Middle East/North African Lit discussion

Please share your recommendations in here .

Previous related readings :
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain by Maria Rosa Menocal
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Granada by Radwa Ashour
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Update on April 1st :
Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Are we interested in reading The Literature of Al Andalus? Reading all the ibns -Ibn Hazm, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Khatib, Ibn Zaydun...., and learn more about Wallada bint al-Mustakfi's literary salon. She was quite a character!

Perhaps sample the poets:
The Ommayads from Andalusia (711-1031)

Ibn ‘Abd-Rabbih
Ibn Hani’
Al-Sharif Al-Taliq
Ibn Darradj Al-Qastalli
Ibn Ma’ Al-Sama’
Ibn Shuhayd
Ibn Hazm
The Kings of Taïfas(1031-1090)

Ibn Zaydun and Wallada
Al-Mu’tamid
Ibn ‘Ammar
Ibn al-Haddad
Yahya al-Saraqusti
Ibn Hamdis
Ibn al-Labbana
The Almoravids(1090-1145)

Ibn Badjdja
Ibn Sara
Al-Ama Al-Tutili
Ibn Khafadja
Ibn al-Zaqqaq
Ibn Baqi
Ibn Quzman
Al-Ama al-Makhzumi
Nazhun al-Qala’iyya
The Almohads (1147-1223)

Al Rusafi
Hafsa bin Hadjdj
Abu Dja’far ibn Said
Ibn Zuhr
Ibn Dabbagh
Ibn al-Djinan
Abn Hazmum
Ibn al-Arabi
Ibn Sahl
Al-Shushtari
The Nasrids from Grenade (1238-1492)

Al-Rundi
Ibn al-Sabbagh
Ibn al-Khatib
Ibn Zumruk
Yusuf |||
Al-Qaysi

And we have all of Maria Rosa Menocal's books.

Keep going :)
Al Andalus bookshelf in the group
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

Thank you Nile daughter. I jumped the gun in reading Granada before we start on the 1st, and I'm finding that reading historical fiction is a little too slow moving for providing me with the information I'm searching for. As a latecomer to this group, I hate to impose my reading needs on the rest of you, so this thread should be open to the group's needs first.

As readers, you know that our books take us on personal journeys, and the journey that I want to be on is in finding where eastern literature influenced the western canon. Starting in the Al Andalus seems to be the right place to start. And I'm really more of an autodidact, so I'm following intuititve whims and no real scholarly path.

Only recently, I read this article : "Hayy was here, Robinson Crusoe", and it blew my mind.

http://www.aramcoworld.com/issue/2014...

I think that for me personally reading books like
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... is really the direction that I want to go. It's the direction that seems to be calling me.

Great, Reem! We have a Medieval Texts section:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Perhaps you would like to suggest a pre-modern group reading? If so, which book would you most like to read first? There are plenty of pre-modern texts that I would like to read too :)

That's fabulous Melanie! This group has such a wide range of threads. I would like to start with Ibn Tufayl.

I pulled out all these titles from that article and put them on my tbr list. I would have to order them first. That said, I would also be open to suggestions from the rest of you on what you would like to read too.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

That is a long Article Reem , I will get back to read it , thanks ! :)

I think I read Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan at school but I am not sureif it was the whole book or just an abstract . I agree with Melanie , we should revisit the Medieval Texts section and see how things will be going .

Nile daughter wrote: "That is a long Article Reem , I will get back to read it , thanks ! :)



Nile daughter, this is one of those articles that needs to be printed. It is long.

I just ordered Ibn Tufayl's Hayy ibn Yaqzan (the Goodman translation) and Hayy Ibn-Yaqzan by Avner Ben-Zaken. I was going to order the others on my list, but they are expensive. 115 dollars for one and 95 for another. I think I need to renew my library card.

I love it! Just reading Granada when Radwa Ashour mentions the Risalat Hayy Ibn Yaqzhan! What are the odds? We're on the right track! :)

Could a moderator open a thread for Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan under medieval texts? Thank you :)

Done! Here is the link.

I'd like to read it too, but it will be a while before I get to it. Thanks, ReemK10 and anyone else, for sharing your thoughts!

Melanie wrote: "Done! Here is the link."

Thank you Melanie. I still have to wait for my books to arrive. I'll post my links there as I read.

Finally I have my copy of Granada and am ready to start!

I would like to read The Hand of Fatima probably by June . I also hope to be able to read Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree this year .

Nile daughter wrote: "I would like to read The Hand of Fatima probably by June . I also hope to be able to read Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree this year ."

I liked Shadow of the Pomegranate Tree and I liked Leo Africanus so much I may read it again some day. Maalouf is such a good write. I've read his Samarkand and plan to read more.

Amin Maalouf is one of my favorite authors , I have more of his books on my to-read list :) In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong was my last read for him , it was different from fiction , yet a very good one .

I am glad you liked " the Pomegranate Tree" , that is encouraging :)

I actually ordered a book last night on our reading list. I'm on my tablet so I can't check the title, but it's about the cultural sharing of Al Andalus. Looks really good and I was able to find a used/ very good copy.

Now I'm on my PC---the book I ordered is The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture. I'm looking forward to this one. The library has a copy but I decided if I could get a reasonably priced copy I wanted to have it to read slowly.

The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture looks a good book , also María Rosa Menocal is one of the authors ,please keep us updated :)

I will. The book is now on its way to me. I imagine I will approach this as a slow read, especially with all the other books I have going.

Masters of the Word:

In her new album, El-mutakallimun, Souad Massi follows in the footsteps of the legendary poets of the Arab-Muslim Andalusia. The artist, through 10 beautiful texts illuminated by original compositions, brings into sharp focus the work of those poets who​ ​illustrate an era when expression was rebellious and diverse.

MEE: Why did you dedicate this album to the Arab-Andalusian poets of Spain?

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/int...

Via the wonderful M. Lynx Qualey
http://arablit.org/2015/04/24/souad-m...

ReemK10 (Paper Pills) wrote: "Masters of the Word:

In her new album, El-mutakallimun, Souad Massi follows in the footsteps of the legendary poets of the Arab-Muslim Andalusia. The artist, through 10 beautiful texts illuminated..."

Thanks for letting us know about Souad Massi's new album Reem! I absolutely love her!

Do you know Amina Alaoui? http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amina_...
She is Moroccan and specializes in Arab -Andalusian music. She produced a CD featuring the Granada style music known as " Gharnati" called "Gharnati:Musique arabo-andalouse du Maroc".
Here is a sample: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UsdnNok...
I double posted this in the Granada thread as well.

Jalilah wrote: "ReemK10 (Paper Pills) wrote: "Masters of the Word:

In her new album, El-mutakallimun, Souad Massi follows in the footsteps of the legendary poets of the Arab-Muslim Andalusia. The artist, through ..."

I just found this "Gharnati" song from Amina Alaoui and like it even more!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ECAY5...

Jalilah wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "ReemK10 (Paper Pills) wrote: "Masters of the Word:

In her new album, El-mutakallimun, Souad Massi follows in the footsteps of the legendary poets of the Arab-Muslim Andalusia. The ..."

Thanks Jalilah, will check her out.

A Virtual Walking Tour: The Alhambra

http://www.aramcoworld.com/issue/2006...

a cathedral, a mosque, a clash of civilizations


https://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2015...

Thanks for sharing Reem :)

I made a new topic to share interesting links in it , if you have time please share there .:)

Thanks for sharing. I haven't been active in the groups here for a long time and I missed a lot of topics. I've never read any Andalusia author so I'll have a look at the list here. :)