“A Threadbare Prayer Mat”: Sufi Poetry and the Textures of Everyday Life in Kurdistan by Joseph Andrew Bush A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland January, 2014 © 2014 Joseph Andrew Bush All Rights Reserved Abstract This dissertation examines the ways of living available to Kurdish Muslims who disown pietistic forms of religiosity even as they read and recite the Sufi poetry that is associated with devotional practice in Islam. Based on ethnographic and archival research in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, I trace the appearance of fragments of poetry within the context of ongoing relationships between Muslims of diverging religious orientation. Three ethnographic chapters take up conversations with Muslims who defer or dismiss invitations from their family to a committed practice of Islam. Analyzing the poetry that appears in these conversations and illuminating the context of ongoing relationships with kin and intimate friends, I describe the paradoxes by which Muslims express attractions and attachments to Islam even as they spurn committed practice. I argue that everyday life is a space that receives and transforms discourses of secularization and pietism while simultaneously sustaining different orientations that are often marked by ambivalence or skepticism. Each of these three chapters examines the ways of living and ethical orientations available to Muslims who are derelict in the performance of religious duties. Chapter Four is a reading of epistolary letters of one of Kurdistan’s most famous Sufi scholars: Mawlana Khalid Naqshbandi (d. 1827). With special attention to the appearance of poetic fragments, I examine the Arabic and Persian texts of letters that Mawlana Khalid sent to disciples, friends, teachers and political authorities. In light of the pains of physical separation and the threats besieging the integrity of the Muslim community, I suggest that the letters are part of an effort to sustain proper intimate relations between Muslims. I argue that insofar as poetry in the epistolary letters animates relationships under threat of separation, those letters may be part of a possible genealogy for contemporary Kurdish Muslims who sustain intimate relations with more ii pious kin. Throughout the dissertation, I examine the texture of difference and abiding uncertainties that accompany ongoing relationships in everyday life in Kurdistan. Within that space, fragments of poetry continue to animate relationships that are marked by different orientations to Islam. iii Acknowledgements “It is difficult to begin without borrowing but perhaps it is the most generous course thus to permit your fellow-men to have an interest in your enterprise.” I borrowed many an axe for this enterprise. Having spent almost 3 years in what is now called the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, my gratitude extends to many in Suleimani, Hewler, Hawreman, Kirkuk and other locales. The friends who have welcomed me and supported me in my research are too many to name. I hope they may see in this work something of the hospitality they have shown me. Among those whom I may identify without naming are my research assistant, my teacher in Mahwy, my ustadh in Arabic, the original fashul, and my fîl. Among those I must name are Dr. Nizar Amin of the University of Suleimani, whose encouragement was as precious as his generous hospitality, Dr. Ali Said at the University of Suleimani, Muhammadi Melekerim, Mamosta Sheikh Muhammad Ali Qaradaghi, whose guidance in the archives of Kurdish poetry was irreplaceable, Assos Hardi, and the Jeneralî Payz. I treasure my memories of Ahlam, Awat, Irfan, and Taha. My advisor Veena Das has modeled unflinching rigor, acumen, and creativity throughout my days of graduate study. Naveeda Khan’s fine-tuned sensitivity to newness and difference helped shape this project from its first, stuttering, moments to its present state. Niloofar Haeri opened up a broad range of literatures and set me on the task of counting the appearances of poetry in everyday life that became the organizing scheme for this dissertation. Early in the stages of writing, I found through conversation with Yitzhak Melamed the courage to press on with a certain sensibility attuned to the paradoxes of faith and living. After all the writing was iv done, Jean McGarry kindly joined my examination committee and showed me much about my writing that I had not seen. Other teachers at Johns Hopkins include Jane Guyer, who often reminded me to take stock of what I’d already done, and Pamela Reynolds, who provided a small table in her office where I heard a steady call to examine myself. Coursework and conversations with William Connolly, Jane Bennett, and their students inspired me with care and creativity in approaching philosophical texts. Long walks with Anand Pandian were good exercise for my imagination and short chats with Clara Han kept me on my toes. Fenella Cannell insisted I attend to the truth of poetry. Laura A. Lewis offered much wise counsel. I count Aaron Goodfellow and Sylvain Perdigon among my best teachers. For generous readings of particular chapters and conference papers I thank my colleagues from the Department of Anthropology Caroline Block, Urmila Nair, Vaibhav Saria, Brian Tilley, and especially Amrita Ibrahim. Hester Betlem, Neena Mahadev, and Sidharthan Maunaguru were there from beginning to end. Early in my studies I learned much from Thomas Cousins, Bican Polat, Maya Ratnam, Bhrigupati Singh, and James Williams. Later in my studies I learned from Serra Hakyemez, Laura-Zoe Humphreys, Bridget Kustin, Citlalli Reyes, and Chitra Venkataramani. Beyond anthropology, the companionship of Tarek Dika, Jeroen Gerrits, Hitomi Koyama, Dot Kewk, and Mariam Mufti were precious. For his patience and humility in answering my stammering questions in Persian, I am indebted to Arash Abazari. Hossein Badamchi shared with me many years of companionship that tuned my heart and mind in subtle ways to the pitch of Persian v poetry. Others in and of Charm City who supported me with their friendship and creativity are Lauren Bender, Anne-Marie Johnson, Christine Sajecki and Joseph Young. From further away, David Cook, Maura Finkelstein, Kiti Kajana and Anna Mitchell have been the most steady of friends. Michael Chyet has been kind and generous in sharing his knowledge of, and passion for, Kurdish and other languages. Diane King was a constant companion in thinking and rethinking the task of fieldwork in Kurdistan. I have learned from conversations with Amir Hassanpour and Butrus Abu-Manneh. Michael Leezenberg and Martin van Bruinessen appeared in Kurdistan in April 2009 and gave a boon to my research in the few days they shared with me. Professor van Bruinessen has continued to offer encouragement for the chapter on Mawlana Khalid. In the final throes of writing that chapter, my acquaintance with Metin Atmaca could not have come at a better time. Administrators in the Department of Anthropology—Daphne, Sharron, Becky, Vini, Melody, Clarissa, and above all Richard Helman—have run a tight ship and kept me afloat. The Interlibrary Loan Staff at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins amazed me with their resourcefulness and reliability. My dear sister, Ellen C. Bush, proofread the final draft in what was just another demonstration of her constatnt love and care. My parents, Joe and Nina Bush, never wavered in their love for me, nor in their confidence and support for me in this enterprise. Research for this dissertation was supported by a Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation, as well as Doctoral Dissertation vi Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. Preliminary research was supported by the Department of Anthropology, the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality, and the Institute for Global Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Parts of the dissertation were also presented at various conferences, and I have to thank Steve Caton, Emma Flatt, Ziad Fahmy, and especially Khaled Furani for their comments. I hope to return these axes sharper than I received them—some in this work, some in others to come. vii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents viii Notes on Translation and Transliteration x Glossary xi Introduction: Poetic Fragments and the Textures of Everyday Life in Kurdistan 1 Fragments of Mewlewi’s Poetry A Study of Poetry & Islam in Kurdistan “A Threadbare Prayer Mat” Research & Writing The Chapters Chapter One: “God becomes a lover”: A Husband’s Desire 43 The Infinity of Desire Tayer Beg, Khayyam, Imam Ali Shaykh San’an and Majnun: An Impossible Desire Qur’an Audition and the Persistence of Desire Mahwy: “God becomes a lover” Chapter Two: “There was no fasting in Zoroastrianism”: A Daughter Learns Beauty 75 A Method for Beauty Scenes of Instruction Qur’an audition (and a hadith about it) Fasting with Zardasht and Khayyam Chapter Three: “Right now, I should go pray”: A Father’s Pleasures 109 Pleasures of Poetry Ethics and Pleasure The Pleasures of Family Two Conversations and Five Figures Two Texts on Pleasure and Prayer Conclusion viii Chapter Four: “To Mend What is Torn”: The Letters of Mawlana Khalid Naqshbandi 152 A Possible Genealogy The Language of Epistolary Correspondence Mawlana Khalid Reconciliation Scents and Sounds of Himmat Swimming for Pearls: the Hidden in Language A Virtue of Perception: Husn and Ihsan Conclusion Conclusion 195 Bibliography 201 Curriculum Vita 210 ix Notes on Translation and Transliteration This dissertation engages sources published in Sorani Kurdish, Persian, and Arabic, as well as extensive excerpts from interviews and ordinary speech in Sorani Kurdish. Unless otherwise noted, all translations are mine. For Arabic and Persian sources, I use the system of transliteration given by the International Journal of Middle East Studies with the exceptions that ’ayn is indicated by ’, ghayn is indicated by gh, shîn is indicated by sh, and I have omitted diacritics on all consonants.