Mem û Zîn Analytical Study*: Part II, Ahmadi Khani’s Prologues – Introduction

By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli:

Ahmadi Khani

Ahmadi Khani

‘Love and Existence: Analytical Study of Ahmadi Khani’s Tragedy of Mem û Zîn’

Part II    Ahmadi Khani’s Prologues

  •  Introduction
  • Chapter 1: Khani’s theory of Kurdish nationalism
  • Chapter 2: Khani on Mem û Zîn

Introduction

Mem û Zîn is a self-conscious work. Khani knows what he is doing, how he is writing his book and what he wants to say and achieve. This kind of self-consciousness almost always produces theoretical and philosophical discourses. But Khani’s work is more than this. In fact through his own self-explanation he provides us with various guides to read his text or rather texts and delve into their depths, directions and dimension

Khani’s work has three prologues: the first one is a religious one in two parts. The first part is a Praise of God in which he states his own ideas of God, creation and universe. The second part is a veneration of the prophet Mohammad. In this part he further elaborates his understanding of the Quran, Islam and the position of the prophet in the Quranic theology.

I am not going to conduct a textual analysis of this part. But I will refer to it when I will talk about Khani’s theosophical ideas in the second part of this study.

The second prologue is his unique, and thus famous, nationalist discourse. Here, in much detail, Khani explains the external factor or motive that made him produce his work in Kurdish and for his Kurdish people. I will analyse this section and reconstruct his discourse based on an analysis of his own words, terms and ideas coupled with the literal translation of almost all the verses related to this part.

The third prologue is an internal one, that is, an introduction to the story itself. It deals with his choice of Mem û Zîn as the pretext for his work, sets sufist and philosophical context for it, and describes the originality of his work and his anticipation of his people’s reaction to it. In other words, Khani talks in detail about his feelings and ideas as a Kurdish author. I will closely follow Khani’s arguments explaining the justification, setting and context he provides for his dramatic text.

Then comes the body of the text (the story) which, following Khani’s own clues, I am going to divide into three dramatic parts each comprising several scenes. I will use the method of textual analysis to explore the thematic and dramatic unravelling of the story as a tragic drama underpinned by serious theosophical, sufist and philosophical presentation and direction.

* ‘Love and Existence: Analytical Study of Ahmadi Khani’s Tragedy of Mem û Zîn’ by Dr Kamal Mirawdeli is published by the Khani Academy in association with authorhouse, uk. The hard cover, soft cover, or the electronic edition of the book can be ordered from: http://www.authorhouse.co.uk/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?Book=419087

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