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The Unimaginative Symbols of Salim Barakat

Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 294 - 308, 25.08.2018
https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.454197

Abstract





K




urdish poet Salim Barakat (b. 1951, Qamishli, Syria)
in 1986 published a philosophical poem entitled Haza’in Manhuba (Glimpses
of Spoliation), the whole of which I have translated from the original Arabic
and included as annotated appendix. Barakat writes modern secular poetry in a
genre I describe as modern Islamic literature, a genre that finds its roots in
the Turkic poetry of Shah Isma’il I who founded the Safavid dynasty in Persia.
Barakat’s theoretical model for his philosophical poem within the
aforementioned genre, and his use of meaning-making techniques of repetition is
to be found in the arena of ancient Greek literature. It is, however,
essentially his concept of history that affords him space to include these
meaning-making poetic techniques as he strives to present to his readership an
exact description of the revolts, uprisings and insurgencies that have been
ongoing since the Abbasid caliphate. He explains the why and how of the
wrongdoing, and the consequences on the Day of Judgment, the divine sphere of
action functioning as part of his historical narrative. His symbols, in this
particular poem, lean less on the Persian and Arabic Sufi poets. He rather
creates symbols of his own, symbols that provide an aura of the scientific, and
are as “unimaginative” as possible – being symbols of the most basic kind. As
usual, his extraordinarily skilled and extensive use of devices of repetition
reflect his Kurdish heritage.

References

  • Barakat, Salim ((2007), al-A’mal al-Shi‘riyah Salim Barakat (The Poetry Works of Salim Barakat). Beirut: al-Mu’ssah lil-Dirasat wa-Nashr (The Foundation for Studies and Publishing). [Arabic] Khan, M.M. and Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali, M., revised edition (2011), Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an. Houston Texas: Dar-us-Salam Publications. [Online] Available at: http://www.noblequran.com(Accessed 29 Jan 2018). [Arabic and English] English: Abbas, Agha Shabbir (30 Apr 2015). A Glimpse into the Relationship of Shi’ism and Sufism; With a Special Emphasis on the Works of Mawlana Rumi. [Online] Available at: https://ahlulbaytblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/haydar-e-karrar.png (Accessed 2 Jan 2018). Mary Boyce (1979, 2001), Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. Butt, A. (2018). Empire, Split Ethnicities, and an Explosion of Poetry. Turkey: International Journal of Kurdish Studies4 (1), 44 – 69, DOI: 10.21600/ijoks.383376[Online] www.ijoks.com (Accessed 26 Jan 2018). Daryaee, Touraj, edited by (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press. Galian, Lawrence (2004). The Centrality of the Divine Feminism in Sufism:Divine Feminine as Khatun-i-Qiyamat (Lady of Resurrection). In: Proceedings of the “2nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities,” Honolulu Hawaii. [Online] Available at:http://www.adishakti.org/_/centrality_of_the_divine_feminine_in_sufism.htm [Accessed 10 Jan 2018]. Hintze, Almut (2000).Fraso.Kereti. In: Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. X, fasc.2, pp. 190-192. [Online] Available at: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/frasokrti (updated 31 Jan 2012). Kappagoda, Astika Kautilya (July 2004). Semiosis as the Sixth Sense: Theorising the Unperceived in Ancient Greek (doctoral dissertation, 647 pp.). Sydney Australia: Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University. [Online] Available at: http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Theses [Accessed 20 Jan 2018]. Minorsky, Vladimir and Shah Isma’il I (1942). The Poetry of Shah Isma’il I. In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. (1970), Shi‘ism and Sufism: Their Relationship in Essence and in History. In: Religious Studies, 6(3), pp. 229-242. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Online] http://www.jstor.org/stable/20004827. Stuurman, Siep (2017). The Invention of Humanity: Equality and Cultural Difference in World History. Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. West, E. W., trans. (1897). The Bundahishn (“Creation”), or Knowledge from the Zand. Sacred Books of the East, 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Online] Avesta – Zoroastrian Archives. http://www.avesta.org/bundahis.html (Accessed 31 Jan 2018). ONLINE ONLY: Hafiz Poetry. http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/hafiz.html [Accessed 23 Jan 2018]. Rumi Poetry. http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/rumipoetry1.html [Accessed 23 Jan 2018]. On the Symbolism of Religious Poetry. https://www.al-islam.org/wine-love-mystical-poetry-imam-khomeini/appendix-symbolism-religious-poetry [Accessed 12 Jan 2018]. ShiaChat (2014). Edited 24 Feb 2014 by Saintly_Jinn23 [Accessed 11 Jan 2018]. http://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235020699-the-poetry-of-shah-ismail-i/ . See also pages on Jurisdiction. Sufis and Shiites. http://sunnirazvi.net/sufism/history/shiites.htm [Accessed 2 January 2018]. Taqiya. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiya [Accessed 1 Jan 2018]. Aksara. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksara [Accessed 25 Jan 2018].
Year 2018, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 294 - 308, 25.08.2018
https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.454197

Abstract

References

  • Barakat, Salim ((2007), al-A’mal al-Shi‘riyah Salim Barakat (The Poetry Works of Salim Barakat). Beirut: al-Mu’ssah lil-Dirasat wa-Nashr (The Foundation for Studies and Publishing). [Arabic] Khan, M.M. and Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali, M., revised edition (2011), Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an. Houston Texas: Dar-us-Salam Publications. [Online] Available at: http://www.noblequran.com(Accessed 29 Jan 2018). [Arabic and English] English: Abbas, Agha Shabbir (30 Apr 2015). A Glimpse into the Relationship of Shi’ism and Sufism; With a Special Emphasis on the Works of Mawlana Rumi. [Online] Available at: https://ahlulbaytblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/haydar-e-karrar.png (Accessed 2 Jan 2018). Mary Boyce (1979, 2001), Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. Butt, A. (2018). Empire, Split Ethnicities, and an Explosion of Poetry. Turkey: International Journal of Kurdish Studies4 (1), 44 – 69, DOI: 10.21600/ijoks.383376[Online] www.ijoks.com (Accessed 26 Jan 2018). Daryaee, Touraj, edited by (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press. Galian, Lawrence (2004). The Centrality of the Divine Feminism in Sufism:Divine Feminine as Khatun-i-Qiyamat (Lady of Resurrection). In: Proceedings of the “2nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities,” Honolulu Hawaii. [Online] Available at:http://www.adishakti.org/_/centrality_of_the_divine_feminine_in_sufism.htm [Accessed 10 Jan 2018]. Hintze, Almut (2000).Fraso.Kereti. In: Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. X, fasc.2, pp. 190-192. [Online] Available at: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/frasokrti (updated 31 Jan 2012). Kappagoda, Astika Kautilya (July 2004). Semiosis as the Sixth Sense: Theorising the Unperceived in Ancient Greek (doctoral dissertation, 647 pp.). Sydney Australia: Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University. [Online] Available at: http://www.isfla.org/Systemics/Theses [Accessed 20 Jan 2018]. Minorsky, Vladimir and Shah Isma’il I (1942). The Poetry of Shah Isma’il I. In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. (1970), Shi‘ism and Sufism: Their Relationship in Essence and in History. In: Religious Studies, 6(3), pp. 229-242. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Online] http://www.jstor.org/stable/20004827. Stuurman, Siep (2017). The Invention of Humanity: Equality and Cultural Difference in World History. Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. West, E. W., trans. (1897). The Bundahishn (“Creation”), or Knowledge from the Zand. Sacred Books of the East, 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Online] Avesta – Zoroastrian Archives. http://www.avesta.org/bundahis.html (Accessed 31 Jan 2018). ONLINE ONLY: Hafiz Poetry. http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/hafiz.html [Accessed 23 Jan 2018]. Rumi Poetry. http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/rumipoetry1.html [Accessed 23 Jan 2018]. On the Symbolism of Religious Poetry. https://www.al-islam.org/wine-love-mystical-poetry-imam-khomeini/appendix-symbolism-religious-poetry [Accessed 12 Jan 2018]. ShiaChat (2014). Edited 24 Feb 2014 by Saintly_Jinn23 [Accessed 11 Jan 2018]. http://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235020699-the-poetry-of-shah-ismail-i/ . See also pages on Jurisdiction. Sufis and Shiites. http://sunnirazvi.net/sufism/history/shiites.htm [Accessed 2 January 2018]. Taqiya. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqiya [Accessed 1 Jan 2018]. Aksara. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksara [Accessed 25 Jan 2018].
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Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Makaleler
Authors

Aviva Butt

Publication Date August 25, 2018
Submission Date February 4, 2018
Published in Issue Year 2018Volume: 4 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Butt, A. (2018). The Unimaginative Symbols of Salim Barakat. International Journal of Kurdish Studies, 4(2), 294-308. https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.454197


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