TY - JOUR TT - The Unimaginative Symbols of Salim Barakat AU - Butt, Aviva PY - 2018 DA - August DO - 10.21600/ijoks.454197 JF - International Journal of Kurdish Studies JO - Kurdish Studies PB - Hasan KARACAN WT - DergiPark SN - 2149-2751 SP - 294 EP - 308 VL - 4 IS - 2 LA - en KW - Salim Barakat KW - Unimaginative Symbols KW - Kurdish KW - Kurdish heritage N2 - K urdish poet Salim Barakat (b. 1951, Qamishli, Syria)in 1986 published a philosophical poem entitled Haza’in Manhuba (Glimpsesof Spoliation), the whole of which I have translated from the original Arabicand included as annotated appendix. Barakat writes modern secular poetry in agenre I describe as modern Islamic literature, a genre that finds its roots inthe Turkic poetry of Shah Isma’il I who founded the Safavid dynasty in Persia.Barakat’s theoretical model for his philosophical poem within theaforementioned genre, and his use of meaning-making techniques of repetition isto be found in the arena of ancient Greek literature. It is, however,essentially his concept of history that affords him space to include thesemeaning-making poetic techniques as he strives to present to his readership anexact description of the revolts, uprisings and insurgencies that have beenongoing since the Abbasid caliphate. He explains the why and how of thewrongdoing, and the consequences on the Day of Judgment, the divine sphere ofaction functioning as part of his historical narrative. His symbols, in thisparticular poem, lean less on the Persian and Arabic Sufi poets. He rathercreates symbols of his own, symbols that provide an aura of the scientific, andare as “unimaginative” as possible – being symbols of the most basic kind. Asusual, his extraordinarily skilled and extensive use of devices of repetitionreflect his Kurdish heritage. CR - Barakat, Salim ((2007), al-A’mal al-Shi‘riyah Salim Barakat (The Poetry Works of Salim Barakat). Beirut: al-Mu’ssah lil-Dirasat wa-Nashr (The Foundation for Studies and Publishing). [Arabic] Khan, M.M. and Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali, M., revised edition (2011), Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur’an. Houston Texas: Dar-us-Salam Publications. [Online] Available at: http://www.noblequran.com(Accessed 29 Jan 2018). [Arabic and English] English: Abbas, Agha Shabbir (30 Apr 2015). A Glimpse into the Relationship of Shi’ism and Sufism; With a Special Emphasis on the Works of Mawlana Rumi. [Online] Available at: https://ahlulbaytblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/haydar-e-karrar.png (Accessed 2 Jan 2018). 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UR - https://doi.org/10.21600/ijoks.454197 L1 - https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/525172 ER -