This is not a political blog. Or a current events blog. Or even a “here’s Jules and Eisha’s opinions on random stuff” blog. It’s supposed to be, as the byline says, a blog about books. <\/p>\nThis is not a political blog. Or a current events blog. Or even a “here’s Jules and Eisha’s opinions on random stuff” blog. It’s supposed to be, as the byline says, a blog about books. <\/p>\n
Okay. But.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, as you may have heard, the Taliban bombed the shrine<\/strong><\/a> of Sufi poet Rahman Baba<\/strong><\/a> in Pakistan. They had warned the locals that the shrine would be destroyed if women continued to visit it, because doing so “promotes obscenity.”<\/p>\n I wanted to call attention to this evil by posting some of Rahman Baba’s poetry today. It turns out it’s hard to find much of his stuff translated into English online, and what I did find… well, honestly, it didn’t quite do it for me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Instead, as a wee little protest against the oppression of and violence against women under vicious regimes like the Taliban, I’m sharing some poetry from another Sufi poet. A female Sufi poet. Here’s a sample of “In My Soul” by Rabia al Basri<\/strong><\/a>, translated by Daniel Ladinsky<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n In Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nmy soul
\nthere is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church
\nwhere I kneel.<\/p>\n