Acid Pain

Bangladesh, Ethics, Gender and Sexuality


Twenty six year old Saira Liaqat poses for the camera, while holding a picture of her former self before her betrothed doused her face with acid.


Scarred by acid in Bangladesh

By Nicolas Haque in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Al-Jazeera, July 11, 2009

Rahima Begum, a young woman in the village of Kaligonj in the northwest of Bangladesh, turned down the romantic advances of a neighbour and paid dearly for it.

In the dead of night, while she was asleep, her neighbour poured acid over her face, leaving her disfigured for life.

“I may be still alive but he took my life away, I have become the shame of my family and of my village. I have no where to go,” she says.

According to official figures, there are only around 200 acid-related crimes reported every year in Bangladesh. Continue reading Acid Pain →

Lisân al-‘Arab Online

Languages, Scholars, Teaching Resources

The digital world is an extraordinary boon to those of us who depend on a variety of Arabic resources. One of my mainstays is the multi-volume Lisân al-‘Arab of the great lexicologist Ibn Manzur (died 1311 CE). I picked up my copy in 1979 in Dâr al-Muthana in Baghdad. Now I discover that this major classical lexicon, along with al-Fayrûzabâdî’s Qâmi¨s al-muhît and two other dictionaries are online at http://baheth.info. One can type in the Arabic word desired and all references to that in the extensive commentary will be highlighted. All the prompts are in Arabic, although I note that the one Google Ad prompt across the top in English advertised “Arabic Girls.” Poor Ibn Manzûr would no doubt roll over in his qabr, were he around to click his way today. On the right hand side notable quotes are posted. On one recent day I found one by Lenin. Ah, the power of words…

A Poet’s Recipe

Books You Should Read, Food and Drink, Iraq, Miniatures


A host tending to the needs of his guests, Maqâmât al-Harîrî, 1236 CE

As richly illustrated in Geert Jan van Gelder’s delightul God’s Banquet: Food in Classical Arabic Literature (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), Arab poets loved food and wrote extensively on the adab of cuisine. There are poems devoted to specific foods, but even a few recipes for the cook with a wit as well as a greasy thumb. Here is van Gelder’s translation of a recipe poem by the Baghdadi poet Kushajim (died 961 CE):

You have asked me about the best of dishes:
You’ve asked today someone who is not ignorant!
Now take, my friend, some ribs of meat,
And after that some meat of leg, and fat,
And chop some fat and succulent meat
And rinse it with sweet and clear water. Continue reading A Poet’s Recipe →

Healing Herbs in Yemen

Anthropology/Sociology, Conferences and Talks, Food and Drink, Islamic Law, Islamic Texts, Scholars, Yemen


Aloe and Opuntia (balas Turkî) in al-Ahjur, central highlands of Yemen

Today I am flying on Lufthansa to Leipzig, and then on to Halle Wittenberg for a conference called “The use of herbs in Yemeni healing practices. An interdisciplinary workshop on traditional knowledge and cultural concepts in scientific perspective.“ The conference takes place September 25-26, 2009 at the Orientwissenschaftliches Zentrum , Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. It has been funded by the Royal Ontario Museum Foundation, Ryerson University (both Toronto/Canada), and Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Click here for the order of the program.

The organizers are Dr Hanne Schönig (Orientwissenschaftliches Zentrum
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, homepage: http://www.owz.uni-halle.de/owz.php?pid=2) and Dr Ingrid Hehmeyer (Department of History, Ryerson University, Toronto, homepage: http://www.ryerson.ca/history/faculty/Hehmeyeri.html) and Dr Anne Regourd, Collaborateur Scientifique, Dept of Islamic arts, Musée du Louvre, Paris – France, homepage: http://www.anne.regourd.org.

The conference participants and papers are noted below: Continue reading Healing Herbs in Yemen →

Bani Hushaysh Archaeology

Archaeology and Antiquities, Yemen

Archeological sites in Bani Hushaish suffer from vandalism

by Mansur Ali al-Muntasir, Yemen Observer, February 3, 2009

The Bani Hushaish district in the Sana’a governorate is 30 km east of the capital, and contains several important archeological sites.

Yemen has a great wealth of ancient archeological sites many of which date as far back as the pre-Islamic era and many more site which are still waiting to be discovered and documented. There is a fear though amongst the Yemen’s archeological establishment that without adequate protection and preservation much of Yemen’s historical record could be lost to natural and human damage. This article seeks to highlight the richness of Yemen’s archeological heritage and the need to preserve and document such heritage for future generations.

The most important of the discovered archeological sites is in Shibam al-Ghras, where several mummies were found. The district contains several other neglected sites, which have not yet been identified by archeological authorities. This is disturbing; as these sites have been damaged as a result of official negligence, and a lack of public awareness about their value and importance to Yemeni heritage. Continue reading Bani Hushaysh Archaeology →

Satanic or Silly: Does Yale Press Censorship of Cartoons Insult Muslims?

Anthropology/Sociology, Contemporary Art, Danish Cartoon Controversy, Humor and Satire, Islam in Europe, Terrorism Issue


The Prophet Muhammad, 17th century Ottoman copy of an early 14th century (Ilkhanate period) manuscript of Northwestern Iran or northern Iraq (the “Edinburgh codex”). Illustration of AbÅ« Rayhān al-BÄ«rÅ«nÄ«’s al-Âthâr al-bâqiyah ( الآثار الباقيةة ; “The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries”). Source: Wikipedia article on Muhammad

Satanic or Silly: Does Yale Press Censorship of Cartoons Insult Muslims?
By Daniel Martin Varisco, Religion Dispatches, September 8, 2009

Two decades ago, the publication of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses caused a tsunami of protest in the Muslim world. The author was forced into hiding for nearly a decade after Ayatollah Khomeini called on Muslims to kill him and his publishers. Rushdie was accused of blasphemy, both for slandering the prophet Muhammad by subverting his character to Mahound (a medieval English term synonymous with the devil) and for reducing the holy city of Mecca to Jahiliya (a term used by Muslims to refer to the pagan past of Arabia). It was only a novel, but the fact that it was written by an Indian-born Muslim and published in the West was enough to frustrate even moderate Muslims.

Academic books rarely cause riots in the streets, but a forthcoming study on the recent Danish cartoon controversy may come close. Continue reading Satanic or Silly: Does Yale Press Censorship of Cartoons Insult Muslims? →