{"id":5,"date":"2014-11-06T02:18:23","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T02:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/paladino\/?p=5"},"modified":"2014-11-06T02:27:37","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T02:27:37","slug":"creative-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/2014\/11\/06\/creative-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Response to Iqbal&#8217;s &#8220;Complaint and Answer&#8221; to tune of &#8220;Jerusalem&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-5-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/paladino\/files\/2014\/11\/islamciv178creativeprojectcomplaintandanswer-31.m4a?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/paladino\/files\/2014\/11\/islamciv178creativeprojectcomplaintandanswer-31.m4a\">http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/paladino\/files\/2014\/11\/islamciv178creativeprojectcomplaintandanswer-31.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>Michael Paladino<br \/>\nIslamic Civilizations 178<br \/>\nCreative Response to The Complaint and Answer<br \/>\nNovember 5, 2014<\/p>\n<p>An Imperial Response<\/p>\n<p>For my creative response, I decided to sing a rendition of selected verses from The Complaint and Answer by Muhammad Iqbal to the tune of the hymn Jerusalem, which is considered a British Imperial Anthem and patriotic song of England.<br \/>\nI felt this mash-up was fitting for several reasons: First, it happens to be a staple in the repertoire of my acapella group, the Krokodiloes, so I know it very well and it means a lot to me \u2013 in fact, verses 2 and 4 in the recording mimic the bass line of the song when sung in harmony. More importantly, however, the song has many themes that relate to the circumstance and themes around which The Complaint and Answer was written. The original lyrics Jerusalem, written during the height of the British Empire during the late 19th\/early 20th century, suggest that a New Jerusalem, here representing the idea of heaven, will be built in England, indicating that England is God\u2019s chosen land as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Combined with language of aggression such as \u201cspear,\u201d \u201cchariot of fire,\u201d \u201carrows,\u201d and \u201csword,\u201d the hymn as a whole can be construed as an anthem for British Imperial Rule, indicating that England is the chosen place and people of God and is therefore a justified and righteous conqueror.<br \/>\nOn the other side of the same coin is The Complaint and Answer, which was written by Iqbal during the same time period in response to the loss of Muslim rule in South Asia at the hands of the British and the West in general. The \u201cComplainer\u201d of the poem complains to God about the loss of Muslim power to the West, and asks why He would forsake the chosen people, the Muslims, while rewarding the infidels. This mode of thinking is not very far off from the philosophy of Jerusalem: both works assert that a particular group, either Muslims or the English, are God\u2019s chosen people, and as such they are justified in having and indeed deserve to have political and military power on Earth. Historically, both British colonial rule and the Muslim empire-building were justified using arguments along this vein \u2013 by conquering others in the name of spreading their faith, they claimed to \u201csave\u201d or \u201cenlighten\u201d their subjects. Thus, I find striking similarities in the rationale behind both the Muslim and British takeover of South Asia, and considering that the former lost power to the latter, I find it fitting that the Muslims\u2019 lament in The Complaint and Answer be represented by a British song that encapsulates that self-aggrandizing imperial philosophy.<br \/>\nThe recording itself showcases a call-and-response pattern of song, in which the first verse is sung by the \u201cComplainer,\u201d to which the \u201cAnswerer\u201d responds with the second verse, and so on. I selected verses that particularly emulated the themes of Jerusalem: The first verse describes how Muslims did God\u2019s work by spreading Islam through military strength, to places such as Europe and Africa; However, the second verse\u2019s response holds that, indeed, the Muslims of old conquered the lands and worshipped God to spread Islam, but they are not the same as the current Muslims, who expect to reap the rewards of political power without putting forth the effort and dedication of their forefathers. The third verse is a rebuttal from the \u201cComplainer,\u201d now asking why infidels are rewarded while God\u2019s chosen people, Muslims, are subjugated; to this, the fourth verse answers that even if infidels live like a true Muslim, such as being virtuous, praying to God, etc., they still \u201cmerit Faith\u2019s reward.\u201d This suggests that Muslims do not automatically earn or deserve anything just for calling themselves Muslim, but rather they must actively live by God\u2019s will and worship Islam in the proper sense, to work towards the reward of power rather than expect it. Finally, in the 5th verse the \u201cComplainer\u201d essentially asks God to show the way to Him, and thus the way to regain power on Earth by carrying out Islam in a proper and just way; the answer in verse 6 holds that Islam has no boundaries on Earth, and if Muslims finally get their act together, they can regain prominence. In the actual singing, I tried as best as possible to convey a weaker tone of voice in the \u201cComplainer\u201d verses, and a stronger, lower, admonishing voice in the \u201cAnswer\u201d verses, to suggest that the complainer is whiny and self-entitled in asking why he has no more power.<br \/>\nIn the end I found this a very fulfilling way to get across Iqbal\u2019s message in The Complaint and Answer: As Iqbal suggests, by merely expecting power to continue as usual, Muslims went astray from their perceived path as virtuous and just rulers, and therefore found themselves ruled by what is essentially their own imperial philosophy through the British. Thus, in seeking only power rather than seeking God and true faith, they lost that power. Truly, in looking at history, that sort of outlook in conquering people in the name of making the world a better place never holds up for very long \u2013 both the Muslim empires and the British Empire eventually ended. However, due to the true believers and carriers of faith, religions such as Islam have lasted for centuries upon centuries. Perhaps something can be learned from the \u201cAnswerer\u201d of Iqbal\u2019s work, as it would appear that true virtue and faith better withstands the test of time than false rationalization.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<br \/>\nOriginal Text of the hymn, Jerusalem, often regarded as an anthem of Imperial Britain:<\/p>\n<p>And did those feet in ancient time<br \/>\nWalk upon England&#8217;s mountains green?<br \/>\nAnd was the Holy Lamb of God<br \/>\nOn England&#8217;s pleasant pastures seen?<br \/>\nAnd did the countenance divine<br \/>\nShine forth upon our clouded hills?<br \/>\nAnd was Jerusalem builded here<br \/>\nAmong these dark satanic mills.<\/p>\n<p>Bring me my bow of burning gold!<br \/>\nBring me my arrows of desire!<br \/>\nBring me my spear! O Clouds unfold!<br \/>\nBring me my chariot of fire!<br \/>\nI will not cease from mental fight<br \/>\nNor shall my sword sleep in my hand<br \/>\nTill we have built Jerusalem<br \/>\nIn England&#8217;s green and pleasant land!<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Selected text from Iqbal\u2019s Complaint and Answer, corresponding to the recording:<\/p>\n<p>It was we and we alone who marched,<br \/>\nThy soldiers to the fight,<br \/>\nNow upon the land engaging, now<br \/>\nEmbattled on the sea,<br \/>\nThe triumphant Call to Prayer in<br \/>\nEurope\u2019s churches to recite,<br \/>\nThrough the wastes of Africa to<br \/>\nSummon men to worship thee. (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 8)<\/p>\n<p>\u2026Who redeemed the human species<br \/>\nfrom the chains of slavery?<br \/>\nClutching to their fervent bosoms the<br \/>\nQuran in ecstasy?<br \/>\nWho were they? They were your<br \/>\nFathers; as for now, why, what are<br \/>\nYou,<br \/>\nSquatting snug, serenely waiting for<br \/>\nto-morrow to come true? (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 47)<\/p>\n<p>But that infidels should own the<br \/>\nhouris and the palaces \u2013 ah woe!<br \/>\nWhile wretched Muslims must with<br \/>\nPromises contended be.<br \/>\nNow no more for us Thy favours and<br \/>\nThy old benevolence \u2013<br \/>\nHow and wherefore is Thy pristine<br \/>\nKindliness departed hence? (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 18)<\/p>\n<p>Did you say that Muslims must with<br \/>\nPromises contended be?<br \/>\nThat is a complaint unfounded, and<br \/>\nBy commonsense abhorred;<br \/>\nThe Creator\u2019s law is justice, out of<br \/>\nall eternity \u2013<br \/>\nInfidels who live like Muslims surely<br \/>\nmerit Faith\u2019s reward. (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 48)<\/p>\n<p>Far from the commotioned meadow<br \/>\nWe sit silently and dream,<br \/>\nDream, Thy lovers, of Thy coming,<br \/>\nand the cry of \u201cHe, the King!\u201d<br \/>\nReawaken in Thy moths the eager<br \/>\njoy to be aflame,<br \/>\nBid again the ancient lightnings brand<br \/>\nOur bosoms with Thy name! (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 27)<\/p>\n<p>From the dust of a fixed homeland is<br \/>\nThy skirt forever free,<br \/>\nThou a Jospeh art whose Canaan is in<br \/>\nevery Egypt found; (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 64)<br \/>\nBe thou faithful to Muhammad, and<br \/>\nWe yield Ourself to thee;<br \/>\nNot this world alone \u2013 the Tablet and<br \/>\nThe Pen thy prize shall be. (Iqbal, trans. Arberry, page 72)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Paladino Islamic Civilizations 178 Creative Response to The Complaint and Answer November 5, 2014 An Imperial Response For my creative response, I decided to sing a rendition of selected verses from The Complaint and Answer by Muhammad Iqbal to the tune of the hymn Jerusalem, which is considered a British Imperial Anthem and patriotic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7097,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7097"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions\/10"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/paladino\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}