Had I known Brother Fendi had a website up , I would have added it sooner. As it is, I noticed it in my referrer logs, and went to have a look. To my surprise, he has a section on the muslims of Poland! Now down to few thousand souls, these people are Tatars who settled there many hundreds of years ago, making them the oldest [surviving] muslim settlement in Europe. As much as I would like to imagine a common ancestry, the Polish side of my family is straight Cossack Catholic. Apparently, my distant grandfather was a leader of a regiment under King Jan Sobieski, the man responsible for turning back the Ottomans from the gates of Vienna. I am understandably a little conflicted about that whole episode…
Moving
First, a quick update on the travel plans: After the shock of The Midnight Fax wore off, we were able to get in touch with the university and plead for mercy. Their hearts were not unmoved, and gave as a month reprieve to set our affairs in order. So for the moment, our departure looks like it will be immediately after Eid al-Fitr, or a week after Thanksgiving. Thus the unabated blogging.
Islamic Graphic Arts
I was happy to learn of the firm of Culver Whiteman, CWDM. They are graphic artists specializing in Islamic art, but have interesting work in architecture and music on display as well. Clients include Zaytuna Institute, Islamic Texts Society, Green Street Books, Muslim Academic Trust, Iqra Trust, and, like, everybody else. Talk about your well-kept secrets.
Qasida Again
When I talked about the Qasida Burda last time, I failed to mention the company that actually produced the whole affair, Sandala. If you’re not sure whether to purchase a copy or not, go here first. The website is beautifully designed, and has links to sample audio files from the CDs. I’d link directly to the audio, but the site is all Flash. In any case, going in through the portal and navigating the site is more fun. If you’re already sold, people in the UK can go to the aforementioned Green Street Books.
Chechnya
Chechnya is back in the news with the hostage-taking crisis in Moscow. Chechnya falls off the front page so fast, it’s hard to remember what exactly has been going on there all this time. Alt.Muslim featured the crisis on their front page, with a number of good links. Bill Allison of Ideofact.com [who I’ve been reading quite I bit since I found Aziz of Unmedia.com referencing him] talks about his general sympathy for the Chechen people despite his suspicions that wahhabi activists will be at the heart of the recent terrorism. I don’t really want to turn into a political blog, but I can’t resist giving my synopsis on this one:
After the first Chechen war with the grace of Allah the Chechens won and established their independence with Aslan Maskhadov as their elected president. For three years, no country in the world would recognize Chechnya, not even Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, that was one of only two countries in the world to recognize the Taliban, and a longtime foe of the Russians!
Why is that?
In 1998, Aslan Maskhadov came to Washington DC. I heard him speak. He declared that Chechnya was a nation of Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’at, that they were a proud muslim people and they didn’t need anyone coming into their country to try to re-educate them about their religion. He declared that Chechnya would gladly take the help of any friend but that it had to come openly, without interfering with their way of life, their Deen. And he declared that Wahhabi interlopers would not be tolerated within the borders of Chechnya.
While the Saudis may not have recognized Chechen independence, they did give money. But it completely bypassed the Republic of Chechnya and its elected president Aslan Maskhadov, and straight into the hands of warlords like Khattab and Shamil Basayev. By 1999, Aslan Maskhadov had survived three assassination attempts.
And then, in 1999, while Chechnya was still ravaged by war, still unrebuilt, still unmended, Khattab, Basayev and their troops invaded Russia, occupying villages in Daghestan and declaring an Islamic state.
[!]
That was the start of the second Chechen war. If there is a clearer proof for the lunacy of the wahhabis, I don’t know what it is. Never mind theology even. Invading Russia? Nobody invades Russia.
Now the nephew of Arbi Barayev has done this. One of the articles Alt.Muslim links to has this to say:
However, Dzhafar Zufarov, an influential mufti in southern Russia, said that Barayev was paid to take over the theater and that the money may have come from sources in Saudi Arabia.
Increasingly, Chechen rebels have found a bulwark in Islam and a source of funding and political support in Arab nations, which helps explain the growing influence of outside Islamic groups in Chechnya.
A very interesting documentary movie looking at Chechnya between the wars from a military perspective is available from Combat Films. It’s called Immortal Fortress. I’ve seen the documentary. It is very evenhanded or even pro-Chechen, praising them for their incredible victory. They interview numerous key figures from the First War. Priceless footage includes Shamil Basayev reminiscing fondly about the virtues of communism. Now these same people at Combat Films who have seen the region firsthand and sympathized with the Chechen struggle have this to say:
Unfortunately, the question of Chechen independence and Russia’s sovereignty has been severely obscured by massive human rights abuses by both sides-turning the conflict into a highly polarized emotional battleground. During the inter-war period (1996-1999), dozens, even hundreds, of foreigners have been kidnapped in and around Chechnya. Ethnic neighbors like the Dagestanis have suffered the most at the hands of a vicious sub-culture in Chechnya bent on ransoming its victims. Americans, Poles, French, and British have also been captured, brutalized and even killed at the hands of rogue elements of Chechen society.
emphasis mine
emphasis mine
Are these rogue elements, the attempted assassins of Maskhadov, the wahhabis, and the hostage-takers in Moscow one and the same, overlapping groups or separate elements? I guess I can’t say for sure. But I know how I feel.
More on Wahhabi proselytizing in the Caucasus.
More on the hostage crisis from an eyewitness.
President Maskhadov denounces the hostage taking.
Boris speaks
So I was having this conversation with an atheist from Russia about how I wanted to live in Malaysia. I can’t blame him his perspective; he’d moved from arguably the worst place on earth to arguably the best. So he told me this story. I wasn’t swayed, mind you, but it bears repeating:
A man dies and goes to heaven. Heaven is fine, if a little dull. After some time, Satan arrives. He invites him to come visit Hell and the man accepts. For three days, they smoke and drink and dance and womanize non-stop. But when the three days are up, the man decides to return to Heaven. Back in Heaven things are dull again as usual. After a long while, Satan returns and invites him to visit again. Again they have a roaring good time down in Hell, but after three days, the man returns to Heaven. Finally, after a very long time, Satan returns again, but this time tells him if he wants to come to Hell again, he’ll have to stay there permanently. The man had been desperately waiting for the chance to go again and agrees.The moment the man sets foot in Hell, devils grab him from every side, stretch him out over the flames and start skewering him with their pitchforks. The man cries out, “Satan, what happened?”
Satan replies, “C’mon, don’t you know the difference between tourism and immigration?!“
Heheh. Well, I thought it was funny. OK, you had to have been there.
Arahan Kembali Ke Malaysia
That’s what the fax said that woke us up at two in the morning Tuesday night. The suddenness and sternness of the summons made me feel like Frank Sinatra being shown the Queen of Hearts in the Manchurian Candidate. Get thee to Malaysia! I had known this was coming; university would only grant so many extensions before we finally had to pack it in. But so soon! Two weeks! How do you disengage from a house, car, job, family, friends… in two weeks?! Gentle readers, my posts may be sporadic in the near term. I’ve got a plane to catch. But soon I hope I will be posting to you all live and direct from Borneo.
Samuel Wooten Photography
I stumbled across a stunning collection of photographs at Journey Through Islam. Wooten has photographed from Morrocco to China. I particularly like his pictures of the village elder from China and Mali.
Wooten is an unusual name, and I immediately thought he may be related to the two other Wootens I’ve heard of before, Futureman Wooten and Victor Wooten, both from a band I used to listen to, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. If so, that’s one very creative family; but mighty Google did not reveal any connection…
Nifs ul-Sha’ban
Driving eastbound to my home at maghrib time just now I saw the moon hanging full and low, slightly orange in color, shining bright. Alhamdulillah, tonight is Nifs ul-Sha’ban, the middle of the month. Only two weeks left until Holy Ramadan. Tomorrow is a day RasulAllah 
often fasted, in a month he fasted much. Don’t make excuses, I tell myself; it’s good practice for Ramadan! More information on ibadaat in Sha’ban is available at Sunnah.org.
The Importance of Qasidah
There are so many beautiful habits and customs that have become commonplace in countries where Islam has existed for centuries, like reciting salawat after Adhan or joining the du’a of the Imam after salat, that have not yet permeated the muslim community here. Most palpably lacking is the invoking of praise on the Propet, peace be upon him, through the beautiful poetry of nasheed, qasidah, naat, milad and so on. There are so many songs, poems, melodies praising HabibAllah SAWS in the most exquisite and moving way that are part of the cultural inheritance of Islam, and it has been fairly inaccessible and even discouraged for us American muslims.
Which is all simply to say I am so grateful and happy to have received my copy of The Qasida Burda Sharif of Imam Sharafaddin Al-Busiri today. It is so, SO very good, I’m really at a loss for words. It is translated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, calligraphed by Mohamed Zakariya, sung by the Fez Singers led by Bennis Abdelfettah, produced by Sandala, and available in the US at AlHambra Productions. It is a thing of beauty, a real work of art. The calligraphy is in the maghribi style, which practically dances on the page. It’s not what I’m used to reading so I’m still getting familiar with it. But with the book in hand and the CD in the spinner, it’s not too difficult to follow along. The style of recitation is powerful but not so decorated that you can’t make out what is being said. I can’t do it justice so I won’t go on about it.
There are a few extra tidbits in the book that are worth mentioning. One is Shaykh Hamza’s description of his stay in the maghrib, and the way the Qasidah pervades the atmosphere there. SubhanAllah! How many of us can even recite Tala’al Badru Alayna from start to finish? The other is the Isnad provided through several lines by Shaykh Ibrahim al-Ya’qubi to Imam al-Busiri himself. It is of course beyond me to comment on the strength or weakness of that chain, but so is it also beyond the unfortunate finger-waggers out there who may try to discourage others from the self-evident goodness of Qasidah! Allah SWT says: Say [O Muhammad]: God and His angels bless the Prophet. O ye who believe! Bless him and salute him with a worthy salutation.