Do you understand the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam? (1)
March 11th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I have just started to read “Zone Of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran And Iraq” by Amin Saikal, an Afghan-born scholar of international affairs who is Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Afghanistan and Pakistan are predominately Sunni states, while Iraq and Iran have a Shia majority population (the only such countries in the world except for tiny Bahrain and secular Azerbaijan). But what is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam?
As Saikal explains:
“The schism dates from a dispute over the leadership (khalifa) of the Muslim community (ummah) following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in AD 632.
Those who supported the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Talib, as the rightful leader (caliph), became known as the Shi’atu ‘Ali (‘the party of ‘Ali’; later the Shi’a). The Shi’as held that only ‘Ali and his direct descendants (imams) could be the rightful leaders of the ummah.
The majority, on the other hand, who favoured the succession of the Prophet’s societal leadership by his four companions in order of seniority, with ‘Ali coming last, rejected the notion of birthright and insisted that the caliph be elected by the ummah itself. Those who held this opinion became known as the ‘people of the tradition’ (sunna) or Sunnis.”
Both sects have a large number of sub-groups So the Sunni world is divided into four dominant schools of thought: Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki and Shafi’i. Shias are divided into three main schools: Twelver, Zaidi and Ismaili.
If this seems complicated, it is really little different that the split between Catholicism and Protestantism and the many further sub-divisions in the Christian faith. But, since even today religion dominates cultural and political life so much in the Islamic world, it is essential that one understands what branch of which sect is dominant in any particular nation or region to have any understand of that part of the world .
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (1)
The Great Wall of China: fact and fiction
March 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Only this week did we finally get round to watching a Channel Four television programme recorded three months ago concerning the Great Wall of China.
It turns out that there was not one wall but 16 walls originally built some 2,200 years ago. The total length of these walls adds up to 21,000 kms which is three times what was long thought to be the length.
What we today call the Great Wall dates from the Ming Dynasty which came into power in the late 14th century. This wall took around 100 years to construct and runs for 8,800 kms. Tradition held that the large bricks were held together with a special mortar including the crushed bones of the builders, but in fact the mystery ingredient that makes the mortar so effective is now revealed to be sticky rice.
The wall had 1200 watchtowers and was manned by some three quarters of a million troops. In the end, this was to no avail since the gates to the wall were opened to the Manchu invaders rather than surrender the country to internal rebels,
One other bit of fiction: an astronaut cannot see the wall from space.
I have been fortunate to visit the Great Wall of China twice, viewing two different sections north of Beijing; first at Mutianyu and later at Badaling. You can read a short account of my first visit here.
Posted in History | Comments (0)
How to fly round the world without using any fuel
March 9th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I like seeing the world, but I have a low boredom threshold and I enjoy my sleep – so I would be a terrible candidate to fly an experimental aircraft all around the globe.
Swiss pilots André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard will take turns piloting a single seater craft called Solar Impulse 2 for 21,747 miles (35,000 kms) over 12 legs, including five- to six-day stints across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The entire journey will take five months.
These two guys will endure roughly 250 hours each inside a narrow cockpit with no oxygen or temperature control. Temperatures outside will range between -40C to 40C.
Falling asleep for long periods will be impossible as the flight will need constant attention. So Piccard and Borschberg will survive on 20-minute naps every two to four hours.
But I heartily applaud the aim behind the journey which is to pioneer new efficient sources of solar power.
You can read about the planned exploit here.
Posted in Environment | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (3): who will be the Republican opponent to Hillary Clinton?
March 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“On the Republican side there are already more than a dozen potential candidates jockeying for position. So 10 months before a single voter will cast a ballot – and 20 months before the 2016 presidential election – the race to succeed Barack Obama has begun.
At the outset of the race the position of the two parties couldn’t be more divergent – Republicans have no clear frontrunner, no candidate of presidential stature and continued intra-party pressure to move even further and further to the far right. Democrats, on the other hand, are united in a way they have rarely been in the past. [Hillary] Clinton is the direct beneficiary of this harmony.
While it is entirely possible that another Democratic aspirant will enter the race between now and the first presidential caucus next January, it is difficult to imagine any scenario in which he or she would supplant her as the party nominee.”
This is the introduction to a piece in today’s “Observer” newspaper on the US presidential election. Almost two years out, it is a most unusual scenario: we are almost certain who the Democratic candidate will be, but have no idea who the Republican candidate will be. This should favour massively Hillary Clinton – but politics often throws up surprises.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
It’s International Women’s Day
March 8th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
There are many forms of discrimination and many cases of inequality but, in the history of humankind, there is nothing that equals the scale and severity of discrimination against women and the inequality which women suffer.
So today. International Women’s Day, I send my love to all the wonderful women in both my personal and professional life and my respect to all women everywhere.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
The naked truth: 11 things you never knew about ancient Greek and Roman bodies
March 7th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As part of a promotion of a course at London’s City Lit further education college, this interesting list has been prepared:
Well rounded individual
1. The Ancient Greeks were the first to produce free standing, three-dimensional statues. Previously it was more common to carve figures on stone representing only the front or the side.
Poker face
2. Greek statues from the Classical period lack expression, because the Greeks believed that suppressing emotions was a noble characteristic. Public display of human emotion was a sign of barbarism.
Warts and all
3. The Romans didn’t gloss over physical imperfections, and often depicted heroic men as rugged and unconcerned with their looks leading to “warts and all” sculpture.
Measuring up
4. Statues of men often have small genitalia – large or average-sized penises were considered grotesque, comic, or both and were usually reserved for fertility gods, half-animal critters such as satyrs as well as old men and barbarians.
Bronzed beauty
5. Unlike marble, which once broken up has not much use, bronze was always in demand for re-use. As a result, a much larger number of sculptures in marble has been preserved and only twelve bronze ones. Marble was also cheaper than bronze.
Body shop
6. Greek sculptors’ workshops employed cleaners who polished the shiny reddish-brass colour of bronze figures. The Greeks did not appreciate the dark-green patina which occurs from weathering which we are used to seeing today.
Domestic goddess
7. Roman sculptors would knock off miniaturised copies of Greek originals, often in bronze, for keen art-lovers who would show off their collections in cabinets at home.
Waxy wake
8. The Romans used to keep wax funeral masks of deceased family members in the ancestral home, which were worn by mourners at family funerals.
Bathing beauty
9. The ‘Lely Venus’ (housed in The British Museum) is thought to be one of the first sculptures that depicts the goddess of love naked, having been caught out whilst bathing. Soon enough, depicting the goddess naked became the in-thing.
Fun runner
10. The British Museum also houses a rare example of a female runner cast in bronze. Unlike her male nude counterparts, she comes dressed in a short tunic and is shown taking part in the Heraia – a women-only sporting competition akin to the Olympics held in honour of the goddess Hera.
Off your head
11. Some sculptures have been found to have ancient Greek bodies with Roman era heads attached. Sculptors were known make and sell mass-produced, headless, idealised bodies, with portrait heads being attached later.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Middle Name Pride Day 2015
March 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Apparently today is Middle Name Pride Day. I had no idea that there was such a name until I heard a reference on the radio.
But … here goes. My middle name is Alessandro which is Italian because my mother was from Naples.
What’s your middle name and why?
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The latest photograph of my granddaughter Catrin
March 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Super cute Catrin (just four) models a hat borrowed from a
young Spanish woman whom we befriended at “our favourite cafe”
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Some recommendations for World Book Day
March 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I have always loved books and reading and I support World Book Day as a way of promoting writing and literature not just in schools but everywhere. You can read my reviews of a range of fiction works here.
My granddaughter Catrin is going to have a new book for our bedtime reading tonight – our way of celebrating WBD.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
A star is born: the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander
March 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
You may not have heard of her but, believe me, you will. After roles in a number of Scandinavian films such as “A Royal Affair” [my review here], she is beginning to appear in English-language movies like “Ex Machina” [my review here].
She is beautiful and talented and has a special relationship with the camera. If you’re interested in the cinema, you’re going to see a lot of her. As explained in this short interview, she has no fewer than eight films scheduled for release this year.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)