Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - timbuktu and french

Culturally, I also love and admire the Tuareg, those hardy, desert
people.
This is one of my favourite albums, listening to which imagination is
transported to another world far from Stockholm. As I write this I am
listening to them right now:

http://www.google.co.uk/#q=Tinariwen%2F+The+radio+Tisdas&hl=en&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ei=pTkJUZbrDO7E4gTCtoG4Bg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41642243,d.bGE&fp=db1b781f91500f20&biw=1024&bih=608

Since I respect the sanctity of Torah scrolls, I extend that respect
to the scriptures that others hold dear, even if I do not believe in
them. This is the basis of the Golden Rule in action.

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_rn=1&gs_ri=hp&cp=30&gs_id=7&xhr=t&q=The+Sanctity+of+a+Torah+Scroll&es_nrs=true&pf=p&tbo=d&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&oq=The+Sanctity+of+a+Torah+Scroll&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41642243,d.bGE&fp=a1a5b62193baa0da&biw=1024&bih=608

However, there is the Islamic attitude to pre-Islamic history as
jahiliyyah – and that could be the root of the problem, not only in
the area between Africa North of the South Sahara (like North and
South Sudan), that area in which Judaized Berbers along with the
currents of Islamic civilisation and trade (including trade in salt)
also contributed immensely to the development of that civilisation
- and Mali has been at the heart of Islamic Civilisation and
learning going back to the times of the great King of Mali, Mansa
Musa.

Sankore is legendary. Less legendary was Ted Joans poetry workshop in
Timbuktu

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&q=Mansa+Musa.&oq=Mansa+Musa.&gs_l=hp.12..0i10j0i30l3.1660497.1660497.1.1662789.1.1.0.0.0.0.102.102.0j1.1.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.eVVEMKT6WeU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41642243,d.bGE&fp=a1a5b62193baa0da&biw=1024&bih=608

Understanding both sides (the North and South) - the solution can
only be found in UNITY (through the Islam which they have in common )
- and the equal distribution of social and economic justice – without
South marginalizing North on racial grounds or vice-versa. listened to
a Timbuktu citizen saying on Sky News last night that the Tuareg had
probably destroyed their precious books in the belief that there was
some non-Islamic / un-Islamic contents – the kind of fate that would
be imminent on most of the great output of e.g. Professor Toyin
Falola – should his original manuscripts have been lodged in the
library complex of Timbuktu – not only now but at a much later date -
by the anti-bibliophiles. Sheikh Bangura who boasts that he has
"written over a dozen books on Islam" would be likely to survive the
bonfire - but who knows, as the saying goes, one bad apple could
spoil a whole library...

There is surely a racial component to the inhabitants of Northern Mali
declaring their separation from the darker Brothers to the South of a
country welded together by what's often complained about as "colonial
borders" perhaps, until the realisation of the Pan-Arab and pan-
Islamic dream of the restoration of what was once the Caliphate. Of
course,should such a dream be achieved in the near or distant future
the now embattled Syria will most probably continue to see not only
the Golan Heights but the rest of that area as but a province of
Syria....

https://www.google.com/search?q=Destruction+of+precious+manuscripts+in+Timbuktu&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

In the meanwhile, Alhaji Sheikh Abdul Karim Bangura may not believe
that his Tuareg Brothers-in-Islam could perform such dastardly acts as
insubordination to the central government of Mali or the killing of
his own Black, Negroid brethren (that which he accused anti-Gaddafi
elements of doing) or the destruction of Malian Civilisation in the
terms in which Chancellor Williams described it in his "The
Destruction of Black Civilisation". I'm not surprised that Sheikh
Bangura totally denies the Aswadians destruction of precious
manuscripts (of knowledge) collected over the past seven centuries as
mere Western propaganda against his more Northern African brethren-in-
Islam. I'm not surprised, because there are many other matters that
Sheikh Bangura denies or is against or does not understand the way
that others do.

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&q=Chancellor+Williams+-+the+Destruction+of+Black+Civilisation&oq=Chancellor+Williams+-+the+Destruction+of+Black+Civilisation&gs_l=hp.12..0i22l2.3631.33835.0.36794.61.49.11.0.0.1.349.6682.21j17j10j1.49.0.les%3B..1.0...1c.1.Vh-kyDSIQtU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41642243,d.bGE&fp=a1a5b62193baa0da&biw=1024&bih=608





On Jan 30, 2:42 pm, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> what i found saddest in yesterday's news, when i googled timbuktu
> manuscripts damaged, all that came up over and over was the $500 million
> in military aid that is being assembled, and the details of the military
> operation, and which troops will support the malian army, and on and on
> about military this an that.
> it would be a joke to those people, who see the world in military terms,
> to appeal for just a little of that half a billion dollars to help
> preserve a treasure of muslim manuscripts.
> what a joke that it was muslims who destroyed them or damaged them, in
> the name of islam. what damage have they really done to islam itself,
> but imposing by jihad a version of islam that the people don't want, and
> that possibly a majority of people in any state don't really want.
> and it is sad to me that they give islamophobes reason to vilify them,
> to the point where we should want to cry, a pox on both your houses.
> ken
>
> On 1/30/13 4:30 AM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Totally agree with you  and  Ken on this. The Muslims in question are of dfferent sectarian
> > loyalties. Some are plain bandits and opportunists. Others are extremists with a Taliban mentality.
>
> > Remember the destruction of the Buddhist images in Afghanistan?
>
> >   Some of them  may even go so far as to say that
> > the Islamic documents were not Islamic enough.
>
> > Note also that  conquerors on the attack or on the retreat, no matter their religion, often
> >   tend to burn things up.
>
> > Professor Gloria Emeagwali
> >www.africahistory.net<http://www.africahistory.net/>
> >www.vimeo.com/user5946750/videos<http://www.vimeo.com/user5946750/videos>
> > Documentaries on Africa and the African Diaspora
>
> > ________________________________
> > From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Anunoby, Ogugua [Anuno...@lincolnu.edu]
> > Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 1:29 PM
> > To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> > Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - timbuktu and french
>
> > �No Muslim will set fire on Islamic documents, for it is a grave haram.�
>
> > ab
>
> > I hope that the point being made above is not that no Muslim ever commits grave and other haram? If this was the case, all Muslims must be perfect adherents to their faith. No one in their right mind will say that they all are.
> > The Mayor of Timbuktu  is probably Muslim. If he, who is in the city said that Islamist insurgents did, more robust evidence must be presented to cause anyone paying attention to disbelieve reports of the Islamists� acts of vandalism. It is sometimes convenient for some Africans to dismiss inconvenient facts about Africa as Western and in this case anti-Tuareg propaganda. Is it any surprise then that things do not get better in Africa as they should. I am still not aware that the Islamists have denied that they did.
> > There are injunctions in every religion. Religious lawgivers and lawmakers know that believers will from time to time, not abide by them. They recognize that ambition, folly, greed, and temptation among others are real. They recognize that even the most fervent and true believers being human, are imperfect, weak,  and may fall short from time to time. They know that human behavior and choice can be situational. This is arguably why every religion has penalty and punishment  for infractions and transgressions, and contrition and atonement for forgiveness and redemption.
> > Injunctions are more likely to be violated when religion (faith and practice) are corrupted by politics and extremist ideology. It makes sense that politics and religion should be apart and separate.
>
> > oa
>
> > From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Abdul Bangura
> > Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 9:44 PM
> > To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com; usaafricadialogue
> > Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - timbuktu and french
>
> > Most respected Mwalimu Kenneth Harrow, if you believe that western and anti-Tuareg Malian propaganda foolishness, then I have a bridge in Washington, DC to sell you. No Muslim will set fire on Islamic documents, for it is a grave haram.
>
> > Recall when a few Christians burn the Qur'an and Muslims are asked about why they do not retaliate by burning the Bible what their response has always been? Any Muslim who burns the Bible, the Torah, the Qur'an and any other Islamic manuscript will burn similarly in Hell Fire, Jahannama.
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: kenneth harrow<mailto:har...@msu.edu>
> > To: usaafricadialogue<mailto:USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
> > Sent: 1/28/2013 1:23:26 PM
> > Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - timbuktu and french
>
> > read this and weep
> > the 'islamists' have signed their departure from timbuktu by setting fire on to the 1000 yr old mss.
> > abdul, the people who are dancing in the street of gao are not sorry to see them go. neither are the people of timbuktu weeping, they are celebrating.
> > but the damage they have done to islamic manuscripts and mosques will be forever.
> > \as scholars we should all feel bereft by this sad report in the washington post
> > ken
>
> >http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/malian-town-of-gao-celebra...
>
> > SEVARE, Mali � Malian soldiers entered the city of Timbuktu on Monday after al-Qaida-linked militants fled into the desert having set ablaze a library that held thousands of ancient manuscripts ablaze.
>
> > French Col. Thierry Burkhard, the chief military spokesman in Paris, said that there had been no combat with the Islamists who have ruled Timbuktu for nearly 10 months, but that the forces did not yet control the town as of Monday afternoon.
>
> > Sudarsan Raghavan NOV 30
>
> > Northern Mali, one of the richest reservoirs of Music in Africa, grows silent as musicians flee the hard-line edicts of Islamists now in power.
>
> > Burkhard said French paratroopers landed north of the city as ground forces headed up from the south.
>
> > �The helicopters have been decisive,� he said, describing how they aided the ground forces who came from the south as French paratroopers landed north of the city.
>
> > News of their arrival came just hours after Timbuktu�s mayor confirmed that the fleeing Islamists had in earlier days torched ancient manuscripts in Timbuktu, long revered as a center of Islamic learning.
>
> > The militants had occupied Timbuktu for almost 10 months, imposing the strict Islamic version of Shariah, or religious law, across northern Mali while carrying out amputations and public executions.
>
> > �In the heart of people from northern Mali, it�s a relief � freedom finally,� said Cheick Sormoye, a Timbuktu resident who fled to Bamako, the capital.
>
> > The French said Mali�s weak military must finish the job of securing Timbuktu. But they have generally fared poorly in combat, often retreating in panic in the face of well-armed and battle-hardened Islamists.
>
> > The French-led military operation against the Islamists, who seized the northern half of Mali last year, began 17 days ago when the insurgents encroached further toward the south.
>
> > It has scored several successes, but hard questions remain about how the Mali government will hold the cities that have been wrested from the Islamists, and whether there is the will and the ability to chase them into the Sahara which is home to many of these desert fighters.
>
> > On Saturday, French forces secured key installations in the northeastern town of Gao. Then overnight Sunday troops secured the Timbuktu airport without firing a shot.
>
> > Ground forces backed by French paratroopers and helicopters took control of Timbuktu�s airport and the roads leading to the town in an overnight operation, a French military official said Monday.
>
> > �There was an operation on Timbuktu last night that allowed us to control access to the town,� Col. Burkhard said Monday. �It�s up to Malian forces to retake the town.�
>
> > The mayor of Timbuktu said Monday that the Islamists had torched his office as well as the Ahmed Baba institute � a library rich with historical documents � in an act of retaliation before they fled late last week from the city of mud-walled buildings.
>
> > �It�s truly alarming that this has happened,� Mayor Ousmane Halle told The Associated Press by telephone from Bamako. �They torched all the important ancient manuscripts. The ancient books of geography and science. It is the history of Timbuktu, of its people.�
>
> > He said he didn�t have further details as communications to the city have been cut off.
>
> > --
>
> > kenneth w. harrow
>
> > faculty excellence advocate
>
> > distinguished professor of english
>
> > michigan state university
>
> > department of english
>
> > 619 red cedar road
>
> > room C-614 wells hall
>
> > east lansing, mi 48824
>
> > ph. 517 803 8839
>
> > har...@msu.edu<mailto:har...@msu.edu>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
> > For current archives, visithttp://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
> > For previous archives, visithttp://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
> > To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
> > unsubscribe@googlegroups.com<mailto:unsubscribe@googlegroups.com>
> > ---
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
>
> ...
>
> read more »

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialogue+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.