Iran in diplomatic shit
Is Iran hardliner president Ahmadinejad's comments about "erasing Israel from the map" calculated diplomacy or simply ideologically driven? Kaveh L Afrasiabi said in his recent article Iran, Israel: The good, the bad and the ugly:"Calculated or not (to protect Syria?), Iran is undermining itself in the battle for world public opinion with respect to its right to nuclear technology, by making official statements that kindle the images of another Holocaust."
Afrasiabi also discussed about Iran's foreign poliy position regarding Palestine and Israel in the past few decades. He also stressed Iran's complex, part-Islamic, part-pre Islamic and specifically "Persianist" history and identity.
Categories: Diplomacy, Iran, History, Palestine
El sol andaluz #6: Favourite meat
Jamón serrano (dried ham) is definitely one of my favourite food in Spain. Of course it is also very popular among the Spaniards.
Pock is the most popular meat in Southern Spain, while lamb and beef are more popular in the central and northern part of Spain.
So you think that the last five hundred years of catholic rule has managed to change the eating habit inculcated during eight hundred years of Muslim rule? Not exactly, it was even more "efficient" - it was probably changed completely within fifty years after the catholic kings took control of the peninsula.
Firstly, there was the expulsion of Muslims (Jews too) to northern Africa once the peninsula turned catholic.
Then those who stayed must convert to be catholic, who became what they called "Morisco". And in order to show that they have really renounced Islam and not practicing it secretly, they must eat pork.
Categories: Culture, Europe, History, Islam, Travel
El sol andaluz #5: Soul of Granada
The soul of Granada is undoubtedly Alhambra, which incarnates its eight full hundred years of Muslim past. Without Alhambra, Granada would not be Granada.
Alhambra is one of the best reserved monuments representing the peak period of Islamic architecture where arabesque, geometry and calligraphy were used most lavishly and masterly. It was the first Islamic architecture I visited since I started to learn Arabic. And I felt like everything around me was speaking to me aloud! Probably like how a mathematician feels when in Greece.
The most repeated verse was “There is no victor except God” - Wa lâ ghâlib illâ ‘allâh (I could not upload the photo but will try again later) But of course there were much more I could not decipher partly because of the calligraphy and partly simply because I still have way to go in my learning.
I first went to Alhambra last December with a Muslim friend who had grown up in Europe and had never practiced his religion. I cannot be sure whether Alhambra has made any profound change in him. Well, now he is doing Ramâdan for the first time in his life.
There are so much written about Alhambra, I just want to put names right here. Just the most important ones:
Alhambra (Al-hamrâ’) – The Red Palace.
Generalife (Jinnah al A’rif) – Garden (Heaven) of the Architect (God). It is absolutely unforgivable to pronounce it as “general life”.
Some links:
History, descriptions and pictures on Alhambra and Granada
http://www.alhambradegranada.org
http://www.granada360.com/index.html
Islamic art and architecture
http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/index.html
http://islamicart.com/index.html
http://www.islamic-council.org/redirect/mosques.htm
Categories: Culture, Europe, Islam, Travel
El sol andaluz #4: Arab baths
Every time I go to Andalusia, I never missed the Arab baths – be it the historical remnants or the new commercial establishments.
There was a saying in ancient Al-Andaluz that a beggar would rather spend his last cents on soap than on food. Contrary to the period before and after, people of the Muslim Spain loved hygiene. Rich families built elaborated baths at home, while common people frequented public baths which were very popular and numerous at that time.
My first encounter with the ancient Arab baths was in Alhambra. The natural light penetrating through the star-shaped holes at the ceiling captured me and brought me back through centuries to the time when the Nazari rulers relaxed sitting in the resting hall within his baths, with the company of his wives and his musicians playing his favourite melodies.
Another well-preserved ancient Arab baths I visited was in the Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera. There we can see clearly marked the three bathrooms of a proper Arab bath at that time – starting with the hot-water hall, the temperate water hall, and the cold- water hall. I heard that the one in Jaen is also very well preserved.
But in my encounter with the modern Arab bath in Sevilla, I got to taste how it feels like to dip myself in icy cold water after a hot bath – feeling the omnipresence of every vein under my skin and the blood running through them – similar to but stronger than the dipping after a sauna. That establishment was a fancy one, apart from the traditional three- temperature baths, it was also equipped with separate rooms for the Japanese style jakuchi, Hammam, and aromatic bath after massage.
The Arab bath in Granada that I tried was less sophisticated, or you may say nearer to the original model. But still, Arab baths, massage, and a mint tea and a smoke afterwards have become a ritual of mine that I would never missed whenever there is a chance.
Categories: Culture, Europe, History, Travel
El sol andaluz #3: Omeya of Spain
After the revelation of the Qur'an to Mohammad and the four caliphs "rachidun" (well-guided successors of the Prophet), the Omeya dynasty ruled Arabia from Damascus for ninety years before it was dethroned by the Abassid. The whole royal family was massacred by the Abbasid rulers, except the young Abd-al-Rahman I, who escaped to the Iberia peninsula and established anew the Omeya rule there.
That is how I have learnt from my classes and books. But some pieces of the puzzles had been staying in my head for some time – how such a kid could have spared himself from the massacre? Even more amazing to me was how this kid could have brought back the Omeya to live and led the "Arab invasion" of Spain, as was claimed by the official discourse?
I still do not pretend to know a lot about this history, but I got some clues recently in Granada.
Firstly, this kid was indeed smart. While seeing his family being massacre, he hid himself under the dead bodies pretending to be dead as well. So when people disposed of the dead bodies out of the palace, he managed to escape. Afterwards, he led a bump’s life wondering from Damascus to North Africa.
At that time, the whole Andalusia was in big chaos inflicted by man-made and natural disasters under the rule of the Visigoths. After the death of the last Visigoth king, there were severe power struggles among his sons and the nobles. His sons then asked for military help from the Arab governor in Tunis. The Arab troops took over control easily and established the first Muslim empire called "Al-Andaluz", with a territory covering two-third of what is now Spain and Portugal.
There were a lot of Syrians living in the area around Sevilla and Cordoba then. Upon knowing that Abd-al-Rahman I was wondering around in North Africa, they actively search for this legitimate successor of the prophet from the Omeya lineage. It should be understood that at that time for the Muslims, blood lineage as descendants of the Prophet meant spiritual and political legitimacy to rule. This feeling of loyalty of the Syrians to Adu-al-Rahman was even more obvious because Damascus was the capital of the Omeya dynasty, thus Syria had always been a stronghold of the original Omeya dynasty (When the Abbasid came into power, they moved the capital to Baghdad). With the help of the Syrians, Abd-al-Rahman crossed the Mediterranean Sea and landed at Almuñeca along the coast of Andalucia. Very quickly, the Syrians rallied around him, who established the independent Emirat in Spain.
Categories: Culture, Europe, Islam, History
El sol andaluz #2 : Chino chino cochino
Somebody told me that in Mexico there is a saying "Chino, chino, cochino" - "Chinese pig". I have not heard of racist words play like this in Spain about Chinese immigrants. But xenphobic attack, yes.
In September 2004, Chinese-owned shoes factories in Valencia were set on fire by a group of vandalisers. 200,000 pairs of shoes were destroyed and the loss was reported to be over 2 millions euros.
Why? Because Valencia is the biggest shoe producer region in Spain and they are suffering from the competition from cheap Chinese shoes. The much repeated arguments - "they" are taking away "our jobs".
Chinese immigrants had not been victims of overt xenophobic agressions. In almost every country you go, I am sure you will find stores and restaurants run by Chinese selling Chinese and Asian stuffs. Spain is no exception. The tranquil diligence and willing compromise for survival and harmony, which are virtues in traditional Chinese culture, certainly play a role. As long as the Chinese do not "transgress" the virtual boundaries of the trades they are usually good at - groceries and restaurants - they are in peace. The highly organised but enclosed groups of Chinese immigrants are more a myth than object of xenophobia.
But when economic interests comes into play, things are different.
Categories: China, Discrimination, Europe, Race
El sol andaluz #1 : Immigrants in Spain
After such a long break, I intend to revitalise my blog a bit with a series of things and thoughts that occurred to me during my stay mainly in Granada, Spain, but also other parts of Andalucia.
*****
While the discrimination against gypsy people in Spain seem to be declining, that against immigrants is on the rise. Coinciding with the process of Spain becoming a destination of migration, racism and xenophobia in the country is something in the making only since about 20 years. The biggest groups of immigrants are Latin Americans, "Magrebíes" from Northern Africa and mostly Morroco, and Africans from Sub-Saharan Africa.
As most Latin Americans in Spain share the same language and religion with the Spaniards, I can never really tell who is and who is not "Spanish" - legally speaking. But culturally speaking, they are all more or less Spanish, and more or less latinos. Yet insensitive inquisitivities during my conversations with people I met have always led me to have some clue about their legal status. They are in all sorts of jobs in the informal economy, from bar-tender to artists, and many others. If there is anything which can serve as an indication of how many "illegal non-spanish latinos" are there, here is an indication - earlier this year the Government of Spain has granted working permits to 700,000 illegal immigrants who were already working in the countries for over 6 months.
The Magrebíes (mostly Morrocans) are also the biggest immigrant group after the Latin americans, and are said to be the biggest victims of xenophobic attackes, but I could not yet find materials about this, or whether there has been a surge of anti-magrebíes sentiments after the "M-11" in 2004 (that is how they call the terrorists attacks in Madrid, 11 March 2004).
The "Blacks" Sub-Saharian Africans are said to be considered as "invisible". Those of you who have been to Andalucia should have experienced this - a black guy with his hands full of pirat CDs or DVDs trying to sell you some of his disks. Obviously, they are recent immigrants speaking Spanish with a certain accent. Whether they are legal, I have no idea. But there are good chances that they are not. What is certain is that this is the most important (if not only) occupation in which I have seen a black person. So most of them did not benefit from the amnesty mentioned above because they would not even be able to prove how long they have been working in Spain - they are "transparent".
Categories: Discrimination, Europe, Race
