Archive for the ‘Ink On PAPER’ Category
A Comic About Muslim Valentines Day By A Muslim Girl
February 14th, 2014, posted in Art, GiRLs, Islam, LoVE, MESSAGEs
Dervish and Fakir: The Outsiders View of Sufism
February 1st, 2014, posted in Ink On PAPER, Sufism
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MODERN STUDY OF SUFISM lie in the colonial period (roughly 1750-1950), when many of the basic concepts and categories that govern our understanding of the term were first invented. Since the very concept of Sufism is hotly contested among both Muslims and non-Muslims today, it is important first of all to examine briefly the historical development of the European study of Sufism, in order to disentangle the issues underlying the current debate. The modern concept of Sufism emerged from a variety of European sources, including traveler’s accounts of exotic lands and Orientalist constructions of Sufism as a sect with a nebulous relation to Islam. When this picture of Sufism is compared with the internal documentation of Sufi tradition, a number of mismatches appear. Outsider terminology for Sufism stressed the exotic, the peculiar, and behaviour that diverges from modern European norms; in the context of colonialism, this terminology emphasized the dangers of fanatic resistance to European rule.
The two terms that best sum up early European attitudes to Sufism are fakir (Arabic faqir) and dervish(the Turkish pronunciation of Persian darvish). Both words mean more or less the same: faqir is the Arabic word for “poor man,” and dervish (probably derived from a term meaning “standing by the door”) is the Persian equivalent.
The term fakir has a more complicated history, because Persian-writing officials of the Mughal empire in India used the term to describe non-Muslm ascetics, such as yogis, along with Sufi ascetics and wayfarers. The British inherited this terminology when they conquered most of India, and in nineteenth-century English, fakir (or fakeer) was used almost exclusively for Hindu ascetics, whether of the organized monastic fraternities or those whom the Birtish described as “wandering rogues.” The accidental resemblance of the term to the English word faker seems to have encouraged the impression that these ascetics were all frauds and mountebanks.
In contrast to these outsider’s impressions, in their original contexts, both dervish andfakir
were terms that signified spiritual poverty, being poor in relation to God, and hence being dependent upon him. As in other religious traditions, poverty for the Sufis was a sign of turning away from the world and focusing on the divine reality. “Poverty is my pride,” the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said. Yet the reports of travelers concerning the fakirs and dervishes of the East created a totally different portrait of bizarre behavior that was already a cultural icon over a century ago. Popular American songs of the nineteenth century refer to the dancing dervish as an image of wild and frantic activity. Magazine cartoons today still preserve the image of the fakir lying on a bed of nails. Traveler’s reports were based on fragmentary information, so that the fakir or dervish might sometimes appear to be a solitary figure but at other times was part of a strange brotherhood with peculiar rituals. To be sure, the negative portrait of the dervish had its analogues in some Muslim countries, such as Persia, where the rise of Shi’ism put organized Sufism into disrepute.
This text is an extract from the book by CARL W. PHD ERNST,
Something About DeathNote
January 28th, 2014, posted in BoYs, Death Note, Ink On PAPER, MOViES, STORiES
Symbolism
Death Note is full of symbolism, from the Christian and Roman overtones (Apples, Divine Rule and the Shinigami Realm) to literary masterpieces (MacBeth, Julius Caesar and Sherlock Holmes), Death Note has become one of the few anime to have extremely deep roots in both American and Japanese cultures.
The most obvious symbols used in the series are Apples and the conflicting ideals of Justice between L and Kira.
Apples
Apples are complex symbols, having a variety of meanings and incorporations within a variety of contexts. They can mean knowledge, wisdom, luxury, joy, and/or death. In Greek mythology, apples appear repeatedly: the goddess Hera received an apple as a gift of fertility upon her engagement to Zeus, King of all Gods. Apples, in regards to the Garden of Eden, were the first symbol of temptation and Original Sin (note that this was an oversight by Ohba, as the actual forbidden fruit was unidentified). In secular ideology, apples function as a symbol for totality, as in the “cosmos” or “universe”, due to their nearly perfect spherical shape.
In the bible, if someone ate the forbidden fruit, they would become smarter, their eyes opened, and brought into a new conscious. Originally, Ryuk didn’t care about the human world. But as he ate the apples, and the series progressed, he slowly developed feelings for humans, just like in the Bible, when Adam and Eve came into a new conscious by eating the apples.
Justice
Justice has many underlying meanings. To understand the concept completely, we must first examine the origin of law begun by Hammurabi of Babylon (1795 BCE) as well as the Bible (Old Testament: 450 BCE, New Testament: 45-140 CE). In addition, we must also analyze the various goddesses of Justice: Ma’At (Egypt), Themis (Greek), and Justitia (Roman).
The first written code of laws was written by Hammurabi of Babylon, whose name translates to “the kinsman that heals.” He is the first (known) historical creator of what we call Justice, or Law. His code of laws are still in practice by people all over the world to this very day, whether they know it or not. Without Hammurabi, laws and morality would probably not exist as they do today. That is how important his work was to the entire planet.
Fans often speculate on how L promotes the death penalty but not Kira, although this may be simply that Kira’s judgment is not as wise as proper trial.
L also mentions that Kira may have a “childish” concept of right and wrong.
Many other contributions have been made since then, including: Rome’s creation of the original justice system, the Confucian belief system and philosophy as well as America and it’s ideal-driven culture.
The entire storyline of Death Note is similar to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Light Yagami can be compared to Marcus Brutus, Misa Amane to Cassius (often speculated that Cassius was gay), L to Julius Caesar and Mello & Near to Mark Antony & Octavius Caesar. Just as Caesar’s ghost appears to Brutus before the decisive battle, an image of L returns to Light after the time-skip during a pondering moment of Light on Mello and Near. (However, the motives are different. Brutus perceived Caesar as a threat and loved both him and Rome enough to slay.)
Just before Light has Rem kill L, L receives prophecies of his death in the forms of images and dreams (more than once). In the same way, Jesus prophesied (more than once) that He would be betrayed and killed. Also, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples, including Judas—just before the latter betrayed Him. In the same way, L washes Light’s feet after their conversation in the rain on lying (although this scene was not in the original manga, only the anime).
