Category Archives: Blog

Don’t keep repeatedly doing
what your animal-soul wants to do.
That’s like deciding to be a strip of meat
nailed and drying on a board in the sun…

— Rumi

An answer to my problems! All year, while volunteering at St. Jude’s in Beirut, I’ve been playing UNO with the kids every week. And every other week, we get a new deck–because the cards get so tattered and worn. It’s almost impossible to shuffle the deck when the cards have become creased and ripped from overuse. So I was elated when I got to St. Jude’s today and found this deck of UNO H20 cards waiting for me on the table. Whoever thought of this solution to our UNO woes is an absolute genius. Not only do these UNO “water” cards not tear–their lamination allows for us to clean them with water or anti-bacterial spray if necessary–since germs can get passed around along with the cards. Shuffling these cards is such a joy compared to the frustration of shuffling a deck frayed at the edges. Today, the kids and I really enjoyed playing with these new cards which really make for a smooth game (even though I still got creamed)–and I highly recommend them for anyone with children, since they’re nearly impossible to bend and rip up…

I’m sick of mortal kings.
I long to see your light.
With lamps in hand
the sheiks and mullahs roam
the dark alleys of these towns
not finding what they seek.

You are the Essence of the Essence,
The intoxication of Love.
I long to sing your praises,
but stand mute
with the agony of wishing in my heart.

— Rumi

Jesus on the lean donkey
is an emblem of how the rational intellect
should control the animal-soul.

Let your spirit be strong like Jesus.
If that part becomes weak,
then the worn-out donkey grows to be a dragon…

— Rumi

Everything in creation is eating and being eaten. — Rumi

Step inside one of my favorite restaurants in the Old City of Damascus. As you can see from the photo above, you might never know from this lantern-lit doorway that there’s a lovely restaurant inside–since there’s not even a sign over the door. For me that was part of this restaurant’s charm, when I came across its enticing door, and decided to step inside–to find out where the hallway on the other side might lead…

Where it led was to a large courtyard with tables scattered under plants hanging from the balconies above. Several dining rooms were also tucked inside of the decorated walls of this renovated medieval traditional home. Since it was Christmas time, there was also a Christmas tree with a Santa hat on top–as you can see in the photo below.

Just as Ottoman architecture is found throughout Damascus, so too are the stories Sufis have told to dervishes–especially since Ottoman times–to impart a lesson. Hmmmm, what might be the moral of the Sufi story below?

Mehmet II was both a dervish (a member of a Sufi order) and the Ottoman sultan who conquered Constantinople. One evening, Mehmet was sitting with his Sufi teacher (sheikh), and they were eating rice from the same plate.

His Sheikh said to him, “My Sultan, what you are eating is haram, it is unlawful,” even though they were eating from the same plate.

The Sultan asked, “How is this? We are eating from the same plate. You must be eating unlawful food, too.”

The Shaikh said, “No, what is on my side is halal, it is permissible; what is on your side is unlawful.”

So the sultan said, “Look over there!” and when the Sheikh looked away from the plate, the sultan turned the dish around.

Then they continued to eat. After a while the sultan told the Sheikh what he had done and said, “Now, see, what you are eating is haram (unlawful).”

But the Shaikh said, “No! What you are eating is unlawful, because you have taken it by force, from a conquered country.”

— Sheikh Tosun Bayrak

We thank all those who, at the United Nations, are working for peace so that there would not be any strike on Syria. — Patriarch Gregory III Laham

Tonight, all across the world, prayer vigils are being held to pray for peace in Syria and against outside armed intervention in the “civil” war. In Damascus, more than 1,000 Christians gathered tonight for a vigil for peace, as the U.S. continued its efforts to rally more support behind a military strike on Syria.

Syria’s Sunni Muslim leader, the Sufi-inclined Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun (who I mention in my recent article on Sufis in Syria) similarly called for all Syrians–regardless of religion–to join in the world-wide call to prayer.

And in Beirut this evening, prayer vigils were attended by Christians and Muslims alike. In fact, the vice president of the Shiite Higher Council in Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Amir Qabalan, officially threw his endorsement behind the pope’s call for a day of fasting and prayer.

Those who weren’t praying tonight in Beirut must have been partying–since the party scene tonight was hopping. In fact, some of my friends are partying now more than ever, since none of us know what this week may bring…

The inner consciousness of the saint
is the true mosque where all should worship–
God lives there.

— Rumi

My favorite feature of Islamic architecture in Syria has to be the black and white stripes used to decorate the arches of mosques, palaces, and Sufi lodges. The term in Arabic used for the architectural style of alternating rows of light and dark stone is ablaq. On the facade of this particular mosque in Damascus (above), you can see two other patterns which use these same colors: the snowflake design above the florescent light, and the reflected wavy band above the door that rests in between two registers of Arabic text…

My only reason for entering
a Mosque or a Tavern
is seeking your union.

— Hafiz

The moment I came across this second arch in Damascus, I thought that it resembled a medieval keyhole. The shape of the door itself reminded me of a hamsa (evil eye hand) placed upside down. Though there wasn’t much light for a photograph, I was hoping to capture the red and black stripes (originally black and white?) around the arch, and that beautiful blue color emanating from the interior of the mosque. If you look closely at the step beneath the door, you will find the black and white striped pattern there as well…

Every moment and place says:
Put this design in your carpet!
Love will lay a carpet of treasures under your feet.

— Rumi

Look for someone else to tend the shop.
I’ve gone out of the image-making business.

Finally, I know the freedom of madness.

A random image arrives.
I scream: Get out!
It disintegrates.

Only love.
Only the holder the flag fits into.
No flag.

— Rumi

The whirling belongs to you, and you belong to the whirling. — Rumi

In my piece “Sharing the Sufis of Syria,” I included some photos of whirling dervish paintings that I took in Damascus. Those photos were close-ups, but here’s a whirling dervish painting displayed among other paintings in a shop at the Sufi complex I mentioned in an earlier post. If you look close enough, you’ll see something is missing…

Dissolver of sugar, dissolve me–
if this is the time.

— Rumi