A poem in English and Arabic by Samar Zughool. Samar is a community art creator and performing artist; through her series of practices, “SAMA Community Arts,” she co-creates public performative journeys that deconstruct social communication as free of the enforced binarism of “nation-state” and “state-nation” as both tools and products of colonialism along with enforced gender binary profiling. Samar is a co-founder of the SIDE artistic collective, cooking and cleaning politics, religions, cultures, and arts, and a project manager at Povod institute for culture and development of international relations in culture in Slovenia. Because of her interest in social movements, she conducted her master’s thesis research on “The Role of Women’s Rights Movements in Reforming Public Policies after the Arab Spring,” which was awarded the Prešeren national award for students from the Faculty of Social Sciences in Slovenia. Currently, within the Povod institute in Slovenia, she is leading Euro-Med programs that connect arts, artivism, and social movements for social resilience and well-being.
“Al-Lat,” “Al Uzza,” and “Manat” *
I swear by “Al-Lat,” “Al Uzza,” and “Manat.”
If I were a believer, you would be my only Divine
In the folds of your body, I worship, I kneel, and I praise in eternal comfort of faith
On the threshold of a door that my feet did not step on
But my soul crossed it
In shades of the blue spectrum with chosen transmitters
,,,,
My Goddesses tweet on the domes of mosques, and I bow to them with a devoted heart
Al-Lat in Al-Aqsa raises the calls of love for the holy dawn
Between war and love, many stories hide
The stories of “Al-Lat,” “Al Uzza,” and “Manat”
Stories that pass through the folds of the present
The folds of hearts that have been abandoned but did not give up
Did not abandon tomorrow’s hopes
,,,,
Souls sprout again
Blooming in orchards with unforgettable stories
About Goddesses who write history and trace to us, hope
As in each road gathering us, there is an echo that we won’t forget
In the Love of “Al-Lat,” “Al Uzza,” and “Manat”
,,,,
And if I ever become theist, you will be my only divine
Because in the folds of your body and between your bosoms are my ecstasy, my prayer, and my belief in the highest paradise and eternal heaven
And I’ll strive and strive to immortalize my lips on your holy being like an endless prayer
And on the domes of mosques, we roam with the sects in eternal ecstasy, contented, content, reassuring, and immortal
اللات والعزى ومناة *
احلف باللات والعزى ومناة
لو كنت مؤمنة لكنت أنتي الهتي الوحيدة
في ثنايا جسدك اجسد و اركع و اهلل في راحة ايمان أبدية
على عتبة باب لم تدسه قدمي
بل تجاوزته روحي
في ظلال طيف ازرق مع مرسلات منزلات
,,,,
الهتي تغرد على قبب المساجد و انا ارضخ لهن بقلب عابد
اللات في الاقصى ترفع آذان حب الفجر المقدس
فبين الحرب و الحب تختبا الكثير من القصص
قصص اللات والعزى ومناة
حكايات تمضي بثنايا الحاضر ثنايا قلوب قد هجرت و لم تهجر
لم تهجر املا ان الغد سيكون افضل
,,,,
ارواح تنبت من جديد
تزهر في بساتين مع قصص لن تنسى
عن الهة تكتب تاريخا و تخط لنا املا
ففي كل طريق يجمعنا صدا لن ينسى
بحب اللات والعزى ومناة
,,,,
و ان آمنت يوما ستكونين أنتي الهتي الوحيدة
ففي ثنايا جسدك و بين نهديك نشوتي و صلاتي و ايماني بالفردوس الاعلى و الجنة الأبدية
و سأجاهد و اجاهد لاخلد شفاهي على نحرك عشقآ أزليا
و على قبب المساجد نطوف مع الطائفات في نشوة أبدية راضيات ، مرضيات مطمئنات مخلدات
* “Al-Lat, Al Uzzah, and Manat” are three Arabic goddesses that existed before Islam. You may read about them here. Press this LINK