pre November 2018
Featuring...
muse-letter \’myüz-‘le-tər noun
1: a personal message, inspired by a muse of one's own creation, addressed to a person or organization, in the course of which, the sender becomes absorbed in thought, especially turning something over in the mind meditatively and often inconclusively.
2: a letter from a poet, or one who envisions oneself as such, in which he or she “muses” on that which is perceived to be news, or newsworthy, usually in some ironic or absurd way.
Salman Rushdie: a Victim of Ancient Lunacy
Thirty-three years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa (a religious decree) urging Muslims of the world to execute Salman Rushdie. The offense? Blaspheming "...the sacred values of Islam," in his novel The Satanic Verses. Blasphemy can be a capital offense from a sharia law perspective, that goes back 1100 years. Of course the Ayatollah never actually read the novel, as it was only available in English, a language he allegedly didn't speak. (Source: via Al Jazeera) But why quibble?
Just what are "satanic verses" anyway.
The title refers to a disputed Muslim tradition that is related in the book. According to this tradition, Muhammad (Mahound in the book), added verses (Ayah) to the Qur'an accepting three Arabian pagan goddesses who used to be worshipped in Mecca as divine beings. According to the legend, Muhammad later revoked the verses, saying the devil tempted him to utter these lines to appease the Meccans... hence the "Satanic" verses. (The Observer January 22, 1989)
The Ayatollah went on to add, "... anyone who was killed trying to carry out this death sentence would be considered a martyr, and go to paradise." And as there was a $2.8 million bounty on Rushdie's head, killing him while being killed yourself made for an exacta almost too good to pass up. There'd be many takers. It sent Rushdie into hiding. As one does at such times. And it was almost 13 years, before he resumed any semblance of a normal life. Then over further time, he would come to be seen here/there/everywhere, sometimes hobnobbing with celebrities. Along the way, he became a U.S. citizen.
Khomeini, at age 89, left this earth a mere four months after his decree, and went on his own one way trip to paradise. Gosh, he would have been so proud of the 24-year old Muslim from New Jersey—a guy not even born when the fatwa was issued in 1989— brutally stabbing Rushdie repeatedly at a literary event in Upstate New York on August 12th.
Could Rushdie survive such an attack? If so, in what condition? In an update issued by his agent only last week, we learn Rushdie, remarkably, will survive. Despite "profound wounds" caused by about twenty stabbings to the neck, chest and torso. Also losing an
eye and the use of one hand, because nerves in the arm were cut so severely. Such detail is provided to indicate just how savage this attack was, for those who might not have ventured beyond a headline.
Contrary to what we might have assumed by this time, and despite a brief reprieve by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami in 1998 (albeit tepid in that he would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie"), the fatwa was never really lifted. Its "legitimacy" was upheld by the hardliners in power after Khatami. Nor was the bounty on Rushdie’s head ever removed. In fact, it was increased to 3.3 million in 2012.
What was on the mind of this would-be assassin (excuse me, alleged, though 2,500 people in attendance witnessed it), Jersey boy, Hadi Matar? Who pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder? (I'd be curious as to what would constitute a first-degree attempt if over 20 stabbings isn't that.) Who ironically, was wearing a surgical mask at his arraignment. You know, you really have to be mindful of health concerns, what with new COVID strains being reported. Who since has had little more to say than...
“He’s (Rushdie) someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief systems.”
“I respect the ayatollah. I think he’s a great person. That’s as far as I will say about that.” Matar also said, he only “read like two pages” (of the novel).
While it took thirty years for a vengeance to catch up with Rushdie, fallout from the book began soon after its publication 34 years ago. Protests were immediate and reached out far and wide, in making no uncertain threats.
Bookstores in the UK and US had to urgently make a decision on where they stood in the matter, as there was a wave of fire bombings of stores that continued to sell it, including two in Berkeley. Not long after, a Japanese translator of the book was knifed to death. An Italian translator and a Norwegian publisher were also attacked and badly wounded soon after.
This lunacy over a book and its right to be published, was hardly a one-off. Even more outrageous, seven years ago on January 7, 2015, two French Muslim terrorists entered the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris, and gunned down 12 people, injuring 11 others. The offense? Once again, satire. The newspaper dared to draw cartoons of Muhammed, including nude characters. Tasteless? Sophomoric? Yeah. But punishable? And by massacre? It moved Editor-in-chief of MAD magazine, John Ficcara, to offer some sobering commentary on this tragedy (FEBRUARY, 2015 MUSE-LETTER, Je Suis MAD). In part...
“…we were merciless on the Catholic Church for covering up the child abuse scandal. And after 9/11, we went after Jerry Falwell hard for blaming the 9/11 attacks on gay feminists, abortionists and the ACLU.
We knew at the end of the day, no matter how much we lampooned Falwell or the Catholic Church, we shared a common set of rules of engagement.
The worst that could happen to us was that we got a stern letter from their lawyers—we live for those. Not once did we ever fear for our safety.”
Is this to suggest that Islam is inherently a violent religion? No. Violent extremism is in evidence within every belief system, religious and secular; every cultural and political institution throughout the world. ("Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!"). But is it comprised of a higher number of followers who believe in harsh punishment, even capital punishment, for apostacy? Let alone for lampooning sacred beliefs?
Here, one must tread carefully as this is such a hot-wire topic. As was very much in evidence years ago in a heated debate between Ben Affleck and Bill Maher. (NOVEMBER, 2014 MUSE-LETTER,, Maher vs. Affleck and a Bigger Question) Some excerpts.
Maher:
Affleck:
Maher:
Affleck:
“It’s the only religion that acts like the mafia that will[expletive] kill you if you say the wrong thing, paint the wrong picture or write the wrong book.”
“It’s gross. It’s racist. It’s like saying ‘shifty Jew.’ “How about more than a billion people who are not fanatical, who don’t punish women... It’s stereotyping.”
“You’re saying that the idea that someone should be killed if they leave the Islamic religion is just a few bad apples?”
“(But) the people who would actually believe in an act of murdering someone if you leave Islam, is not the majority of Muslims at all.”
Most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims are not extremists. Score one—and an important one— for Affleck. Yet, Maher maintained that according to Pew Research, in Egypt for example, a Muslim country of 80 million and a U.S. ally, an overwhelming majority believe that the penalty for leaving the Islam faith is death. I took a look at the numbers myself to see if Maher was overstating his case.
In looking further into the Pew research he referenced that night, the top six countries surveyed in which over 50% of Muslims hold this rather chilling belief— if you do the math— translates to over 200 million people. And of course that number would build as you added more countries down that list. Startling by any stretch of the imagination. As a former Yankee manager Joe Girardi used to say upon looking at unfavorable outcomes, "It's not what you want."
But to return to The Satanic Verses. I went out to a Barnes & Noble and bought a copy as a gesture of solidarity upon hearing this news update on Rushdie. I had also done so when the book was first published in 1988, but had never got around to reading it. Offering "solidarity" is akin to offering thoughts and prayers after every mass shooting. Read the damned book already. I've started it, though will not have finished it prior to uploading this piece. It is after all, 541 pages. I'm a third of the way through. And so far, it has been compelling.
It has been described as being in the genre of magical realism, written in an historical context. And from what I I've read so far, I would call it a rollicking satire with an imaginative use of words, to skewer whatever it comes upon. Here for example is the way death is depicted in one chapter:
...the tall, bony figure of Death, in a wide-brimmed straw hat, with dark cloak flapping
the breeze. Death, leaning on a silver-headed cane, wearing olive-green Wellington boots.
Might the grim reaper be offended at this less than ominous portrayal?
As for the historical context, the book opens up with terrorists seizing a plane full of people and blowing it up in mid air, with themselves on board. The familiarity here is all too stark. And as for Mohammed, he is depicted as an ordinary man of questionable virtue. Worth a fatwa? I'll leave it there.
One particular philosophy, expressed metaphorically, veritably jumped off the page.
An ominous warning: don't come back. When you step through the looking-glass
you step back at your peril. The mirror may cut you to shreds.
Another way of saying I suppose, of going beyond the point of no return, But eerily prophetic given what has transpired.
I'll conclude by way of the monthly quote to follow. Something Rushdie once said that is also now quite prophetic. Might not all that has taken place in the last four years, be a testament to this? For him and all of us?
Quote of the Month
Bumping into the Furniture
Inanimate objects can sometimes serve as signposts of life experiences, and the distance one has travelled. Keepsakes, souvenirs, an objet d’ art, a hand-me-down, all sorts of things large and small. Maybe even furniture. Which was captured so well in a poem in The New Yorker earlier this year by American poet, essayist and critic, Katha Politt. Which triggered a recall of my own poem of similar sentiments written years prior. We are of the same generation. And apparently of like minds. At least where old furniture is concerned.
We sometimes think our perceptions and remembrances are so unique. So it can come as a pleasant surprise when we run across someone who shares and expresses them in a similar manner. Who has like points of reference. In a way, a validation. So I could not help but lay these two poems side by side. Mine of a decade ago, and hers of this year. Perhaps it might trigger a Proustian remembrance of things past in the reader as well.
composite by Ron Vazzano
Brown Furniture
Don't throw out that old chair!
Someone said yes there,
listened to Brahms while it rained,
fell asleep over "Das Kapital,"
told a small child about King Arthur and the cakes.
Don't be fooled by the dining table,
discreetly silent under its green cloth.
Momentous events occurred there,
all of which it remembers perfectly.
A terrible silence was broken over cake,
and three aunts sang a song about Romania.
Not your aunts? Not important. They were there.
Your living room's still making history.
All night the sofa
gossips with the Turkish carpet,
which boasts to the glass fronted-bookcase
about the fantastic voyages of its youth.
These things remember so that we can forget.
Who will love the old
if not the old?
Katha Pollitt
Side Table
Ingrained in old furniture
is where the true stories lie.
That bureau that sits in storage in Jersey
from the last cross-country move,
outlasted the starter marriage
and the one the length of War and Peace that followed.
But most of all, I await the return
of the little side table now being repainted
by a handyman to match
the new décor in this,
a "Sixth Life."
It has heard the arguments
absorbed the resentments
weathered the storms.
Coming back in a semi-gloss black,
I’ve lost count of the coats of colors
it previously has worn.
First bequeathed in its natural grain
by a wrinkled woman from Eastern Europe
who never got over the drowning of a son
who looked like a young Cary Grant.
This after losing kin in the holocaust.
This latest reincarnation,
will now hold a Crate & Barrel vase
and will remain standing
long after we’ve departed.
Ron Vazzano
It’s About Time
Time flies. It’s been five years already since that I did a piece on the changing of the clocks. As in, the bi-annual ritual of “Spring ahead”... "Fall back.” And now the need for that quaint mnemonic is about to begin to go the way of the phone booth.
“The U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would permanently keep the country in daylight saving time and end the biannual clock-turning. The measure, championed by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., passed by unanimous consent. 'The time has come,' Rubio added."
(“And Marco said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. Marco saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. And behold, he was reelected.”)
I don’t think I’m in much agreement with Rubio on just about anything. Including how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. (He’d say it’s up to the states to decide. I’d say, define angels?) But here, we see aye to aye. Go, Marco!
Thus it will come to pass, that Sunday at 2 AM this November 6th, we will “Fall back” for the very last time. (“Marco does murder sleep.” Act II, Scene 2).
Alternately, March 12th of next year will be the last “springing ahead” we’ll ever need to do. Acknowledging the pun, “It’s about time,” said the Senator from Florida.
Let’s stop here, and acknowledge that this isn’t the most important issue facing the world. Even Rubio acknowledged that in championing his bill. If you’re in Ukraine for example, your mind being on other matters these days, like survival, you might have forgotten to attend to this on October 30th (They do it a week before we do each year).
But it does merit some attention, for as with all things, it is concept that has long been debated. At times, with passion. Some claiming that this issue can have some debilitating consequence. And it is steeped in some interesting history. Which I tried to address in that aforementioned piece. Excerpted and with some editing, it follows.
“Spring Ahead"
Why we don’t have Daylight Savings Time year-round. Isn’t an extra hour of daylight towards the latter part of the day, something desirable for many reasons? Not the least of which being it would save energy?
Saving on energy by way of prudent use of light, is hardly an original thought.
It was even once suggested by none other than Benjamin Franklin. Who seemingly was into everything. In an essay ‘An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light’ to the editor of The Journal of Paris in 1784, he suggested, that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead.” (timeanddate.com) To which someone, no doubt, must have replied: “Hey, go fly a kite!”
DST, is not practiced the world over. Only about 70 out of 196 countries do it. And in the U.S., it has been subject to much modification— even at times elimination— since its introduction in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law to support the war effort during World War I. (Arizona—since 1967, with the exception of the Navajo Nation— does not do DST. Nor since then does Hawaii).
In a piece from National Geographic, “Time to Move On? The Case Against Daylight Saving Time,” the naysayers pointed out that it doesn’t save money or energy. For example, people use up more gas during DST, as they tend to drive more during extended daylight hours.
It has also been opposed by many, because it’s hazardous to your health; it messes with the body’s circadian clock “A 2012 study by the university of Alabama found that the risk of heart attack surges by 10 percent on the Monday and Tuesday after moving the clocks ahead an hour each spring.”
Yet it seems many of us experience a change of clock (and heart) frequently throughout the year, as we travel from one time zone to another without anything but a residual jetlag for a day or two to show for it. (I wonder if a bird flying from one time zone to another experiences this sort of thing? Avian jetlag?).
Another argument against, is that it endangers the many kids, who would now be going to school each morning in the dark. To which I can’t help but think, that if responsible adults can’t get a child to school safely on dark mornings, how are we ever going to maintain our position as the most powerful country in the world? Defend ourselves against all threats.
Refuting those safety concerns, in a study by Rutgers University in 2004, researchers posited that a permanent switch to daylight saving time would reduce pedestrian fatalities by 13% and motor vehicle fatalities by 3%.
Finally, if so many find that having to make an adjustment to changing clocks is a massive inconvenience and threatening to health, the solution is simple: keep daylight savings time the whole year round. That problem goes away. Along with the upsetting of the body’s circadian rhythms and reducing risks of heart attacks.
Question of the Month
Is there a moral imperative, to strongly denounce
and/or take action against wrongdoing,
that occurs under your roof and sullies your house?
painting
finito
Parts of the site under reconstruction
muse-letter \’myüz-‘le-tər noun
1: a personal message, inspired by a muse of one's own creation, addressed to a person or organization, in the course of which, the sender becomes absorbed in thought, especially turning something over in the mind meditatively and often inconclusively.
2: a letter from a poet, or one who envisions oneself as such, in which he or she “muses” on that which is perceived to be news, or newsworthy, usually in some ironic or absurd way.
pre November 2018
Parts of the site under reconstruction
Quote of the Month
Humbling women seems
to me a chief pastime for poets.
As if there can be no story unless
we crawl and weep."
Capt. Nemo played by James Mason
in deep-doo doo in the deep blue sea.
Ron Vazzano
Ron Vazzano
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