Europe, why don’t we see more attacks like the one in Norway? This question was more up my alley. I recently published a book asking why Islamic terrorism has been rarer than many of us feared after 9/11. Before answering, I checked the news. Norwegian officials were reporting that the attacker was not Muslim. I was no longer an authority on the incident.
A third reporter called the next morning: Has the focus on Islamic terrorism distracted us from the threat of non-Islamic extremism?
Continue reading Where Are All the Islamic Terrorists?
Exactly 90 years ago a four-volume set of encyclopedia-like human interest books was published as The Human Interest Library: Visualized Knowledge by Midland Press in Chicago. In a previous post I commented on its thoroughly “Orientalist” flavor. The section on Egypt covers mainly the archaeological history with only a few brief comments on the then contemporary state of Egypt. One of the great mysteries over the years has been an explanation for how the massive pyramids were built. Here is a novel idea, if a picture is worth a thousand scholarly words: ants.
Detail from the title page of MS Glaser 20, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Given the current unrest and economic turmoil in Yemen, little thought is being given to Yemen’s vast cultural heritage. But there is hope, at least for preservation of manuscripts. The German Archaeological Institute in Sanaa has recently released a report in English and Arabic entitled Preserving Yemens’ Cultural Heritage: The Yemen Manuscript Digitization Project and written by Sabine Schmidtke and Jan Thiele. This is available for reading online or as a pdf download.
The American man of letters Bayard Taylor (1825-1878) was one of many travelers to the Near East of his time. His tour in 1853 resulted in a travel account above the common lot of Holy Land roller overs. Of particular interest is his frank account of a Turkish bath in Damascus.
“The Bath is the ‘peculiar institution’ of the East. Coffee has become colonized in France and America; the Pipe is a cosmopolite, and his blue, joyous breath congeals under the Arctic Circle, or melts languidly into the soft airs of the Polynesian Isles; but the Bath, that sensuous elysium which cradled the dreams of Plato, and the visions of Zoroaster, and the solemn meditations of Mahomet, is only to be found under an Oriental sky. The naked natives of the Torrid Zone are amphibious; they do not bathe, they live in the water. The European and Anglo-American wash themselves and think they have bathed; they shudder under cold showers and perform laborious antics with coarse towels. As for the Hydropathist, the Genius of the Bath, whose dwelling is in Damascus, would be convulsed with scornful laughter, could he behold that aqueous Diogenes sitting in his tub, or stretched out in his wet wrappings, like a sodden mummy, in a catacomb of blankets and feather beds. As the rose in the East has a rarer perfume than in other lands, so does the Bath bestow a superior purification and impart a more profound enjoyment… Continue reading Tabsir Redux: A Taylor Made Bath in Damascus
“These cafes are picturesque places where one sees the street life of Cairo at its best. Note the more humble style of Turkish pipe smoked by this Arab without being set on the floor.
Exactly 90 years ago a four-volume set of encyclopedia-like human interest books was published as The Human Interest Library: Visualized Knowledge by Midland Press in Chicago. In a previous post I commented on its thoroughly “Orientalist” flavor. The section on Egypt covers mainly the archaeological history with only a few brief comments on the then contemporary state of Egypt. On one plate (volume 4, p. 114) there is a photograph of “An Arab Cafe” (shown above) underneath one of the mummy of Sethi the First. There is also a scene of two water carriers (shown below).
“These men are sometimes negroes, as the seated man in the picture, as well as the boy who has taken water to drink from him. They are usually dervishes of the lowest grade, and are sometimes inclined to be fanatical. They are picturesque as well as a very necessary feature of Egyptian life.”
It is not until the last page of the article that “Egypt today” is uncovered. Not surprisingly, the Pharaonic past is for more than prologue here:
Egypt today, as the case with most of these ancient countries is merely the shadow of its former self; its inhabitants lack the energy and popwer which seem to have belonged to their ancestors. The French some years ago constructed the Suez Canal and on a sandbar which was built up from the the dirt out of the canal the modern city of Port Said was located. It is in some ways the most cosmopolitan city in the world being the gateway between the Occident and the Orient. In visiting Egypt the former usually lands at Port Said or Alexandria, then there is a ninety mile trip by rail to the city of Cairo. It seems quite odd to be riding by street car the six miles out from Cairo to the pyramids. It seems such an awe-inspiring thing to connect these ancient monuments with such a modern achievement. It is, however, typical of Egypt today in that ancient and majestic relics are on the one hand in contrast with the impudent signs of modern native life on the other; the little Bedouin children plan and the burros graze over spots the penetration of the sanctity of which once demanded the penalty of death.
Ah, the sentiments of the Occidental tourist in an antique land where the “impudent signs of modern native life” mar the view of ancient relics. Selah.
The Colbert Report takes on the Fox News and other Rupert Murdoch organs that immediately started reporting that the Norway massacre looked like a “Muslim” terrorist act… I guess we can now rename the WSJ the Up-against-the-Wall-Street-Talking-Jumble where distorted news is only a twitter away.
A manifesto for a Muslim-free Europe, an Infidel-free Middle East
by Imran Khan, Al Jazeera, July 24, 2011
I have just finished reading a terrifying document. It’s called 2083: A European declaration of Independence.
It’s full of advice for the budding Christian martyr. Handy tips on how to build bombs and make poisons; on how to use video games to hone your shooting skills.
I came across it on a far right website.
At 1511 pages long it’s a work of extreme prejudice – against Muslims predominantly.
Ultimately, the author wants a Muslim-free Europe.
The author’s name is Andrew Berwick. He datelines the document London 2011. He spent 3 years of his life writing it and clearly believes, with a passion, every single word.
The Norwegian media claim this document is written by Anders Behring Breivik, the suspect behind the brutal attacks in Norway.
At the end of the book are pictures of Breivik himself, dressed as a blond haired and blue eyed hero of the Knights Templar.
Christian crusaders, the book suggests, have returned and are alive, well and living in London.
His last diary entry is dated 22 July 2011. There seems to be little doubt that Berwick is Breivik.
I have covered extremists of all hues for a decade now. What worries me about this document is the parallels that exist between this and another document found in a Manchester, United kingdom flat in 2005.
That document was dubbed the ‘al-Qaeda military manual’. It has a similar theme to the 2083 document – An infidel-free Middle East; Handy tips on bomb making, etc. Continue reading Dueling Manifestos