 |
| Painting depicting celebrating Mawaled in Egypt |
We’re still talking
about what I think major harms that hit our national Egyptian immunity system
directly affecting it in a way that allowed terrorism cancer to spread through
extremism, fanaticism, and religion-proclaimed ignorance. In previous articles,
I stated four harms including one I called the greatest calamity for it hit the
civilized and cultural aspects of the Egyptian mind in the core.
Today I repeat and say
what has been always said and proved right; destroying is easier than building.
What Egyptians have accumulated, in both mind and conscience, throughout
centuries is a very cohesive combination where elements and prerequisites of
Egyptian existence have mingled together and integrated in a way very similar
to that when you place bricks next to one another layering them in courses over
one another and attaching them together using a very strong mortar. Such cohesion
can be found between the valley and Delta, and the desert; the River Nile and
sea; and also between pre-dynasty ancient Egypt and Modern state in Dynastic-era
ancient Egypt. Afterwards came digesting the newcomer by integrating him in Egypt’s
cultural fabric, even if that newcomer was occupation.
In order not to
complicate things anymore, I will give you examples I’m never bored of
repeating; the Egyptian braids. In my opinion, it was not a coincidence those
who excelled at braiding palm foliage into beautiful woven artistic pieces
celebrating Easter and Sham el-Nessim[1] or even weaving them into baskets
and robes producing a very distinguished Egyptian-flavored art, have outshined
as well in braiding and weaving their own terms of religion, culture, folklore,
and mythology. I believe those keen Mawaled[2] attendees – whom I belong to – whether
Christian or Islamic Mawaled, enjoy very much the mystical mix between Sufi Inshad[3]; Islamic and Christian, to
the extent they may day-dream over the beautiful rhythm and lyrics.
We have a lot of braids
in our cultural heritage; the one woven among Isis, Om el-Noor[4] Mary the Virgin, and purified
Om Hashem[5]; Khamsa w khemisa[6]; Mar Gergis[7] and al-Khidr;[8][9] Ahl al-Bayt[10], and
four Qutbs[11]
of Sufism[12]
along with the twenty-four elders of revelation; in addition to other braids. Each braid has its own unique
characteristics, some I experienced myself while others could be seen in our accumulated
heritage. I apologize for what you may find obscure and incomprehensible here, however,
I can say, these are the core of our Egyptian cultural heritage. Proverbs, popular
pieces of wisdom, and even heritage of illusionists and folklore Inshad
performers, all enjoyed a very specific Egyptian-style distinction; such
distinction that is characterized by depth, tolerance, strength, and heroism as
well. This heritage also did not miss exits to escape the deluge if needed!
Suddenly everything went
darker as if an octopus-like demon landed on our mind and conscience prompting
hundreds-of-centuries-accumulated ethics to vanish. Isis, Mary, and Om Hashem purity
was replaced by woman’s impurity. Woman became nothing but Awra[13] due to be covered and dealt
with as a source of seduction and evil! Braids woven in our civilization and
culture started to unravel; war against our ancient Egyptian history raged; monuments,
wisdom texts and Egyptian innovation became nothing but idols and atheism
symbols. The battlefield even widened to include Christian Coptic Egypt. New
raids targeting all that is rational or emotional in our heritage, all that
does not comply with their twisted ideology, are conducted every day by those
behaving as guardians of the society. Homeland and patriotism, Egypt itself,
became meaningless in their dictionary, to the extent that one of them,
Muhammed Akef, ex-head of muslim brotherhood -head of terrorism- once said:
“let Egypt go to hell and those living on its land as well”. It’s an evil demon
that wrecked Egypt and turned it upside down. A new set of beliefs replaced all
what we used to know. I believe that was the most dangerous harm that hit our
country immunity system in the core.
It could be easy or
difficult – but eventually possible – to build factories and laboratories, to
reclaim desert, to tame the river, to stand against the sea, to make up what we
had left behind in production, invention, and discoveries. But it’s almost
impossible to rebuild the civilization and culture accumulated through ages
dating back to the pre-dynasty era in Egyptian history; meaning since more than
7000 years.
Other examples are the
Jihadi muslim-brotherhood salafist war declared against Mawaled, holy shrines,
and our entire popular heritage in this field. They succeeded to a great
extent; they managed to drain hundreds-of-centuries-lasting resources that used
to enrich our Inshad heritage, the one that dates back to pre-divine-religions Pharaonic
deities like Amun[14], Ra[15], Aton[16], Geb[17], Nut[18], and others. War raged as
well on other Christian and Islamic figures like Mary the Virgin, Mar Gergis,
Mar Mina[19],
Ahl el-Bayt, four Qutbs of Sufism; al-Jilani,
ar-Rifa'i, al-Badawi, el-Desouki and other prominent
Sufi figures who followed them like ash-Shadhili [20], al-Qenawi[21], Abu'l-'Abbas [22] and dozens others… After Inshad came
reciting the Holy Bible including liturgies, and then came Quran reciting. The
Egyptian school in Quran reciting has shined producing many who enriched our
religious heritage like Muhammed Refaat, Muhammed El-Siyfi, Subh, al-Munged,
Taha al-Fashni, Ali Mahmood, Abdel-Hakam, Mustafa Ismael, Abdel-Baset Abdel-Samad,
Mahmood Ali el-Banna, Muhammed Seddiq Al-Menshawi, Muhammed Mahmood Al-Tablawi
in addition to hundreds others[23]… All those eminent
figures rose from Mawaled and religious celebrations. This beautiful spring
that used to water and enrich our heritage was dried thanks to those tactless senseless
poor-minded creatures with their rigid bloody interpretation of religion. Azan[24] is now echoing, shouting
with ugly hoarse voices instead of the pleasant-sounding melodic one given by
Sheikhs Ali Mahmood, Muhammed Refaat, or Taha el-Fashni.
Examples are many and
exhausting to list… This harm was the worst to hit Egypt immunity system… May
God save our beloved Egypt.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was
published in Al Ahram newspaper on February 25, 2016.
To see the original
Arabic version, go to:
#alahram#ahmed_elgammal#Egypt#immunity_system#heritage#culture#extremeism#terrorism#muslim_brotherhood#Christianity#Islam#Pharaohs#religion#mawaled#Bible#Quran#Inshad#history#civilization#homeland#patriotism#braids#egyptian_braids#sufism#ahl_el_beyt#folklore#Easter#Sham_el_Nessim#river_Nile
[1] Sham
el-Nessim: (Egyptian Arabic: شم النسيم) is
an Egyptian national holiday marking the
beginning of spring. It always falls
on the day after the Eastern Christian Easter (following the custom of the largest Christian
denomination in the country, the Coptic Orthodox Church). Despite the Christian-related date, the holiday is
celebrated by Egyptians regardless of religion. (Source: Wikipedia)
[2] Mawaled: (Arabic: موالد) plural of
Mawled (مولد)
or Meelad (ميلاد)
is the observance of the birthday of an
iconic figure in religious or cultural heritage which is celebrated once a
year.
[3] Inshad: (Arabic: إنشاد) a kind of
chanting that makes musical sound with the voice. It’s found in both Islamic
and Christian heritage.
[4] Om el-Noor: (Arabic: أم النور) a title given
to Mary the Virgin meaning mother of light depicting Jesus as light.
[5] Om Hashem: (Arabic: أم هاشم) a title given
to Sayyieda Zainab bent Ali, grand-daughter of Prophet Muhammed, who came to
Egypt after the killing of her brother Hussien ibn Ali in the battle of
Karbala. In Egypt, it’s enough to say as-Sayyieda (Arabic: سيدة, meaning the
dame) to mean Sayyieda Zainab.
[6] Khamsa w khemisa (Arabic: خمسة وخميسة) is a
palm-shaped amulet popular
throughout the Middle East and North Africa,
and commonly used in jewelry and wall hangings. Depicting the
open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many
times throughout history, Khamsa w khemisa is believed to provide defense
against the evil eye. Khamsa is an Arabic word
that means "five", but also "the five fingers of the hand". It
may also be taken as a reference to the primary number itself. (Source:
Wikipedia)
[7] Mar Gergis: (Arabic: مار جرجس, Mar is a Syriac
Aramaic word meaning Master while Gergis is the Arabic word for George) or Saint
George, according to legend, was a soldier in the Roman army
who later became venerated as a Christian
martyr. His parents were Christians of
Greek background, his father Gerontius was a Roman army official from Cappadocia and
his mother Polychronia was a Christian from Lydda in the Roman
province of Syria Palaestina (Palestine). Accounts differ regarding whether
George was born in Cappadocia or Syria Palaestina, but agree that he was raised
at least partly in Lydda. Saint George became an officer in the Roman army in
the Guard of Diocletian, who ordered his death for failing to recant his
Christian faith.
In hagiography,
Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic
Church (Latin and Eastern), Anglican, East Syrian, and Miaphysite Churches. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and is regarded
as one of the most prominent military
saints, immortalized in the myth of Saint George and the Dragon killing
in Beirut, Lebanon.
His memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated
on the Julian date of 23 April (currently the 6th of May according to the Gregorian Calendar). Many countries, cities,
professions and organisations claim Saint George as their patron. (source: Wikipedia)
[8] Al-Khidr: (Arabic: الخضر) is a mystical figure that some believe to be described
in the Quran as a righteous servant of God possessing great wisdom or mystic knowledge. In
various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions, Khidr is described as a messenger,
prophet, wali or in some cases as a god of the material world. The
figure of al-Khidr has been syncretized over time with various other figures like Saint George. (Source: Wikipedia)
[9] Some
believe al-Khidr and Saint George are the same character while others argue
it’s not since al-khidr lived during the life of Moses and Saint George came
nearly 300 years after Jesus was born. However, the resemblance between the two
figures along with their significance in both Christianity and Islam still
represents a major source of syncretism between the two religions, and another
braid added to many woven by Egyptians throughout their history.
[10] Ahl
al-Bayt: (Arabic: أهل البيت) is a
phrase meaning, literally, "People of the House" or "Family of
the House". Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of
the Islamic
prophet Muhammad. (Source: Wikipedia)
[11] Qutb: (Arabic: قطب),
means 'axis', 'pivot' or 'pole'. In Sufism,
a Qutb is the perfect human being, al-insān al-kāmil (Arabic: الإنسان الكامل) (The
Universal Man), who leads the saintly hierarchy. The Qutb is the Sufi spiritual
leader that has a divine connection with God and passes knowledge on which
makes him central to, or the axis of, Sufism, but he is unknown to the world.
There is only one Qutb per era and he is an infallible and
trusted spiritual leader. He is only revealed to a select group of mystics
because there is a "human need for direct knowledge of God". (Source:
Wikipedia)
[12] Four Qutbs of Sufism are Abd
al-Qadir al-Jilani (Arabic: (عبدالقادر الجيلاني; Ahmed
ar-Rifa'i (Arabic: أحمد الرفاعي); Ahmad
Al-Badawi (Arabic: أحمد البدوي); and Ibrahim
El-Desouki (Arabic: إبراهيم الدسوقي).
[15] Ra: (Arabic: رع) is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th and 24th centuries bc, he had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon sun. (Source: Wikipedia)
[16] Aton or Aten: (Arabic: آتون)
is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology.
The religion of Atenism was established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship and recognition of Aten. In his poem "Great Hymn to the Aten", Akhenaten praises Aten as the creator, giver
of life, and nurturing spirit of the world. Aten does not have a Creation Myth
or family, but is mentioned in the Book of the
Dead. The worship of Aten was
eradicated by Horemheb. (Source: Wikipedia)
[17] Geb: (Arabic: جب) was
the Egyptian god of the Earth and a member of the Ennead of Heliopolis.
It was believed in ancient Egypt that Geb's laughter were earthquakes and that he allowed crops to grow. (Source: Wikipedia)
[18] Nut: (Arabic: نوت) is the goddess of the sky in the Ennead of ancient Egyptian religion. She was seen as a star-covered nude woman arching
over the earth, or as a cow. (Source: Wikipedia)
[19] Mar Mina or Saint Mina: (Arabic: مار مينا)
(285 – c. 309) the Martyr and Wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Egyptian saints in the
East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his
intercession and prayers. Mina was an Egyptian soldier in the Roman army,
martyred because he refused to recant his Christian faith. His feast day is
celebrated every year on 15 Hathor (November 24) in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and on November 11 in the West and East. (Source:
Wikipedia)
[20] Abu
al-Hasan ash-Shadhili: (Arabic: أبو الحسن الشاذلي) is an influential
North-African Islamic scholar and Sufi, founder of the Shadhili Sufi order. (Source: Wikipedia)
[21] Abdel-Reheem Al-Qenawi:
(Arabic: عبد الرحيم القنائي)
was a Moroccan Islamic scholar and cleric, founder of the Raheemieya Qenawiya
Sufi order.
[22] Al-Mursi Abu'l-'Abbas: (Arabic: المرسي أبو العباس)
is a Sufi saint
from Al-Andalus who
later in his life moved to Alexandria in
Egypt. He is one of the four master saints of Egypt, the other three being Ahmad
al-Badawi, al-Dessouqi and al-Haggag.
(Source: Wikipedia)
No comments:
Post a Comment