History

…All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind Don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky It slips away, and all your money won’t another minute buy. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind… — from Dust in the Wind, lyrics by Kansas This post focuses on how the significance of a twelfth-century poem has shifted over time and geography according to its audiences.

When I moved to Minnesota two years ago, I suddenly had a whole new world to learn and explore, from highways and county roads to social values and cultural norms. Along the way, I’ve found some books and other cultural artifacts that have enhanced the journey and I’m sharing them with you here today. The cultural diversity of the Twin Cities area that you’ll see reflected below includes Native American Indian, Hmong, Scandinavian, Somali, and other elements.

This month we have a Sufi love poem by Ibn Arabi, a chance to rest from your tasks and worries. This poem contains some of the most-quoted lines of poetry in Sufism and in anthologies of pre-modern Arabic literature. Usually only a few lines are included, as in these two examples: My heart is capable of every form: Pasture for deer, a monastery for monks, Temple for idols, pigrim’s Ka’bah,

I grew up surrounded by memories of WWII—not my own of course, since it officially ended more than 30 years before I was born. My grandparents’ military service was common knowledge among those who knew them. Films like Casablanca and War and Remembrance were familiar. In school, we studied Holocaust accounts. Later, when I lived in Morocco and Egypt, I found a disconnect between the WWII memories that are circulated in the US and the lived experiences of the peoples of North Africa.

In honor of Salma Khadra Jayyusi, who passed away earlier this year, I’d like to revisit Juha the famous trickster character. I was fortunate enough to study Arabic langugage and literature during the years when Jayyusi’s PROTA project was bringing many works to the attention of readers in English. One of these works is published as Tales of Juha: Classic Arab Folk Humor (Northampton, MA: Interlink, 2007). This is a great compilation and rendition of many classic Juha stories.

Guest Post by Houda Elfchtali | Meknes, Morocco Arabic version here | انظروا هنا للنسخة العربية Houda Elfchtali Long excluded from the world of music–history makes no mention of female Moroccan artists before the 1940s–Moroccan women had to fight to be able to express their talent. There were eventually some developments in this arena, with national music conservatories opening to women in the early 1940s in Fez, Tetouan, Marrakech, Rabat, Meknes and Casablanca.

In this post, I’m delighted to introduce you to some embroidery textile arts happening today and some of the people who are currently at work in these fields in the SWANA/MENA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa/Middle East and North Africa). We’ll be looking at Palestinian, Egyptian, and Moroccan examples, in that order. This post is not comprehensive – feel free to contact me if I’ve failed to include a person or topic you’d like me to add!

In this post, I’m delighted to introduce you to a major textile art happening today: Khayamiyya (Appliqué) of Egypt. Next month we’ll follow up with embroidery arts. Let me know if there are other arts you’d like to see in future posts. For example, anyone here want to write or read about caftan fashions of Morocco? Another topic familiar to those who knit or crochet is “Tunisian crochet.” As far as I know, this technique and its name have nothing to do with Tunisia (source here), but tell me if you know better!

Bassiouney with Tutankhamun, wearing Fatimid-era dress Nov. 2022 From the first time we worked together (on the translation of her novel Ashiyaʾ raʾiʿa / Wonderful Things, published in English as Mortal Designs, AUC Press 2016), Reem Bassiouney and I have maintained a shared understanding of the role of literature in society; the role of creativity in an individual’s life; and the role of imagination in the mind of the readers and all those of us who are re-envisioning our lives and the world around us.

Map of Morocco courtesy of David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries | Source انظروا هنا للنسخة العربية Guest Post by Meriem Sahli | In the following post, guest writer Meriem Sahli outlines important developments in education in Morocco and identifies remaining areas for improvement. INTRODUCTION The Kingdom of Morocco is situated in the North-Western part of Africa. Its geographic location makes it both an African and an Arab-Muslim country; it is a member of the African Union and the Arab League.