#ZAYYAN

[denim-bias]

[zhaozi]

날씨가 좋아요 ! 💛💛💛 // the weather is nice! 💛💛💛

[kpopmultifan]

One Cool Jacso’s new boy group XODIAC has released a 2nd set of concept photos of Wain, Beomsoo, & Zayyan for their upcoming debut “Throw the Dice” which is scheduled to be released on April 24th.

[jkt48fansberat]

Doggy pelan pake kondom kedengeran iklan shopee

Update : Booking cewe baju hitam tato nyepong ada kaca kecil Doggy pelan pake kondom kedengeran iklan shopee

Streaming full di : www,jkt48fansberat,my,id

ganti , dengan . atau bisa cek profile untuk situs alternatif

Yuura Tamaki Cyebeleeunia Umur 22 omay stitch aa juju

#ZAYYAN

[sabrofaseapearl1]

Guess where nearing Ramadan 2023 inshaAllah.

What goals and intentions have you set?

Are you ready for iftar together with family?

Suhoor and early mornings praying tahajud

Rekindle with the Quran

Doing dhikr and making lots of Duaa?

Reviewing tafsir and listening to Quran by your fav reciter.

What's your fav thing about Ramadan?

This year I'll be putting up Ramadan decor the house with my three year old son.

We're doing Ramadan activities and colouring.

Giving charity, even if it's a small amount. (setting up a coin bank)

[wally-b-feed]

Anthony Fineran (B 1981), Zhan Zayyan, 2023

[bookcoversonly]

Title: We Are All Birds of Uganda | Author: Zayyan Hafsa | Publisher: Random House (2022)

[judgingbooksbycovers]

We Are All Birds of Uganda

By Hafsa Zayyan.

Design by Ceara Elliot.

[kpopmultifan]

One Cool Jacso’s new boy group XODIAC has released a set of concept photos of Zayyan, Sing, & Leo for their upcoming debut “Throw the Dice” which is scheduled to be released on April 24th.

[evertidings]

I would like to propose a theory.

I think that the person behind all of it (killing Maya and kidnapping Caine) is Zayyan from the lift I’m the beginning.

he’s quite offended by that accusation.

[zaydabuzaydrp]

Abu Zayd, più precisamente Zayd Abu Zayd Ab-Alh-Rahmann III, meglio conosciuto come "il Moro Zeyt", è un altro dei grandi protagonisti della nascita del Regno cristiano di Valencia.

Ultimo signore almohade di Valencia, era il pronipote del califfo berbero Abd-Al-Mucmin. Pur essendo originario di Baeza, era stato avviato alla politica dal nipote, il califfo Yusuf II, che lo nominò governatore di Valencia.

L'ultimo re almohade di Valencia vide presto sorgere problemi, sia per la pressione delle truppe cristiane a nord sia per quella di altri signori musulmani a sud. Insieme alla corruzione politica, che già esisteva all'epoca, avevano soffocato il popolo.

Dopo la morte del califfo Yusuf II, la decadenza politica si aggravò. Fu allora che Abu Zayd fu costretto a chiedere la protezione di Ferdinando III, il re santo di Castiglia. I raccolti rovinati da una piaga di cavallette e la mancanza di cibo incoraggiarono la ribellione della popolazione. In questa situazione, Zayyan Ibn Mardanis, discendente del re Lobo, arrivò a Valencia da Onda e guidò il rovesciamento di Abu Zayd, che dovette lasciare la città con il suo seguito e la sua famiglia nel 1229, diretto a Segorbe (Castellón).

Qui storia e leggenda si fondono, poiché si dice che la conversione del "moro Zeyt" sia avvenuta a Caravaca de la Cruz, dove la leggenda vuole che sia apparso il simbolo della croce.

Secondo la tradizione locale più diffusa, si dice che dalla fine del 1230 o all'inizio del 1231, il re almohade di Valencia e Murcia, Abu Zayd, si trovava nei suoi possedimenti a Caravaca. Interrogò i cristiani che teneva prigionieri per scoprire quali mestieri esercitassero, con l'obiettivo di occuparli secondo le loro capacità. Tra loro c'era il sacerdote Ginés Pérez Chirinos che, come missionario, era venuto da Cuenca nelle terre saracene per predicare il Vangelo. Egli rispose che il suo compito era quello di celebrare la messa e il re moresco voleva sapere com'era. Fu ordinato di portare da Cuenca i paramenti corrispondenti e il 3 maggio 1232, nella sala nobile della fortezza, il sacerdote iniziò la liturgia. Tuttavia, poco dopo aver iniziato la liturgia, dovette fermarsi, spiegando che gli era impossibile continuare perché mancava un elemento essenziale all'altare: un crocifisso.

In quel momento, attraverso una finestra della stanza, due angeli scesero dal cielo e posero delicatamente una croce a due bracci sull'altare. Il sacerdote poté quindi continuare la celebrazione della messa e, in presenza di tale meraviglia, Abu-Ceyt (insieme ai membri della sua corte presenti) si convertì al cristianesimo. In seguito si scoprì che la croce apparsa era il pettorale del vescovo Roberto, primo patriarca di Gerusalemme, realizzato con il legno della croce dove morì Gesù Cristo.

Quando Abu Zayd si convertì, prese il nome di Vicente Bellvís, come riportano le cronache dell'epoca. Morì tra il 1265 e il 1270.

La morte di Abu-Zayd è precedente all'11 dicembre 1268, data in cui il documento lo dichiara defunto. I suoi figli e parenti ricevettero un'importante eredità e, essendo imparentati con la nobiltà aragonese, divennero anch'essi signori cristiani.

QUI GIACE D. VICENTIUS BELVIS CON I SUOI ​​FIGLI UN TEMPO ZEIT ABUSIÒ RE VALENTIA MAURUS ADEO IL PROTETTORE DELLA SUA RELIGIONE VT DUE UOMINI INNOCENTI BEATI GIOVANNI DI PERUSIA E PIETRO DI SASSO-FERRATICO FIGLI E COMPAGNI DI PADRE FRANCESCO CHE PREDICANO LA VERA FEDE DI CRISTO OTTENUTO ATTRAVERSO LA SPADA MA RICEVERE LA LUCE DEL PADRE ISPIRATORE OGNI PECCATO FU CONSUMATO DAL SANTO BATTESIMO E IL SEGNO DELL'ETERNA RICONCILIAZIONE EGLI DESTINÒ UNA VOLTA LA SUA SALA IN CHIESA E SEDE.

Intorno al 16 giugno 1860, a Valencia fu eretta una lapide che lasciava in vista alcuni resti umani, il cui stato denotava la loro antichità. Nello stesso luogo fu rinvenuta una pergamena che recitava come segue:

Data di nascita:

17 ottobre 1195

Data di morte:

11 dicembre 1268

Titoli:

-Principe musulmano

-Signore cristiano

Etnia:

Berbero

Religione:

Islam

Religione 2:

Cristiano cattolico

Dinastia:

Almohade

Prestavolti nella trama:

-Alvaro Rico

-Walid Azaro

-Asier Cadenas

-David Raya (pv attuale)

[yazan-kalem-siyah06]

🔴 Katliamın 145.gününde Türkiye'den İsrail’e ticaret devam ediyor!

Sayın cumhur başkanı yahidiler senin akraban mi bu kayırma neden

Mersin, Hatay ve Antalya limanlarından yola çıkan çimento ve kargo yüklü ticaret gemileri, İsrail limanlarında görüntülendi.

🔴 Yeni gün ve yeni gemiler..

- İzmir'den MEDKON MERSİN isimli konteyner gemisi İsrail'in Haifa limanına hareket ediyor.

- İzmir'den Zafer IV, Mersin'den AREL 5 ve ZAYYAN K isimli kargo ve çimento gemileri İsrail limanlarına demir attı.

[rosaliamendika]

Tertawan Hati

Bab 5 "Ikhlas Melepas"

Tidak jarang ia temukan Gus Ashraf yang seperti itu, sikapnya berubah menjadi lebih lembut jika sudah berkomunikasi dengan Arum. Semakin hari terasa berat, ternyata dirinya tidak sekuat itu menahan semuanya sendirian. Yang biasa ia lakukan kalau seperti ini adalah berdiam di mushola pesantren, meminta pada Tuhan pemilik hati suaminya dan mengaji untuk menenangkan hati dan pikirannya. Menginjak bulan kedua pernikahannya, di dalam rumah tangganya hampir tidak ada percakapan mengenai masa depan keluarganya. Tapi, di depan abah, ummi, dan ibunya, Gus Ashraf akan selalu berubah menjadi manis untuk menutupi semuanya. Ara berusaha menjalankan peran sebagai istri, menyiapkan setiap kebutuhan suaminya, sedang Gus Ashraf juga memberikan nafkah dari setengah gajinya untuk Ara. Selebihnya tidak ada yang bisa diharapkan dari rumah tangga mereka. 

Sore ini, Gus Chandra adik sepupu Gus Ashraf sekaligus teman dekatnya sowan ke pesantren. Niatnya memberikan ucapan selamat atas pernikahan saudaranya meski sudah terlambat dua bulan, maklum dia baru saja menyelesaikan studinya di luar negeri. “Mana istrimu Mas? Aku pengen bertemu secara langsung”, tanyanya tanpa basa-basi. Seperti biasa Gus Ashraf akan menanggapi dengan cuek, “Di dapur kayaknya”. Tak lama yang dibicarakan pun datang, Ara membawa jamuan untuk tamu suaminya. “Assalamualaikum Ning Ara, Saya Chandra adik sepupu Mas Ashraf. Selamat ya atas pernikahan kalian”, sapa Chandra. Dengan sedikit menatap Ara menjawab, “Waalaikumsalam Gus Chandra, terima kasih atas ucapannya”. Sungguh mata Chandra berbinar melihat kecantikan kakak iparnya meski hanya sekilas. “Masya Allah, cantik sekali istrimu Mas, pasti kamu tiap hari bahagia yaa. Jadi pengen punya istri juga hahah. Panggil Mas Chandra saja Ning, ilmuku masih belum cukup dipanggil gus sama seperti suamimu ini”, jelas Chandra. Ara menurut, “Inggih Mas Chandra, saya permisi dulu”, buru-buru Ara pamit. Chandra menyadari ada tatapan tak suka dari Gus Ashraf saat melihat interaksinya dengan Ara tadi, apalagi saat dia memuji istri kakak sepupunya itu. “Mas katanya bude sama pakde lagi keluar ya?”, tanya Chandra memastikan. Hanya anggukan dari Ashraf yang ia terima sebagai respon. “Bagus kalau gitu. Mas kurangnya Ning Ara di matamu apa sih? Kok sampai sekarang kamu masih mencintai Ning Arum yang jarang ketemu gitu”. Gus Ashraf hanya diam, ia bingung menemukan jawabannya.

Malamnya, Ara memberanikan diri berdiskusi dengan suaminya. “Gus ngapunten, apa njenengan punya waktu sebentar?”. Sedingin apapun Gus Ashraf padanya, Ara akan tetap bersikap hangat, berusaha menjadi istri salihah untuk suaminya. Hanya dehaman yang terdengar sebagai jawaban. Ara mengambil posisi duduk di tepian kasur cukup berjarak dengan Gus Ashraf yang sedang bersandar membaca buku materi untuk mengajar besok. “Gus apa Ara boleh pindah kerja di rumah sakit Jogja aja nggih? Jaraknya lebih dekat, Ara ternyata cukup capek pulang pergi Semarang-Surakarta Gus”, pinta Ara. Dengan singkat suaminya menjawab, “Pindah kesini aja”. Jika Ara pindah kesini masih dengan mudah Dokter Zayyan mencarinya, tapi jika ia pindah ke Jogja mungkin saja aksesnya bisa lebih sulit, sebab ia akan memberitahu statusnya jika sudah siap dan benar-benar melupakannya. “Ngapunten Gus, disini belum ada rumah sakit yang membuka lowongan. Ara dapat tawaran dari Shanum teman SMA Ara jika di rumah sakitnya butuh perawat”, alibi Ara. Bagi Ashraf Jogja adalah rumah Arum, ia ingin sekali berkunjung kesana bersamanya. 

“Terserah, minta izin ke abah ummi juga besok”, cuek suaminya tanpa mengalihkan pandangannya dari buku. Paginya, Ara membantu ummi menyiapkan makanan di dapur, meski ada santri ndalem yang membantunya, ia merasa tak enak hati jika tidak melakukan pekerjaan rumah. Padahal raganya cukup lelah hampir tiap hari bekerja dengan menempuh perjalanan jauh. “Gimana nduk? Apa sudah ada tanda-tanda?”, tanya ummi sambil mencuci daging ayam. “Tanda-tanda apa nggih ummi?”, tanya balik Ara. “Ya tanda-tanda keberadaan cucu ummi nduk, sudah hampir tiga bulan kan pernikahan kalian”, ucap ummi yang berhasil membuyarkan fokus Ara memotong wortel, untung saja irisannya tidak mengenai jarinya. “Ngapunten mi, masih belum ada tanda-tanda. Sepertinya karena Ara yang kelelahan, mohon doanya nggih mi. Oiya mi sekalian nanti setelah sarapan Ara ingin meminta izin abah dan ummi”. Bagaimana bisa ia hamil jika Gus Ashraf saja tidak pernah menyentuhnya. Ara kembali berbohong di hadapan ibu mertuanya demi menutupi keburukan dalam rumah tangganya.

“Ngapunten abah dan ummi, Ara ingin meminta izin, apa Ara diperbolehkan nggih pindah ke rumah sakit di Jogja? Disana ada sahabat SMA Ara bah mi, jaraknya juga lumayan dekat dibanding ke Semarang”, Ara menghadap mertuanya dengan sopan. “Boleh saja nduk, jika itu lebih memudahkan kalian. Nanti biar sekalian Ashraf mengurus cabang pesantren ini disana”, abah memberikan izin dengan mudah kepada Ara. Ia juga sudah membicarakan hal ini kepada ibunya yang juga menyetujui rencananya. Dengan segera ia bertukar kabar dengan Shanum melalui telepon, “Assalamualaikum Num, Alhamdulillah aku dapat izin pindah ke rumah sakitmu. Insya Allah aku segera mendapatkan surat pindahannya”. “Waalaikumsalam Ra, Alhamdulillah. Sabtu depan kesini dong Ra survei tempat dulu itung-itung temu kangen, kita jarang banget ketemu sekalian reuni sama temen SMA kita juga si Maira baru pulang dari Malaysia dia”, balas Shanum. Maira, namanya seperti tidak asing di telinga Ara.

Sabtu siang di Cafe daerah Jogja, ketiga perempuan yang merupakan teman lama berkumpul. Awalnya sedikit canggung, beruntung Shanum dapat meramaikan obrolan, “Ra ini Maira, kamu lupa ya? Dia memang pindah Kairo sejak kelas 2 SMA”. “Kita dulu pernah sebangku Ra, aku Arumi Syakila Humaira. Sudah ingat?”, sahut Maira dengan senyuman yang sangat menawan. Ara ingat nama itu, bukan sebagai teman lamanya, tapi perempuan cantik nan anggun di depannya ini adalah perempuan yang didambakan dan dicintai suaminya. Ya Allah bagaimana ia harus bersikap? hatinya berdetak kencang, perasaannya tak karuan. Sepulangnya dari Jogja Ara menghadap suaminya, “Permisi Gus, ada yang ingin Ara bicarakan, penting”. Gus Ashraf yang semula membelakangi istrinya berbalik menjadi menghadapnya setelah melihat wajah serius Ara. “Gus Ara tahu kalau selama ini cinta Gus Ashraf hanya untuk Arum, dia sekarang sudah pulang. Dia ternyata teman lama Ara di SMA, kami tidak sengaja dipertemukan tadi siang”. Gus Ashraf susah payah menyembunyikan wajah terkejutnya, ia masih menunggu Ara selesai bicara. “Gus aku tidak mengada-ada, jika tidak percaya bisa njenengan buktikan sendiri nanti. Sepertinya Arum akan segera dijodohkan oleh kakeknya. Sekarang Gus tinggal pilih melepaskan Arum atau melepaskan Ara. Jika Gus memilih melepas Ara tolong pulangkan Ara ke rumah ibu, Ara akan mengikuti apapun pilihan Gus sebagai bentuk kepatuhan Ara kepada suami. Tapi jika Gus memilih melepas Arum, tolong anggap keberadaan Ara sebagai istri Gus seutuhnya. Karena ternyata hati Ara tidak sekuat itu bertahan di rumah tangga yang tidak mengharapkan Ara”, jelas Ara panjang lebar dengan derai air mata. 

Tanpa diperintah, jari Gus Ashraf menghapus air mata di pipi Ara. Seakan Gus Ashraf baru saja sadar setelah ditampar dengan kalimat meminta kepastian dari istrinya. Sungguh berapa banyak dosanya akibat tidak peduli dengan istrinya. Tharya Azkayra perempuan berhati tulus yang rela membangun keluarga dengan laki-laki yang telah menyia-nyiakannya. Laki-laki yang dibutakan oleh kekaguman terhadap perempuan lain melebihi istrinya. Padahal Ara dengan ikhlas melepas laki-laki yang didambakannya, Dokter Zayyan, jauh sebelum ia menjadi istri Gus Ashraf. Pada akhirnya ketegaran hati Ara menerima kenyataan dan menjalankan kehidupan dengan ikhlas dibantu kekuatan doanya setiap malam mampu menggetarkan cinta Gus Ashraf untuknya meski membutuhkan waktu yang tidak sebentar. Komunikasi dua arah menjadi kunci bagi mereka untuk saling melupakan masa lalunya.

Selesai.

[wanjikusblog]

A different construction of history.

Leila Aboulela, Sudanese-Egyptian economist and statistician turned fiction writer.

Last year, the Macondo Literary Festival embarked on a mission to curate and represent various aspects of the African journey through literature by featuring such writers as Abdulai Silá of Guinea Bissau, Patrice Nganang of Cameroon who doubles as a human rights activist, British writer Hafsa Zayyan, not to mention 2021 Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah.

This year, the Macondo Festival is whetting literary appetites with the promise of hosting none other than acclaimed Sudanese-Egyptian writer Leila Aboulela. What's more, Aboulela will be discussing her latest book "River Spirit." Published in March this year, "River Spirit" has been described as a coming of age novel. And in it, Aboulela parallels the life and vicissitudes of the novel's main protagonist with Sudan's 19th century struggle for self determination.

The physical and emotional displacements of Akuany, a Southern Sudanese girl who's been uprooted from her village in Malakal are used as the backdrop against which Aboulela trots out at least four main characters across the turbulent but rich tapestry of Sudanese history.

And make no mistake, modern Sudanese history has seen it all— from Turco-Egyptian occupation, to the Madhists uprising, to French incursion, to British occupation, to independence from the British, and most recently the partitioning of Sudan into Arab North and Christian or Animist South.

Suffice it to say that Aboulela has always had a penchant for delving into the depths of African history. She has previously teased out the theme of displacement as a result of colonialism, an effort that won her the 2000 Caine Prize for African writing.

Indeed, Aboulela’s Caine Prize winning short story "The Museum" uses the displacement of inanimate artifacts from their original cultural environment, and juxtaposes that displacement with the displacement of peoples from their physical environment or their cultural milieu. Seen behind a museum case, artifacts are labelled in the dominant voice of the colonizer, similar to an African history that's largely been chronicled in the colonizer's voice.

For those who'll be lucky enough to meet her at the Macondo lit fest, here's a snippet of what to expect. Aboulela recently sat down for an interview with Pan-African magazine 'African Arguments,' and shed more light on her quest to recast African history through her novel that's set against the 1884 siege of Khartoum.

________________

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: First, warm congratulations on yet another literary milestone. We would love to know how you came to write this book. Could you tell us about its genesis?

LEILA ABOULELA: I grew up in Khartoum. Our house was about 4km away from the palace on the Blue Nile where, in 1884, an embattled General Charles Gordon used to stand on the roof, looking out with his telescope, desperate for the arrival of the British relief expedition. Khartoum was under siege by the armies of the Mahdi and that thrilling story with its tragic ending is something that has always enthralled me. Knowing the location well and studying the history in school and university, made it a familiar backdrop against which I could set my novel. The very initial idea for River Spirit was of a young man from Edinburgh who becomes fascinated by the vernacular architecture of colonial Sudan. He paints the Nile and starts to dress like a native. When he sketches the wife of a tribal chief and the drawing is discovered, his career and safety are in jeopardy. I ended up deviating quite far from this original idea. As I was writing, the woman in the drawing/ painting took centre stage, and the artist no longer became the main character.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: The book centres on Akuany, an orphaned girl who is sold into slavery. Where did your inspiration for her character come from?

ABOULELA: In the Sudan Archives at Durham university, I found a bill of sale for a woman called Zamzam. I was shocked by this discovery. I knew that slavery existed in nineteenth century Sudan, but to hold in my hand a bill of sale, with an actual monetary figure and the names of the people involved, was quite startling. I also found a petition detailing the case of an enslaved woman who had escaped with a stolen item of clothing from her mistress. She had gone back to her former master, and it was against him that the petition was raised. I found this situation intriguing and complex enough for me to want to fill in the gaps with fiction. I started researching East African slavery, the extent of it, how it differed from the transatlantic West Coast slavery and how nineteenth century Sudan was a gateway to the lucrative markets of Cairo and Istanbul.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: Akuany isn’t the book’s only female voice – other characters include Fatimah, Yaseen’s mother, and his wife, Salha. It’s refreshing to have so many female voices on a period that we usually only hear through the voices of men. Could you talk a little about this?

ABOULELA: Unfortunately, women are merely footnotes in the historical records. I had to dig and pick up threads here and there. Certainly, I never found a first-person account from a woman’s perspective. Throughout the Mahdist wars, women accompanied the army. They cooked, nursed and set up market stalls every step of the way. They also played a part in espionage, gathering data and passing it on – this inspired the role played by Yaseen’s mother in the novel. I was also excited to discover that the Mahdi had sent a woman ambassador to the Khartoum palace. I also used that in the novel.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: As popular interest in the historical novel in Africa grows, what are your thoughts on its future in African fiction?

ABOULELA: Mainstream history has been written by the coloniser. This is their truth. It is time for us to tell ours. When Africans write history, we are not necessarily saying something about the world today. Much of the motivation comes from wanting to tell our side of the story. I am more excited by African historical novels than by any other genre. At the moment, Africa’s encounter with Europe is the focus of much historical fiction. Perhaps in the future, writers will move away from this and delve into the even deeper past before European colonialism. There is a rich, fascinating history that needs to be told.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: Could you please share your experience of researching and writing this novel? While a number of the central characters were actual historical figures, were the other major characters purely invented, are they composites of individuals you encountered during your research, or are they stand-in figures perhaps for individuals you did not want to name?

ABOULELA: None are stand-in individuals. The actual historical figures were the Mahdi, Gordon, Sheikh Amin Al-Darir and Rabiha. Much has been written about the Mahdi and even more about Gordon and there were his journals too. So apart from conjuring up Gordon’s voice, there was a large amount of material to work with – and that posed a challenge too because I had to be selective. On the contrary, there was very little on Al-Darir, head of the Khartoum ulema, so I depended on my imagination. Rabiha appears in the historical records as a footnote – the woman who overheard a conversation as she was herding her goats and then ran through the night to warn the revolutionaries about the government’s intended attack. She is mentioned time and again in every record but with little detail. I enjoyed fleshing her out and elevating her position through my imagination.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: Could you tell us more about the concept of the ‘Mahdi’ in Islam?

ABOULELA: The Mahdi is not mentioned in the Qur’an. He is, though, described in great detail in many of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, the Hadith. He is described as the Expected Redeemer, the Rightly Guided One, who would, close to the end of Time, bring justice and prosperity after years of earthquakes, tyranny and oppression. His name would be Muhammed Abdullah, he would rule for seven or eight prosperous years and during these years many of the imminent signs that herald the end of the world will take place. Throughout the history of Islam, around thirty men claimed to be the Expected Mahdi.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: You speak of having grown up 4km from Gordon’s Palace. Are there any other elements of your family’s history in the novel?

ABOULELA: My great grandfather was an immigrant from the south of Egypt, and he was an employee in the colonial government. He was staunchly opposed to the Mahdi in every possible way. When the Mahdi and his army entered Omdurman, my great grandfather dug a pit in his yard and hid his five daughters there because he was afraid they would be raped. I used the idea of the pit in the novel but to hide a man rather than young girls!

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: Given your reliance on the colonial archive, do you believe it is important to widen access especially to Western archives for writers who do not have access to records of their own history? We ask this in the light of the current artefacts restitution campaign. While its target is looted African artefacts, the bulk of the colonial documentary archive was carted off to imperial capitals at the end of the colonial era and remains largely inaccessible to Africans on the continent. Is there a need for a similar restitutive campaign targeting the colonial archive?

ABOULELA: Because I am bilingual, I did not need to rely solely on the archives found in Britain. Half of my research was dependent on Arabic records. Even though some of these primary sources had been translated into English and I read English faster, I read them in the original Arabic. They are brilliant because they expose ordinary people’s day to day lives during these wars. Through them I was able to learn about the texture of life at the time, how people ate, travelled, communicated, their expectations and anxieties. In answer to your question, I believe it is important to widen access and a restitutive campaign is justified. I would also stress the issue of records written in mother tongues and translations because it is within these local languages that the primary African perspective resides. It is shocking for example that one of my most valued primary sources, The Memoirs of Babiker Badri (born in 1861), written in Arabic and widely published in Sudan, is out of print in its English translation. And even that translation, carried out in the early 1960s can do with some freshening up. This is a vital African text and yet it is not widely accessible due to the issue of translation. I am sure there are other texts too, written in African languages, that need to be translated and published.

AFRICAN ARGUMENTS: Finally, we are eager to hear more about your research into slavery in the old Ottoman Empire that tyrannised much of East Africa and the Horn. What is its enduring legacy in the region, its hinterlands and diasporas?

ABOULELA: To my surprise, I did not find abundant resources on East Coast Slavery. It is definitely an area that needs to be further researched. Ironically after decades of active engagement in the trans-Atlantic slavery, Britain launched a passionate attack on the Ottoman/Arab/Egyptian slave trade. Suppressing it became a reason for British expansion and the subsequent colonisation of Sudan. As a result, much that was written about the Ottoman slave trade is laden with a righteous European indignation that was intent on justifying the need for colonial expansion in order to suppress the brutal East Coast slave trade. When people think of slavery, they are likely to think of the long Atlantic passage and the plantation culture accompanied by deep systematic racism. The East Coast slave experience was different. Capitalism was not the driving force of the Arabs and Ottomans. Instead, they mostly enslaved men for military service and women for domestic labour. You ask about the legacy. When I read about the Sudanese child soldiers recruited by Saudi Arabia for their war in Yemen, and the Ethiopian maids abused in Lebanon, my blood runs cold.

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