said...
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basit said...
sorry for being a stickler on this, but - define sufi?
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said...
more importantly, what does the sufi identity thing have to do with the picture?
:)
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basit said...
(: yes.
i have been wondering about this some more: the 911 is either the western emergency number or else a 09/11/01-type reminder.
either way, it still makes no sense.
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The Wayward Seeker said...
Could be some sort of culture jam"? Yes...I know that most of these things are often restricted to commercial cultural outlets (billboards, advertisements etc.) but jammers have been known to jam on government related buildings, ads, signs and so on (especially in hardcore governments such as Egypt). Then again, it could just be some sort of public stunt, viral ad campaign or Arab randomness. Sure does look cool though.
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said...
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said...
I know it had nothing to do with it but I was looking at your links on the side and I saw "focus on the truth" and Sunni Path under which is a sufi site.. so I was just wondering
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basit said...
ahmed - no man, i mean look at it. big red hearts! with 911 in the middle!
fathima - yes.
also, i'm still stuck on the fact malls are private property. that also makes no sense. tis a nonsensical world.
anon - ah indeed. well, still, define sufi?
& do i know you? your ip's somewhere in edmonton.
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said...
So here's my attempt at a breakdown.
The masha Allah is an attempt to ward of all those wandering evil eyes.
And it was Valentine's Day, hence the hearts.
And I've heard of Arab kids saying things like "I'm yadribing." (I make it sound worse, even when I'm just typing it.) I know there's a term for it, this particular mix of Arabic and English. So in that context, the transliterated City Centre sort of makes sense.
But then 911.
Stumps me.
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basit said...
...i now know why it is there, actually.
the nine is there because of the nine mayan galactic monsters (otherwise known as the lords of time).
and the eleven then is simple - we are told in deuteronomy 1:2 that "there are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea".
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said...
Assalamu 3alaikum,
The term that I know for mixing Arabic and English together (as used by some small children and sadly some adults) is "3arabeezee" (coming from "3arabee" and "ingleezee")
Have any of you thought that perhaps 911 is the building number? Allahu A3lam, this maybe something that is catagorized under "3ilmun laa yanfa3" (knowledge that serves no benefit).
Please keep me in your du'a.
Assalamu 3alaikum.
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basit said...
wa 'alaykumussalam belal,
i know what you mean about it possibly being 'ilmun la yanfa, but i don't think i meant to focus on this building specifically.. it's just a very good example for a wider problem. ie. i find what has happened to traditional cultures as they bump up against colonialism and modernity very sad, and this is a prime, very blatant example of this. ie. cultures which were dynamic and rich and organic and so on are being cheapened, they cross-dress in an attempt to seem cool, and end up being sorry imitations of wrong models, and lose whatever truth they once held. it's happened all over the world, but in many muslim countries is the most obvious.
(references to mayan galactic monsters were meant as irony, to give some deeper significance to something which doesn't seem to have any.)
as for it being the building number...i don't think so. (: sorry, but that explanation just doesn't do it.
wasalam,
b
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