Mahfouz 19112006 First Arab author to win Nobel Prize 1988 Author of 50 novels 350 short stories 5 plays dozens of movie scripts Survived 1994 assassination attempt by Islamic fundamentalists ID: 400518
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Naguib" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006)
First
Arab author to win Nobel Prize (1988) Author of 50 novels, 350 short stories, 5 plays, dozens of movie scripts Survived 1994 assassination attempt by Islamic fundamentalists
© Chris Willerton
1996, 2009.
Classroom use only. These images are not cleared for republication.Slide2
Mahfouz and modern EgyptSlide3
Mahfouz and Modern Egypt
"I am the
son of two civilizations that at a certain age in history have formed a happy marriage. The first of these, seven thousand years old, is the Pharaonic civilization; the second, one thousand four hundred years old, is the Islamic civilization.“ (Nobel Prize lecture, 1988)Mahfouz was part of a 20th-century “Arabic Renaissance” in literature.Slide4
Mahfouz and Egyptian Politics
As a child, witnessed the 1919 Egyptian Revolution against British domination. Grew up an intellectual, sympathetic to socialism and democracy.
Often clashed with Islamic fundamentalists, e.g., for supporting peace efforts between Israel and Egypt in 1978-1979. Protested the fatwa (death order) against novelist Salman Rushdie, and received one himself. Survived 1994 assassination attempt by Islamic extremists.Slide5
Cairo
The famous mosque of
Al-Azhar (near the office building where Mahfouz’ narrator visits Sheikh Qamar) Mahfouz spent his life in Cairo.Slide6
Islam: Background for Mahfouz’“Zabalawi
”
Muhammad (born AD 571?, died 632) felt the call at age 40 to become a prophet of Allah (God). Islam means “submission,” and Muslim means “one who submits.” Mahfouz is Muslim, but his novel Children of Gebelawi scandalized Islamic authorities .Slide7
Muslim tenets
One God
ProphethoodAllah has sent 124,000 prophets, beginning with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. The Last JudgmentSlide8
Islam’s “Five Pillars”
1. Repeating the creed
: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet.”2. Prayer five times a day3. Giving alms for the needy4. Fasting during sacred month of Ramadan5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca once in a lifetime, for those who can afford itSlide9
Prayer
A minaret (prayer tower) from which the faithful are called to pray five times a day.Slide10
Pilgrimage to Mecca
Muhammad was driven from Mecca, AD 622, but returned in 630 to make it the world center for Islam. Here pilgrims surround the
Kaaba shrine, an important site in the Hajj.Slide11
The Kaaba
The Kaaba (“cube”), draped in silk, enshrines the sacred Black Stone. Muslims believe that
Abraham and Ishmaelbuilt the Kaaba when the angel Gabriel gave Abraham the stone. Pilgrims worship by praying, walking and running around the Kaaba, then touching the Black Stone.Slide12
Modern Islam
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. North America contains over 5 million Muslims, and the number of mosques (temples) has doubled each decade since 1960.
New York City has the highest weekly attendance for Friday prayers, an average of 27,500 Muslims. Other concentrations of Muslims are in Southern California, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Toronto.Slide13
Modern Islam and Other Religions
"
World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of churches and religions - AD 30 to 2200," there are 19 major world religions which are subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups, and many smaller ones. 34,000 separate Christian groups have been identified in the world. "Over half of them are independent churches that are not interested in linking with the big denominations." Slide14
Religions in USA
Religion
2004 Est.
Total
Pop.
% of U.S. Pop.,
2001
Christianity
224,437,959
76.5%
Judaism
3,995,371
1.3%
Islam
1,558,068
0.5%
Buddhism
1,527,019
0.5%
Hinduism
1,081,051
0.4%
Unitarian Universalist
887,703
0.3%
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid
433,267
0.1%
Spiritualist
163,710
0.05%
Native American Religion
145,363
0.05%
Baha'i
118,549
0.04%Slide15
International Religious Groups
Religious Body
# of Adherents
Catholic Church
1,100,000,000
Sunni Islam
875,000,000
Eastern Orthodox Church
225,000,000
Anglican Communion
76,000,000
Assemblies of God
50,000,000
Jehovah’s Witnesses
15,597,746
Seventh-day Adventists
12,894,000
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
12,275,822
New Apostolic Church
10,260,000
Ahmadiyya
10,000,000
Bahai World Faith
6,000,000Slide16
Zaabalawi as saint
A healer, “a remover of worries and troubles,” an inspirer
A fugitive--misunderstood by the police Humble, poor, joyful Hard to find! Zaabalawi is indifferent to possessions, houses, schedules. He visits those who love him, not those who love things.Slide17
Sufi saints
Mahfouz is not Sufi, and wine/inspiration is not the only issue in the story.
His narrator, terminally ill, finds comfort in Zaabalawi’s saintly influence. Slide18
Sufism--mystical branch of Islam
Mahfouz’ hero finds Zaabalawi only by giving up reason and logic. Sufis seek mystical knowledge of Allah.Slide19
Sufism--mystical branch of Islam
Sheikhs head the major orders (tariqas or “paths”). Followers believe power from Muhammad passed from sheikh to sheih.Slide20
Wine as a symbol in “Zaabalawi”
The narrator goes to Mr. Wanas to ask how to find Zaabalawi. When Wanas insists that he get drunk, the narrator, as a good Muslim, refuses.
But drunkenness turns out to be the means to find Zaabalawi. Is the saint a bad Muslim, or is the author using a symbol? In Sufi writing, wine is a symbol for inspiration.Slide21
Sufism and wine imagery
The Persian poet Hafiz (14th century) praises wine in “Red Rose”:
The rose has flushed red, the bud has burst, And drunk with joy in the nightingale-- Hail, Sufis! lovers of wine, all hail! For wine is proclaimed to a world athirst.Slide22
Sufism--dancing ecstasy
Whirling induces a trance, opens the dancer to realization of Allah. Dancers may whirl for 30 minutes.Slide23
Sufism—singing ecstasy
Sufi musical ceremonies may last 6 hours and put singers in a trance. Here Sufis in Fez, Morocco, sing Islamic texts and declare their devotion to God. Slide24
Sufism--Rumi’s Poetry
Be drunk on Love, for only Love exists; there's
No meeting the Beloved withoutLove as herald.They ask, "What's Love?Reply, 'Renouncing the will.‘He who hasn't tossed will asidedoesn't know God.[continued]Slide25
Sufism--Rumi’s Poetry
The Lover is a monarch:two worlds lie at his feet;
The King pays no attentionto what lies under his.It's Love and the lover that live eternally;Set your heart on this only:the rest is borrowed.MEVLANA LALALU'DDIN RUMI (1207 - 1273)Slide26
The Sufi way
A Sufi seeks direct experience of the Divine Presence. With the help of a spiritual guide (one of the
“Friends of God”) and certain practices, a Sufi expects to reach a Vision of God. In “Zaabalawi,” the artists (calligrapher and musician) seem to represent Friends of God, but the worldly and greedy do not.Slide27
Modern Sufi wine imagery
From Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani Al-Qubrusi Al-Naqshbandi, born 1922
A holy man said to the Sultan of Holiness, "I drank a cup of divine Love and I lost myself. Nothing else has a taste for me anymore. I'm drunk with the taste of love for God and the taste is never ending in me." So the Sultan of Holiness, Abu Yazid, The King of Saints, replied, "I'm also drinking, but I'm asking for more and more... Death runs after people who have not tasted the real love of the Lord Almighty. We, who have tasted and reached the love streams, never die.”Slide28
Sources
http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm
http://www.adhamonline.com/images/news/sufi.jpg http://libbagillum.com/dreamthoughts.htmlhttp://www.cgecwm.org/events/sufi-zhikr.htmlhttp://www.sufistudies.net/Slide29