The poetics of Avicenna by Aziz Ali Dad

The following article  “The poetics of Avicenna”  by Aziz Ali Dad, source “Friday Times, August 05-11, 2011

 

Avicenna (Abdallah Ibn Sina) lived in a period in the history of Islamic societies which witnessed efflorescence of philosophy and translations of Greco-Roman and Indian texts into Arabic. It was common among the scholars of the day to study Greek philosophy. Being a part of the cultural and intellectual ambience, Avicenna was also actively engaged with philosophical, scientific and literary debates of his time. His was the age when Muslim philosophers were studying Greek masterpieces, an indispensable component of their scholarship. Among the Greek writers they studied, Aristotle (384-322 BC) held a special position, and Arab philosophers presented their understanding of the ideas of Aristotle in the form of summaries and commentaries. As part of this tradition, Avicenna presented his views and understanding of Aristotle's Poetics in his own Commentary.

For his Commentary Avicenna relied on Arabic translations of Poetics. One of the main features of Arabic translations of Poetics is that Arabs used the Syriac translations as their source. Those translations were based on the Greek version of Poetics. The Arabic translation by Abu Bishr Matta contained deficiencies in syntax, nomenclatures, understanding and transliteration, and Avicenna used this translation to write his Commentary. In addition, he used the translation of Abu Bishr's student Yahya ibn Adi and al-Farabi. F. C Peter in his book Aristotle and the Arabs describes Yahya ibn Adi as the leader of the Peripatetic School of Baghdad of which Avicenna's Aristelianism was a direct product. While using these translations, Avicenna imbibed the shortcomings, misconceptions and fallacies of Poetics. It can be deduced that the sources of Avicenna were twice removed from the real source.

 

InPoetics, Aristotle discussed different genres of Greek poetry and the art of poetry in general. Later on Neo-Platonist philosophers erected an elaborate schema of classification of his works. This resulted in a classification of all the sciences. The classification or division of the works of Aristotle was called the 'context theory'. This classification was the work of philosophers such as Porphyry (234-304 AD) and Alexander of Aphrodisia. In this classification, Poetics came under the category of Logic. Alexander of Aphrodisias is considered as one of the proponents of the scheme of the context theory. He places Poetics in the lowest position in the hierarchy of the classification of Aristotelian logic. These ideas about the status of Poetry were products of Neo-Platonists who attributed different concepts to Aristotle that were not actually an integral part of his works.

When the Arabs conquered Alexandria and Syria, they came into contact with Neo-Platonist philosophers. Muslim philosophers were very impressed by the philosophical vigor of Greeks and appropriated it to explore and explicate different dimensions of life, religion, society and science. Avicenna came into contact with the classification of Neo-Platonists through Abu-Sahl al-Masihi who was a distinguished physician and his companion. By making Neo-Platonist classification his base, Abu-Shal presented the order of sciences that ought to be studied. According to an account given by Abu-Sahl, Aristotle incorporates Poetics in the category of the Logic, which holds the eighth position preceded by Rhetoric and Sophistics.

 

For more details: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110805&page=26

 

 

 

"Crisis of poverty of thought" by Aziz Ali Dad

The following article  “Crisis of poverty of thought”  by Aziz Ali Dad, source “View Point, July 22, 2011”.

 

In Pakistan our souls have been constantly fed on the emotions through the medium of poetry. It has permeated so much in our psyche that we view the order of things through the spectacles of emotions Over reliance on poetic medium has become an integral part of our thinking processes as our perception of history and other events is informed by it 

“What does a philosopher demand of himself first and last? To overcome his time in himself, to become ‘timeless’.-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Historically, Indo-Gangetic region proved to be a fertile ground for the genre of poetry. Great mystics, preachers, reformers and founders of religion in India expressed their ideas in poetry. Even where sacred texts are written in prose, poetry became an efficacious medium to disseminate religious teachings and injunctions to the masses. The genre of poetry reached its zenith during the Mughal period as we see eminent poet cum “thinkers” indulging in mushahiras in the courts of the Mughal kings, princes and patricians. Dominance of poetry during the period of decline signify deeper crisis in the society. Poetry’s dominance over intellectual and cultural life of subcontinent resulted in poverty in the realm of philosophy.

Though there are some thinkers who can be treated as philosophers in loose term, their number is miniscule in terms of influence on overall thinking paradigm of south Asia as compared to poets. During the colonial period we witnessed emergence of individuals who started to engage philosophically with existential issues and intellectual challenges of the time. They represented their intellectual insights through the medium of prose. Despite their periodic forays into philosophy in prose, poetry still remained a dominant medium of the intelligentsia. Even Allama Iqbal resorted to poetry for the propagation of his ideas. This situation compels us to raise question about relationship between poetry and poverty of philosophy/thought.

In the 1960 Marshal McLuhan wrote a crisp but illuminating book ‘Medium is the Message’. The main argument of his book is that medium not only determines our message but also changes our way of thinking by bringing about changes in the way we perceive the world. Although, he brings examples from mediums introduced by technology, we can extend his argument to the genres employed in literature and different disciplines to convey the message.

 

For more details: http://www.viewpointonline.net/crisis-of-poverty-of-thought.html

 

What’s happening in Balochistan? by Salman Abid

Source: The News International
Date: July 10, 2011

The province will remain another world unless we treat it as our very own

By Salman Abid

How can the Balochistan issue be resolved? The answer to this question is difficult because democratic forces seem to have little decision-making powers in the province. The undemocratic forces wield major power in the region and, at the moment, no political solution seems near in the future. The political government took some positive steps but the results are not that good. The trust deficit between the state and the Baloch has widened.

The trust deficit is not only between the political forces and federal government, including military institutions, but also between local intelligentsia - human rights activist, academics, media personnel, and poet, etc - and the deprived communities.

The federal government announced a few packages for Balochistan, including the National Finance commission (NFC) award. But the issues and concerns of the Baloch people, critics believe, cannot be resolved by offering different packages given without consulting different stakeholders in the province.

For example, the missing people is an issue of the Baloch people that remains unresolved. The majority of Balochistan's political parties and workers, including human rights groups, blame the security agencies for the whole situation. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also issued a fact-finding mission report on the province titled, Balochistan - Blinkered slide into chaos". It has given a list of missing people and those that were killed in the province on the basis of different reasons.

For example, the report says 140 bodies of missing persons were found in Balochistan during July 2010 to May 2011. 143 people were missing till May 29, 2011, 18 people were targeted in 2011 and 5 people were killed in 2011.

The serious cause of concern is that not only political workers but human rights activists, poet, professors, students, lawyers', social workers, and journalists are also missing or have been found dead. The province's nationalist parties give even higher numbers of missing people.

The political government, state agencies, and security forces are accountable to highlight and present the true picture of Balochistan before the nation. Are the government and security agencies doing their utmost to find out missing people? If the security agencies have complaints against certain people they should be brought before the court.

Actually, we should admit that the people of Balochistan, especially the marginalised groups, have been facing serious social, political and economic disparities in the region due to lack of attention from the government. The basic infrastructure of institutions in the province is very poor, especially in education, health, and transportation sectors besides concerns about natural resources' control. Balochistan people also have serious reservations on the issue of governance.

The people of Balochistan believe decisions about the province are being taken in Islamabad and GHQ. The provincial political government is powerless and has no right to take any political decision for the local people. A majority of the elected people admit the failure of resolving issues due to inadequate administrative and political powers.

For more details: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jul2011-weekly/nos-10-07-2011/pol1.htm#4

 

Philanthropy or agenda?by Aziz Ali Dad

The following article  “Philanthropy or agenda?”  by Aziz Ali Dad, source “The News, April 28, 2011”.

The controversy about the authenticity of projects undertaken by Greg Mortenson through his Central Asian Institute (CAI) in northern Afghanistan and Gilgit-Baltistan and the financial irregularities in CAI has created a furore in the international media. In the ensuing debate arguments of his votaries and detractors have focused only on Mortenson’s personality. Indeed, the controversy surrounding his philanthropic initiatives is a manifestation of global philanthropy and its discontents, which are a product of broader power relations and of the economic structure of the world dominated by a neo-liberal political and economic regime.

Mortenson’s book Three Cups of Tea is a New York Times bestseller. The author is accused of fabricating “some of the most dramatic and inspiring stories” in Three Cups of Tea and committing irregularities in the finances of the CAI. The impression he gives in the book is that he brought civilisation to the region of Gilgit-Baltistan to ward off the pernicious effects of Taliban ideology through education. Interestingly, the region, especially Baltistan, where he claimed to have set up schools, does not even have Taliban supporters, let alone the Taliban themselves.

Mortenson gives the impression that nobody had worked in this field before in the areas where he operated, and that he remained undeterred despite all odds and threats. That is why his representation of the region reeks of condescension. Amidst illiteracy and darkness the protagonist appears to be an emissary of civilisation who is bringing light to the dark spots of the earth. Philanthropic activities appear to be humanitarian, but there is a colonial mindset behind them. Mortenson reminds you of Western scholars who provided moral justification for their countries’ interventions in foreign countries during the colonial period.

There is no denying the fact that philanthropic interventions through soft initiatives can be used to defeat the scourge of terrorism, violence, ignorance and extremism. Unfortunately, the “soft” component of the counterterrorism strategy has become embedded within disaster capitalism. That is why initiatives of the soft component in development attract development professionals in droves to reap the benefits from reconstruction project in the aftermath of a war or disaster. No one can object to the opening of girls’ schools, but the question is: why it is always necessary to declare an area of intervention as being a land of obscurantism and ignorance, where the society is necessarily uncivilised? It is to provide a justification for the wiping out of all vestiges of the indigenous system and turning the society into a clean slate so that a neo-liberal economic script can be written with philanthropy used as an excuse.

For more details: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=43936&Cat=9

 

 

Unthought thoughts by Aziz Ali Dad

The following article  “Unthought thoughts”  by Aziz Ali Dad, source “The News, April 3, 2011”.

 

Killing on personal whims reveals the violent mentality that lurks beneath the calm veneer of silent majority in the Pakistani society.

The elevation of Salmaan Taseer’s assassin to the status of a hero and justification of the murder by a vast section of society show a mindset that is totally out of sync with modern times. When a society relapses into primitive state of nature, it paves the way for its own demise. Moreover, it clearly shows the descent of our society into an anarchic state where the only rule is the law of jungle.

In the state of nature, individual will remains dominant and the collective will does not emerge. In such a state, in the words of Thomas Hobbes, “man is a wolf on a fellow man, a state of war of everyone against everyone.” To end the uncertainty and insecurity of life in the state of nature, humankind entered into a social contract, in which the individual surrendered its will to form a collective will. The collective will played a pivotal role in the emergence of society, culture, state, religion, law, industry and vocations of different kinds.

With the advent of modernity, nature of the state underwent drastic changes. Through rationalisation of institutions and other spheres of life, the state was able to hold the monopoly on violence by empowering only one organisation to commit violent acts legitimately.

This idea is basically a manifestation of the collective will that enables people to progress and make life secure from the dangers of allowing the individual will and devolution of violence to its citizenry.

A study of the Pakistani society clearly shows the signs of withering away of rationality and disintegration of society. It is a society where the individual will dominates the collective will and the state fails to hold its monopoly on violence.

Salmaan Taseer’s murder is symptomatic of an obscurantist mind that is bent on removing the last vestiges of modernity to create more space for a golden past that never existed. Taseer’s assassination has clearly opened the deeper fissures within our society. Also, it has revealed the violent mentality that lurks beneath the calm veneer of silent majority.

Qadri’s elevation to the status of a hero clearly manifests a clash between tradition and modernity, because it is against the basic principles of modernity to decide about the fate of a person on a personal whim. Only institutions of the state are entitled to decide about the crime of a person and award punishment. If everyone is given a license to kill, the civil war in Pakistan is well nigh.

Those who are celebrating Qadri as a hero are not only eroding the fabric of society by turning it into a state akin to the life of nature. It is impossible to keep the edifice of state, religion, culture and values intact when the very foundation of the society is destroyed.

The clergy in Pakistan failed to understand the dialectics of modernity. Instead of tackling modernity on its own turf, the priest, in a bad faith, tries to cast our minds in medieval mould. This has created a cognitive dissonance or gap, for we are trying to make sense of the modern order of things with a paradigm that was evolved in response to centuries old issues.

Late professor Mohammed Arkoun of Sorbonne University termed this gap ‘unthought’ in Islamic thought. According to Arkoun the unthought in Islamic thought has been accumulating since the 16th century. He finds the causes of contemporary semantic disorder of thought in Islamic societies and its failure ‘to contribute to the great open debate on a world scale’ in the lacuna created by unthoughts.

This intellectual lacuna can be filled only by acquainting ourselves with modern discourses of social sciences and humanities. It will enable us to avoid anachronism in our worldview and objective realities on the one hand, and help us to deal with some of the intractable issues of our society with relevant sociological imagination.

Modernity demands rationalisation of different spheres of life and progressive vision of religion, but our priestly class has organised itself around issues that are always divisive and mostly violent. Their myopic version of religion reduces the status of God into hangman. The managers of the sacred have turned sacred institutions into an instrument of their political agenda. The priests are misfit to assume the charge of defining an entity like God.

On the other hand, religious discourse has remained ‘unthought’ for liberal/secular intelligentsia. As modernity is ‘unthought’ to religious class, religious discourse has remained unthought for seculars.

For more details: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/apr2011-weekly/nos-03-04-2011/dia.htm#4

 

Where do we stand? by Salman Abid

The following article  “Where do we stand?  by Salman Abid, source “The News, April 3, 2011”.

According to dictionary, sovereignty is “the supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power by which an independent state is governed and from which all specific political powers are derived; the intentional independence of a state, combined with the right and power of regulating its internal affairs without foreign interference.” Sovereignty and democracy are, of course, inter-linked. 

The talk of the town these days among the political intelligentsia is the task of strengthening democracy in Pakistan. In comparison with other systems of government, democracy is proved to be the best system of governance the world over.

Throughout the world, democratic forces have distinguished between true democracy in comparison with the so-called controlled democracy at the hands of non-democratic forces.

The situation of developing countries like Pakistan is the lingering threat from external forces. Somehow superpowers have successfully managed to streamline their power-based interests and, in some cases, stopped the real democratic process.

It would not be an over-simplification to say that international power players, US at the top of them, always managed the kind of democratic model in the third world that aimed to serve foreign agenda.

It is interesting to note how local and international establishments went against the norms of democracy. Pakistan, it is said, happens to be the real test case of clash between democratic and undemocratic forces.

We need to have supremacy of the parliament and the rule of law. Democracy is based on the concept of popular sovereignty. Representative democracies allow transfer of the exercise of sovereignty from the people to the parliament.

There is an impression that the international power brokers are aligned with Pakistan’s military institutions and accept their role in country’s politics. And how does that translate into action? General Pervez Musharraf’s is a case in point. He went Scott free, enjoying free passage.

According to one analysis, international power players have become completely engaged in decision-making process. Can we hope to see the democratic set-up getting strength and stability, at least in economic terms?  The bitter reality for the common man is that the World Bank and IMF are dictating the finance ministry.

The fault lies with us not with the others. We are internally weak since day one and our institutions have failed. True, Pakistan’s democratic process is still in transitional mode but it would be about time to re-evaluate our political roadmap and put it on the right track.

For more details: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/apr2011-weekly/nos-03-04-2011/pol1.htm#7

 

 

 

Domaaki: A Vanishing Voice by Aziz Ali Dad

The following article  “Domaaki: A Vanishing Voice” by Aziz Ali Dad, source “Friday Times, April 1-7, 2011”.

Follows the life and times of an important mother tongue of Pakistan.

On 21 February, 1952, the students of Dhaka University and political activists defied a ban on public rallies to protest against the Pakistani state’s attempt to impose Urdu as the sole national language of Pakistan. Police resorted to firing, which resulted in the killing of four students. That was the first sacrifice of a people for their mother language in modern times, and in 1999 the General Conference of UNESCO proclaimed February 21 as International Mother Language Day. Now this day is celebrated as International Mother Language Day across the world.

The phenomenon of linguicide is very modern. The events that unfolded during the Bengali Language Movement and their ramifications on the Pakistani polity were manifestations of modernity and its discontents. This is not to deny the occurrence of language death in the past; but with the advent of modernity, the pace of language extinction has accelerated.

In the post-Enlightenment period the world has not witnessed the creation of any new language. Only Esperanto, an artificial language, was created, but it failed to take root because it did not have organic links with a society or culture. Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine in their book ‘Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World’s Languages’ declared the United States alone as a graveyard for hundreds of languages. And yet it is a country that is the epitome of progress and modernity!
One of the moribund languages in Pakistan is Domaaki of Hunza. According to Georg Buddruss, Domaaki “originally belonged to the so-called ‘Central Group’ of Indo-Aryan languages somewhere south of Kashmir”. Previously this language was spoken by Doms (Domaaki speakers) inhabiting different regions of Gilgit-Baltistan. Now the speakers of this language reside in Mominabad (erstwhile Bayrishal) village in Hunza. Domaaki people worked as musicians and blacksmiths for centuries. (Even today, many musicians in the Punjab are referred to as “dom” or “doom”.) They are the repositories of indigenous music, engineering and crafts, but they have been treated as pariahs in our caste society. Politically, there was a complete disconnect between the traditional power structure and the Domaaki speaker. Even the Mir of Hunza prohibited them from speaking the Brushashki language. Doms are the only group of people that is not allowed to marry with other social groups. This has resulted in the painful isolation of Doms from the mainstream of society.

The advent of modernity has proved conducive for Doms to break the shackles of professions that have stunted their social mobility for centuries. Now they have succeeded to bring about a positive change in their economic lot and social status by making progress in other fields of life. Therefore, it can be said that modernity provided a deprived community with the opportunity of upward mobility. But modernity, in order to move along (or ‘progress’), must rupture tradition by bringing forth contradictions that persist beneath an apparent veneer of continuity.

The dilemma faced by Domaaki speakers is that if they rely on the traditional structure of society they have to remain vulnerable to the exploitation of society. On the other hand, modernity deprives Domaaki speakers of their identity, but at least it gives them human dignity and freedom, which are things they have long been denied. That is why many of them prefer to live with honor sans identity in modern structures, rather than living in a tradition that has kept them in disdain for centuries.

American linguist John McWhorter has captured an inherent dilemma in the dialectics of continuity and change and its impact on local languages in these words: ‘At the end of the day, language death is, ironically, a symptom of people coming together. Globalization means hitherto isolated peoples migrating and sharing space.... The alternative, it would seem, is indigenous groups left to live in isolationcomplete with the maltreatment of women and lack of access to modern medicine and technology typical of such societies.’ 

For more details: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/01042011/page20.shtml