Rare photograph of jailed Jordanian poet Islam Samhan

October 23, 2008

by Suzan Abrams in Dublin

Here is a rare photograph of the now 27 year old jailed poet Islam Samhan in an earlier reflective mood.

The photograph was sent to me this morning by Samhan's boss, Hada Sarhan, a well-known journalist in Jordan who now works for the Arabic Alarab Alyawm newspaper with subscriptions all over the Middle-East. Sarhan described Samhan as "such a nice unassuming man" to have worked with. His colleagues are fighting for his release.

Please note that the copyright of this photograph belongs to Hada Sarhan's personal records.

Samhan has been arrested for his forbidden verses in Grace like a Shadow which incorporated Koran imagery into romantic discourses. This was viewed sternly by Jordan's highest religious mufti and a fatwa was issue against Samhan was declared an enemy of the State for insulting Islam. For more details, please read my last 2 entries below this post.

State funeral planned for Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish

by Suzan Abrams

A state funeral is being planned for the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish in the West Bank on Tuesday, an honour previously given only to PLO leader Yasser Arafat. The master poet, Darwish famed for his elegant voice on the sufferings of the Palestinians and who touched Arab readers everywhere with his raw verses that singled out the Palestinian cause, died of complications after heart surgery in a hospital in Houston Texas on Saturday. He was 67. Already, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared three days of national mourning and candlelight vigils with poetry readings, have been held throughout the Palestinian Territories. Although Darwish's poetic messages were stoutly ignored by Israel, yet many of his contemporary works were translated into the Hebrew.

The poetry of Mahmoud Darwish:

Under Siege,
I Come from There,
Psalm 9,
Psalm Three,
We Will Not Be Unremembered.


Photo Credit: Picture of candlelight vigil, courtesy of Reuters - Fadi Arouri