Spectator refuse my "poem"
A week or so ago, in response to Stephen Schwartz's screed in the Spectator, I wrote the magazine a letter as well as the article I posted here. The editor decided to print two letters, one of them an approving one from Sam Mukerji, alleging that "in Jammu and Kashmir, innocent shepherds have been slaughtered in their thousands, only because they were Hindus, in order to terrify the rest of the population and force them to run for the plains", with Musharraf's support, and another from Tony Carroll suggesting that the government set up a Muslim seminary here as they did for Irish Catholics in Maynooth in the 19th century.
There were no letters printed from Muslims objecting to Schwartz's hatchet job on Shaikh Hamza Yusuf or any other Muslim shaikh. However, apparently in response to my letter, they sent a postcard to my house stating the following:
The Poetry Editor thanks you for your poem but regrets he is unable to publish it.
I don't recall deliberately trying to make my letter rhyme or scan. It's in paragraphs, and the words wrap when they reach the end of a line, rather than the lines ending after the requisite number of syllables. How did the Poetry Editor get his hands on it?
Comments
Bro, take it as a compliment. Your words are like music to my ears, and poetry to the Spectator's!
Posted by: Osama Saeed | August 30, 2006 1:05 AM
Yusuf,
Do you know the name of the old skool scholar from Baghdad? He wrote explainations of books on fiqh and aqidah in poetic form. Can you believe it? My husband told me that Shiekul Islam (rahimuhullah) was often let out of prison in Egypt to refute Christians scholars. Strange huh?
Anyway brother I need to change the resolution on my mac. How can I do that? I hope I am asking the right question. When i go on websites the words are so small. As I am typing now I can barely see.
Second question who is Shahid Malik? I've heard some things about him, I think he might be cool. What ya think?
Salaam.....
Posted by: bikhair aka taqiyyah | August 31, 2006 9:09 AM
As-Salaamu 'alaikum,
I'm not sure who you mean by "the old skool scholar from Baghdad". There were numerous scholars from Baghdad. Which one do you mean?
As for the resolution on your Mac: it's in System Preferences (either in the blue apple menu at the top left, or with the grey apple logo in your dock). There should be a display section in the system prefs menu.
Shahid Malik: a British Muslim MP.
Posted by: Yusuf Smith
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August 31, 2006 9:49 AM
LOL!!! That's really funny.
I agree with Osama Saeed that you definitely should take it as a compliment.
Either there's been a mixup or they really did think your letter was a poem. In order for us to decide, please post up the letter.
It would make my day to see the unwitting poem.
Posted by: Electric | September 1, 2006 2:59 AM