In Egypt: Freedom of Expression is Under Military Attack

The 'Egyptian Shakira (Suha Mohammed Ali) and her recent album is call "al-Kamoun"

In Egypt, freedom of speech has been worsening since the military has taken over control of the country after it ousted President Morsi, in 2013. Recently, an Egyptian court sentenced two women to six months in prison. The two performers are famous belly dancers and known as Bardis and Egyptian Shakira (Suha Mohammed Ali and Dalia Kamal). Their charges are committing debauchery and promotion of immorality through their videos. If carefully watched, neither of the two videos contains nudity or promotes immorality. So, why the court has charged the two singers into six months prison? What is in the video that could be assumed offensive to Egyptians?

For Egyptian Shakira, the video clips starts with a scene where a dancer swings her hip while clinging to the wall. Then, the scene leads to a decorated room, more looks like a bar, or a nightclub, than a studio. The main character of the video is the singer who emerges with extravagant makeup. A few scenes later, the singer and dancers appear in school uniform. Thus far, everything looks normal, but what come next could be provocative parts for some religious viewers in Egypt, which could be one of the reasons that the court might based on its charges against the dancer. At one point, the singer appears in bare shoulders, while dancing in a close-up view for the camera, she bites and sucks her lips, which could be interpreted as deliberately and sexually enticing. In many Muslim countries, singing, dancing and demonstrating any sign of explicit sensual acts are forbidden and the consequences might be dire.

Another controversial part is when the singer holds a hot red pepper (felfel), which is among aphrodisiac spices in Arab culture and traditionally, it is considered one of the spices that men need for awakening sexual desire. This scene is aggravated towards the end of the clip where the singer closes her eyes, and acts in an orgasmic manner by adding a groaning sound affect towards the end of a verse and then lands on the floor, next to a white scooter. Though all these gestures seem childish and insecure, zooming in on red lips, moving hip in short skirts that reveal dancers thighs could be provocative to religious viewers, but again, it all indicate that the singers use them tongue-in-cheek.

By looking at some traditional belly dancers videos from the 1980s and 90s, in which the dancers appear in a more inadequately clothed, Suha Mohammed Ali and Dalia Kamal Youssef are very modestly looking. Suha and Dalia are not the first to be prisoned. In July, another woman, Reda el-Fouly and her boy friend, who made a homemade video, was convicted of similar charge.

Similarly, in March, a well-known dancer - Safinaz - was sentenced to six months in prison. But what is different between these dancers and those dancers from twenty, or thirty years ago, is not how decent, or indecent they appear in their videos, rather it is the relative freedom of speech that once existed under the Hosni Mubarak role, which is now has gone.

While suppressing freedom of speech, in the time of Mubarak had been systematically motivated by political intentions, during the current regime - which leads by the military commander, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi – suppression of freedom of speech is motivated by fear. The military ruling government which demonstrates itself as a savior of the “January 25, 2011 Revolution” is now cracking down not only on Muslim Brotherhood, human rights activist, secular and leftist elites, but also going after artists who even do not seem to be threats at all. The current military regime in Egypt carries out all these crackdowns and violence against its own citizens in order to establish itself an indisputable authority and as the only liberator and guardian of the Egyptian people since 2011. What is now happening in Egypt makes people nostalgic of the Mubarak era and according to what is coming out of Egypt and what analysts believe is as long as the country is being governed by the military and the clamp down is continued to such a horrific level, the prospect of freedom of expression will be grim and gloomy.

I wrote this post in the beginning of September, but for some reason it was lost among other files.  

Karzai! No One Cares What You Think

Who cares what Karzai thinks, today? No one, really. In a recent interview with the BBC, Hamid Karzai said, Americans have thrown hundreds of millions of dollars without any useful or beneficial purposes. Well, Karzai might be right on this partially, but it was his family members who benefited the most from American money than anyone else. Among members of his family, the one who directly received American money was Hamid Karzai's controversial half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai. (Wali was assassinated in 2011, and later, it was speculated that he was shot by one of his family members.) Ahmad Wali used American money for various purposes, one of which made him well-known and rich was illegal land grabbing, in Kandahar. While Wali was engaged in illegal land acquisition by using Karzai's influence, who also tried to cultivate power and buy support of Polpalzai tribesmen; others were engaged with Americans as private security contractors and they also owned several construction companies.

According to news sources, Major projects in Afghanistan had been first contracted to companies owned by Karzai's brothers, and then were subcontracted to other companies, but again, it was Karzai's family who collected major profits out American money which was supposed to be spent on construction.

When it comes to refugee crisis, Karzai appears utterly oblivious to the fact that it is his legacy and due his support of the Taliban insurgency throughout his term that has turned the country a dangerous place for all Afghans and particularly for the Hazaras who are being mercilessly targeted by the Taliban on daily basis. The majority of Afghan refugees who are now crossing the borders alongside Syrian refugees are the Hazara people. Karzai knows it, but he is afraid to pronounce it.

Charging and blaming Americans for wrongdoing is Karzai's favorite way for not only trying to dodge public disapproval and loathing, but also trying to win hearts and minds among the Taliban members whom he calls them his brothers. Like his successor, Ashraf Ghani - whose government is about to fall apart - Karzai is not a reliable person, at all. He says, he is not a coup maker, but he now is actively attempting to undermine the current government.

It is astonishing how Karzai relentlessly appears to be the number one enemy of the United States. He calls al-Qaede a myth and rejects that 9/11 attacks were planned in Afghanistan. His schizophrenic behavior is not new, in fact, his erratic temperament began in 2009, when Obama took office. At any rate, whatever Karzai believes or says today is not really important. He does not have anything new to offer for improvement of the current situation of Afghanistan, and its government, which is teetering on the brink of collapse.

What an Ignoble World we Live in

Lets imagine ourselves living in a boundary where lines have divided us from each other based on our colors, ethnicity and language. Imagine that we are being told throughout our lives that it is our noble duty to protect our national values from others; others who are different from us in many ways, and there might not be even a single sign of commonality between us and others. What would happen hereafter?

It is encountering others that sometimes ignites our sense of ignobleness, and it projects fanaticism, which then let us discharge hatred towards others. The sense of otherness that infuses with ire and then invades our conscience; and eventually replace our morality and ethics with zealotry. That is when humanity disappears.

Zealotry is a threat to human civilization; Petra Laszlo is a small example of what could happen if we let our conscious be governed by zealotry that is often reinforced by political entities. It might recur in the future. We are definitely experiencing a moral problem, not only that it reflects badly on journalism ethics, its mirrors dispassion and lack of consciousness that could be embedded not in an individual, but in a greater number.

As a final note, we should not forget that what Petra did was an insult to herself first, then to her profession, and most importantly it reflects badly on Hungary, and its people. If Franz Liszt would be alive, he would certainly be ashamed of his countrywoman's detestable manner towards vulnerable refugees who are escaping war in their countries.

The Hazaras who Create Afghanistan's Arts

While other ethnic groups in Afghanistan are trying to stay busy fighting and killing each other, the Hazaras of Afghanistan are doing something different, the art. Here is an example, Anahita Ulftat is a Hazara girl who last year participated in Afghan Star - Afghan idol - has just released a new video clip, which is astonishingly beautiful and artistic in post-modern context.

By Afghan standard, this kind of art is astoundingly rare and new. This is an example of how freedom, education, and liberalism benefit the very people who Ms. Ulfat belongs to, have been excluded from all basic rights. It has been only a decade since the Hazaras have been through a period of relatively peacefulness, which bestowed freedom under the protection of the U.S. and the international community. Hazaras are proud of their identity and country. In sport, Hazaras have often took their country's flag to the international stage and garnered gold medals for their country.

Last year, in February, I published a blog post about Anahita Ulfat and her talents. Here's that blog post:
Anahita Ulfat, Sings Songs of the Oppressed

I Swear by Mustache

I swear by my mustache and my love of it that I will not surrender to Jeff’s (Jeff is a real person who lives on this planet) request to shave my mustache, nor ask any man on earth to shave for me. I swear by my mustache and the love of its amusement in which my fingers twirl it every second, that I behold and hold this truth to be self-evident that every mustache is being grown free and independent with inherent natural rights that cannot be, by persuasion and lure, deprived or interrupted its spread and domination over the lips.

Afghan President Plays Prank on April Fool's Day

April Fool’s Day is a great day for people who deliberately play jokes on one another, but in some countries like Afghanistan April Fool's Day does not exist. What instead these countries have are their leaders who play pranks on them and the world.

The latest prank from Afghanistan came on April 1, 2015 when President Ashraf Ghani announced that his government is ready with ALL its POWER (yes, that is correct, with all its power) to support Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Huthi rebels in Yemen.

"The Afghan government stands with all power by the brotherly government and people of Saudi Arabia in defending the sacred territory should there be any threat." Read the entire statement here.

It is quite amusing to hear the Afghan president announces his country's support for Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a country that is largely responsible for exporting the extreme interpretation of Islam to other Muslim countries. Afghanistan is one of those countries. The Afghan people know all too well what Wahhabism has done to them. They have paid a heavy price to fight against it.

Despite this, Afghanistan now has a new president who seems to be ignorant of all these sacrifices. On the top of that he does not recognize the regional sectarian sensitivity of this issue. I believe he has made a major mistake in his foreign policy, because it appears he has not made a careful assessment of what the repercussions could be. Ashraf Ghani, should be anxious for he has to expect some resentment and anger from Iran. Iran hosts more than two million Afghan refugees, shares a boarder, and has strong historical, religious and linguistic ties with Afghanistan. On the other hand Saudi Arabia shares relatively little except for religion.

So, what compels Ashraf Ghani to stand by Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Huthi rebels with all its powers when Afghanistan's capital and other major cities are being rocked by suicide attacks on a daily basis and its security forces are not able to protect its citizens?

Since taking office in September of last year, Ashraf Ghani has frequently traveled to Riyadh to explore avenues for seeking the Saudi's cooperation with the peace negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The outcome of his efforts and travels to Saudi Arabia have had little affect on Afghanistan. Perhaps those travels will not be significant because the Saudi's have never played a positive role in Afghanistan's peace nor are the Saudi's really interested in the wellbeing of the Afghan people.

What entices the Afghan president to seek the Saudi's support in the peace negotiations with the Taliban is not the Saudi King's initiatives, but rather the sanctity of the oil rich country that hosts Mecca. Mecca has a sacred mosque that attracts hundreds of thousands of Afghans every year.

It is highly unlikely the Saudi will be a successful role player in the peace negotiations between the Afghanistan government and the Afghan Taliban. So, many Afghans look at Ashraf Ghani's statement of support for Saudi Arabia's attacks on the Huthi rebels in Yemen as amusing. It is being looked at like an April Fool's Day hoax/joke. Ashraf Ghani is famous for his stupid and ludicrous remarks among many Afghans. There are some similarities that could be drawn between he and his predecessor, Hamid Karzai.

Jump Break Problem in Blogger

I am having difficulty creating a jump break in my blog post. It looks dull and boring to see a single post is a foot long, sometime even longer. As everyone tries to adapt to newer widgets and features, it necessitates me to spend a little on bringing some changes to the appearance. The current theme doesn't represent my optimal style, still, I think the simplicity of it matches my taste.

I have installed the current theme in 2009, and I can't exactly remember where I found it, and who has designed it. It's, as resembles, a basic Wordpress theme called "Pilcrow" (see the theme on wordpress website).

Is there anyone who could help with the xml codes? I attempted several times to change the codes, but wasn't successful. I would appreciate anyone who could assist me to solve this problem. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right column.

Celebration of Nawruz at the White House and Afghan Traditional Dance

On March 11, the First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a celebration of Nawruz, at the White House. Participants were mostly from community diasporas including Afghans, Iranians, Tajiks and Kurds. I felt honored to be invited by the White House and celebrate Nawruz with Mrs. Obama. Nawruz, as part of the United State's presidential greetings, was introduced by Georg H.W. Bush, in 1992. Since then, though sporadic, Nawruz, has keenly been celebrated.

Georg H.W. Bush, uninformedly called Nawruz as Iranian new year, a tradition that is widely celebrated across the region and Iran is part of it. In fact, if we call Nawruz as an Iranian new year, we belittle the historical importance, the traditions and its relevance in a larger context of Khorasan, a historical region comprising Afghanistan and some parts of Central Asia. The word Iran derives from eran, in Pahlavi dialect which once spoken in northeast Iran, where it meant aryans. Though old, the word "Iran" is used in the modern context and in a sense, it excludes other ethnic groups - like Turks, Kurds and Arabs - inside the Iranian territory who claim to be ethnically Aryans. But as it appears, ethnic groups in Iran are not only not sensitive to it, but proud of it, unlike Afghanistan, whose some ethnic groups are sensitive to be called Afghan, because up until mid-twentieth century, the word referred to Pashtun and in fact, still referred that way. Non-Pashtuns prefer to be called Afghanistani, instead of Afghan, a word that makes Pashtuns unhappy. 

Moreover, Iranian scholars credit Shahnameh in which the word Iran is repeated more than seven hundred times. It was written by Abul-Qasim Firdawsi around 1000 CE, and guess, where it was completed? In Ghazni, located in the central east of Afghanistan. And by the way, the majority of the cities mentioned in the epic stories of Shahnameh are in Afghanistan. Just for reminder, you would be better off not to mention this to some Iranians for not to make their blood boil.

Regardless of what has said here, Nawruz is an important holiday for people in Iran and thanks to them who preserved such a great tradition against the early conquest of Muslim Arabs who wanted to eradicate Nawruz and all other pre-Islamic traditions.

Happy Nawruz and I wish you all the best as you embark on 1994!

If you are curious to know how Nawruz is being celebrated in Afghanistan, you can read my article which I wrote for CNN, in 2010.

Here, enjoy a short video of Afghan traditional dance which I recorded on March 11, at the White House.

How Do Other Afghan Ethnic Groups View Iran-Hazara Relations?

In my previous post, I explained that how certain historical events have shaped the future of Hazaras and also how those events have affected Hazaras relations with Iran. The 9/11 attacks and its aftermath, which ushered in a new phase of Hazara’s liberation with the opportunity to finally enjoy some freedom. I indicated that such achievement has not been possible without the support of the United States and the international community.

In this post, as promised earlier, I will address some opposing arguments, which have often made by some other Afghan ethnic groups against the Hazaras. From Pashtun and perhaps some Tajiks viewpoints, the Hazaras are still agents of Iran and spying for Iran, and they are not loyal to their country. Why? Here is one of the popular accusations that has always been made. I will discuss the scale of such accusations in historical context and will argue how such accusations have helped perpetuate persecution and discrimination against the Hazaras.

This is what they argue:
Iran and Hazaras have a strong bond and it comes from their common religion and language because they are both Shiite and speak the same language. Most of Afghan refugees living in Iran are Hazaras. Iran feels comfortable to work with them and use them not only against the United States, but also against Sunni Muslim in Afghanistan. Therefore, because of all these commonalities, the Hazaras are susceptible to Iran’s influence and it is not wrong to treat them as suspicious.

This kind of argument is nowhere near commons sense, nor based on evidence but built on allegations and prejudice. But, perhaps, one of the compelling evidences that would back up this argument is Iran’s involvement in the jihad war against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. This was the beginning of Iran’s active engagement in Afghanistan’s affairs and as well as the beginning of Iran’s interaction with the Hazara people. Iran, like Pakistan played an active role by creating eight Shiite political parties, during the 1980s, to fight the Soviet troops.

Iran’s influence on Hazaras during the Soviet occupation is unquestionable. However, after the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989, the game has changed because the regional and transregional players achieved their goals: rolling back the Soviet to its borders. But what followed the post-Soviet occupation, was a series of disastrous events in which some players still found themselves unable to stop hepling once they started.  What happened subsequently was quite predictable. Iran lost its interest in Hazaras and instead began working with Tajiks, and their famous commander, Ahmad Shah Massoud. Iran realized that the Hazaras did not have the ability nor the capacity to run a government. During this time, Iran prefered and wished to have Tajiks ruling the country, however, it never had a serious and consistent foreign policy on bringing the Farsi speakers to power in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, Iran, continued to support the ruling political parties of Tajiks, Shura-e Nazar (supervisory council), and Jamiat-e Islami (Islamic society), until the fall of the Taliban regime.

On the contrary, the Hazara political parties which played an important role during the civil war between 1992-1995 and after losing the battle in Kabul, gradually marginalized and eventually became under the dominance of the Tajik parties, Shura-e Nazar, and Jamiat-e Islami, which later all of them made an alliance under compulsion to fight the Taliban regime. It is undeniably true that the Hazara parties kept close contact with Iran throughout the 1990s and up until the fall of the Taliban regime, because Iran did not want to have a brutal regime ruling Afghanistan, especially after 1998 murder of its diplomats and journalist at Iranian consulate, but the assistance was not direct and substantial because the Hazara parties relied on Northern Alliance logistic support. There were, however, other factions with direct support of Iran which they still receive Iran's support, namely, Harakat-e Islami Afghanistan (Islamic Movement of Afghanistan) that is led by its founder, Muhammad Asif Muhsini, who is ethnically a Pashtun from Kandahar, but religiously a Shia. He does not represent the Hazara people and the Hazaras hate him because of his racism attitudes against their late leader, Abdul Ali Mazari, also because of his notorious and misogynistic law allowing Afghan men to rape female.

To recapitulate, the Hazaras have changed as result of going through certain and decisive events, which took place during the 1990s and post-Taliban era. The detachment from the dominance and influence of Iran and its religious revolutionary ideology to becoming independent, and domesticating liberal and modern values, which heralded awakening of Hazaras, has not been a smooth transition. The Hazaras have paid a heavy price for their relations with Iran, but finally determined to liberate themselves from within and from without. They endured years of intense internal factional conflicts, and then suffered through dreadful years of mass atrocity against themselves by the Taliban. Therefore, it is not fair to build an accusation based on some matters which do not exist any longer. Speculation and accusation based on old and obsolete factors are not only helpful, but perpetuate prejudice and discrimination. Finally, those who still make these kind of allegations against Hazaras either being ignorant of Afghanistan’s history and the changes took place in recent decades, or for any reason, afraid to understand and acknowledge them.

In the upcoming posts, I will further discuss and analyze the opposing arguers’ points in different ways.

Why Hazaras Are Supporting The U.S., But Not Iran?

In my previous blog post, I argued that Iran has not been successful in exerting its influence through the Hazaras in Afghanistan, despite its strong historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious ties with them. In this post, I will elaborate my argument about the extent to which some historical events, particularly during the Taliban regime contributed to Hazaras’ awareness, which eventually led to changes in their attitudes and their political behavior toward Iran. In the next blog post I will review some opposing arguments, but first, let me straighten out why this political divorce have happened and why the Hazaras are mistrustful of Iran.

To find an adequate reason to why Hazaras refused and warded off Iran’s infiltration and noxious intention of fueling anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan, we have to look at some historical events that led to such drastic changes.
In November 1998, when the Taliban force took over the city of Mazar-e Sharif for the second time, the chauvinist governor of Balkh, Mullah Manan Niazi, announced that the Hazaras are infidels and killing them is not a sin. Niazi then gave Hazaras three options: convert to Sunni Islam, leave the country, or die. The Hazaras did not leave, nor converted into Sunni Islam, but then, the death arrived. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) between 1998 and 2001, the Taliban massacred thousands of Hazaras and burned down their houses in Mazar-e Sharif (read HRW report on Mazar-e Sharif massacre) and Bamiyan (read HRW report on one of Bamiyan’s district massacre). Thousands of people fled their homes and others displaced at large-scale. Iran kept quiet as Shiite Hazaras were slaughtered by the Taliban regime.

It was the 2001 U.S. presence in Afghanistan that saved millions of Hazaras from ethnic cleansing. When the U.S. forces entered Afghanistan, the Hazaras were the first to welcome the U.S. presence in their country. In 2003, after the provisional government was established, Hazaras were the first to voluntarily join the disarmament process in order to cooperate with the transitional government. In November 2013, when Karzai convened a national assembly on a bilateral security agreement with the U.S. that would let the United States to leave some troops beyond 2014, the Hazara delegates overwhelmingly endorsed the deal. Not only that, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Hazara delegates even urged the United States to open a base in Bamiyan.

Today, the Hazara minority group that has faced long-term persecution, fears that the Taliban regime will return and is therefore a strong supporter of the U.S. troops’ presence beyond 2014, which is contrary to Iran’s policy in Afghanistan. Iran wants the U.S. to leave Afghanistan because it fears that Afghanistan might be used as a platform for attacking it. The Hazara people have been aware of Iran’s intention in Afghanistan and they have realized that what Iran wants in Afghanistan is against their national interests. Therefore, if anyone wonders why Hazaras have distanced themselves from Iran, they should look at the events that directly affected the existence of Hazaras in Afghanistan. The fact that how much Hazaras have been enjoying the past decade of status quo, highlights the changes in their attitudes, and behavior toward Iran. 

Iran and Afghanistan Relations after U.S. Withdrawal

Two years ago, in February 2013, I gave a talk at the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREEES) at Stanford University on how Iran’s soft power is in decline in Afghanistan, and how it has overly been inclined to resort to hard power. (Here, you can read a short synopsis of my talk’s proposed content.) While some may argue that Iran’s influence is undeniable and perhaps, is more profound than we think, here, I will explore the relationship of Iran with the Hazaras of Afghanistan, especially in the post-Taliban era to determine the extent of Iran’s influence in the country.

I will argue that Iran has not been successful in pursuing its goals appertaining to its foreign policy in Afghanistan because it has lost one of the most useful and traditionally accessible avenues for channeling its influence to the country. This avenue could not be anything else, but the Hazara people who are historically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously closer than anyone else in Afghanistan. The Hazaras are mostly Shiites who constitute the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, and for the past decade they have played an important role in every aspects of the country. Iran has been aware of the Hazaras' crucial role and thus, doing anything to receive benefits from its relationship with them.

Given the unpredictability and uncertainty of Afghanistan’s future after the U.S. forces’ withdrawal, it is important to know, and to a certain extent predict, how its neighbors’ behavior will differ from that of the last 13 years. In a series of blog posts, I will look at Iran and Afghanistan’s relationship during the 1980s, through its civil war of the 1990s, and the post-Taliban era. My main focus will be the Hazaras of Afghanistan and their interactions with Iran.

Bidel: We are the messengers of the nothingness

Across ages, we are being amused at expressing worthlessness
and we are the opener of pages of the stories of nothingness
You could expect nothing from us, but name
we are the messengers of the world of nothingness

عمریست که سرگرم ِ بیان ِ هیچیم
طومارگشای  داستان ِ هیچیم
با نامی از آن میان، ز ما قانع باش
ما قاصد ِ پیغام ِ جهان ِ هیچیم

’aumrîst kî sargarm-e bayân-e heechîm
tumâr gushâyee dâstân-e heechim
bâ nâmi az ân mîyân, zi mâ qane’a bâsh
mâ qâsed-e paighâm-e jahân-e heechîm
                                                                      By Mirza Bidel
                                                                     Translated by Nasim Fekrat

The above quatrain reflects the depth of the Buddhism philosophy, and it also shows how Bidel was greatly influenced by Buddhism, and perhaps Hinduism's philosophy of life. There is no wonder to think of Bidel as one of the most modern thinkers and of a sufi poets of our age. He thinks and talks of our age, our meanings of life and he sees and says what we can't.

Bidel: The soft earth reflects the footprints

هرکه رفت از دیده داغی بر دل ما تازه‌ کرد
در زمین نرم نقش پا نمایان می‌ شود

Harkî raft az dîdah dâghe bar dîl-e mâ tâzah kard
dar zamîn-e narm naqsh pâ nomâyân meshawad

whoever left us

ailed us

and left a wound in our heart

like the soft ground 

reflecting the footprints

                                                                       Poem by Mirza Bidel
                                                                      Translated by Nasim Fekrat

Note: this poem was translated a while ago. It was republished on the web without reference. I changed the translation, not for that reason, but because I realized it was not translated accurately.

Bidel: The Paradise That Reflects Your Avarices

O the consumer of the residue of imagination, blessing is something else
You are being vain with illusion; the truth is something else
The paradise that is adorned with gems and gold
reflects your avarice -- the paradise is something else

ای زلـّه کش ِ خیال! نعمت، دگراست
مغرور توهّمی، حقیقت دگر است
خـُلدی که به گوهر و زر آراسته اند
مجموعۀ حرص تست، جنت دگر است
 
Ai zalla-kashî khiyâl, ne’mat digar ast
maghror-e tawahumî, haqîqat digar ast
kholdî ki ba gawhar wa zar ârâsta-and
majmo’aee heers-e tust, janat digar ast
                                                                            Poem by: Mirza Bidel
                                                                           Translated by Nasim Fekrat

Don't Be Bewitched By Your Cupidity

قناعت ساحل امن است افسون طمع مشنو
مبادا کشتي درويش در کام نهنگ افتد

qanā’at sāhīl amn ast afsūn-e tam’a mashnaw
mabādā keshtīyi dervish dar kām-e nahang oftad

Contentment is a safe shore, listen not to be bewitched by cupidity
Lest the dervish’s ship fall prey to the whale.
                                                                                  Poem by: Mirza Bidel
                                                                                 Translated by Nasim Fekrat

Bidel: You cannot quaff the ocean except as a whale

You cannot quaff the ocean except as a whale
You cannot sprint the mountain, unless a tiger
The sea of time and place, for you, is but one gulp 
Limit not your boundless imagination

دریا نکشی، اگر نهنگی نکنی
بر کوه نتازی، ار پلنگی نکنی
یک جرعۀ تست، قلزم ِ کون و مکان
ای حوصلۀ خیال تنگی نکنی

Daryâ nakashî, agar nahangî nakunî
bar kooh natâzî, ar palangî nakunî
yak jur'a-e tust, qulzam-e kown wa makân
ai hawsêla-e khîyâl tangî nakunî                                                 
                                                                          Poem by: Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel
                                                                                   Translated by Nasim Fekrat

The above Rubāʿī  or quatrain is one among many famous Ruba'iyyat of Mirza Bidel. The translation might not be exact and clear enough, but reading the verses and delving into the meaning of images and imaginations that form a complicated concepts of mystical fascination of life which are unique in poetry of Bidel, I tried to remain loyal to the origin of the poems rather than conceptualizing them. After reading Bidel's poems, it has always been an awe-inspiring experience for me to be thrown into another world beyond myself, beyond my routine, and beyond explanation.

Meaning:
The first line: You cannot be the person that you want to be if you do not have the courage to take the risk.
The second line: You cannot survive in the mountains if you are not a tiger. In another way, if you want to survive among many other wild beasts in the mountains, you must be strong like a tiger. Consider your situation in a society where you are surrounded by numerous social traps. These traps can be your social coterie, meretricious decor, styles, marks or social networking sites that could have complete control of your life.
The third line: Here, Bidel, says, if you have the quality of self-control and forbearance, then, a world's ocean would seem a gulp to you, but Bidel lays down a condition in the last line: These are all possible if you are patient enough, that if you possess the power of self-control and most importantly, control over your free will.

Bidel: Humbleness, a Path to Harmony

به هزار کوچه دویده ام، به تسلی نرسیده ام
ز قد خمیده شنیده ام، که چو حلقه شد به دری رسد

Ba hazār kūcha dawīdam-am, ba tasallī narasidam-am
Zī qad khamida shinīda-am, kī chū halqa shud ba darī rasad

Running into thousand of streets, brought me no tranquility
I heard from an elder that the one, who turns to a ring, reaches the door.
                                                                               Poem by: Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel
                                                                                  Translated by Nasim Fekrat

In this poem, Bidel, demonstrates the ultimate humbleness that one should possess if undertaking a journey to reach harmony. He says that he ran through thousands of streets, spent nights and days, and endeavored pain to reward himself with tranquility, and peace. For Bidel, the word ‘tranquility’ is an allusion to the achievement of the reality of the existence; also, it is an insinuation to his beloved one, whoever might be; and finally, ‘tranquility’ is an allusion to his God. Bidel says that life has a meaning, and that meaning is not easily attainable. The significance of the first line’s meaning manifests itself in the second line.

Bidel says I perceived from an old man that the path to harmony is to become a door’s ring. This multifaceted line, at first glance might drive the reader into complete perplexity and wonder. However, it is no wonder when the readers find themselves confused, Bidel has unique style and he has used the most complex and implicitly difficult meanings to extract his imagination of humbleness.

So, to put it an understandably meaningful way, Bidel says that I spent all my life to reach harmony, but I was failed. Then he says: “An old man told me that in order to achieve the state of harmony and tranquil, one should be humble enough.” The word ‘ring’ has a special and an implicit meaning here. Bidel uses ‘ring’ to symbolize the old-age and the U-bend of life. Symbolically and humbly, Bidel pictures himself as a door ring at the gate that he might refer it to God. In another way, Bidel uses ‘ring’ to symbolize bowing; the gesture of humbleness, and obedience to God. Finally, being a ‘ring’ at door that implicitly pictures humbleness is a supreme virtue.

So, what is Bidel’s wisdom for us?
Modesty is the core of success and a path to harmony. Be modest in your clothing, in your talking; do not show off your knowledge and your wealth to others. Demonstrate humbleness and kindness to others, life is short, and at the time you realize you have ran thousands of streets and still running to find harmony, but you cannot, pause and ponder how modest and humble you were.

The Path of Humbleness Leads to Perfection

"Bidel, way to honor lies in humbleness
This path, led the new moon to its perfection"

بيدل دليل مقصد عزت تواضع است
زين جاده، ماه نو به جهان كمال رفت

Bidel, dalil-e maqsad-e ezat tawāz‘a ast
zin jādeh, māhi naw ba jahān-e kamāl raft
                                                                 Poem by: Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel                                                                                                                  Translated by Nasim Fekrat

I chose this verse because to remind myself of a humble person that I have met recently in a coffee shop. He was a short man with white beard, probably in his 60s. I can’t remember what sparked a conversation with him but a brief chat with him was worth million moments that I routinely spend in vain.

He was leafing through pages of a new book that he just opened it from its mailing envelope. I asked him the title of the book, he lift up his demure face and told me: “I’m embarrassed to show you the title of the book.”

The book contained a series of scholarly articles inspired by his work and it was published to honor him and his academic research in the field.
For the past few days I have been thinking about him and his humbleness. Today, I came across one of Bidel's poems that says the path to perfection is humbleness, what the old man has been following.

PS: Every Saturday, I plan to translate a poem of Mirza Abdul Qadir Bidel, one of the greatest 17th century’s Persian mystic poets.

The Audacity of Karzai's Crony

Karim Khalili, the second Vice President of Afghanistan and Karzai’s crony has the audacity to call on UN to verify the authenticity of the audiotape that Abdullah Abdullah’s team has claimed he was involved in electoral fraud. For the past 13 years, Khalili has done nothing to his oppressed minority and long persecuted ethnic group “Hazara,” rather than acting as a subservient to Karzai and delivering Hazara votes to him.

To my dismay, I discovered that Afghan officials from top to bottom have no moral obligation towards people and their votes. The audiotape is a clear evidence of Khalili’s involvement in the electoral fraud. In the audiotape, from his disgruntled tone of voice and his embarrassment of the result of the first round election, the phrases that he uses, and from his utterance, it is crystal clear that the voice belongs to him. An individual who feels morally obligated and responsible towards his action, must have certain capacity; unfortunately, Afghan officials lack this basic humane act.

It's a New Year in Afghanistan

Happy New Year and Happy Nowruz. In 2010, I wrote an article for CNN explaining how Nowruz is celebrated throughout Afghanistan.
Also, what a happy coincidence that - probably for the first time in the history - Nowruz concurring with two other important, and exciting days: The International Day of Happiness and Spring Equinox.

Here's an excerpt of the article on CNN:

One of most famous of Nowruz traditions among Afghans is to forget and forgive mistakes of one another and start the New Year with new hopes and new goals. During the first three days of the year, families and relatives meet and visit each other’s houses. These are parts of Afghan traditions that date back centuries. For further reading please go the main article.