Salaams all, Sister Aaminah published the Muslimah Speak Up Blog Carnival, it has very interesting entries, everybody check out the different voices of Muslim ladies! 
Blog Carnival~Muslimah’s Speak Up
Another Octave of Creativity: Music
Wasalamalaikum, I finally have found the time to explore Music: the first form of spirituality that I consciously observed as a child. The mysterious beauty and invisible nature of Music captivated me and directly made me contemplate on The Creator’s Majesty. I still am amazed by Music that is an expression of Wisdom, its language and affinity with Love, its lessons on Surrender, on connectedness and on Remembrance of the Palace we inhabited aforetime… I revere the high purpose of Music. I can appreciate all genres that serve this purpose of awakening within us.
I recently started to develop songs that my paintings let escape… Al hamdulillah, I revel in the continued phase of Arts, I do experience them as one endeavor… Everywhere we look, there is Music, the sight of the Creation itself is Music, our movements, pulse, spiritual emotions are music… there is no way to remove these harmonious sounds of the Sound from our lives. In my African cultures, Music is the very fiber of life, it accompanies our development from birth to transition unto the other World.
InshAllah my first album will be available sometime this year. In the meantime, I’m sharing excerpts of two songs “She, the Black Light” and “Marundu’s Thousand Veils”.
Thank you to all those who came to the NYU exhibition, it was a pleasure to meet all of you.
NYU Islamic Awareness Week Exhibit ~ “Cultural Canvas: Islam Paints the World”
Wasalamalaikum, I have been focusing on much work lately but I hope to get more free time to blog soon again inshAllah. I’m going to participate to the NYU Islamic Awareness Week Exhibit “Cultural Canvas: Islam Paints the World” on Friday April 4th 2008 in New York University from 6-10 pm.
Like a Veiled Woman
The soul is like a veiled Woman, elusive, graceful and kind; generous in her gestures of love, she receives the treasures the Source of life offers with such abundance, centers in her proximity open to be quenched by the constant sublimity she lets out… She is a door through which Paradise leaps in and out in quest of other lovers to lavish… Don’t we all secretly exist to know The Divine who breathed of Itself into our selves with such Love we cannot stop longing for Its Kiss?
Being involves receptiveness, this natural position of the soul can only pull us toward knowing Love. A soul who knows Love is quietly receptive to its lover’s presence, its state of being is a constant smile over the lover, an unending nurturing no space nor time can dissuade. When such love flows between beings, words and physicality seem so superfluous, even irrelevant…
(c) 2008 Aida Toure.
“And enter thou My Paradise!” ~89: 30 Holy Qur’an
Diarabi (My Love)
Kayindi, I have loved you
from the moment I was born,
you are the membrane
of my soul, the orange
cloak you wear is my glow,
you are wrapped around me
always, even from afar
Kayindi my love, my Dad...
copyright 2008 Aida Touré
Tulane University’s Annual Symposium (Exhibit)
Exhibiting artworks created by artists from the Muslim World and the United States, Tulane University’s Annual Symposium “Relations Between the U.S. and the Islamic World” create a channel of communication bridging the gap. This exhibit will help introduce the contemporary artworks created by Muslim artists to the American people and art community.
Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer, Tulane University is delighted to host the First International Art Exhibit as part of the Second Annual Symposium on the Relations Between the United States and the Islamic World. The exhibition will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 from 8:30am to 5:30pm in Tulane University Center, Kendall Cram Lecture Hall.
The First International Art Exhibit features diverse works by contemporary artists from different backgrounds. The exhibition aims to serve as a bridge between cultures and introduce to the New Orleans art community and the public unique international artistic experience. Different art styles from calligraphy to impressionism, realism and abstraction are represented in the exhibition. Artworks will be offered for sale and 30% will be donated for the Payson Center to support its mission.
The art exhibit is curated by Haitham Eid and sponsored by the Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer, Tulane University. Beside the art exhibit lectures, workshops, music and entertainment will be offered. Admission is free to the public.
Marundu’s Thousand Veils
Salaams all, I had been away for a little while as my schedule has been hectic but I hope to be able to post more frequently inshAllah.
I also completed a new oil painting entitled “Marundu’s Thousand Veils”. I wanted to do something with the “Veil” theme to celebrate head covering. I have noticed that for materialists, it is one of the main reasons they despise Islam as they claim “the veil” is a sign of oppression of Muslim women which is strange I think because head covering relates to modesty, to the value of one self’s beauty. Besides, head covering is an old tradition that has been observed for eons in many cultures and this beyond gender and religions.
Growing up in Gabon, I can’t even count the number of women I saw wearing head scarves without even being Muslim yet they observed modesty and were graceful! So I painted this piece for this reason: to honor all the modest women on all continents who beautifully wear their veils or head scarves in face of all the prejudice they encounter at the work place, in educative institutions or wherever superficial, uncultured persons can not stand another people’s refusal to be whatever alien forces want them to be… On the part of materialists, this simply is an intolerance of a divinely appointed phenomenon: diversity.
There is also an inner meaning to the “Veil” theme in this painting: the mysteries of existence are hidden from our physical eyes yet the soul is immersed in those mysteries which can become perceptible by the Will of The Divine only. When this occurs, all the concealing “veils” lift and at last, we behold the true blissful Reality… so the “Thousand Veils” here symbolizes abundance, unraveling spiritual ecstasy, “dying before death”, the continual process of false ego dissolution for the surrendered ones.
Also I must explain “Marundu”! “Marundu” is the name of a Princess in my maternal culture. I used “Marundu” in this piece’s title as an allegory for the soul as it innately is royal due to its properties, attributes and its origin.
The poem that inspired “Marundu’s Thousand Veils” can be read here and the entire painting is here… and the song on myspace.
Many blessings to all.
Copyright 2008 Aida Toure.
Center of the Sun
We are brewing something,
divesting ourselves of our selves
and every notion of knowing.
We swirl up, soul lulled by the music
of the Breath, pulse propelled with
every Qur’anic sura and verse
that atoms let escape in chorus,
helplessly nursing our Return
toward the Center of the Sun.
copyrights 2007 Aida Toure.
Academia Folly
I take great pleasure in dwelling on words that carry the scents of the Word. I must confess that I sometimes can re~read one word for a long time, basking in the Love energy it conveys. I easily am amazed when it comes to the manifestations of Love. “…Forget the rigid structures of academia and intellectual pride! Real Knowledge does not alienate one from his/her light!” This still resounds in my mind…
Fifteen years ago, one September morning, I abruptly broke away from formal education to revel in Stillness; the impulse to be in Silence finally overcame me! Lo, there were now impetuous teachers in the humility that came with “not belonging” and not abiding by established standards and their false sense of security/identity. I then learned to repose, to study specific subjects, to live in patience; since it was finally alright to honor my nature, thus to be quiet, I learned to listen to the movements of Love… There had been some Majesty there behind each event; the sorrowful with the joyful, now gigantic loops of Sound and Beauty… I just fell from existence as I knew it …
In hindsight, secular irrelevant curriculum stifled and bombarded me with so much noise and restlessness; pure reflection of an unnatural spiritually oppressive world system, obstinate in its “dismissal” of the all-pervading Spirit; a fierce system always on some quest to repress, to usurp, to dissimulate the truth, to disturb the natural Order of things… but only The Divine reigns supreme, indeed! La ilaha illa Allah.
Solely in Silence and Love does the Truth interweave with the heart, how threatening the sublime treasures it threads in and around it! As it was intended by universal mathematics, Love unfurls constantly, it runs through our fingertips and ends up as efflorescent imprints inside the minds of other lovers who in turn whisper: “let us just whirl like surrendered pearls and make this Intimacy a cosmic one!”
You see why academia seems so futile?
copyright 2007 Aida Toure.
“Had I been to school, I would have been an educated fool.”
~Bob Marley
“Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know.“
(~96: 1-5 Qur’an)
“Confound not truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth. “
(~2: 42 Qur’an)
Arabic Calligraphy
Salaams. I like to share arts that I come across and that have this rare uplifting spirit to it. One thing about such work is that no matter how many times you lay your eyes on it, the effect remains the same, it transports you like a gentle breeze carrying the Word.
There is this young calligrapher, Abd el Malik Nounouhi, whose work has this effect on me, the sensitivity and poetic quality of his art is truly majestic. What I enjoy the most is the quietness of its discourse… His work reminds me bit of Hassan Massoudi’s…
Al Fattah ~ The Opener (the painting)
Wasalamalaikum. I just finished this painting I had started working on during Ramadan. “Al Fattah” (The Opener) is one of the 99 sacred Names of The Beloved. I immensely enjoyed developing this art piece that seemed vertiginously well defined and nocturnal from the start.
I must say that the “opening” theme is dear to my heart because it’s the first condition for love, spiritual intimacy and the gracefulness of existence itself. The most amazing testimony to such “Opening” is the prophets (as) as they were able to convey the divine Message to us only because The Opener, Allah (swt) bestowed this grace upon them. The poem that goes with “Al Fattah: The Opener” can be read here… more about the painting here.
copyright 2007 Aida Toure.
Imposition of Authentic Value
When a financial system is based upon usury and speculation, it is bound to collapse because it’s out of phase with the Divine Law. All prophets (as) of The Creator prohibited such irreverent practices as they deplete natural resources, exploit humans/workers and thus cause suffering, chaos, poverty and overall abuse of Nature itself.
I think that with all the conflicts that are currently going on around the world plus the difficulties surprisingly experienced by the illegal system itself, it’s more important than ever for individuals to “create” value as in time the monopoly of the planet’s wealth by an elite always ceases and thus transforms with the potential to finally expand the way it was intended to by the Divine law… In order to welcome this transformation it becomes necessary for all excluded populations to “create” value, but real value not unfair, arbitrary, artificial value that elitists imposed to the world for centuries. Real value relates to the higher scheme of things and therefore is timeless in essence as it comes from the Truth; it naturally exposes it instead of concealing it at the expanse of the collectivity. Authentic value is inherent to all, it is accessible to all, it’s free flowing, uncontrolled and abundant.
For years, sages have said that mankind is being ushered into a new age where serious systemic crisis will force us to be more independent from so-called leaders (and the system they preserve), to turn inward and and thus to live with more humility, compassion and love. For the first time I think that we are beginning to see signs of this confrontation of the ego culture and its colossal failures.
copyright 2007 Aida Toure.
“Those who live off the interest on loans will never stand up, except in the way those whom Satan knocks down with a fit rise up again. That is because they say: “Trading is just like taking interest.” Yet God has permitted trading and forbidden taking interest… “ ~ 2:275 Qur’an
Art & the Mystery of Light
Salamalaikum. In observing the academic approach to art from the outside, I have noticed that the learning/teaching process often revolves around repetition and formula. The trained teacher reproduces what he technically learned and conveys it to students who eventually do the same. This forms a cycle of repetition that is expected, demanded and even sought after by the ego culture yet there is not much room for innovation, and exploring one’s true heart, its Voice and thus sublimity.
The Creation as well as creativity are shrouded in mystery, their robe is obscurity which is the highest form of light, therefore in order to attain it the creative soul needs love, silence, stillness; that way it can attune to its innate virtues, talents, universes and inshAllah eventually it can process them through creativity. This is why I always tell people who ask me questions about their aspiration to become artists that Art in essence is more of a spiritual discipline than anything else; an unending learning process that unveils as we evolve toward egolessness. In order to help mankind toward the natural quest for spiritual well-being artists need to first reach deep within their selfless “selves” that constantly is amazed by the wonders of Allah (swt). This is what “genius” is, it is the ability to capture “fragments” of this bliss we constantly are submerged into, no formal training can convey such depth.
The reason why some artists from past centuries were able to create works that spiritually propel us is because they knew how to shut their physical eyes so that their spiritual one, the heart’s eye could open and allow them to behold the divine beauty behind the density of the world. This is not a mechanical endeavor, it has to do with love, kindness, patience, selflessness and pure spiritual impulse.
I hardly ever look at the art works of most “great masters painters” who have been made popular by mainstream scholarly decree because they’re not necessarily the most harmonious pieces and it makes me cringe to experience the vibrations of their angst, distress and chaos through their art pieces.
I cherish the accuracy of the innate taste, its own random discoveries which usually pull us outwardly to admire art from our higher sense and not from the one that is dictated and conditioned by external sources. Therefore I tend to be supportive of the “underground” artists whose works reflect the luminous Mystery that can only transpire from a finely attuned heart. To admire their art works offers a fluid, intense and Eye-opening experience, all filled with light and this gift can solely come from the mercy of Allah (swt), The Master of all Creation.
copyright 2007 Aida Toure
Sahelian Luminaries (the painting)
Salamalaikum, inshAllah all had a blessed holy month… the last nights of Ramadan were amazingly beautiful, al hamdulillah!
I just completed “Sahelian Luminaries” that was inspired from this poem in hommage of all the West African Muslim saints, sages and figures whose unconditional devotion to the values of Islam has helped build tangible or immaterial Empires for generations in our societies, hearts and minds: Askia Touré, Cheikh Amadou Bamba, Samory Touré, Cheikh Anta Diop, Abdoulaye Touré … read more…
Sufi Poetry in French
Salamalaikum, recently I have gotten emails from French speaking sisters and brothers from different corners of the world who inquire about the French version of my books of poetry. Because most of the poems are composed in English, I’m sometimes reluctant to translate them as it feels as if I were “altering” them so I tend to want to leave them in the original language they were written in. Yet since there is a demand for French translation, I was compelled to start the meticulous task to translate the poems while trying to preserve the original work’s integrity…
I’m also gathering a collection of the few poems originally composed in French. I hope to render the French version of Umanifest Poems available soon too inshAllah. I haven’t had the chance to work on it as I would have wanted but I’m slowly getting back to it. So to all my French speaking brothers and sisters out there, thank you for your emails and patience.
Speaking of Sufi poetry in French, there is a poet “Good Gee” who writes beautiful! I came across his work after he sent me an email about the release of his book last year. I really enjoyed his work!
Awesome African Art
Wasalamalaikum, I just came across this wonderful gallery of African art! It is so refreshing to see all these colors that seem to celebrate Light itself… My attraction to arts (music, poetry, painting) has always been triggered by Colors. I remember as a child in Gabon, being surrounded by the most beautiful, colorful landscapes that intrigued me so deeply about the form and formlessness of the Creation, all this through colors that I perceived as pure vessels for light. It stimulated my young mind to just reflect upon these little miracles.
Subconsciously throughout the creative process of painting, the influence of my Soninké, Peulh and Eshira cultures transpires. The combination of colors is never deliberate it just occurs as a natural part of my roots. The Islamic themes captured are always the driven energy when I paint and as they manifest I can progressively see tones of my African cultures impose themselves in the midst of those visual praising of Allah (swt).
Indeed I’m grateful for the cultural diversity my parents exposed me to growing up, it has shaped my identity and has deeply influenced my work that never fits in in just one category which sometimes confounds the label-driven bureaucrats by the way …lol… I just love the vibrant colors in African Art, pure reflections of the Motherland’s warmth!
International Muslim Artists Exhibition
New Orleans, LA – September 10, 2007. The New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History (NOAAM) at 1418 Gov. Nicholls Street in New Orleans is hosting the International Muslim Artists Exhibition from October 13, 2007 toNovember 12, 2007. The opening reception is on October 13, 2007 at 6:00 pm. The reception is free and open to the public.
The exhibition features diverse works by contemporary Muslim artists. Fifty paintings from more than a dozen artists from five different countries covering four continents will be on display. While some of these artists are still preserving beautiful traditional Islamic art styles such as calligraphy, geometric shapes and decorative leaves, other groups have embraced modern art schools and have found them more effective to express their feelings and ideas. Meanwhile, there are some artists who try to find common ground between the two groups, using the traditional Islamic elements in a modern art style to create a universal unique Islamic art. All three styles are represented in the IMAE2007.
The exhibition is curated by Haitham Eid. It is sponsored by the Center for African and African American Studies and the Master of Arts in Museum Studies Program at Southern University at New Orleans.
The New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission for adults is $8.00, Groups and seniors, $6.00, per person, and Students, $3.00.
Namelessly Named
There is a continual fall upward
when you submerge
this sheet of paper,
dragging lights after lights
before our watery eye,
words dancing at your visit
as they curve and bow
like lit living beings,
a myriad of suns crowding
such a minuscule space,
our centers rise and leap
from spheres to spheres:
“Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim”
Lo! we walk out of being,
O what is this music?
Your name spelled in
diagonal then backward;
letters ring one by one,
“Huuuuuuuuuuu!”
Is this Love in our ear?
We feel like sobbing.
Now: a thousand pens
in our hand, we light up
then we get dizzy again!
The roof tears open,
we flirt with not-being,
vertiginous planets there
exude the Divine Qur’an…
copyrights 2007 Aida Touré
Behind the Voice
Wasalamalaikum. I was having a conversation earlier with a soul dear to me, we were speaking about the voice and its mysterious manifestations. I think that the voice is a transparent veil to the soul, every emotional state transpires through the voice even when we think we can dissimulate them. Being a lover of silence, I tend to get to know people by just listening to their voices (and not necessarily the words because they don’t always express what we truly feel) so the voice to me is it because it is life, it conveys the Breath and all the treasures-currents inherent to our soul.
I met one of my closest friends over the internet years ago. When we first spoke on the phone, his voice was so gentle, calm and soft, it was just easy to attune to him because he was clear so I knew right then we would be beautiful friends. I also have a friend whose voice is kind of restless and overwhelming and he often complains about having the impression that people shy way from him, so it’s true that the energies our voice carries matter.
The way a person’s voice conveys the Breath can also reveal much about the harmony or chaos in their lives, that’s why I always advice on breathing well, slow and deep whenever we can, preferably when alone so that we stay focused longer. Doing this exercise helps clarify any fogginess in us, it also allows us to be aware of the dormant negative feelings we may have and to work on them which eventually betters the quality of our lives and relationships with others.
copyrights 2007 Aida Touré
Cosmic Islamic Spectacle
The quintessential spirit of Islam adorns the Universe like light itself, wherever one turns it is right there, even in the deepest obscurity, it is there, present of all its gentleness. The Cosmos reflects the Islamic spirit with perfection so in truth there is no excuse for us to stray from the observance of authentic Islam: a constant reality.
The first Light (saw) created remained in a state of prostration before his Creator Allah (swt) as his very first activity; we all were created from this prostrating light’s state so it is only natural to return to it.
As humans we omit to turn our sight upward where celestial bodies exude their emphatic testimony of Surrender, of Islam to The Most Beautiful. Our immediate environment, Nature reflects its Islam as well so the Cosmic Muslim spectacle cannot be missed unless our heart is sealed by the Divine Will itself.
The music of the spheres is also a sign of this Cosmic Islam we tend to be distracted from, no one can be unmoved by this Sound of praise that pervades us all knowingly or not, we are indeed instruments made to echo this sonar luminousness. This is the reason why the Sound of the Qur’an has such a miraculous effect upon sensible beings, it’s a Reminder of the sublime Station they innately belong to and this Remembrance deeply resonates with them, it completes them… it is such a pristine, nurturing experience, that the wise ones live to bask in those moments; all this for the sake of Allah (swt) only.
Love and grace pervade the quintessence of Islam, they can never be extracted from it even after centuries of historical schemes or deliberate human misrepresentation, Islam is a multidimensional reality that continually circulate from the Upper parts of the Worlds seen and unseen, all the way to their lower parts so it’s present and intact by the permission of Allah (swt).
The greatest threat to self-serving forces on Earth is the integrity of this transcendent Islam because if sincerely observed, it can progressively lead mankind to complete Freedom and therefore to independence from all false systems that thrive through repression of the light of humanity. Islam pulls mankind toward its full potential, it allows us to follow the prophets’ (as) footprints which implies living in and with the Truth that sustains the Universe.
Eventually this state of beingness in Surrender/Islam cannot be avoided, at some point it’s always acknowledged, be it through life or through the rude awakening of death, it’s only a matter of time before we embrace our state of Islam anew… Even our galaxy fully exists in that Islamic state of grace, look at the most powerful star of our system: the Sun, do you perceive its unending praising of Allah (swt) as it rises and sets in cycles? This is Islam!
copyrights 2007 Aida Touré
“Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that ye can see; is firmly established on the throne (of authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)! Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that ye may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.” ~ Qur’an 13: 2
“He has made subject to you the Night and the Day; the sun and the moon; and the stars are in subjection by His Command: verily in this are Signs for men who are wise.”
~ Qur’an 16: 12
Aïda Touré Interview in Le Miroir
Wasalamalaikum. I was recently interviewed by Le Miroir Magazine, the interview is available on my website in the press section. It was done in French yet I’m going to try to translate it in English in a few inshAllah.
Offense of Commercialism in Sacred Arts
The richness of a civilization is determined by its arts and culture. When arts and culture are decadent, society progressively impoverishes itself and its inhabitants because only the spark of enlightened creativity represents enduring prosperity. Indeed luminous creations found in certain regions of the globe have always been signs of great advancement of the old civilizations that bred excellence. Even though we live in an era of excessive materialism and thus mediocrity, evolved creations still manifest.
At particular times on Earth, always appear phenomena reflecting a tradition from glorious past times which had been corrupt, destroyed and appropriated by mischievous forces in history. With the mercy and permission of Allah (swt) such richness often is recovered, it may take centuries in order for it to manifest anew in the world yet when it reappears it is recognizable because such grace always remains in the memory and historical records of these people whose ancestors witnessed its grandeur afore time.
Thus cultural figures whose works reflect different phases of the illuminated tradition which is as old as the Creation should know within themselves that no amount of money could ever equal the value of their contributions to mankind. The value of such rare timeless works can not be established on material terms, no financial offer can ever reward any surrendered soul for the sacred works it crystallizes by the grace of Allah Most High (swt).
Contemporary institutions that claim their mission is to preserve such rare, timeless arts no matter when or where they appear on Earth, should be the first ones to implement the preservation of such arts’ integrity yet they seem to do just the opposite out of ignorance, greed, elitism, prejudice, or pure intellectual dishonesty. Thus under such appropriation, sacred art can end up being presented as mere fragmented, commercialized products devoid of all the cultural depth it initially was conceived to convey.
I’m often offended by this notion of vulgar commercialism that is suggested toward sacred arts and culture nowadays and this doesn’t exclude the ego promotion that goes with it. This is such a contradiction because meaningful arts should aid to defeat the ego… In essence true artists are childlike, humble in their hearts which are consumed by the wonders of The Divine, this is why they create, they don’t create for financial profit nor recognition; these are mere accessories so the fact that these enlightened artists are expected to be seduced by some exploitative art dealers’ promise for “success” through vulgar commercialization of their arts is strange to me. Pomp and vanity are not the purpose of sacred Art, they are the downfall of it.
Personally, I’m more so concerned about the pulsating heart of Art, how its energy speaks to the human soul and if it does, how does this spiritual Conversation soothe and make their existence more pleasant and in tune with the Source of all… This is what I care about: the preservation and sharing of the tradition that reveals itself anew after centuries. I’m concerned about the legacy for the generations to come and the timelessness of the Conversation such Art can generate for all of humankind.
copyrights 2007 Aida Toure
Islamic Artist Interview
Wasalamalaikum. Aaminah at Writeous Sister Speak did an interesting interview of Islamic Artist Ruh, you can read it here.
La Romance des Mondes (the painting)
Wasalamalaikum. Al hamdulillah I just completed the new painting I had been working on for a little while: “La Romance des Mondes” it translates to “Romance of the Worlds”… Its imagery came from this poem (of the same title) I wrote in French. I’m going to translate it tomorrow inshAllah for my English speaking people … It was really soothing to work on this piece, a celebration of the Alignment our soul constantly invites us to; it is this Alignment that all the worlds visible and invisible reflect out of surrender to The Divine … read more…
“The seven heavens and the earth, and all beings therein, declare His glory: there is not a thing but celebrates His praise; And yet ye understand not how they declare His glory! Verily He is Oft-Forbear, Most Forgiving!” (~Qur’an 17: 44).
Neptune Zikr
Carpets of scented Water,
my many feet suspended
in no where’s incandescence;
some pregnant obscurity
clothes this milky station!
Hands loose to wander
sacred Strings of Blueness,
O, Rapture upon Rapture!
I do not know what to do,
I do not know where to look
for my self, it has gone!
copyrights 2007 Aida Toure
“Save” Africa Campaigns
Wasalamalaikum. I found this interesting article by Uzodinma Iweala that is truly relevant. With all these campaigns to “save Africa” I’m sure they generate a lot of money which fattens the pockets of some elite somewhere but all populations need help, not just Africans. All masses across the globe need assistance because they all are at the mercy of the same exploitative, elitist force and this beyond the notion of borders, color or nationality.
I think that what would truly help the African continent is a more humane system (shaped by our African reality, and not by our self-serving former colonies) that would allow the masses to finally benefit from the revenues of their natural resources. But of course we know that our “former” colonies diligently put in power leaders that do just the opposite… And it seems that when the people are blessed with a leader who implements structures for the welfare of the masses, he gets assassinated so when there is all this talk about “saving” Africa, it really is difficult to take it seriously when that hand that claims to want to “save” is the same one that deliberately causes the starving and suffering of children and humanity. When I see how some of the citizens of developed countries suffer the harsh reality of exclusion, exploitation and oppression, and this at the hands of those same ones who claim to want to “save” Africa, I realize that indeed the masses all are insignificant to the elite’s eyes.
The continent of Africa is still trying to recover from centuries of multidimensional plundering (including slavery, colonization and all the political corruption they imported) so the best way to help African nations would be to free them from the clutches of this fierce exploitative system that has actually supported the expansion of developed nations for centuries. I painted a piece about this theme whose title is “The Luminous, The Coveted“.
Sincere help is always appreciated of course, yet at the same time what we’re more in need of is love, honesty, justice, equality, compassion, truth globally and even more so in our institutions and bureaucracies…
I painted my next Piece to Yohosame’s Music
Wasalamalaikum, I have been exploring oil paint and I immensely enjoy it because color goes a long way, it sort of allowed me to uncover new layers of depth to the canvas… Oil takes longer to dry so I’m spending even more time on my pieces now! InshAllah soon, I’m going to post the pictures of the painting I have been working on entitled “La Romance des Mondes“… It was inspired from a Sufi poem I composed in French. I painted it while listening to the music of a gifted Muslim musician named Yohosame. Those who feel deeply spiritual music should check him out on myspace, his sense of musicality is out of this world and it will move you like some Sound you heard in the farthest place, a dim memory from Way before … personally, its fluidity reminds me of prayer, contemplation, not-being… al hamdulillah! When music’s true purpose is honored, it can be one of the most beautiful experience to discover it as it enhances our grace!
Backwardness of Ego-Based Systems
Wasalamalaikum. The greatest obstacle to evolution is the ego. When society’s institutions are based upon ego standards, it is the whole community of men that is molded to abide by false standards of living. Currently, advancement is generally observed in external, material terms. We spend much time on polishing our looks, our appearance, our homes yet if we dedicated only half of that time to polishing ourselves inwardly as well, our world would be much more balanced and harmonious.
This culture of pride is encouraged, we mask our shortcomings and insecurities by colossal external means instead of working at alleviating them by going at the root of our distress which is the ego’s domination. As long as the ego dominates, we are always seduced by the suggestion of “solutions” that actually create even more difficulty for us. All these misleading schemes we keep coming up with only reflect the ego’s domination, the greatest impediment to our Freedom as souls.
We are conditioned at a young age to nurture ego’s thriving, the education system plays a major role in this as well. In school, we diligently learn to:
- see our fellow creatures as threats and thus fiercely compete with them in order to “advance” whereas we all are unique with a divinely defined purpose for each of us as we are,
- repress individuality and relinquish independent thinking and this behavior is rewarded by our teachers too!
- discourage or oppress talents that will not be assets to the established system’s expansion,
- abide by man-made rules even as they oppose the Divine Rule,
- attack in order to quench the ego’s violent delusions,
- suppress peacefulness, intuition, harmonious feelings and emotions. For instance, a child who acts from love because s/he is sensitive with a deep feeling nature is often viewed as “weak”, immature or inept to function socially; the educative institutions nourish this falsehood and therefore change who children are by fragmenting their innate disposition, they basically expect those children to adapt to structures that violate their nature… do you see how backward that is?
How about allowing the heart to be more part of our systemic daily lives? How about being more humane and less like robots in our bureaucracies? How about allowing room for more of the kindness we are made of? This is the natural way, just look at how gentle, peaceful we all were when we were born! Our world’ structures resist the soul’s qualities so strongly, it is jarring, unnatural, even abnormal. How can we tolerate diversity in humanity and have any compassion for our fellow creatures if our lives are based upon illusory standards that take away from our innate potential? The nourishing of pride is the root cause of all our world troubles.
“Do they not look at Allah’s creation, (even) among (inanimate) things,- How their (very) shadows turn round, from the right and the left, prostrating themselves to Allah, and that in the humblest manner?
And to Allah doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and on earth, whether moving (living) creatures or the angels: for none are arrogant (before their Lord).”
~ 16:48-49 Holy Qur’an
copyrights 2007 Aida Toure
Atoms of Praise
Bismillah-ir-rahman-ir-rahim,
Lights out… wo! Light gets in…
The lover’s head always bows
when Mercy’s particles near,
he rejoices at their familiarity,
and his inner eye opens
to the latitude within,
worlds steps out of
his chest to dance with
the atoms of praise.
The Pen inscribes the Shahada
upon his prostrating soul,
and Mary (as) nearby
cuddles his fears until
they vanish in beauty…
Love is the quiet kiss laid
upon the corner of his lips
while he recites the Qur’an,
angels wings flutter over him
to gently pull him toward
the tenderness he is made of,
he is loved in ways
he has yet to fathom.
He stands there in ripples
arising from his own center,
swirling he mumbles all he hears:
“Allahu Akbar!
Sit by this feeling
in your heart, it is the Truth.”
copyrights 2007 Aida Toure
Extraction of Islam from the Muslim Genius’ Work
Wasalamalaikum. I have noticed that in mainstream “intellectual” circles, there is this deliberate tendency to substract Islam from works of Muslim artists especially when their creative endeavor reflects pure genius and grace. This is what has happened with the work of Jalal-ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi better known as Rumi, the world’s most read poet; in my eyes he represents the greatest exemple in this inclination to extract the religion and tradition of Islam from Muslim geniuses’ work. The authentic context of his profound poetry, which is Islam, has been extracted from most books on him translated/published in the West. Or he is simply labeled as a “Sufi” poet, excluding the whole Islamic culture and practice that shaped his life and work.
Since there is great fear around Islam itself it may be that for marketing purposes, it is convenient to “mask” Islamic artistry with other terms. Yet Sufism remains an expression of Islam regardless of the widespread aversion toward Islam which is also subtly fed by many scholars who are as rigid as the system they serve. Because Sufism has great appeal thanks to its excellent, profound artistic expressions, academics who want to profit from it, have managed to “separate” it from Islam as if to perpetuate the isolation of Islam from its own graceful reality which actually is animated since the beginning of the Creation and not since the 7th century as Eurocentric historians would have us believe. (please read “The Transcendence of Islam” for more details.)
This tendency to dissociate Islam from its truth is very dangerous because it deprives people of the opportunity to discover the Light of this universal Pathway, of its long prophetic chain from the first prophet Adam (as) all the way to the last one prophet Muhammad (saw). It also diverts people from the Holy Qur’an and the spiritual nobility of prophet Muhammad (saw), in truth there is no Sufism whatsoever without Islam, its very shell.
“And withhold yourself with those who call on their Lord morning and evening desiring His goodwill, and let not your eyes pass from them, desiring the beauties of this world’s life; and do not follow him whose heart We have made unmindful to Our remembrance, and he follows his low desires and his case is one in which due bounds are exceeded.” (~18: 28 Holy Qur’an)
With the centuries-old, systemic attempt to demonize Islam and its followers, it is currently convenient to subtract the Islamic element from the works of Muslim geniuses whose divinely-infused arts have lit hearts all around the globe for hundreds of years. Even though the substance which has molded their creativity for centuries is completely omitted from the way big corporations present their works, it is important to remember that there is this dimension in us that pulsates with the Truth only so when it exteriorizes itself it is indeed to remain and to expand in spite of all human scheming.
copyrights 2007 Aida Toure
