Anthony D’Angelo
JCI Brown
Wedding of Zein
In the Islamic religion, a sense of community is extremely important for both the culture and the religion. Community is constantly emphasized in the Quran, and Muhammad brought together a whole new meaning of it. In The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih, the close knitted town in Sudan exemplifies the Islamic theme of community in every page. Everyone in the town knows of each other and knows about all the miraculous events occurring in the community. Through these events, islamic themes are displayed by Salih, but they are shown in many different ways. In this miraculous representation of a Sudanese town, two individuals bring together and resemble the Islamic religion in two opposing ways. By describing
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Haneen is often seen traveling around with no possessions, food, or people for he is “a pious man wholly dedicated to his religious devotions,” (Pg. 44). The only thing he carries with him is his love for God and his love for others. Haneen is a very pious man and has no schedule or obligations to what he is doing. He simply goes where his heart is telling him. He is also a very mysterious character in a small village where most people know each other. Hannen went around and would “meet up with a group of those itinerant holy men who wander about devoting themselves to the service of God” (Pg. 44). Haneen is so important in portraying Sufism because of how he represents his apolitical and individualism. Sufism is all about not focusing on tradition and the historical aspect of the Islamic religion, but it is about truly concentrating on the eternal and love in one’s heart. Although many in the village do not understand who Hannen is, they are able to comprehend his individual relationship with God. He is such an impactful and powerful man in the village because of his representation of Sufism. The people respect him because of his lack of tradition, in contrast to the …show more content…
Although he is a very powerful and impactful man, the people of the village are intimidated by him and must act very proper and formal when around him. To the people, he is “not a person, but an institution” (Pg. 90). The Imam is a very strict man and he always wants the people to pray. He even chastises the villagers for not being more traditional in their practices. He represented the orthodox practice of Islam because of the importance he places on society and the historical aspect of the religion. From the text, one can infer that he is more fond of God’s power than God’s love. From him constantly looking down upon someone when they do not worship God by the standards of the Mosque, he is more focused on one’s behavior than what is in one’s heart. The Imam, however, still has a huge impact on the town because he helps keep the village on it’s feet. Although many people feel depressed when they see him, (because he reminds them of “death, the afterlife, and prayers” (pg. 87) they had to respect him. When Zeins highly anticipated wedding day arrived, the sudanese village did the traditional wedding ceremony. Although the Imam is not fond of Zein’s foolishness and comical personality, in contrast to Haneen caring for Zein
Leftzion, Nehemia. “Islam in the Bildad al-Sudan to 1800,” in The History of Islam in
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
The Byzantine Empire was a primarily Christian empire whose reign started in 330 A.D and ended in 1453 A.D with the capturing of the its capital, Constantinople by the Muslim Sultan Mehmed II. In the years following the fall of the Byzantines, many of the Christian basilicas were transformed into mosques for Islamic worship, inspiring many artists to create works that embodied their religious politics. One of the pieces created following the fall of the Byzantine Empire is the painting of Yusuf Fleeing Zulayhka, created in 1488 by Kamal al-Din Bihzad, a famous Persian painter who worked under the patronage of several Persian sultans. The illustration depicts Yusuf’s struggle to escape his master’s wife Zulaykha as she chases him through her elaborate palace in an attempt to seduce him. The representation was made using paint, ink and gold, and features jewel-like colors in order to portray the extravagancy of the palace Zulayhka has built specifically for the seduction of Yusuf (Stokstad 286). This essay will assess three accounts of the story of Yusuf and Zulaykha and the reasoning behind why the narrative is often labelled as a cautionary tale and of what kind.
Nothing”(Hosseini 25). Hassan and his father, Ali, are discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and physical features. He is bullied because some believe “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns.the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here”. His people pollute our homeland, our water. They dirty our blood”(Hosseini 40).
Despite this absence of fatherly affection, Amir has other people who care about him deeply. To Amir, Hassan is his servant first and his best friend second. Throughout Afghani culture, this superiority idea is continually upheld and reinforced. Hassan, on the other hand, sees Amir as his all knowledgeable best friend. He protects Amir against the attacks of Assef out of love and devotion. Unfortunately, Hassan’s defense only leads to Amir burrowing deeper into his natural state of cowardice.
Hosseini provides the reader with a wide gamut of personalities, some fitting in, and some contrasting the conservative nature of Afghanistan presented in the novel. Baba, Amir’s father, is an example of an individual that stands out as a rather liberal character given the context of his setting. Ignoring the rigid doctrine widely accepted regarding right and wrong, he boldly states:
...ry religious, it would seem, because he owns a huge copy of the Qur'an which he keeps safe in a fancy box covered in velvet. Atiq doesn't like his job, he doesn't feel that it is respectable, and the more he thinks about it the angrier he gets. He also feels that the war will never end. Atiq is losing health, sleep, and weight in this desolate environment. Kabul is even more depressing while he watches a young poor practice for his future by killing animals in the street. Atiq doesn't want to go home to face his sick wife and messy home. Atiq prays for his wife's death while looking for a remedy for her disease of the blood. He meets with Mirza Shah who tells him to divorce her. Atiq refuses, he speaks of her loss of family and the fact that she saved his life, but maybe he just loves her. Mirza has a bleak outlook on women, they are suspicious propery and slaves.
I, the Emperor Mansa Musa of Mali, write this ever so elaborate work to entail my amazing journey across to the Middle East, for the hope of preserving my deeds and the deeds of the Mali people. As a fond devotee of the Islamic culture, I had been yearning to cross to the northern parts of Africa and the Middle East to see the exhibit of the culture and existences of the people. I came across very vibrant regions, including Egypt, the Holy land of Mecca, and other Islamic provinces.
Although Hosseini does not elucidate whether he has felt isolated from his family, by emphasizing Hassan’s conflicts with Amir, he highlights the degree of isolation he felt as a young, innocent boy. Through this, Hosseini claims that isolation from neighborhood boys is incomparable to the bullying one faces from a family member. This is particularly evident when Amir intentionally “teases” and “exposes [Hassan’s] ignorance” while reading a sophisticated novel to him (Hosseini 28). Hosseini effectively conveys his message that although Amir and Hassan are cousins, there is a mist of separation that co-exists between them because of their religious status. These incessant harassment present in Hassan’s life reflects the portion of Hosseini’s life as a pariah in America, which was an inevitable misfortune due to his Afghan descent. For example, Hosseini was called a “terrorist,” which Hosseini passively dismissed by acknowledging his fate from the “inscrutable Afghan resignation” (Jones 1). Encountering such difficulties at a young age, Hosseini decides to dedicate a large portion of the novel illustrating the scenes through
Although Amir is a Pashtun he continuously associates himself with Hazara's which affects his pride based on the religious beliefs of the people around him. Hossaini opens up the story with a boy named Amir who lives in Afghanistan with his father and their servants. One of his servants, Hassan, was born at about the same time as Amir and although they might be considered worlds apart, they act as if they are close friends. Early in the book Amir is hanging out with Hassan near a pomegranate tree when they are confronted by a notorious bully named Assef. Assef soon starts to ask Amir questions about why he is friends with a Hazara when he is a Pashtun. To which Amir almost responds with, “‘But he’s not my friend!’ I almost blurted. ‘He’s my servant!”’ (41). Through this quote we are able to see how Amir is acting differently when he is exposed the others from his culture that are outside his immediate family. By almost using the phrase “my servant” Amir displays how he wants to show his true feelings for how he thinks of
Amir’s childhood is spent vying for his father’s attention, feeling as though he must compete with his servant friend Hassan
But in none of his stories did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend.” (Hosseini 25). Here, the reader is able to comprehend that by considering Ali’s culture in practicing Shi’a Islam, a separate branch of Islam, Baba does not truly Ali to be his true friend regardless of their past experiences as well as Ali’s perspective towards Baba. Additionally, one is conveyed a similar concept between the association of Amir and Hassan, as Amir himself ultimately comprehends that he does not consider Hassan his true companion because of the diverse branches of Islam in which they follow. As seen here, “The curious thing was, I never thought of Hassan and me as friends either. Not in the usual sense, anyhow. Never mind that we taught each other to ride a bicycle with no hands… Never mind that we spent entire winters flying kites, running kites… history isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing.” (25). Therefore, the reader is able to identify that although Amir and Hassan have progressed throughout their life’s events together, their relationship is impeded by their religion, which causes Amir to socially consider Hassan inferior, as he is a
Hosseini paints the Afghan social structure as eminently stratified, where even as a child, Amir was aware of his fortune over that of Hassan, witnessing “people… [call] Hazaras mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys”(10), but becoming conscious of the ubiquity of the dynamic through one of his deceased mother’s books which stated that the Pashtun people “had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras”(10) and because of this, Hazaras were consequently discriminated against and forced to work as indentured servants in Afghanistan. This relationship is present between Amir and Hassan, Baba and Ali; where even though the latter of the two sets were servants of the former, there was a sense of brotherhood between the boys and men. As a result of this, Amir had an inkling that it was wrong to take advantage of Hassan’s devotion. However, in his eyes, “[he] was a Pashtun and [Hassan] was a Hazara, [he] was Sunni and [Hassan] was Shi’a, and nothing was going to change that”(25). Amir’s affluence never truly provided him with the insight to ponder why it was that he was educated and could have everything he wanted while Hassan had to work all day to support him.
In his short story, “The Prophet’s Hair,” Salman Rushdie make use of magic realism, symbolization and situational irony to comment on class, religion, and the fragility of human life. The story is brimming with ironic outcomes that add to the lighthearted and slightly fantastic tone. Rushdie’s use of the genre magic realism capitalizes on the absurdity of each situation but makes the events relevant to readers’ lives. In addition, the irony in the story serves as a way to further deepen Rushdie’s commentary on class and religion. Finally, his use of symbolization focuses on the concept of glass, and just how easily it can be broken.
God Dies by the Nile, Gives the reader and interesting look at a time and place that seems to have no equality between men and women. The Middle east has many very interesting features and aspects about it such as the way their economy is organized, the type of religion that they practice, the various geographical aspects of the land, and the way that society is in general. Because the economy is so poor, many people live in mud huts along rivers, and have very few material possessions. The main source of income comes from working in the fields. What little money they earn from the hard labor goes toward food for the family. Although this is not how everyone in lives. Strong political figures are those who live in luxury. This is the way it is in Kafr El Teen, where the characters of God Dies by the Nile, live.