famous – Fountain Magazine

“As if I ate” diet is effective

The Fountain — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

1- “As if I ate” diet is effective

Original Article: Morewedge C.K. et al., Science 330, 1530 (2010).

If you’ve had a chance to visit the Fatih district in Istanbul, then you have probably seen the famous mosque called “As If I Ate” (Sanki Yedim Camii). The history of the mosque is at least as interesting as its name: Kececi Hayrettin Efendi, who lived in Istanbul in the eighteenth century, led a frugal life and used to save the money he could have used for pleasures like good food. Each time he went into a restaurant, he self-suggested “as if I ate” and assumed himself full. Years go by, and one day Kececi Hayrettin Efendi decides to count the money he saved this way. Surprisingly, he realized that he had saved enough money to build a mosque. Research conducted by Carnegie Mellon University behavioral scientists has shown that Kececi Hayrettin Efendi’s “as if I ate” approach might also be a useful way to curb one’s appetite. During the study, a group of volunteers was asked to imagine eating lots of sweets repetitively before eating as many M&Ms as they like, while a second group was asked to imagine inserting coins into a laundry machine. It turned out that the group that imagined eating sweets ended up eating significantly fewer M&Ms compared to the second group. The researchers performed the same experiment with variety of foods and showed that individuals who continually imagined eating a food many times actually ate less of the imagined food than did individuals who imagined eating that food fewer times, imagined eating a different food, or did not imagine eating any food, showing the effectiveness of the “as if I ate” approach.

2- The Brain Confirms: Learning to read knows no age limit

Original article: Dehaene S. et al., Science 330, 1359 (2010).

In this age of science and technology, education affects everyone drastically. Besides getting a better job or a higher social status, knowing how to read has important beneficial impacts on brain functions. In a new study, cognitive neuroscientists identified active regions of the brain in the event of reading. Three groups (illiterate, literate who learned reading at adulthood and literate who learned at childhood) were compared for their brain activities using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The study has not only helped to illustrate the complex neural circuitry of the brain, but has also demonstrated superior brain functions in literate groups, such as responses to visual and spoken stimuli. The real surprise of the study was that people who learned reading in their adulthood had similar brain activities compared to those who learned reading in their childhood. This suggests that literacy can impact the brain at any age. It has always been assumed that the brain becomes less flexible in aging people. Pointing out these new findings, Brian Wandell, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, emphasizes the ability of the brain to adapt and change upon acquiring the ability to read. He says, “Showing that this area is responsive to learning throughout life is a real contribution.”

3- Culturomics: Measuring culture through books

Original article: Michel J.B. et al., Science 331, 176 (2011).

A team of researchers from Harvard University and Google Books Team opened a new quantitative venue for social sciences which they named “Culturomics.” They used a gigantic data set, which was generated by digitizing over 15 million books (published between 1800 and 2008, ~12% of books ever published) in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, and Hebrew. The dataset includes over 500 billion words, and by using a new online tool (http://ngrams.googlelabs.com/) one can easily find out how many times a word was used throughout the last two centuries. The study elegantly demonstrates how human kind has changed in the twentieth century. For example, technological advances in the twentieth century became part of the culture almost three times faster than it used to be in the nineteenth century. On average, people became famous and lost their fame two times faster than in the nineteenth century, and the authors claim that the trend for becoming famous and losing fame will be even faster in the future, at which time “everyone will be famous for 7.5 minutes” on average. The researchers also spotted censorship in Nazi Germany by comparing books published in German and English by comparing the popularity of famous Jewish scientists and authors. It is yet too early to assume that this new approach will entirely change the way social scientists approach their problems, but it will certainly provide an unprecedented perspective into the humanities.

4- The search for extra dimensions is not pseudo-science after all

Original article: Bin-Nun A.Y. et al., Physical Review D 82, 064009 (2010).

The plausibility of co-existing dimensions beyond our 4 dimensional space (3 spatial + 1 time dimension) is nothing new. The attempt to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity led to the development of string theory in the late ’60s. M-Theory is a special extension of the superstring theory which predicts that there are 11 dimensions. It is posited that all elementary sub-atomic particles such as electrons and quarks are not 0-dimensional objects, but rather 1-dimensional vibrating “lines” or “strings.” These strings curl in specific patterns to form the subatomic particles, which then combine via nuclear forces to make up atoms and matter as we know it. Although the mathematical basis has long been established for string theory, it has hitherto not been tested due to the lack of observational signatures. A recent study suggests that it may be possible to observe the effects of extra dimensions after all by using supermassive black holes. Black holes, due to their immensely concentrated gravity, curve the space around them. This curvature affects even the light that passes through them. A star directly behind such a black hole may be observed as a warped or brightened astronomical source. It may even be possible to create so called “Einstein rings,” where the background star appears as a ring of light instead. The recent study argues that, if extra dimensions are not as tightly packed, the light that passes through curved space-time may exhibit anomalies which, in principle, can be detectable with very sensitive telescopes.

The Influence of Islamic Art on M.C. Escher

Louima Cunningham — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Although most of us do not remember or have not ever heard the name M.C. Escher, we are probably familiar with the world-famous illustration shown below:

Figure 1: Drawing hands, 1948

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972) is one of the world’s most famous graphic artists of impossible structures (e.g. “Ascending and Descending”) and transformation prints (e.g. “Metamorphosis I-II-III”). Currently, one can see his work on posters, book covers, calendars, wall hangings, and many web sites enjoyed by millions of people all over the world (1).

His exquisite and mind boggling pictures are drawn from the mathematical world of symmetry, topology, transformational geometry, and regular divisions of the plane. At the same time, they exhibit a rich and artistic talent unrivaled by most. Furthermore, respected scientists have realized that his works are simple illustrations of sophisticated theories (2). For instance, mathematician D.J. Lewis indicates that Escher’s prints entail a systematic approach combined with an ingenious argument similar to the most beautiful results in algebra. In 1952, Herman Weyl, a Princeton mathematician, used Escher’s famous work “Symmetry” for his book cover. Escher’s rendering of “Horseman” was used by Chen Ning Yang, a physicist and Nobel Prize winner, to illustrate his new hypothesis involving symmetry and its application to quantum physics (3). Escher has also inspired scientists in their academic studies. For example, some of his sketches helped his half-brother B.G. Escher, a professor of geology, in solving crystallography problems (4).

Tessellation of a plane, also called tiling, is the mosaic formed by filling the plane with no gaps and no overlaps. A person who is familiar with Islamic art immediately notices the deep connection between Escher’s transformational geometry and tessellations, and that of Islamic patterns. One can even use Islamic art and tessellation techniques to generate Escher-like drawings. In fact, Escher’s 1922 visit to the Alhambra Palace in Spain was the turning point in his life. He was fascinated and inspired by the spiritual significance of the tile work at the palace, and Islamic patterns played a key role in transforming his art (5). This article will explore the intimate relationship between Islamic art and Escher’s work, in particular the significance of themes with “flat surfaces” and “flat surfaces with respect to pictorial representations.”

Brief summary of Escher’s art

Escher produced 448 lithographs, woodcuts, and wood engravings and over 2000 drawings and sketches during his lifetime (1). His understanding of mathematics was largely visual and intuitive, and his works display a strong mathematical component (6). More than 150 of colorful works testify to his ingenuity in regular division of plane. He was very successful at depicting the real world in 2-dimensional plane as well as at translating the principles of regular division onto a number of 3-dimensional objects such as spheres, columns, and cubes. Some of his prints combine both 2 and 3-dimensional images with a startling effect as demonstrated in “Reptiles” (7).

Figure 2: Reptiles, 1943
Upon further examination, one finds three dominating themes in Escher’s works (2):

• Spatial structures: His work before 1937 aims solely to depict realistic structures or scenes composed of mostly landscapes and portraits, and reveals no analytical interest. In contrast, after 1937, he combines these themes with the others described below.

Figure 3: Atrani, Coast of Amalfi, 1931

• Flat surfaces: The subject matter of later works encompasses his major area of expertise: “regular division of plane” including regular tessellations; symmetry and order; identical, congruent figures; or those with graduated surface dimensions. Upon his visit to the Alhambra in 1922, Escher was deeply influenced by the art works of the Moors and worked out a system for periodic drawings. These periodic drawings portray surfaces filled with similar shapes and often illustrate approaches to the infinite. Escher mastered his skills on geometric grids and used them as the basis for his sketches, later improving them with additional designs, mainly animals such as birds, lions, and reptiles.

Figure 4: Day and Night, 1938
• Flat surfaces with respect to pictorial representation: Escher’s final and most famous type of work is his portrayal of “impossible structures.” He was very skilled at illustrating three-dimensional conflicting situations in two-dimensional spatial representations (8).

Figure 5: Waterfall, 1961

Patterns in Islamic art
In Islamic art, the spiritual world is regarded as being reflected in nature through geometry and rhythm. Hence, Islamic artists used geometry as an aid to raise their spiritual understanding as well as the viewer’s:
“Muslim intellectuals recognized in geometry the unifying intermediary between the material and the spiritual world. These patterns may be seen as symbolizing the Islamic principles of ‘Tawhid’ (the unity of all things) and ‘Mizan’ (order and balance), which are the laws of creation in Islam.”(9)
Tessellations are one of the major components of Islamic art. Islamic artists mastered regular division of plane using, in particular, circles on triangular or square grids, because the circle – which has no beginning and no end and thus symbolizes infinity – was considered to be the most perfect geometric form. In mosques, where a wealth of these geometric patterns could be found, one could contemplate the infinite nature of God simply by looking at the walls or ceiling. In short, these geometric forms expressed Islamic artists’ fascination with mathematics as a metaphor for divine order and presence (10). Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8, and Figure 9 are examples of triangle and square grids and produced patterns adopted from (11):

Figure 6: Triangular grid (a) and examples of patterns: (b) 6-pointed star-hexagon (c) Ceramic wall panel – Iran – 13-14th centuries.
Figure 6 demonstrates the 6-pointed star-hexagon pattern that can be obtained by coloring a triangular grid whereas Figure 7 integrates circles to produce more complicated patterns and an increase in variety. The examples shown in the figures are real tiles mounted in mosques around the world.

Figure 7: Triangular grid and examples of patterns.
Figure 8 and Figure 9 illustrate the usage of circles on a square grid in two different ways. The square-hexagon pattern in Figure 8(c) is commonly used on the ceilings of mosques whereas variations of the star-cross pattern in Figure 8(c) have mostly been used on walls.

Figure 8: Square grid and examples of patterns: (a), (b) and (c) square-octagon pattern, (d), (e) and (f) star-cross pattern.

Figure 9(c) shows a scallop pattern, often used for fences. The I-Bar pattern in Figure 9(e) is sometimes used in tiling walls, but is more commonly used for floors, pavements, and paths.

Figure 9: Square grid (a) and examples of patterns: (b) and (c) scallop pattern, (d) and (e) I-bar pattern.

The Alhambra’s influence on Escher

Figure 10: (a) A view of the Alhambra, (b) the Lion’s Court in the Alhambra, which inspired Escher’s drawing.

Escher became fascinated by the regular division of the plane in 1922 when he first visited the Alhambra, a fourteenth-century Moorish castle in Granada, Spain. (1). He then studied Polya’s seventeen plane symmetry groups, (thirteen of which are displayed in the Alhambra), and Haag’s mathematical definition of the division of the regular plane (12). But the real metamorphosis in his art began in 1936, with his second visit to Alhambra, which he described as “the richest source of inspiration” in his writings (5). Like many Islamic artists, Escher believed that repetitive patterns indicated a higher source of knowledge that existed before mankind. He considered order, regularity, cyclical repetitions, and renewals to be the “laws of the phenomena” around us; accordingly, the structure of his designs was a simple reflection of these laws from his own perspective (9).

Escher studied, took detailed notes, and made sketches of the tile patterns at the Alhambra. In his writings, he described his fascination with the double use of contours and divisions of the plane as follows:

“The Moors were masters in the filling of surface with congruent figures and left no gaps. In the Alhambra, in Spain, especially, they decorated the walls by placing congruent multicolored pieces of majolica together without interstices.”(8)

Figure 11: Examples of patterns in the Alhambra (adapted from http://www2.spsu.edu/math/tile/grammar/moor.htm)

In his later work, Escher used genuine techniques devised from triangular and square grids, applying reflections, translations, and rotations to obtain great variety of patterns in his tessellations. The simple trick of modifying the grids utilized in Islamic art to ensure the perfect fit of patterns, which Escher used in his tessellations, is demonstrated below:

Figure 12: An example of an Escher-like pattern obtained from the rectangle (adopted from (11).

The idea is to start with a pattern such as a rectangle in Figure 12(a). The tessellation pattern is created by cutting portions of the pattern as in Figure 12 (b) and (d), and mounting them to the correct locations of the pattern considering the rotations and reflections as in Figure 12 (c) and (e). Finally, the pattern is rendered in tile as illustrated in Figure 12(f). One can imagine how easy this novel technique was to apply, yet how complicated it was to discover.

Figure 13: Escher’s symmetry drawings produced from (a) diamond, (b) rectangular, and (c) I-bar patterns. The grids are placed on the original images to reveal the relationships.

Figure 13 presents examples of Escher’s symmetry drawings. Figure 13(a) utilizes a diamond pattern by converting it to a man applying a rotation of 120. whereas Figure 13(b) was created from a rectangle with a rotation of 180. In Figure 13(c), Escher was able to take the I-Bar pattern and adapt it to the totally dissimilar motifs of angels and devils.

In many of Escher’s tessellations, not only the patterns, but also the entire scene is inspired by the circle and eternity as in Islamic art. The “Circle Limit” series is a good example of works that use cyclical tiling with shrinking patterns from the center to the border in a circle. Although a circle is depicted, the patterns theoretically reach an infinitive number of repetitions on the border. In his “Metamorphosis II,” it is also interesting to see that a closed cycle is formed when the two vertical ends of the picture are joined together. Similarly, in his famous woodcut ‘Day and Night,’ which shows black and white birds flying in opposite directions, not only do the birds and landscape complete cycles, but also the print is symmetric with respect to a vertical line (4).

Figure 14: Convex and Concave, 1955
Another famous work by Escher, “Convex and Concave,” exemplifies his “impossible reality” works. The essential idea that governs the entire lithograph is the Islamic tumbling baby block pattern, which appears in the flag on the upper right side. Although the picture, as a whole, seems to portray a normal scene, it actually consists of multi-purpose planar surfaces. Depending on the location upon which the eye focuses, the same planes may serve as ceilings, walls, or floors. Escher’s “Waterfall,” “Ascending and Descending,” “Relativity,” and “House of Stairs” all present similar mind-boggling characteristics (2).

In conclusion, Escher is a world-famous graphic artist, well-known for his impossible structures and transformation prints. He is one of the unique figures appreciated for his ability to apply his mathematical talent in artistic creation. He was strongly influenced by the Islamic patterns in the Alhambra – a fourteenth century palace in Spain. He developed his extraordinary style and mastered his skills after exploring the tessellation techniques Islamic artists used to create the figures in the Alhambra.

Fatih Gelgi has a PhD in computer science. He is currently the computer coordinator of Accord AMSP team in Los Angeles.

Bibliography

1. M.C. Escher, the Official Website. [Online] [Cited: January 10, 2009.] http://www.mcescher.com/.
2. Desoe, Carol D. Marthematics: The Blending of Mathematics and the Art of M.C. Escher. [Online] [Cited: December 10, 2008.] http://caroldesoe.com/IslamicArt/mARThematics.pdf.
3. Broos, C.H.A. Escher: Science and Fiction. In: J.L. Locher. The World of M.C. Escher. New York : Abradale Press, 1988.
4. Locher, G.W. The Work of M.C. Escher. In: J.L. Locher. The World of M.C. Escher. New York : Abradale Press, 1988.
5. Abbas, Jan S. Islamic Patterns: The Spark in Escher’s Genius. In: Doris Schattschneider, Maurits Cornelis Escher and Michele Emmer. M.C. Escher’s Legacy. New York : Springer, 2005.
6. M.C. Escher. Wikipedia. [Online] [Cited: January 10, 2009.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.C._Escher.
7. O’Connor, J.J. and Robertson, E.F. Maurits Cornelius Escher. School of Mathematics and Statistics. [Online] May 2000. [Cited: December 21, 2008.] http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Escher.html.
8. Ernst, Bruno. The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher. New York : Barns & Noble Inc., 1994.
9. Islamic Patterns and M.C. Escher’s Tessellations. North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts. [Online] [Cited: December 6, 2008.] http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/pages/about/newsletters/vol_14/no_1/.
10. Melikian-Chirvani, A. S. Treasure of Islam. New Jersey : Wellfleet Press, 1985.
11. Islamic Art through the Eyes of M. C. Escher. Desoe, Carol D. Salt Lake City : NCTM Annual Meeting, 2008.
12. Schattschneider, Doris. Visions of Symmetry: Notebooks, Periodic Drawings, and Related Work of M.C. Escher. New York : W.H. Freeman and Company, 1990.
13. Graber, Oleg. Arts of Islamic Peoples. Encyclopedia Britannica. 1974, Vol. 9.

Backbiting is unforgivable

Louima Cunningham — Fri, 01 Jan 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Islam strictly forbids spying into people’s sins and secrets and backbiting. It also forbids talking ill of people behind their backs. The Quran declares:

O you who believe! Refrain from cherishing suspicions about others for some of such suspicions are a grave sin, and do not spy. And let some of you not backbite the others. Would anyone among you love to eat of the flesh of his dead brother? (You see that) you abhor it. Fear God. Surely God is the All-Relenting, the All-Compassionate.

Ibrahim Adham, one of the famous Muslim Sufis, left a table of food where a Muslim was backbitten, and said:

– I came here to eat food, but you have begun eating rotten flesh.

Khalid Rabi’, a famous Muslim saint, narrates:

– Some people were backbiting a man at that time in the mosque. I warned them not to do that but later when they began backbiting another one, I also happened to utter a few ill words about him. That night I had a dream in which a tall, dark man offered me a dish of bacon. I refused it saying that bacon was regarded as foul and therefore forbidden by my religion. He responded to me:

– You ate something fouler than this in the day just past.

When I woke up, I felt the smell and taste of that bad flesh in my mouth and stomach. I asked for God’s forgiveness for forty days.

To those who backbit him, Hasan al-Basri, one of the most famous Muslims ascetics who lived in the seventh century, sent a present with a letter in which he wrote:

– I have heard that you talked ill about me. By doing so, you took over my sins and gave me your spiritual merits. I request you to accept this present in return for the good you did me.

Imam Sha’rani, a Muslim scholar and saint who lived in Egypt in the 16th century, writes:

After the people receive in the Hereafter the records in which the deeds they did in this world are registered, some people will say to God Almighty: ‘O God! Where are the prayers and fasts I did and the alms I gave? None of them have been recorded here.’

God replies to them:

– Whatever good you did was recorded there. However, you were not able to keep those good deeds. You gave their merits to those you backbit. Go and look at the records of your brothers whom you backbit! You will see them there!

Again Imam Sha’rani writes:

Together with his people, the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, prayed to God for rain for three days, but even a drop of rain did not come. When Moses asked God about the reason why rain did not come, God answered:

Your prayer is unacceptable by Me, for there is one among you who always talks ill about his brothers and backbites them.

The Prophet Moses entreated God to inform them who that man was so that they could expel him from among them. However, the Almighty responded:

O Moses! Would you like to cause me to backbite a man?

‘Abdullah ibn Masud, one of the leading Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, used to say to those who backbit others:

– Stand up and do wudu’! For what comes out of your mouths is not less foul than what comes out of your bowels.

A Turkish Humorist And Sage: Nasr Al-Din Khodja

Louima Cunningham — Wed, 01 Oct 1997 00:00:00 +0000

Nasr al-Din Khodja is one of the most famous philosophers of humour in world history. His anecdotes, told over a vast area from Germany to Japan, contain lessons aiming to highlight a human defect or weak spot and thereby improve people’s understanding of it and cure it. Nasr al-Din Khodja is known by different names in different countries. He is known as Artin in Armenia, as Oylen Sipikel in Germany, as Mac Antash in Scotland, as Cuha in Arabia and by other names such as Ero, Coso, Iter Pejo and so on in other countries. This may be because in each country there was a counterpart of the Khodja or because the anecdotes of the Khodja needed to have some figure to whom they could be attributed.

A real figure or a product of the popular imagination?

As with almost every other folk hero, the life of Nasr al-Din Khodja is clouded in diversely remembered legends. However, researches done about him since the middle of the previous century are almost all agreed that he was born in Sivrihisar, a district of the province Eskisehir in central Turkey. According to the information O. Gokyay gives in the article he wrote in Islam Ansiklopedisi (An Encyclopedia of Islam) Istanbul, 1986), Fuat Koprulu (Nasreddin Hoca, Istanbul, 1918) writes that one of the late muftis of Sivrihisar called Hasan Effendi notes in his incomplete book entitled Majmu’a-i Ma’arif (The Encyclopaedia of Education) that Nasr al-Din Khodja was born in a village near Sivrihisar called Horto and served as imam (prayer-leader) for some time following the death of his father who had been an imam, migrated to Aksehir, a district of the province Konya in central Turkey, and completed his life there.

However, there are some assertions that Nasr al-Din Khodja is a later product of popular invention. According to such assertions, there was a man named Nasr al-Mahmud who acquired the confidence of Geyhatu, the then commander of the Mongol armies in Turkey, and prevented him from doing much wrong and bloodshed. Since that man was wise and loved by the people, his wise sayings led the people to create a Nasr al-Din Khodja. However, such assertions were refuted by serious researchers. Among them, Ismail Haqqi Konyali, who wrote a voluminuous book about Nasr al-Din Khodja and Aksehir called Nasreddin Hoca’nin Ãžehri Aksehir: Tarihi, Turistik Kilavuz (A Historical and Touristic Guide to Aksehir, the Town of Nasr al-Din Khodja), Istanbul, 1945, notes that there were four Nasr al-Dins who lived in the same period who did the same job as Nasr al-Din Mahmud, and the same claims could be made about them. Nasr al-Din Khodja can be none of them. He is one who really lived in Aksehir.

In his article ‘A propos de quelques tentatives d’identification de Nasreddin Hodja’ Internationaler Kongress der Volkszerzahlungsfarcher, Kiev and Kopenhagen, 1959). Pertev Naili Boratav writes that in some genealogies prepared in later times, Khidr Celebi, the famous qadi (judge) of Istanbul during the reign of Mehmed II and the father of Sinan Pasha, the author of Tadarru’name (A Supplication to God), is recorded to have been from Sivrihisar and descended from the family of Nasr al-Din Khodja. Boratav also notes that in a manuscript he found in Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, some of the anecdotes attributed to Nasr al-Din Khodja are also attributed to the people of Sivrihisar and a man called Khadji. Some Western researchers such as H. Ethe, M. Hartmann and A. Wesselski claim that the anecdotes attributed to Nasr al-Din Khodja are anonymous anecdotes told in almost every part of the world and that therefore Nasr al-Din Khodja is an invention. Some others like R. Basset and Christensen are of the opinion that the anecdotes attributed to Nasr al-Din Khodja are adaptations of the wise sayings and anecdotes ascribed to Juha, who lived in Iraq in the 10th century and became very famous. However, such claims arise from a defective generalization. As sages or wise men like Nasr al-Din Khodja may have lived in almost every country, the anecdotes of Nasr al-Din Khodja may have been transmitted to other countries through different ways of communication. It is certain that a man called Nasr al-Din Khodja, a very perceptive and wise man able to discern the weak spots and defects in human character who tried to cure them through humour and wit, really did exist.

Nasr al-Din Khodja’s tomb is in Aksehir. Ismail Haqqi Konyali notes that he saw in person an inscription on one of the six columns supporting the inner dome. According to that inscription one of the soldiers of Bayezid I, the Ottoman ruler who died in 1403, called Mehmed, visited that tomb in 1393. And in a register of foundations and state lands ordered to be prepared by Gedik Ahmed Pasha, who conquered Aksehir in 1476 in the name of the Ottomans, there is the tomb of Nasr al-Din Khodja and a madrassa donated by him for public benefit.

Historical background and anecdotes

Most of the researches done on Nasr al-Din Khodja are agreed that he lived in the thirteenth century. In the epitaph inscribed on a grave stone belonging to the Khodja’s daughter Fatima found in Sivrihisar, it is written that Fatima died in 1327. Lamii (d. 1533) writes in his Lata’if that Nasr al-Din Khodja was a contemporary of Shayyad Hamza, a folk poet who lived in the 13th century. Ismail Haqqi Konyali records that the Khodja was a contemporary of Pir Abi and Khadja Jihan and together with them was taught by Khadaja Fakih who died in 1221. According to these and other similar records, Nasr al-Din Khodja lived in the 13th century.

The thirteenth century is a very critical one in the medieval history of Turkey. The Mongol invasion after the Crusades put an end to the great state of the Seljuks, and caused Turkey to be torn into many parts. In addition, internal rebellions and conflicts made life very difficult for the people. So, in that critical period, we encounter three important, contemporary figures. Among them, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi was a Sufi master very influential in city centres among the lettered and ruling classes. As a champion of Islamic love and tolerance, he left indelible marks in not only Muslim but also world history. Yunus Emre is the counterpart of Mawlana among the common people. He expressed in plain Turkish what Mawlana did in a very lofty style in Persian and served for the lessening of the pains of people and removing of internal rifts and enmities among them. Nasr al-Din Khodja, the third figure among those three, was a sage, a philosopher of the people, and a moralist. However, endowed with a very good sense of humour, he pointed out the moral deformation among people and, without hurting the feelings of anyone, he criticized people for their defects in a gentle and clever way. He retorts or anecdotes are full of witty remarks and moral wisdom.

It is impossible to accept that all the anecdotes attributed to the Khodja as belonging to him. It is a fact that fame usually appropriates what does not belong to it. That is, it is common tendency to attribute to a famous individual even what does not really belong to him. That is why a considerable percentage of anecdotes attributed to the Khodja cannot belong to him. For example, among those anecdotes there are some said to have taken place between the Khodja and Amir Timur, who defeated the Ottoman ruler Bayazid I in 1402 and invaded Turkey. However, it is impossible for the Khodja to have met Timur. Public imagination, over time, has attributed to the Khodja some anecdotes resembling those of the Khodja.

The anecdotes attributed to the Khodja have appeared in written form from the 16th century onwards. However, the first books to be compiled about the Khodja and his anecdotes were published in the second quarter of the last century. The first translations into European languages appeared almost a quarter century after their publication in Turkey. Of the most famous, La Literature Populaire Turque by Edmond Saussey (Paris, 1936} and Nasreddin Hoca et ses histoires Turques by Jean-Paul Gamier (Paris 1958) are particularly worth mentioning.

Lamu’s Sacred Meadows

Louima Cunningham — Wed, 04 Jan 1995 00:00:00 +0000

Lamu

Lamu is a small island off the coast of Kenya, no larger than ten square miles. It is one of several islands that make up the Lamu archipelago, not far from the Somali border. Its contact with the Arabian Peninsula dates back many centuries and certainly predates Islam. The trading links between the Arabs and the Cushtic and Bantu people of the African mainland have made it a buzzing multicultural trade centre since the beginning of the millennium. The language, known as the swahel, that developed along the coast traces its roots to a mixture of the Bantu and Arabic languages. Its people, the Swahili, have a rich culture and advanced literary tradition. Lamu has recently attracted a growing number of European tourists, few of whom will be aware of its contribution to Islamic education and the spread of Islam into the interior.

Islam in East Africa

Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that Islam has been practised in East Africa for a very long time, although there is no consensus over the exact date of its arrival. Al-Baidh, in his book Stages of East African History suggests that it arrived during the time of the Khalifa ‘Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, at around 702/80H. He suggests that it was brought over by a group of Omanis, among them two nobles called Said and Sulaiman. Said is reported to have come to Lamu and Sulaiman to Mombassa.

While most European historians, (e.g. Parrinder (1976), Martin (1973) and Horton (1987)) support the hypothesis that Islam arrived around 800/178H or shortly afterwards, many local historians, are convinced that Islam arrived during the lifetime of the Messenger, upon him be peace, with some even suggesting it dates to before his migration to Madina.

Whatever the date of arrival, clearly it was firmly established before the nineteenth century, when, it appears, the East African coast underwent a cultural revolution. This phenomenon has been described by some as ‘the arrival of the new literacy’ and others as ‘a period of rapid ‘hadramization’ of the scholars’. Lamu made its own special contribution to this movement. Two of the major factors effecting the rapid ‘hadramization’ and the spread of literacy and Islamic culture were the arrival of a young Comorian immigrant called Salih and the establishment of a mosque-college called the Riyadah.

Hadrami tradition and the way of Bani Alawi

The people of Hadramaut, now part of the Yemen Republic, are famous for the respect they give to the Prophet and his family and for their love of migration. There are at least as many Hadramis outside Hadramaut as there are inside it. There are many of them in East Africa. Their love for the Messenger and his family goes hack to when the Prophet Muhammad, upon him he peace, sent Ziyad bin Labid al-Khazraji to Tarim in the tenth year after the Migration. Shortly afterwards, Ziyad received a letter informing him of the death of the Prophet and a request from Abu Bakr for the oath of allegiance of the people of Hadramaut. It was gladly given by the people of Tarim who are reported to have wept en masse when they heard the news. However, many of the surrounding tribes were not so keen to give their allegiance to the new leader. It is reported (Bin Sumeit, nd., p.12) that Abu Bakr prayed for the people of Tarim that their land should always flourish, that God should bless their water and grant an abundance of righteous people in it.

The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, is reported to have seen the valley of Hadramaut and the plain of Madina in a dream and was told that he would emigrate to one of them. The body of the Messenger is buried in Madina but many of his family emigrated to and settled in Hadramaut.

They brought with them the sharif tradition that was later to be known as the way of Bani Alawi after one of their great ancestors, Alawi bin ‘Ubaidallah. The way of the Alawi family is almost synonymous with Hadrami scholarship. Tarim, the subject of Abu Bakr’s famous supplication developed into an important centre of learning.

The Alawi tariqa, in the words of the former Mufti of Makka. Muhammad bin Hussain al- Habashi, is the sirat al-mustaqim which:

consists of the words and actions of the Messenger, upon whom be peace, as well as descriptions of his character and person and the things he permitted without comment. This was the way of the major companions, his family and the righteous predecessors and those who followed. It was recorded by the two Imams, Abu Talib al-Makki in his Qut and Imam al-Qushairi in his Risala. The contents of their books were amended, revised and edited, and put into chapters and sections, by the ‘proof of Islam’ al-Ghazali. This is the way of the Alawi-Husaini Hadramis, passed on from generation to generation, from father to son, as related from al-Husain and ‘Ali Zain al-Abidin and al-Baqir and al-Sadiq and others.’ (Al-Habashi, nd., p.5)

This tradition produced the scholars and traders that spread Islam to Indonesia, East Africa and many parts of Southern India. It was often carried by sharif families, i.e. those whose lineage goes back to the Prophet himself. One of these families was the Jamal al-Layl family.

Habib Salih Jamal al-Layl

The Jamal al-Layl family produced a number of famous scholars who settled in many parts of the world including the Comoro Islands and the Far East. They are also to be found in Hadramaut and the Hijaz.

Harun bin ‘Abd al-Rahman settled at Pate, an island to the north of Lamu. As a result of political conflict, his great- grandson moved to the Comoro Islands, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, which had become distinguished as a centre of learning. It was here, in 1844/1269H, that Salih was born. At the age of seventeen, he travelled to Lamu for medical treatment and stayed with his uncle, ‘Ali bin ‘Abdallah Jamal al-Layl. His uncle had settled several years earlier and was established as a highly respected and leading scholar. The young Salih studied under his uncle’s tutorage as well as several other leading teachers. He acquainted himself with the views of the local people and was readily accepted. His modesty and studious nature contributed to his acceptance into a society not known for welcoming strangers.

After one year, the young sharif returned to his father and expressed a desire to continue his studies in Lamu. His father was convinced by fellow-clansman, Mwenye BaHasan Jamal al-Layl, to allow his son to settle in Lamu. This was based on Ba-Hasan’s prediction that his son had a bright future and would eventually become a great reformer of his time. In Lamu, Habib Salih excelled as a student of medicine and traditional Islamic learning and, at a young age, began teaching in a small mosque called the Sheikh Bilad Mosque. One of his famous teachers, Syed Mansab, donated a large plot of land on the outskirts of Lamu town known as Dari yo Mtanga, the Home of Dust. Habib Salih gladly accepted this gift and built a very modest madrasa, or mosque-school. He attracted many ex-slaves and people who were not welcomed in the highly stratified Lamu society.

Although there had long been a well-established scholarly tradition, it was the young Comorian who radically changed the society’s approach to learning. He would teach Islam to anyone that was interested, making Islamic learning accessible to everyone. Also, he used his medical knowledge to help the poorest members of the community, and made an active attempt to take Islam to the surrounding areas. After a short while, the need to build a large mosque-college became very clear. The Riyadah was established in 1880/13O1 H.

The choice of name betrays its Hadrami origins. There was a famous mosque of the same name in Hadramaut, built by his friend and teacher, the scholar, ‘Ali bin Muhammad al-Habashi.

Riyadah literally means ‘meadows’ and is understood by both al-Habshi and Habib Salih to refer to ‘meadows of education’. The metaphor is based on a hadith of the Prophet who said:

‘If you pass by the meadows of the Garden (riyad al-Jannah) graze from them.’

‘What are the meadows of the Garden?’ we said.

‘The gatherings of remembrance,’ he said. (Tirmidhi)

In another version of the hadith he said ‘where people gather for education’.

The Riyadah of Siyun in Hadramaut and of Lamu in Kenya combine both of these two important functions. They are places of worship and remembrance as well as educational institutions.

The subjects taught at the Riyadah include Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Arabic, mathematics, the four main schools of law, and comparative religion. The medium of instruction is Arabic with some explanations in Swahili.

The Riyadah produced many scholars, and influenced even more. Among them were a number of people appointed to the position of qadi (judge) or Grand Qadi. They include al-Sayyid ‘Umar bin Sumait Qadi of Zanzibar and the Comoros, al-Amin Mazrui (father of the famous professor and television producer) Sheikh Hamid b. Juma. the current Qadi of Tanzania, and Sharif Sayyid al Baidh and Ahmed Mashur al-Haddad who were responsible for a large number of people embracing Islam in Uganda.

The success of the Riyadah was undoubtedly owed to the personality of Habib Salih and his holding fast to the way of his ancestors. One of his students, described Habib Salih saying:

He is righteous in his name and in his true self

And in his writing and in his mystical state,

And in his prayers and in his courtesies

The eulogy encapsulates the eulogized.

The Riyadah college today

After Habib Salih’s death, his sons continued their fathers outstanding work, and to this day the Riyadah continues to produce imams and teachers. Habib Salih’s grandson, Sharif Khitamy has a thriving medical practice in Mombassa where he is respected as one of its leading scholars. Graduates of the Riyadah have established schools all over East Africa, and supporters of this distinguished path with a special connection with this tiny island are found in London and Cape Town and probably everywhere in between.

Lamu’s sacred meadows make it no ordinary little island.