A Corner of " Peace "
I have been listening to some Sufi music. Sufi music is exceptionally beautiful.
It has many varieties ranging from West Africa to its Horn and into North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, occupied Iraq, occupied Palestine, Iran, Turkey, and right into the Balkans. It also covers the Indian subcontinent with the Kawwali version, all the way to Malaysia, Indonesia, and into the remotest part of Central Asia including China. Wherever you find Islam, you will find some form of Sufi music like a temporary cloak of Peace.
Whenever I listen to Sufi music, I feel as if there is one corner of the world where it is always peaceful. That corner is not to be found on any geographical map but as the sufis say, it is in the Heart. The famous compass for all maps.
Whilst being carried away by the melodies, I felt that corner of Peace. And in the midst of it, I thought I heard God speak.
You see, it is not only Bush that hears God speak. I heard God too.
He said and this time He took on a masculine aura, : " Tell them, I do not care about their fasts, their rituals nor their prayers. Not too far from you, there are slaughter houses. Do they think that Blood turns into Water ? Or do they believe that their peaceful Silence will save them ? "
I may be somewhat delusional, but then you rush to buy "Conversations with God" in 3 volumes and Paulo Cohelo sells like hot cakes, you do not believe they are delusional. But I am - The Heretic Arab Woman.
I guess it must be Ahmad's funeral. My last fuse snapped.
Ahmad was an orphan. He had two married sisters. One is abroad, the other in Baghdad.
He raised his sisters, since they lost their parents when he was a teenager.
He brought them up. He was a father and a mother to them. He was only 31. He lived alone in the family house in Saydiyya. He rented the upper floor to a shia woman who treated him like a son.
A week ago, the Iranian funded, backed, trained, Badr Brigades and the Maghawir stormed the area. They paved the way for the Mahdi army of Muqtada al Sadr to enter and cleanse.
The first time around, the Iraqi shia woman said: " He is my son, do not touch him."
The second time around, she did not manage to save him.
They grouped 36 people, all sunnis and each one received three bullets in the head, a Ramadan present.
A few days later, the people of this neighborhood marched the street demanding security. Who will provide it ? The Americans, the sectarian governmental militias, the sectarian police or Blackwater ?
When his sister went to the morgue to retrieve Ahmad's body, some women queuing for theirs told her : " You are so lucky, you found his body. At least he will have a decent burial. You are so lucky, we envy you. "
When we gathered to give our condolences, the women sat in one corner and the men in another. It was all very peaceful. Corners of peace. The peace of the departed, the peace of Death. There were silent tears, peaceful tears.
I heard someone whispering : " Did you hear about the partition plan ? "
The other responded : " Yes, maybe this will bring us Peace. Anything, let them do anything but let them give us Peace. "
So this is the price of your famous Peace. This was the plan of your Peace. This was the orchestrated diabolical blueprint for your Peace.
Kill them all to silence them into Peace. Murder them all so they can submit, surrender to Peace. Hunt them down, exile them and let them wish for a return to Peace. Give them divided pieces so you can shove Peace down their throats, like a cork before their grief explodes your Peace. Make them skeletons of Peace. Riddle them with Radiation, Bacterias, Germs, Viruses and they will swallow Peace. Imprison them and torture them till their skins fall off and form scabs of Peace. Starve them so you can see through their ribs and they will beg and eat Peace. Let them stutter with fear so they can murmur Peace. A beautiful peaceful Genocide. A silent, peaceful Holocaust from the makers of Peace.
Orations and speeches of Peace. Human rights and conventions of Peace. Laws and jurisdictions of Peace. Congresses and Nobel Peace Prizes. A wonderful piece.
Baghdad - Iraq, Dar Al-Salam. The city of Peace. Islam, the religion of Peace. Muslims, those who submit to Peace. A tranquil Peace of Silence. A blissful Peace.
A quiet Peace like the ones you find in cemeteries, in graveyards, sporadically interrupted by a wail here and there.
Do not let that shatter your own please. Do forgive us, whoever you are, if we, for splits of seconds, interrupt or bother your Peace.
I promise you, we will stifle them from now on. We will strangulate them. We will dry up our eyes, our throats...We do not want the rattle to spoil it for you.
Continue doing what you are doing. You are all very important, peaceful people.
We will pay our tributes to you - statues of Peace.
From the West to the East, may OUR Peace descend upon you too.
Painting : Iraqi artist, Salman Shalhoob.
It has many varieties ranging from West Africa to its Horn and into North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, occupied Iraq, occupied Palestine, Iran, Turkey, and right into the Balkans. It also covers the Indian subcontinent with the Kawwali version, all the way to Malaysia, Indonesia, and into the remotest part of Central Asia including China. Wherever you find Islam, you will find some form of Sufi music like a temporary cloak of Peace.
Whenever I listen to Sufi music, I feel as if there is one corner of the world where it is always peaceful. That corner is not to be found on any geographical map but as the sufis say, it is in the Heart. The famous compass for all maps.
Whilst being carried away by the melodies, I felt that corner of Peace. And in the midst of it, I thought I heard God speak.
You see, it is not only Bush that hears God speak. I heard God too.
He said and this time He took on a masculine aura, : " Tell them, I do not care about their fasts, their rituals nor their prayers. Not too far from you, there are slaughter houses. Do they think that Blood turns into Water ? Or do they believe that their peaceful Silence will save them ? "
I may be somewhat delusional, but then you rush to buy "Conversations with God" in 3 volumes and Paulo Cohelo sells like hot cakes, you do not believe they are delusional. But I am - The Heretic Arab Woman.
I guess it must be Ahmad's funeral. My last fuse snapped.
Ahmad was an orphan. He had two married sisters. One is abroad, the other in Baghdad.
He raised his sisters, since they lost their parents when he was a teenager.
He brought them up. He was a father and a mother to them. He was only 31. He lived alone in the family house in Saydiyya. He rented the upper floor to a shia woman who treated him like a son.
A week ago, the Iranian funded, backed, trained, Badr Brigades and the Maghawir stormed the area. They paved the way for the Mahdi army of Muqtada al Sadr to enter and cleanse.
The first time around, the Iraqi shia woman said: " He is my son, do not touch him."
The second time around, she did not manage to save him.
They grouped 36 people, all sunnis and each one received three bullets in the head, a Ramadan present.
A few days later, the people of this neighborhood marched the street demanding security. Who will provide it ? The Americans, the sectarian governmental militias, the sectarian police or Blackwater ?
When his sister went to the morgue to retrieve Ahmad's body, some women queuing for theirs told her : " You are so lucky, you found his body. At least he will have a decent burial. You are so lucky, we envy you. "
When we gathered to give our condolences, the women sat in one corner and the men in another. It was all very peaceful. Corners of peace. The peace of the departed, the peace of Death. There were silent tears, peaceful tears.
I heard someone whispering : " Did you hear about the partition plan ? "
The other responded : " Yes, maybe this will bring us Peace. Anything, let them do anything but let them give us Peace. "
So this is the price of your famous Peace. This was the plan of your Peace. This was the orchestrated diabolical blueprint for your Peace.
Kill them all to silence them into Peace. Murder them all so they can submit, surrender to Peace. Hunt them down, exile them and let them wish for a return to Peace. Give them divided pieces so you can shove Peace down their throats, like a cork before their grief explodes your Peace. Make them skeletons of Peace. Riddle them with Radiation, Bacterias, Germs, Viruses and they will swallow Peace. Imprison them and torture them till their skins fall off and form scabs of Peace. Starve them so you can see through their ribs and they will beg and eat Peace. Let them stutter with fear so they can murmur Peace. A beautiful peaceful Genocide. A silent, peaceful Holocaust from the makers of Peace.
Orations and speeches of Peace. Human rights and conventions of Peace. Laws and jurisdictions of Peace. Congresses and Nobel Peace Prizes. A wonderful piece.
Baghdad - Iraq, Dar Al-Salam. The city of Peace. Islam, the religion of Peace. Muslims, those who submit to Peace. A tranquil Peace of Silence. A blissful Peace.
A quiet Peace like the ones you find in cemeteries, in graveyards, sporadically interrupted by a wail here and there.
Do not let that shatter your own please. Do forgive us, whoever you are, if we, for splits of seconds, interrupt or bother your Peace.
I promise you, we will stifle them from now on. We will strangulate them. We will dry up our eyes, our throats...We do not want the rattle to spoil it for you.
Continue doing what you are doing. You are all very important, peaceful people.
We will pay our tributes to you - statues of Peace.
From the West to the East, may OUR Peace descend upon you too.
Painting : Iraqi artist, Salman Shalhoob.
Comments
people r such selfish hypocrites....makes me sick just 2 think that i, fqiuatsi, belong 2 the same species as them
What they said was that they were bring freedom and democracy. They meant the freedom of the grave and the democracy of death.
I wish their "gifts" had gone to more deserving people, like the ones who started this evil war.
by the way, I have worked against this war and occupation non-stop since September 2002. And I will continue, it's just that now I no longer believe the American people have any control at all.
Iraq has a puppet government, we have a country full of puppets.
I am so very sorry. I am so ashamed of my birth country - and next year, will likely be my former country of residence because I can't stand it here anymore.
Just so you know I am here.
In solidarity.
There will be no "Peace" whatsoever but until after their (yours, my) Victory.
Of course the dead won't rise from their graves, nor will the wounded in the flesh or the soul miraculously heal, but for the survivors who have remained loyal there will be Freedom again, Unity and Justice, and hopefully the next generation of Iraqis will be born and bred innocent and confident in life as ours were.
But then I know that you follow the St. Thomas "school of thought" ;-)
Take care of yourself.
Regards.
Thank you so much for your words.
You are a brillian writer !
The low creatures, escatologically speaking, are *that* only, bush &%/&%
May peace come in the unity of Iraq and the freedom of your people !!
I pray for the peace of sufimysticism to fill the hearts
of every single Iraqi.
May sweet karma come as a bitch for those who deserve it.
Take good care of yourself dear
Blessings and much love always
"Perverse times have come,
Now the mysteries of the beloved
are to be known
crows have begun to hunt hawks,
and sparrows feed on falcons
Iraqi horses bear the whipping,
while donkeys graze on lush green
no love is lost between relatives,
be they younger or elder uncles
There is no accord between fathers and sons,
Nor any between mothers and daughters
The truthful ones are being pushed about,
the tricksters are seated close by
The front liners have become wretched,
the back benchers sit on carpets
Those in tatters have turned into kings,
the kings have taken to begging
O Bulleh, that which is His command
who can alter His decree."
I am an arab man, I know my country is just waiting for its turn on the conveyer belt of America's slaughterhouse of all things arab or muslim. But I really can't do anything. Otherwise I'll be ostracised from my civilized intellectual society with its perks of western women and western friends and western capital, and its delicate spurts of art and music and stage performances. I'll be outlawed and hounded and homeless and powerless to the end of my days. And would that stop the slaughterhouse? would that stop the conveyer belt ? Methinks not.
I'm living on my knees, and the minute I get up i'll be lying on my face. i can't see myself getting off my knees.
my latest was really referring to nearly everyone and in particular the anti war movement.
I find their stand disgusting to say the least. Of course I appreciate all your efforts, and please do not take the above as a personal affront to you.
Good luck in your move.
Salman Shalhoob is an Iraqi painter.
I am sure of the ultimate victory, but not in the foreseable future.
We are talking about a political victory here as well.
I like to use the metaphor of drops of water on a piece of rock.
It will finally crack...but I still maintain that Iraq in the near future is no more.
regards to you.
Thank you for the wonderful sufi "poem". You said it was written 250 years ago. Are you sure? It has a very "a propos" feel to it.
Many thanks as usual for your wonderful prayers.
Take care and lots of love
Salam.
Thank you as always.
I guess you will just have to wait for your turn then.
yolanda u retard...."heretic" are the mahdi thugs, the badr goons, the qaeda zombies...etc. ....layla is not "heretic" by any means....she is a POET........plz think b4 u write nonsense.....thanks...
If you really think that fools Westerners, you are the greater fools.
Face facts: you are a vicious, petty, lowminded, revenge obsessed loser. You hate whitey? Fuck you too, bitch. Your narcissisitc ramblings of hatred and deceit are destined to remain the rantings of a murderous idiot.
Have a nice day.
- Yank Me
It might be more to the point if we use the clipped pronounciation of that erudite man of peace, Shimon Perez, he actually says...( Vee Vwant to make PISS vid de aghabs and palestines..)
Do excuse my vulgar quote...
I've been reading the eulogies composed by Al Khansa recently too....amazing woman.
Hope all is well. Stay strong my beautiful big sis ;-)
sorry 2 have 2 break this 2 dumbya's devotees but that was dick cheney using the oval office intercom system......
This statement implies that you are currently IN the West.
is that a popular saying in iraq layla? cuz this is the 2nd time i hear an iraqi using it....
u should not be always so warm n welcoming with him layla...the muppet might start imagining things.......
When those on their knees attain a critical mass, they will together (but not forever) rise.
Hint: India.
Is the critical mass in the process? The answer is a resounding NO!!! And the conveyor belt conveys, to the beat of the din of war.
now I have read many comments making assumptions...
one in the previous blog, assumed things about my ex husband even though I never mentioned him. I just said once that I WAS married.
But I must say, yours beats them all. This is the most stupid piece of "deductive logic" I have ever read.
I wish you peace, only on your terms. That is not likely in the forseeable future.
There is now talk of using nuclear weapons, that will bring peace for sure. You will all be dead.
For the Iraqi's who live outside of your country, how dare you not have the guts to voice your opinions? You should be ashamed of your selved.
I have a voice in Aus, and I'm not afraid to use it. Am I ostracised? No. Nobody is hounding me either.
You're pathetic.
Sorry for the rant Layla, I'm angry, as most Iraqi's are.
Stay safe.
Nice to hear from you. I noticed something interesting in your comments - how they have developed over the months.
When you first introduced yourself, you referred to your mum's origins and today you said
I am angry as most iraqis are...
I see that you have reconnected - officially speaking. Great news.
Actually concerning censorship, most websites and bloggers in the middle east, and that includes all of the middle east, are always weary of being arrested and imprisoned because of their views.
Each day, a new law passes that tightens the noose around the neck.
Of course they will not target those who are pro them...but then in America websites and bloggers who happen to be critical are also targeted...
Makes you wonder what Democracy really means. Does it not ?
r u sure layla? wot abt this 1...
layla anwar is arab
bin laden is arab
therefore layla anwar is bin laden
sorry layla but this 1 was really in bad taste.......i hope ull publicly apologize 2 the ppl of iraq 4 this totally unappropriate slide into gallows humour......
no it doesnt. it never will either. westerners r 2 in luv with their little comfy individualistic dimension n they know if they started "wondering" then theyd have 2 roll up their sleeves n change everything.........they r scared 2 death n also disgustingly lazy ppl thats what they r. advice: let them stew in their juice n think only of urself n ur nation.
I hope the Iraqi bloggers keep it up, if they have to change addresses, no doubt we will connect somewhere.
There are bloggers, who say they blog out of Iraq, write volumes about "bad" Saddam, and are outraged at attrocities, real or perceived prior to invasion, but there is absolutely no compassion for the people who are living in Iraq. I don't understand. How is this possible?
Saddam ruled with an iron fist, I don't agree with all of it, but he did what he had to do to keep a lid on things. Look what has happened without him.
The worst bloggers=Iraqi/American, or I should say AMERICAN/Iraqi, these I understand even less. You get more compassion out of a stick insect.
Democracy? Obviously none in the Middle East. I am very outspoken on an Aus newspaper blog. I swear I was being targetted by a government agent for a few weeks, he asked so many questions. I believe he (Eric) decided I was pretty harmless after a while. Meantime, there are bloggers who are absolutely vicious towards Iraqi's, sectarian violence, and of course, Muslims, as a whole.
Sometimes I give up for a while, then you write something else, and I am inspired again.
Stay safe.
Obviously you did not read what Layla wrote.. right??????
Go back and read sloooowllly
Of course she is an excellent writer and a beautiful strong soul and an amazing Iraqi woman and her words come from her arab poetic heart.
Read back and WELLLLLLLL
before you post m mouse ! If you are not retarded then you dont understand or you are ADHD or
blind ???? LOL
Salaam !
Sorry Layla
Hi
Islam means peace , u dickhead.
But since you are busy annihilating us muslims, we might as well take back that olive branch.
I say we nuke all these yankee bastards
Regards
Pissed off Muslim
And I will understand. Many won't.
I posted this to http://www.surfingtheapocalypse.net/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?noframes;read=189890
I post as TruthPassion there. And I do search for truth. I come to your blog and I know what you speak is truth. And my heart breaks, as it should.
I have just started rereading "The Sufis" by Idries Shah. A coincedence. Now I would love to know more about this Sufism from you. I remember I read this book about 35 years ago and loved it. I will read it differently now, because so much terror and tragedy has happened for Arabs now.
Thank you.
Only pacifists can lay claim to the title "peaceful" -- the rest are just phonies.
Several nationalist and Islamist armed groups have formed alliances in Iraq in what they say is a move to thwart a power struggle should the US military withdraw and the Iraqi government collapse.
Zaidan
Hopefully you do not mind, but I used your "FREE" AND RUINED LIVES piece in our newspaper--The CATHOLIC AGITATOR (October issue page 3). You can check it out at: http://lacatholicworker.org
Circulation of paper is 8,500
Peace and love,
Mike Wisniewski, for the Los Angeles Catholic Worker
i m greek and i admire your writing
needless to say i understand your anger
be brave, be well ...
"From the West to the East, may OUR Peace descend upon you too"
it isn't logic, it's grammar. You always start at your point of origin.
"From the West to the East, may OUR Peace descend upon you too"
--
shut the fuck up u stupid piece of shit......and i wud appreciate it if u didnt use my name again
hi layla
i m greek and i admire your writing
---
im sri lankan n i admire your writing 2 layla
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4565633F-9691-44A8-B14E-F3D1F97C6414.htm
Several nationalist and Islamist armed groups have formed alliances in Iraq in what they say is a move to thwart a power struggle should the US military withdraw and the Iraqi government collapse.
Zaidan
--
thanks zaidan
If Christianity can disguise itself by calling itself a religion of peace, I guess Islam can too.
Only pacifists can lay claim to the title "peaceful" -- the rest are just phonies.
--
not sure george orwell wud agree wit u......................
Angel, do you come from Australia too? Daphne
--
yes daftny.......
the clue is in here:@
Über mich
Australian with a heritage rich in Middle Eastern culture.
who is that white son of a bitch posting a rude comment here?
Islam means peace , u dickhead.
But since you are busy annihilating us muslims, we might as well take back that olive branch.
I say we nuke all these yankee bastards
Regards
Pissed off Muslim
--
that "white" son of a bitch was a yid posing as a white retard. although i share your disdain for these pink faced sons of bitches i think it is important we differentiate between the 2
seems you did not understand,
well I might have not explained myself. We are in the same ship...
but you did not get it LOL
Layla understood my point
THAT IS WHAT MATTERS ,-)))
take care
Salaam !!
Greegoes you dont learn right?
Greengoes GO HOME !
This is the call from the citizens of the world.
Your yanky history is made of
butchering and invading countries
Read history, no the brainwashing
tales you are programmed to believe.
You are and will always be bloody invasors !!!
Thank you Layla
Salaam
Peace to you.
Fkharisto and parakallo are the only two words in Greek I know.
Thank you for visiting my blog and best to you.
Thought you was going to be good to my friends...Wot happened mate?
you still crack me up though.
It's ok dear, I understand fully.
These online quid pro quos make me laugh.
I leared yesterday that it was Rumi's 800th Birthday. I love Rumi, Ibn Arabi and Hafiz...
Are you a new Iraqi blogger?
oi Jr,
Thought you was going to be good to my friends...Wot happened mate?
you still crack me up though.
--
layla i have not been nasty to ne of your mates.....only 2 a select few numbskulls
ps. these "mickey mouse", "grand vizier" and "ghoul" characters r not me!
I need a new who is who ref guide for my blog. Can't people just stick to one pseudo - sigh *
dead wrong. Salman Shalhoob is also known as Salman Abbass and he is an Iraqi shia artist...sighs again *
jr = top bloke
little deer= long time member...always on hand to show sum solidarity
amre el-knob = perverted little shit, always hitting on layla......a thoroughly disgusting man
lord cerne dipshit = same as above, also a demented psycho
these r the only pple i know
Do NOT EVER think of not blogging anymore. The other bloggers have dropped the ball. Most of them are young, naive, brainwashed by Dallas and Seinfeld, believing the US invasion to be one of liberation.
What will they say now, as they frolick in foreign countries, when their country is about to be torn asunder.
Riverbend hardly writes, but when she does it is amazing, a stake to the heart of the neocon imperialist agenda in Iraq.
But she does not write much anymore.
So, it is up to you. Please. Do not stop.
Zaidan
I think I recognize you.
I like Riverbend, She is a good writer but she is too soft for my taste and she does too much pussy footing around. It irritates me and besides am too old for niceties. I do not intend to stop blogging either.
'Shalhob is jew family , waooo Iraqi jew thats the democratcy'
I don't know any Iraqi Jewish person with the surname Shalhoob.
There is Tony Shalhoob aka MONK but I think he is of Palestinian origin.
LOL .... indeed !!!
Lots of love
Salaam
Why don't you start a political blog of your own ?
You could call it something like "Jr in Arabland": the ongoing historical confrontation between Imperial Hubris and National Dignity seen through your surrealistic satirical eye.
I bet you it would be a bombshell.
God has made existence magnificent,
He has made it through nonexistence.
He has concealed the sea and exposed the foam,
Concealed the wind and displayed the dust.
The whirling dust flies like a dancer,
How does it do this itself?
The wind is invisible, known only by trust,
The foam moves all about you,
But without the sea no whirling takes place.
Thought is hidden, speech is manifest.
So we believe, and believe,
That manifest only is true,
Yet nonexistence we have no eye for.
Yet which is real, and which is fake?
Why did God make reality shy?
Praise to the Lord, O weaver of magic,
That makes the dregs seem like wine
To those who turn from the truth.
Like magic we measure the moonbeams,
And gather our gains from a sleight of hand.
This world is a sorcerer, and we are the buyers,
And yet there's but emptiness there.
And when the bell tolls, and it tolls for thee,
The devil of wealth and palaces,
Stands only a while at the side of your grave,
And comes no further, no further than this.