tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post96822227183833734..comments2023-11-03T03:26:57.112-05:00Comments on Planet Grenada: i and i and thouAbdul-Halim V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03811018180731403335noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-56846994831757064302007-08-13T19:32:00.000-05:002007-08-13T19:32:00.000-05:00Salaam,hmm...u should come visit brooklyn...in bed...Salaam,<BR/><BR/>hmm...u should come visit brooklyn...<BR/><BR/>in bed-sty and crown heights, muslims and rastas live by each other, share storefronts, and street vendors work the same streets...so some interesting intertwining goes on...<BR/><BR/>rastas who occasionally drop by the masjid for salaat...or at the least give salaam on the street, while younger muslims dap them up, and talk about life, faith, politics, etc...malangbabahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07602203647701506561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-47169538514288754572007-07-07T00:00:00.000-05:002007-07-07T00:00:00.000-05:00The early leaders of Rastafari and even now do hav...The early leaders of Rastafari and even now do have a connection to the texts of the Ethiopian Othrodox Church, but that may just be my bias and reliance on texts...<BR/><BR/>A more likely explanation is an epiphany....<BR/><BR/>To paraphrase our friend, Sufis cry, Buddhists laugh, and Rastafari sing, "One Love, One Heart, Let's get together and fell all right."<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>GeoffreyGeoffrey Philphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13442948340176713964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-62408736871263549822007-07-06T19:21:00.000-05:002007-07-06T19:21:00.000-05:00hmmm... i wouldn't consider myself an expert on Gn...hmmm... i wouldn't consider myself an expert on Gnostics or Rastas but I generally didn't think of mysticism as something which needed to be transmitted just in order to exist. <BR/><BR/>Or maybe another way to say what I'm thinking is that the Bible is already a big complex book with alot of different messages which can be found between its pages. And there are already alot of verses in the Bible which can be used to support the idea of unity between God and man, or between human beings. So it isn't that surprising that the Rastas exist even if they weren't necessarily exposed to historical Gnostic writings.<BR/><BR/>... <BR/><BR/>But actually, one posibility which comes to mind is that the Rasats do have a certain connection with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and that branch of Christianity actually does have a larger canon than either the CAtohlics or Rrotestants. I'm not sure if some of those extra books are especially "Gnostic" but it is a possibility.<BR/><BR/>hmmm.. might be worth checking into.Abdul-Halim V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03811018180731403335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-49744987703457942392007-07-06T02:11:00.000-05:002007-07-06T02:11:00.000-05:00Yes, Abdul-Halaim, you are quite right, there is a...Yes, Abdul-Halaim, you are quite right, there is a difference between the two groups of mystics.<BR/>The ecstatic Sufis such as al-Hallaj (I know a little about his work) seem to follow the Abrahamic tradition of separation and exile from God whereas Rastafari follows the Gnostic Christian tradition of the unity with God.<BR/>What fascinates me with Rastafari--and so little is known about the early mystics of Rastafari--is how they forrmulated this theology without, as I can tell any access to the Gnostic Christian texts. Not that I'm saying one NEEDS texts to be aware of these things that demonstrate the connection to the Almighty, but the sentiments, the corelations are just amazing.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>GeoffreyGeoffrey Philphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13442948340176713964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-3460314946760811182007-07-05T22:17:00.000-05:002007-07-05T22:17:00.000-05:00feel free to share more of your own thoughts...I a...feel free to share more of your own thoughts...<BR/><BR/>I agree with you that there is one God with many names... and more specifically, I would echo Sadiq's point that folks (especially mystics) in the Abrahamic tradition seem to be doing some specific and distinctive things with propositions in order to convey some wisp of what God is like. <BR/><BR/>In Sadiq's examples (to some degree) the language is used to express something of God's absence.. which makes sense especially with the Sufi poets who use the language of loving and longing for the beloved. <BR/><BR/>In contrast, the Rasta use of I and I overwhelmingly emphasizes the unity and connection both among our fellow human beings and between the human being and God.<BR/><BR/>Sufis (especially some of the ecstatic Sufis like al-Hallaj and Bistami) have made famous utterances which also express unity with God. But my sense is that the message of unity is at times mixed in with other language which emphasizes the seperation between God and the creation.Abdul-Halim V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03811018180731403335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-28177979351578842372007-07-05T19:12:00.000-05:002007-07-05T19:12:00.000-05:00Dear Abdul-Halim,I was also thinking specifically ...Dear Abdul-Halim,<BR/>I was also thinking specifically around the constellation of these three posts:<BR/>http://planetgrenada.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-and-i-and-thou.html<BR/>http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/2006/08/reggae-rastafari-and-aesthetics.html<BR/>http://mysticsaint.blogspot.com/2007/06/language-of-sufis.html <BR/><BR/>and the conclusion that there is One Power known by many names and yet unnameable.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>GeoffreyGeoffrey Philphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13442948340176713964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-66065125154572678562007-07-05T16:38:00.000-05:002007-07-05T16:38:00.000-05:00hmmm... a lot of thoughts are coming to mind right...hmmm... a lot of thoughts are coming to mind right now, especially around the question of how to exactly define a "Muslim Rasta" so to speak. Initially I was thinking of soem African Sufis who tend to grow dreadlocks... and I would still like to write on them eventualy... but then I also remembered that in <A HREF="http://planetgrenada.blogspot.com/2005/08/black-muslims-in-uk.html" REL="nofollow">black muslims in the uk</A> I had already made reference to some Muslims of African-descent who also have Pan-African and mystical leanings... except in other respects they seem very different from the Rastas.<BR/><BR/>but yes, a more thorough presentation will wait till later...Abdul-Halim V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03811018180731403335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11506454.post-31932254729517658232007-07-05T10:40:00.000-05:002007-07-05T10:40:00.000-05:00I look forward to the analysis.Blessings,GeoffreyI look forward to the analysis.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>GeoffreyGeoffrey Philphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13442948340176713964noreply@blogger.com