ASHURA: THIS BLOOD SPILLED IN MY VEINS

The book ASHURA: THIS BLOOD SPILLED IN MY VEINS speaks about a torture memory.

Ashura This Blood Spilled in My Veins
Ashura This Blood Spilled in My Veins1.jpg
AuthorJalal Toufic
LanguageEnglish
Published2015
PublisherForthcoming Books
Pages107

About the authorEdit

Jalal Toufic (March 22, 1962) is a Lebanese artist, filmmaker, and author of various publications. Born to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother, he has lived in Lebanon for about seventeen years, and his work often reflects his heritage. He is co-publisher and co-editor, with Gilbert Hage, of Underexposed Books. He has BA (American University of Beirut), MA (New York University), PhD (Northwestern University).

About the bookEdit

This book published in Forthcoming Books; 1st edition (July 22, 2005), has 107 pages. It contains a large number of photos of a special type of mourning for the martyrs of Karbala, and the author examines this special type.

Abstract of chaptersEdit

Chapter 1: Ashura; or, Torturous Memory as a Condition of Possibility of an Unconditional PromiseEdit

The author talks about forgetfulness and the permanence of memory as a principle, and then examines the reasons for persistence. He extends this principle to Ashura in this way:

"The memory that the ceremony of Ashura is trying to maintain is not only or mainly that of the past, but the memory of the future, that of the promise of the coming of the Mahdi, the Shi‘ite messiah, as well as the corresponding  promise of Twelver Shi‘ites to wait for him."

Chapter 2: This Blood Spilled in My VeinsEdit

This chapter contains bloody photos of that particular type of mourning mentioned in the book description section.

Chapter 3: MartyrsEdit

In this chapter, the author explains and interprets the word martyr and in this regard, examines the conjunction of witnessing and death. He goes on to name the killings and bombings that have taken place in various places and condemns them, whether they are imitations or not.

Chapter 4: Posthumous MartyrsEdit

In this chapter, the author collects a number of photos of prominent martyrs for thinking about this slogan:

"Photographs are a way of preservation against death, but what would that way of preservation matter if in order to see them with a piercing sight, one that goes through so many veils, one would have to be already dead."

SourceEdit