(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Adonis, in Conversation with Houria Abdelouahed: Violence and Islam
Solum Publishing, 2016
The vast majority of Arab societies are dominated by ignorance and religious obscurantism. This leads to violence, oppression and loss of free thought. The problem lies in the monotheistic and rigorous interpretation of Islam, sprung out of nasal admiration for Prophet Muhammad.
I would never have dared to make such a bombastic analysis. So who is saying this? Hege Storhaug? Halvor Tjønn? Ayan Hirsi Ali? No, the words belong to the award-winning Syrian poet and essayist Adonis, born as Ali Ahmad Said Esber in 1930. It takes place through nine dialogues between Adonis and the female Moroccan psychoanalyst and author Houria Abdelouahed. It is the thoughts behind, and the struggle for political Islam, from the creation of the first caliphate to the present day, which are the subject of the conversation book.
Left radical oppositional. Adonis is considered one of the greatest poets in the Arab world. Several fatwas have been issued against him, and he has been at odds with the regime in Syria many times. He is a leftist radical, and since 1985 he has lived in exile in Paris. In addition to a number of prestigious awards, including our own Bjørnson Prize in 2007, his name has often been mentioned in connection with the Nobel Prize in literature.
The book is packed with violent quotations from the Qur'an. But plowing the Qur'an, or Old Testament, in search of blood-curdling and hair-raising quotes, is not very interesting in itself. Why is Adonis doing this anyway?
Adonis argues that the will to put the ancient texts into a historical context is lacking in much of the Arab world. His bitter criticism of civilization, that the Arab culture is poor in free thought, has its root in this literal interpretation of the Qur'an. Nothing should change: "A petrified Islam based on tribal spirit, conquest and money power." And religion has distorted the desire. "Religion has defined sexuality in the form of law." (See also excerpt.)
Adonis, a great authority, paints with a brush that is wider than most of us could have allowed. He judges Arab civilization, as it has become through Islamic influence: "Today's Arab society is a collection of institutions of violence and torture" and is "institutions of decay". Such analyzes could hardly come from anyone other than intellectuals born and raised in the cultural circle itself.
"Today's Arab society is a collection of institutions of violence and torture and are institutions of decay." Adonis
The benefits Western civilization has created, democracy and the free arts and thought, have narrow conditions in the Arab world, according to Adonis. But he is not a one-sided "West-digger"; on the contrary, he is very critical of Western imperialism and the way the West interferes with Arab despots.
In today's Arab countries, those who think differently are killed, he says. "This testifies to a hatred of man. This practice and the Muslims' silence about these events show that Muslims believe and believe that Islam is the only true religion, the finished religion, the one God has chosen for their believers. ”How can anyone think that the world without Islam would be devoid of meaning? he asks rhetorically.
The failed Arab Spring. A fundamental question Adonis asks is the following: "Can one get another reading of Islam, a reading that advocates for the equality of all people, without exception? Can one get a reading that talks about religion without pretending to be the Truth? The truth forced upon people by force is a destruction of human consciousness and life itself. And a society that does not dare to express itself freely is not a human society. Man is human because he has the right to freedom, to knowledge and to recognition. "
The Arab Spring thought solely to overthrow the sitting power, without devoting too much attention to the question of the institutions, the education system, the family, women's liberation, and the freedom of the individual. There was a lack of thinking about how to form a civil society, ie a society for the citizens of the community, says Adonis.
An Arab Copernicus moment? The book is full of literary and religious references. The interlocutors are Arab intellectuals with heaviness, and I almost feel like I'm joining a "Copernicus moment". A worldview is challenged. The book is written in French and translated into Norwegian, but not yet in English, as far as I can see. Will it come out in Arabic? Can it provoke a debate, or will it just be another fatwa?
“A society that does not dare to express itself freely is not a human society. Man is human because he has the right to freedom, to knowledge and to recognition. ”Adonis
All Muslims have a duty to think through the basics of religion, says Adonis. A revolution that ends with giving birth to ISIS with all its horrors makes it necessary to rethink the Arab prehistory, according to Adonis. The interviewees are not optimists, but still see a positive sign when Moroccan youth dare to ask why they must comply with the fast.
Some will surely lust for this book to confirm their own prejudices against Arabic and Islam, but I find the book written in great love for their own culture. Therefore: Thanks and appreciation for the Arab world, and we, have intellectuals like Adonis, who dare to question the cultural truths' adopted truths. The book has global relevance and its issues are of general value. It challenges us all.
