A Brief (and very abridged) Introduction to Islam

For if there be no mind
Debating good and ill,
And if religion send
No challenge to the will,
If only greed be there
For some material feast,
How draw a line between
The man-beast and the beast?

THE BEGINNING OF ISLAM

In Mecca around 570, Muhammad was born, orphaned, and reared by his uncle. He lived in Mecca as a caravan trader and married a widow named Khadijah. Muhammad was troubled by greed and corruption of Mecca's business leaders, and often went to a hill near Mecca to meditate.

On a day during the Arab month of Ramadan, Muhammad heard a voice telling him to "recite." Terrified, Muhammad responded that he cannot recite, and the voice replied:

Recite in the name of thy Lord, the Creator
who created man of a blood-clot.
Recite, for thy lord most generous
who taught by the pen,
taught man what he knew not.

Full of fear that he had gone mad, Muhammad ran home and asked Khadijah to wrap him in a cloak. As soon as she did, he heard the voice again, this time saying:

O thou enshrouded in thy mantle,
rise and warn!
Thy lord magnify
thy raiment purify
and from evil flee!

With Khadijah's help, Muhammad came to realize that this was the voice of the Angel Gabriel commanding him to proclaim God's existence to the Arabs and to warn them of an imminent judgement day.

The Arab nation practiced an animist religion at the time, and when Muhammad preached his new message to them, they rejected Islam. Muhammad and the followers he had gathered left their home in Mecca and traveled to Medina. This emigration--hijrah (emigration)--is considered the most important event in Muslim history. The Muslim calendar begins the year it occrred, 622 C.E.

MUHAMMAD AND THE ANGEL JIBREEL

There are very few images of the prophet (Muhammad) because of the Islamic prohibition on depicting human and animal forms. In the following illustration from a 16th century Turkish manuscript, the artist honors this by including a veil over Muhammad's face. He also shows the prophet surrounded by the flame of his "holiness," an image perhaps of the intensity of Muhammad's belief and his devotion to what he perceived as his divinely-appointed mission.

AFTER MEDINA

In Medina, Muhammad formed the first ummah--a community ruled by a divine plan. After the prophet's death, Muslim scholars (ulama) developed a legal code derived from the Quran--sharia--to reulate all aspects of human behavior. The ummah aspired to serve as the ideal earthly setting in which one could prepare for judgement day.

(Right: Mourning the death of the Prophet Muhammad)

ISLAMIC BELIEFS AND INSTITUTIONS

• One God, all-powerful, all-knowing, has no partner and no offspring
• God spoke to several human messengers, the last was Muhammad
• God imparted Torah to Jewish prophets, Gospels to Jesus and his disciples. These scriptures were corrupted so God sent Quran (recitation), perfected revelation
• Though Muslims believe Quran more true than Bible in its present form, they do not deny any of God's prophets, honoring Abraham, Moses, and Jesus
• There will be a day of judgement--Al-Qiyamah--when God will assess all people and consign them to Heaven or Hell

(Above: 1st century Quran manuscript)

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

• Shahada -- "Submission"-- Statement of belief in God
• Salah -- Ritual prayer five times daily
• Zakat -- "Alms-giving" -- paying part of one's income to provide for the needy
• Sawm -- Fasting during month of Ramadan
• Hajj -- Pilgrimage during month of Dhu Al-Hijjah to Mecca

Some Ancient History

The ancient Middle East saw the rise of the earliest recorded governments in Egypt and Sumer, third millenium BCE.
You may have noticed that Upper Nile is South of Lower Nile. This is because the Nile flows from South to North on it's way to the Mediterranean Sea. Upper Nile is upstream, Lower Nile is downstream.

The kingdoms of the Upper and Lower Nile combined to form Egypt. The land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers became the kingdom of Sumer.

Sumer became Babylonia and Egypt extended into Syria. Assyria gained control of Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt. Eventually Assyria was overcome by the Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean Empire

At the end of the seventh century, Assyria adopted Christianity, which later split into several branches including the Chaldean Church.

Starting in the sixth century BCE, Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire, conquering much of Southwest and Central Asia

From Cyrus's reign to modern times, the Middle East hosted the rise and fall of many a great empire including Persia, Greece and Rome.

Current Map of the Middle East

Weekend Workshop

Unceasing effort brings success;
"Fate, fate is all,' let dastards wail:
Smite fate and prove yourself a man;
What fault if bold endeavor fail?

On October 17th, our playwright, director, actors, and shadow-puppet expert gathered for the first time to meet, discuss, and play. For 3 days we asked questions, took risks, and taught each other, culminating in a staged reading of the current script on Sunday, October 19th. We were privileged to have 7 fifth graders at our staged reading to provide valuable feedback, as well as several educators and members of the community for whose input we are very grateful.

Here's a little scrapbook of our weekend:

Laurie McCants, founding member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and our shadow-puppet guru, brought her beautiful Egyptian puppets for us to play with. These puppets, made of donkey hide, were built in collaboration with WAMDA Puppet
Company of Cairo, Egypt

Meet our cast (and lovely production assistant): From left, Carolyn Henderson, Jamie Koottarappallil, Jiddu (George Haddad), Jami Yeager, Kris Zarif, and Seth Rosenthal

Jiddu playing his magnificent Oud


















Jamie and Jiddu: Jam Session

Jiddu on Oud, Jamie on Tabla
















Our diminutive director Janet Hayatshahi gazes up at our shadow puppet screen

















Dani and Jiddu discuss the script













Laurie teaches Kris, Jamie and Seth how to manipulate shadow puppets












Laurie gives our audience a shadow puppet tutorial.
Jamie, Kris and Seth wait behind the screen











Jamie, Kris and Seth put on an impromptu performance to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"











Jami, Jiddu, Kris and Seth perform as several fifth grade students look on














Q and A with our esteemed panel

What's In A Name

In case of horse or book or sword,
Of woman, man or lute or word,
The use or uselessness depends
On qualities the user lends.

How in the world did the name Panchatantra mutate into Kalila and Dimna?

I'm glad you asked.

One of the most well-known fables in these books is told from the perspective of two jackals. In Sanskrit, their names are Karataka--meaning "horribly howling," and Damanaka--meaning "victorious." The extensive role they play in the first book, Mitra Bedha (The Loss of Friends), probably made the pair so popular and closely associated with the stories that their names--subject to varying degrees of phonetic corruption--became the collection's namesake.

Dimna speaks to his master, the lion.

Another Story

In what can wisdom not prevail?
In what can resolution fail?
What cannot flattery subdue?
What cannot enterprise put through?

So how exactly did the Panchatantra migrate to the Middle East and morph into Kalila and Dimna?

Once Upon A Time, there was a great king named Khosrau (the namesake of one of our actors!) who reigned over the territory known as the Sassanid Empire. The Sassanid Empire was a large territory that encompassed what is now Iran, Iraq, Armenia, and parts of Afghanistan, Turkey, India, Syria, and Pakistan. (Dark green area on map to right)

One day, around 570 CE, Khosrau’s trusted vizier named Borzuy, a statesman and physician of the Sassanid Empire, came to the king to ask permission to undertake a journey to Hindustan (now called India). Borzuy had read of a mountain herb—mritasanjeevani—in Hindustan that, when sprinkled over a corpse, restored life to that which is dead. Khosrau granted permission, equipped his vizier for the journey, and sent with him a note to the Hindustani Raj requesting him to furnish any help Borzuy may need.

Borzuy was received in Hindustan with great honor and was given all the assistance the kingdom could offer. However, when he climbed the mountain and procured the herb, he found that it possessed no necromantic properties. Ashamed at the prospect of returning home in defeat, Borzuy consulted the physicians of the Raj’s kingdom. The physicians could offer the vizier little help, but they all agreed that Borzuy should consult a great sage they knew of who surpassed all of them in years, speech, and wisdom.

When Borzuy found the sage and related his story, he was surprised to hear that the sage had undertaken the same quest long ago. He also had been disappointed by mritasanjeevani’s ability to raise the dead until he realized the real significance of the journey he had undertaken. The sage advised Borzuy to think of the herb as one who seeks knowledge, the mountain as that same knowledge that is so difficult to obtain, and the dead as one without knowledge since without learning, one is lifeless. He then urged Borzuy to consult the Raj’s treasury, where he will find a book called the Panchatantra. When people become weary of their ignorance, the Panchatantra is their mritasanjeevani, and knowledge is the mountain they must climb.

Borzuy was overjoyed by this discovery, and hurried back to the Raj to request permission to borrow the Panchatantra. As dear as the book was to the king, he could not permit Borzuy to remove it from the kingdom, but he granted the noble vizier as much time with it as he desired. Borzuy translated the stories into Pahlavi—an ancient Persian language—and renamed the book Kalile va Demne.

Let's start at the very beginning...

One Vishnusharman, shrewdly gleaning
All worldly wisdom's inner meaning,
In these five books the charm compresses
Of all such books the world possesses.

Inside Story weaves itself around animal fables from the ancient Middle Eastern stories of Kalila and Dimna, also called The Fables of Bidpai, but let's take it back even further.

A very good place to start is 22 centuries ago in ancient India--probably in what is now Kashmir, a tiny province that has been a source of heated debate between India and Pakistan for over half a century now. Around 200 B.C.E., Panchatantra emerged, a collection of stories and short poetic verses that each carried a message of right-living (You'll find some of these verses scattered throughout this blog, translated into English from Sanskrit by Arthur W. Ryder). The fables were constructed in a curious frame-within-a-frame fashion, and surrounding them was another tale explaining the origins of the Panchatantra.

The story goes that Once Upon A Time there was great king who had three sons who were decidedly averse to education. The King, very concerned about leaving his kingdom to such unfit stewards, summoned his most trusted counselors to consider the issue. One of his counselors introduced the King to Vishnusharman—a Brahman with a reputation for skill in many sciences. Vishnusharman told the King that within six months, he would educate the boys in the art of intelligent living. The sage also refused to take any form of compensation for the King, declaring instead that if he failed in his task, Vishnusharman would give up his own name and the King could moon him. That’s right--the King could show Vishnusharman his bare bottom. The King, of course, accepted this offer, Vishnusharman took the boys to his home and had them memorize five books (The words Pancha and Tantra translate to “five principles”) that he composed. The books were called:

• Mitra Bhedha (The Loss of Friends)
• Mitra Laabha (Gaining Friends)
• Kakolookiyam (Crows and Owls)
  
• Labdhaprnasha (Loss of Gains)
• Aprikshitakaraka (Ill-Considered Action)
  

In six months, the Princes returned home ready to serve the kingdom and Vishnusharman retained his good name and was spared the sight of the King’s privates. It should be noted that Vishnusharman claims not to have created these stories, but merely assembled them for the education of the princes. They have been passed down since time immemorial to educate and inspire every generation of princes and princesses.

Eventually, the Panchatantra traveled West to the Sassanid Empire--what is now Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan--to be reincarnated as the Fables of Bidpai, but that's another story...

Welcome!

Whoever learns the work by heart,
Or through the story-teller's art

Becomes acquainted,

His life by sad defeat--although
The king of heaven be his foe--

Is never tainted.

Welcome to the blog for Inside Story: Middle Eastern Tales.

Premiering at San Diego State University's Theatre of the World Festival on March 13, 2009, Inside Story is an original play written by SDSU faculty member Dani Bedau and directed by adjunct faculty member Janet Hayatshahi. The play utilizes live performance, music, video, and Egyptian-style shadow puppets.

Inside Story asks the audience to examine the nature of friendship, the significance of identity, the delightful and difficult aspects of difference, and the value of reaching beyond what we know, of stepping out of our comfort zones.

This blog will track the incarnation of this work as it emerges through research, conversation, and collaboration.