Mr Iqbal. The best teacher I ever had!

I'm choking - this just dropped into my Inbox, courtesy of a friend who is a Facebook contact:

Subject: .. a lament ..

Sandy popped in to see me last week. She'd been teaching Rajib (bright boy from your old class) that morning and had complemented him on his beautiful handwriting. "Where did you learn to write like that?" she asked. To which Rajib dramatically tossed back his head and lamented, "Arrgh, Mr Iqbal. The best teacher I ever had!"

Just thought I'd share that with you. It's sure to brighten up your day. Claire.

Honestly - all things aside, I loved my classes as a primary teacher. I always sensed that my classes loved me back because I made them feel safe and set my expectations high. I was far from perfect, but I would always say to my classes that we were a family, that we needed to look after one another and that one day I wanted to see their names in bright lights.

Sheikh Zayed Masjid

Marhaba

Across the Islamic world, Muslim cities are often defined by their historical masjids. The Sheikh Zayed Masjid, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi is actually fairly new and was officially opened towards the end of Ramadan two years ago. There is still some landscaping work to be completed on the grounds, but you can see the green embankment and sometimes they turn on the water features.

It's an incredibly beautiful construction - a modern synthesis of Moorish and Mughal architecture composed mostly of white marble with an interior of white gypsum and coloured marble floral patterning (28 different styles of marble for the decor and the mosaic). It has the largest carpet in the world (all 47 tonnes of it shipped over from Iran) and the heaviest copper and gold plated chandeliers imported from Germany, made up of 1 million Swarovski crystals (there are seven of them, the largest of which is 10 metres in diameter with a 15 metre drop in the main hall).

The masjid has a 82 domes, covers an area of 22,412 square metres with a potential to hold a capacity of 40 thousand - it is rated amongst the biggest masjids in the world. There are four minarets, standing at 107 metres. You can see one of the courtyard minarets in the picture here.

Mausoleum

Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the union that is the UAE has his final resting place here. His mausoleum is on the grounds, though it's strictly no photography. You can, however, peer through the grills and listen to the qira'at as you approach the chamber.

As a family, we often choose to pray Jum'ah here. I include some pictures I took there last week straight after Jum'ah prayer.

Enjoy.

Alarm Bells

You can never be certain of the truth sometimes. Ahmed Rashid, a notable Lahore-based journalist, author of the New York Times bestseller "Taliban" and a regular guest columnist for the BBC writes here:

The Pakistani government and army seem incapable or unwilling to tackle the Taleban threat in the north-west.

Unprecedented political and military disarray in Pakistan and a growing public feeling of helplessness is helping fuel the rapid expansion of the Taleban across northern Pakistan, bringing them closer to paralysing state institutions in their bid to seize total power.

.. Within weeks of concluding a deal with the government on the imposition of Islamic law in the strategically located Swat valley, the Taleban have already broken the agreement by refusing to disarm, taken control of the region's administration, police and education while spilling out into adjacent valleys ..

Anyone following news events in Swat will know this to be fairly accurate, so I quite agree, but read on:

... The Swat Taleban added fuel to the fire by inviting Osama Bin Laden to settle in Swat, indicating their complete control of the valley ...

see further: Disarray on Pakistan Taleban threat, BBC News

What? If the Bin Laden invitation to Swat is true then I'm most interested to see what Pakistan or anyone of the world's major political players will do next. These are dangerous times and I have a young family. I'm confused by stories - the plan - may Allah protect all the people of Swat - is that we will travel and be in valley over summer.

'No need to worry'

The nonchalance coming from the top is especially alarming: 'No need to worry', Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani 'the Taleban pose no threat to the state'.

Alarm Bells, anyone?

Don't Let Your Eyes Deceive You

... continued from last posting ...

It is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us

My concern with the whole Geneva Conference on racism is how many countries boycotted the event - Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and the United States. It's perhaps naive to think that there aren't occasions where people are forced into a boycott, but to not participate raises a concern about commitment to the premise of human equality. If we are divided because racism exists, then other struggles for equality - gender, cultural identity, religion and class will never happen. As someone anonymous once remarked: "There is only one race - the human race". The boycotting countries have a certain something in common - politically they are perceived as "white" and most yield influences that could have been exercised positively in the fight against racism.

I don't know of any society where there isn't some guilt or that hasn't had to deal with some kind of internal issues with race and racism, but there are historical examples of where entire social systems have been built on racial exploitation and legal division. These have tended to be in places where Europeans have held power, either as colonialists or in the post-colonial world. You'll find many European expats here in the Gulf enjoying a very privileged lifestyle, not accessible to the poor South Asian labour force.

Here from where I sit in the Arab world, there is a political perception of the Iran which is unique to the Arabs - reactions to Iran coming from Europe and the West are different. The subtleties of this are often not understood, but exploited into a "them and us" situation which is essentially anti-Iran, anti-Ahmedinejad and ultimately anti-Muslim. Isn't it precisely this very attitude that leads us towards the racism that we should be challenging? Iran - whilst not perfect, is what the West-leaning Gulf isn't; it's actually a multi-party system where universal suffrage exists for all people over 15. According to my last check, the current Leader of Britain, Mr Gordon Brown, was not elected by the populace and governments in the Gulf are almost completely made up of ruling families.

The conference may have been a sham, but that was due to other forces of distrust. Many may conclude that much of the non-participation was about a cynical desire to preserve the global racial inequality status quo and not just because Iran was there.

“In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.” Janet Jackson, Rythmn Nation 1814

In Complete Darkness We Are All The Same

Spectrum of Diversity

According to Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840), there are five colour typologies for humans: white people, black people, yellow people, red people and brown people. This is of course, a very rigid definition. It says nothing about culture, language, migration and social identify and is a definition that most rightly minded people would question today. Blumenbach was a proponent of "Scientific Racism" - a kind of pseudo-Science used to justify racism. Think American Slavery, Nazism and Apartheid to name a few. Thank goodness it's not the 17th century today...

... but, have we really moved on? Just look at the world today. We are still divided, even if not always by colour (whatever that is). Earlier this week, Penta Inspectors reporting back to the Education Council descended their presence on Al Shawamekh, our coveted boys' school here in Bani Yas. They did what lots of inspectors do, sat and pontificated, snooped around, interviewed people, did the obligatory lesson obs, drank tea with each other and so. Penta fulfill a role as an Ofsted-type inspectorate and would claim to be staffed by people who will have had some school leadership in the UK etc. Most, I figure are here in Abu Dhabi to enjoy the sun and splash around in a pool.

Al Shawamekh is a middle school for boys, and typical of government schools here is staffed entirely by teachers from across the Arab world - Egypt, Palestine, Jordon, Syria, Yemen, the Sudan and the Emirates. One of the inspectors was a remarkably rude and obnoxious person who asked me if I was the ICT teacher after witnessing a little disturbance outside a class. He wouldn't have asked me if I was white because he made the assumption that Advisors in school were likley to be "Western" and since I don't follow the "look" (racially speaking of course), the disorderly class was seen to be as a result of the nearest brown adult. Suffice to say, I was glad to see the back of this rude and racist man when he went.

Race is one of those things that we must be extremely sensitive to, so I followed with interest some of the goings on at the Durban Review: World Conference Against Racism in Geneva, Switzerland this week. Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was one of the most high profile speakers and not surprisingly, he upset a few people with his ideas this week. It didn't start off well - there were hecklers at the very beginning who threw items at him and the European Union reps walked out at the beginning of his speech. We see Ahmedinejad through a largely one-sided political frame, and so it's understandable why many folk would be annoyed at his utterances. He's a maverick to some, an enemy to others, and respected by those who respect him.

continued in next posting ...

“In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.” Janet Jackson, Rhythmn Nation 1814

Attan 3 - More History

A Look Into Afghan History Through Attan (Part 2)

Final in the series on Attan and second part of the film on Afghan history.

Tor_Khan تور خان

Attan 2 - A Journey Through History

A Look Into Afghan History Through Attan (Part 1)

I stumbled upon this documentary that takes us on a tour of Afghan history through the images and sounds of the Afghan National Dance, the Attan. Quite a clever idea as you can learn the history whilst enjoying the Attan.

Tor_Khan تور خان

Attan 1 - National Dance

Warawaee Lasoona

Attan - the national dance of Afghanistan has been performed by the tribal Pashtoons for generations to celebrate weddings, births and other festive occasions. This was later modified into a ritual dance of soldiers to allow them to get "closer to Allah"* before they advanced on their missions and is now performed by men and women alike in a variety of forms from Khattak to Khost.

Tor_Khan تور خان

* a pre-cursor to the traditions of the Darvesh (درویش)

When Beauty Hurts

The troubles in the Swat Valley ring deep. It is a beautiful place, and with it, it's people. My connections to the valley through family and our shared history means that I have many aspirations for the place. I can dream on a grand scale, but for now I pray for a lasting return to normality and a future of peace and prosperity.

My life, as a Yorkshire-born son of migrants from Karachi, means that my contact with Swat has not been extensive. I speak, however, as someone who grew up knowing of my immediate family living in the valley. I also speak Pashto with a distinctly Swati dialect. Swat is a constant part of our family conversations, and this summer the valley draws my wife, our children and myself back. After all, this is who we are.

Swat - سوات - A Princely State

Swat was a wilaayat (princely state) long before Pakistan was carved out of India and is astonishingly breath-taking; an obvious tourist hub and the pride of the Yusufzai Pashtoons. The snow capped mountains, the gorges, the streams, the pine trees, are all reminiscent of those naturally beautiful places untouched by urban decay and pollution. I first went to Swat when I was toddling - I remember nothing of it of course - though had the opportunity to return and explore as an adult.

That was twelve years ago in the summer of 1996, one month before the Taliban took control of Kabul. Swat in 1996, was peaceful, rather under-developed and with even more power outages than places like Peshawar but where traditions - honour, virtue, kinship, Islam and Pashtunwali remained strong.

I knew little of the Taliban then and what I know now, the world knows too. Afghanistan has suffered much and today, Swat has been bleeding too. The disturbances at the present time have led to the killings of hundreds and the displacement of an estimated 800,000 people. Pashtoons, uprooted, seeking refuge from violence, once again. Officially, a peace has been brokered, but at a cost - girls education has been dismantled and the recent footage of the public flogging has left many of us disturbed.

President Obama, has recently referred to the Tribal Areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border regions as the "most dangerous place on Earth."

It is my intention, InshAllah, to travel there this summer. The occasion is a wedding - these moments of joy and optimism are what we need to help us heal. Please pray for us.

Tor_Khan تور خان

Father of the Gazelle

Abu Dhabi - أبو ظبي - Father of the Gazelle

There are four main artery roads that lead out of Abu Dhabi. At least three of them have had recent road works, so you can imagine the traffic congestion on our roads at the moment. The standard of driving isn't, ahem, that great to begin with, so the traffic is frustrating if you wish to move round certain parts of the city at given times.

I live high rise - fifteen stories up (if you count the Mezzanine and Zero Floor) - my views overlook both parts of this island capital - the high-rise Manhattan-esque half of towering skyscrapers, and the contemporary sprawl of villas, masjids, palaces, water features and parks, that symbolise modern surburban Arabia. Either side of the island, I get to see the blue waters of the Arabian (or Persian) Gulf.

Anyway, here are some views of the city where I live shot on my cameraphone.