They say بيقولوا

OMAR EL SHAZLY

بيقولوا ارهاب وارهابين

بيقولوا دين ضد السلام

فكرين المسلمين مجانين

فكرينا بس مابيعقلوش الكلام

ازاي نكون ارهابين

والاسلام منها السلام

ده ربنا بيقول نساعد المساكين

وابن السبيل والايتام

وانتوا تقولوا ارهبين

السلام عليكم

وعليكم السلام

سلام لليرض السلام

وسلام على الميرضش السلام

وسلام على كل من دخل المكان

وده "سلَم قولواً من رب رحيم"

وانتوا بتقولوا ارهابيين؟

..ده حتى اسم ربي السلام

Peace and Islam two words that don’t quite work together nowadays, due to many false stereotypes. Many non-Muslims view Islam as a complicated religion that is full of violence, closed minded worshipers and people who blindly go against peace. With the rise of terrorist attacks all over the world there are no other people to blame but Muslims. A misconception that has been around for ages and does not seem to be going anywhere any times soon, making our world and specifically Islam a nightmare.

As a matter of fact, Islam is a religion that encourages peace and serenity, completely contradicting what the media is stereotyping which is terror and violence. “Islam” is derived from the word “salam” in Arabic, which means peace. In addition, the word “Islam” means no harm, which is basically the definition of peace.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ

 O ye who believe! Enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the evil one; for he is to you an avowed enemy.

For my art project I chose to write a poem that would kill and go against the stereotypes. My idea was to validate that Islam is a religion of peace and it is not about terrorism nor violence. The poem is called “They say” or “بيقولوا” I chose this name because I mention the stereotypes that non-Muslims say about us and what the media spreads amongst us as people.

In addition, I add to what they say about Muslims (which vary from us being terrorists to us being violent and crazy) a lot of explanations to why we are not what they think we are. These explanations don't only come from the word Islam that derived from peace as explained earlier, however, they also come from Hadiths from the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and sayings from the Quran.

سَلَامٌ قَوْلًا مِّن رَّبٍّ رَّحِيمٍ

"Peace!" - a word (of salutation) from a Lord Most Merciful!

The message that I wanted to get across from my poem is that the stereotypes that are shown through false media nowadays are all not true. Actions of extremists that are displayed daily should not be taken as a general idea about Muslim people.  On the contrary, Islam is a religion of peace and serenity and that is what the world needs to understand.

A Cold Night in Istanbul

 

BY MUHAMMED BERA ALAN

In the city of the world's desire

The night covered the lonely streets

With the rain ever falling

Visibility was a distant dream

Little Aleksandr cold and scared

Nothing to shield him from the cruel night

He strides on forward unprepared

Almost dragging himself with despite

Ever since father left

No happiness found little Aleksandr

Orphaned in foreign lands

Where Oh where would little Aleksandr go?

As the street loomed on forward

A distant light was shining at the end of the street

A translucent ray of hope

Little Aleksandr could do naught but stride on forward

The light stirred closer with every step

A blinding ray of hope

Cutting through the cruel night

The light stirred ever closer

The source was a building

A center, A center of hope

The sign on the side read 'Darulaceze'

On the other side read 'All is welcome'

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The inspiration for this poem comes from a complex in Istanbul called Darulaceze, established in 1895 by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to help the city cope with the influx of citizens migrating from former Ottoman lands. Today, it continues to be a shelter for Turkey's elderly and impoverished in a multicultural/interreligious setting. Residents are provided with a place to worship in peace. Its garden houses side-by-side a mosque, church and synagogue. 

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Image source: http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/127085/darulaceze-sheltering-societys-weakest 

Poetry and Peace

BY KHALIFA ALKHALIFA

Art is a very broad term, which can be interpreted in many different ways. Some people draw, some paint, the few that remain have the task of finding out what they do best. On the journey of creating this artwork I have found out many things, and aspects about myself. The simple task of drawing and painting doesn’t bring me joy. Poetry, on the other hand, does help me relax. Writing it is taken as a challenge, where I think long and hard, and try me best to help surface my true feelings in order to make the poetry as honest as possible.

This project reveals many aspects about myself. Serenity and composure is reveled by the background of the desert. The intricate choice of words helps let the true beauty of Arabic shine. The words of wisdom found in the beginning two verses only seem to define what is wrong with the world today. In addition, the verses that come after only serve as a mere confirmation of the words of wisdom. As doubt serves as a basis of irrational decisions and behavior; its counter, certainty acts as its deterrent in the real world.

 

The Bird

BY MAY MADI

I chose to write a poem that reflects the meaning and the idea of peace in my point of view. My message is emphasizing on how peace takes different directions in life and to show that it is the most important element of humans’ needs.

Whenever we think about a symbol of peace, the first thing that comes to mind are birds. The reason behind this is that creatures from nature are living things that seem peaceful to us. Specially the bird, only few creatures seem as harmless as them. There are many historical stories of birds symbolize peace and this history was the inspiration for me to write my poem.

In this poem I tried to show the difference of the world’s situation between now and few years back. I related the identity of peace to birds. The bird represents the peace that changed around the world. These days peace is a lost concept that most of the countries lack. At the beginning of the poem I explained how peace can be found in some places and it also can be lost in others because of humans’ irritation and aggression. While in the second part, I describe the strength of peace and how it spreads happiness and life in wherever it occurs.

Moreover, I emphasize in this poem on the idea that nothing ever remains the same. All situations must change for a reason. Peace can occur in a place for a period of time, but in our world it can never be permanent. Humans control the world but the selfishness of the human being is the reason behind the temporary situation of peace in all the countries. Power, wealth, and dignity are the main purpose for people to damage this world and get their own benefits.

Finally, in this poem I chose the bird as a symbol of “Peace”. Behind this poem is a message that I wanted to reveal to make people value the importance of peace in our world.

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Biography

May Madi, a 21 year old girl from Palestine. She is third year student who is studying architecture in the American University in Dubai. She was born and raised in Dubai. She started writing poems in the age of 15. She inherited this talent from her parents.