devotional zikr
(Arabic: ذِكْر; to remember, to repeat)
001a - Baba Ottawa
Being removed from my motherland, I have the need to understand my maternal & paternal lineage. What was my grandfather‘ vocation? What were his religious and political opinions? Sahar & I have been recording Baba as he recounts stories of war & peace throughout his life.
001b - monolithic Venice
Mama got on the DNA testing #trend. She got: 33.9% West Asian, 30.2% Middle Eastern, 24.9% Sephardic Jewish, 8.3% South Asian, 2.7% North African. I used the test results as an excuse to go to Southern Spain (Andulus). In Cordoba, I swam in the roof-top-pool of the hostel and the next day we took a tour of the Mezquita-Catedral.
001c - doorway Harlem
Islam follows a lunar calendar. That’s why Ramadan 2020 starts on April 23rd. I should call Mama & tell her about the green oil lamp I found at the Persian vintage shop near my place.
001d - double exposureToronto
Dina, the Prophet & my roommate, predicted a death.
001e - friends in motion
Venice
001f - hospital gardenVenice
001g - just like in the moviesBeacon
I’ve been experiencing the reverence of pleasure & its links to nature, and my female body as an extension. Peris said she’s vegan-curious. I’m pescetrain-ish. Until this day, my mom doesn’t cook or eat fish on Sabit because in Baghdad, the fishmongers were Jewish.
001i - front lawnToronto
001j- front lawn (2)Beacon
001k - Kanika in New YorkManhattan
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee is the name of the sufi mystic I found with the help of Oprah & youtube. I like his philosophy and approach to secular faith. He says this about Earth: a living, beautiful being who has given us life, nourished us with Her endless generosity...which our culture regards as just a “resource” for our endless greed and desires.
You & you & you, were greedy and depleted me out of my hope to love and be loved.
001l - haircut
Toronto
Toronto