Semper aliquid novi Africam adferre !
Ex Africa semper aliquid novi!
Gloria,
Many thanks for alerting us to another dimension of the prodigy Falola - the poetic dimension !
It's a priority : Falola and Bahl : Scoundrels of Deferral: Poems to Redeem Reflection . I'm sure that by the time I'm through with it, I will never be the same. I seldom am (the same) after reading a scintilla of poetry, be it divinely inspired or not. At the moment at least I am not as apprehensive as I would have been if what you tempt me with had been written by Falola and Baal although I surmise that even from an admixture of good and evil, the Catholics would at least earn the rewards of purgatory…
In secular Sweden, further studies in religion begin with Mircea Eliade , not with the devotional stuff.
Two things:
First of all let's be clear about the Bangura that you are referring to, if it's the same one. If we want to be rigorous about it, my Bangura is a believer – according to his own definition/s, and one who asserts a tautologous (circular), unverifiable truth claim of all time, that goes lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muḥammadur-rasūlu-llāh" which duly translates as "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God."
You know the saying that "God moves in his mysterious ways his wonders to perform", of course.
The difference between the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) and Professor Falola is that whereas the former claims that his revelations were communicated to him by the angel Gabriel (usually the bringer of bad news to Israel, the archangel Michael usually the bringer of good news), Professor Falola has made no claim to prophethood, all he said on the 23rd of December 2016, was, "A harvest (of 12 published books in 2016, and numerous keynote addresses) is a testimony and this is mine. The glory is not mine; all that is mine is how God works in me"
Nor is it a matter of "Fool," said my muse to me. "Look in thy heart and write."
Chaos theory ? It should be interesting to see this applied to the whole of the Noble Quran. He who did so would arrive at instant fame like the masonic Rashad Khalifa...
Secondly, there is the fine line between religion and ideology (in al-islam they are intertwined) and not being a historian, I know so little of Falolaism but doubt that religious postulations or belief/s in the supernatural are its main engine. In our science-dominated culture, making some sensible distinctions between religion/religious doctrines and ideology, there's myths, parables, notions of sin, holiness, worship, rituals, virgins in paradise, heaven , hell, prayers, symbolic ways of speaking etc, which I presume are most probably less developed in Falolaism (whatever it is, may be or is meant to be ) even if it could have a close affinity to e.g. Marxism or Maoism which if we are to agree with Ninian Smart speaking in 1971, said should " be treated as a form of religion . It could well develop into a fully-fledged form , in my view. For this reason there is merit I think in extending the scope of the philosophy of religion, or, if you want it the other way round, the scope of the philosophy of ideology. The only thing is that nobody talks about the philosophy of ideology. There's been very little recognition that there are perhaps special considerations which concern ideologies and religions which could be treated , up to a point, together" ( That was good news for al-Islam)
A dire prediction ( not a prophecy)
Extreme pessimism : The Burning of the Midnight Lamp
Old school: Bili
I know that you like to provoke me.
Wishing you and yours more of the new school this coming year.
Today, I'm like the kohen ha gadol
Cornelius
On Saturday, 31 December 2016 08:45:30 UTC+1, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:
Cornelius,
Leave Dr. Bangura alone. He belongs to a religion that says that there is no God but God.
As for me, I would be happy to be a priestess- a priestess of the gym - but there is no Orisa with that function, as far as I know.
Too bad you haven't read Falola and Bahl. 2006."Scoundrels of Deferral: Poems to Redeem Reflection."
Gloria
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com > on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 30, 2016 9:23 AM
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: column--Gloria in excelsis deo !
Gloria Emegawali,
"Some songs were done by chosen men
Some from men, insane" ( Life is for learning )Re- your earlier interpretations of Professor Toyin Falola's very modest, humble,
"The glory is not mine. All that is mine is how God works in me."
But in the end we agree that Professor Falola did not claim to be writing infallible scripture and we know that even the inspired scripture of the so called "New Testament" are subject to all kinds of criticism, historical , linguistic, factual, and so forth. Nor has he declared that he is the last prophet and is about to start a new religion to be known as Falolaism , with you as one of the priestesses and one Bangura as an Apostle, an exegetical theologian riding on Falola's glory, bearing the light ( Falola's effulgence) to the nations….
The Sufis say that the heart ( the temple where God dwells) is the seat of the intellect. (Personally I think that some poetry comes from there)
I don't know who was the man or woman of the year last year or the year before, but in my opinion based on the criteria presented by the also inimitable Professor Ayo Olukotun and concurred by all of us the praise singers, as far as I can remember, Professor Falola God bless him, deserves to be the man of many years, as a man of principle, a man for all seasons, without objection, an African Renaissance Man of the new century, although some of us must admit that to some extent Muhammadu Buhari should most probably have earned the title "Man of the Year" last year when he astounded Nigeria, Africa, the world by winning the Nigerian presidential elections. (Would he have voted for Resolution 2334, I wonder)
In the region of literary distinction we have been offered the autobiographical - a book of wisdom entitled "a mouth sweeter than salt" ( 2005) followed by "Counting the Tiger's Teeth" ( 2014) and for those interested in the Yoruba universe –Falola & Adesanya, Etches on Fresh Waters a work "Dedicated to the Yoruba God Sango, and Goddess Oya" a veritable goldmine of beauty, poetry, ethics, folklore , guidance. We may count our blessings...
There's a lot more that could be said. It's 2.32 pm in Stockholm…
A nasty piece of work here
Wishing everyone a restful weekend and a Happy New Year!
Cornelius
On Friday, 30 December 2016 06:45:29 UTC+1, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:I agree with Prof. Babawale completely. Professor Falola is inspirational. Prof. Olukoton indeed fashioned the perfect letter.
That Falola is Man of the Year is indisputable. I must confess though that initially, I got a bit nervous, at the statement
that the work was the product of God, or something to that effect:
"The glory is not mine. All that is mine is how God works in me."
I was worried for two reasons.
Firstly, if the work was the product of God and perhaps, by implication, of divine inspiration, then how would anyone dare to apply
historiographical analysis and scholarly criticism to any of the 12 books. They would be, collectively, beyond all forms of evaluation
and assessment. Only renegades and fools would dare to do book reviews, or write critical assessments - critical activities that
academics are prone to do for new publications.
Secondly, claims about divine intervention or inspiration are often followed by the creation of a religion
of some sort - with an "inspired" religious leader at the helm. This is the stuff of which saints and other divine
intermediaries are made.
But then I realized that my interpretation of the statement was too literal, and even erroneous. The professor
simply meant that he was thanking God for giving him the strength to produce the works in question. It is a statement
that atheists and even agnostics may challenge - but pretty much captures the overall spirit of gratitude that Believers
share- no matter their religion or faith. No problem with that. No cause for alarm.
We look forward to the harvest of 2017. May 2017 be a wonderful year for us all.
Professor Gloria EmeagwaliProfessor of History
History DepartmentCentral Connecticut State University
From: 'Olatunde_Babawale' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2016 5:08 PM
To: ayo_olukotun via USA Africa Dialogue Series; USAAfricaDialogue
Cc: toyin...@austin.utexas.edu; adeb...@hotmail.com; adigun...@yahoo.com; amomo...@yahoo.com; aoluko...@yahoo.com; ayodu...@yahoo.com; babso...@gmail.com; ban...@unrisd.org; boye...@hotmail.com; chibuz...@yahoo.com; Ebunoluwa Oduwole; falan...@yahoo.com; faw...@yahoo.com; hafsat...@hotmail.com; jum...@yahoo.co.uk; laji...@yahoo.com; moju...@gmail.com; med...@yahoo.com; mvic...@mvickers.plus.com; oluk...@yahoo.com; osagha...@yahoo.co.uk; paddyk...@yahoo.com; profbayo...@yahoo.com; r-jo...@northwestern.edu; rot...@yahoo.com; salawu...@yahoo.com; to...@yahoo.com; walead...@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fw: columnThis piece by Prof Ayo Olukotun is a testimony to the reward of hard work which Prof Falola personifies.Prof Falola's incomparable intellectual achievements remain a source of inspiration to us all.He is a man in whom we are well pleased.Thank you Prof Olukotun for the characteristically well-crafted piece.
Tunde BabawaleDepartment of Political ScienceUniversity of LagosLagosNigeriaSent from my BlackBerry 10smartphone.
--U
Sent from my BlackBerry 10smartphone.
--
On Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 1:21 PM, Ibini Olaide<ibini_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Thu, Dec 29, 2016 at 1:20 PM, Ibini Olaide<ibini_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
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