Play Guide: DISGRACED

PLAY GUIDE

2015

2016

About ATC ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction to the Play ............................................................................................................................... 2 Meet the Playwright .................................................................................................................................... 4 Meet the Characters ................................................................................................................................... 4 Major Religions of the U.S......................................................................................................................... 5 A (Very) Brief History of the Middle East...................................................................................................... 14 Indo-Pakistani History................................................................................................................................. 17 References: Art, World and Religion............................................................................................................. 20 Disgraced Play Guide written and designed by Katherine Monberg, ATC Literary Manager, with assistance from April Jackson, Learning & Education Manager; Bryanna Patrick and Luke Young; Learning & Education Associates.

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ABOUT ATC Arizona Theatre Company is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company. This means that all of our artists, administrators and production staff are paid professionals, and the income we receive from ticket sales and contributions goes right back into our budget to create our work, rather than to any particular person as a profit.

Eash season, ATC employs hundreds of actors, directors and designers from all over the country to create the work you see on stage. In addition, ATC currently employs approximately 50 staff members in our production shops and administrative offices in Tucson and Phoenix during our season. Among these people are carpenters, painters, marketing professionals, fundraisers, stage directors, sound and light board operators, tailors, costume designers, box office agents, stage crew - the list is endless - representing am amazing range of talents and skills.

We are also supported by a Board of Trustees, a group of business and community leaders who volunteer their time and expertise to assist the theatre in financial and legal matters, advise in marketing and fundraising, and help represent the theatre in our community.

Roughly 150,000 people attend our shows every year, and several thousand of those people support us with charitable contributions in addition to purchasing their tickets. Businesses large and small, private foundations and the city and state governments also support our work financially.

All of this is in support of our vision and mission:

The mission of Arizona Theatre Company is to inspire, engage and entertain - one moment, one production and one audience at a time.

Our mission is to create professional theatre that continually strives to reach new levels of artistic excellence that resonates locally, in the state of Arizona and throughout the nation. In order to fulfill our mission, the theatre produces a broad repertoire ranging from classics to new works, engages artists of the highest caliber, and is committed to assuring access to the broadest spectrum of citizens.

The Herberger Theater Center, ATC’s performance venue in downtown Phoenix.

The Temple of Music and Art, the home of ATC shows in downtown Tucson.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY Disgraced

By Ayad Akhtar Directed by David Ira Goldstein Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is a layered interrogation of the psychological, traditional, moral and social constructs that meld into identity, to form the complex, threedimensional humanity that is shared—and yet in contrast—among us all.

Vandit Bhatt, Allison Jean White and Elijah Alexander in ATC’s production of Disgraced. Photo by Tim Fuller.

The play tells the story of Amir, a big shot lawyer with plans to make partner living the dream on New York’s

Upper East Side, only to have the intangible forces of the world exploit the seams of his own identity, wrenching apart his dreams and shattering his sense of self. The story culminates in a high-stakes dinner party described by The New York Times as “a hotly contested game of Twister” as dualidentities, politics and traditions clash, regroup, and finally, explode.

Disgraced premiered at Chicago’s American Theater Company before moving on to Lincoln Center Theater in 2012, a vibrant playwriting debut for multi-talented playwright Ayad Akhtar, whose voice as a novelist, screenwriter and actor has been hailed as “a generous new voice in American fiction.”

Born in New York City to Pakistani immigrants and raised in Milwaukee, Akhtar speaks to the multiple identities forged in and by the modern American melting pot, and the innumerable facets of assumption, judgment, self-deception, and acceptance that underscore the contemporary social fabric of America. In Akhtar’s own words, “There are ways that the colonial history of the West is still playing out in the Muslim world. The events that comprise that history—a disgrace of native peoples—is still very much a part of our contemporary moment.” Akhtar identifies true and transparent engagement with the world as the crux of his narrative, seeking the “full engagement of the emotional and intellectual self” to provide the final necessary component to the “vital, living, tragic situation” that plays out in real time on the stage.

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Akhtar cites his own experiences growing up and navigating the complex identity politics of America as a spark of inspiration behind his writing: “In my early 30s, I started to realize I was avoiding something on a personal level, but also as a writer. I was in denial about who I was, and was trying to be someone I was not.” This journey of his own self-discovery led him to a new artistic understanding, one in which art is about engaging with the world around us rather than an abstract quest for self-expression. “All I did metaphorically was to turn and look over my shoulder at what I was running away from.”

Also central to that self-knowledge were the events of September 11th and its immediate cultural aftermath. “Post-9/11, folks who looked like me became very visible,” says Akhtar. “Life changed. I and a lot of people like me felt differently after that. Like Amir, the fact of being Muslim, whether religious or cultural, became a significant fact that could not be avoided.”

Though conscious of the social and political forces that interweave within Disgraced, Akhtar also posits a determined awareness and aversion to sermonizing: “I can’t be a spokesman for anything other than my own concerns…and if I’m bringing any political awareness to that process, that mitigates my freedom” and detracts from the audience experience in which lies the power and impact of the piece. While the play illuminates traditions of representation and certain Islamophobic tropes, the sense of shared humanity is the heart and soul of the experience; the opportunity to share in complex perspectives that mirror the observable world.

Akhtar identifies that mirror function as integral to the narrative and theatrical process: “One of the things that’s problematic to a lot of people is that some readings of the play seem to undermine other readings. My contention is that your reading of this play tells you a lot about yourself” and your place within the ongoing cultural and social dialogue. “It makes perfect sense to me that people would gravitate to whatever reading is going to help them. But ultimately it doesn’t really matter,” because there is a space for awareness, and conversation, that has been opened. According to Akhtar, “Art’s capacity to change the world is profoundly limited. But what it can do is change the way we see things individually” and “that kind of clear-eyed approach to reality is something for which I’m hoping the play can be a portal.”

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MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT Ayad Akhtar (Playwright) is the writer of Disgraced (Broadway, LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater, 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 2013 Obie Award for Extraordinary Achievement); The Who & The What (LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater and La Jolla Playhouse) and The Invisible Hand (New York Theatre Workshop/The Repertory Theater of St. Louis). Also a novelist, Mr. Akhtar is the author of American Dervish, published in 2012 by Little, Brown and Company, and in 20 languages worldwide. He co-wrote and starred in The War Within (Magnolia Pictures), which was released internationally and nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. As an actor, Mr. Akhtar also starred as Neel Kashkari in HBO’s adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book, Too Big to Fail. He studied at Brown University and Columbia University’s School of Playwright Ayad Akhtar.

the Arts.

MEET THE CHARACTERS

Actor Elijah Alexander, who plays Amir in ATC’s production of Disgraced.

Actor Allison Jean White, who plays Emily in ATC’s production of Disgraced.

Actor Vandit Bhatt, who p l a y s A b e i n A T C ’s production of Disgraced.

Actor Richard Baird, who plays Isaac in ATC’s production of Disgraced.

Actor Nicole Lewis, who p l a y s J o r y i n A T C ’s production of Disgraced.

Amir Kapoor: Bigshot lawyer striving to make partner at a Jewish law firm on the Upper East Side; a proudly non-practicing Muslim-American.

Emily: Amir’s wife, a white artist, whose work celebrates Islamic artistic traditions.

Abe: Amir’s nephew, American of South Asian descent formerly known as Hussein, who yet retains his connection to the Muslim-American community.

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Isaac: Jewish intellectual and art curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and a colleague of Emily’s.

Jory: African-American lawyer, Isaac’s wife and colleague of Amir’s.

MAJOR RELIGIONS OF THE U.S. Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced discusses several major religions in the U.S., and how cultural and religious practices and perceptions form and interact with personal and collective identities. The 2014 Religious Landscape Study conducted by the Pew Research Center, based on telephone interviews with more than 35,000 Americans from all 50 states, identified a generalized breakdown of the major religions as practiced in the United States.

RELIGIONS OF THE U.S. (2014) CHRISTIANITY Evangelical Protestant Mainline Protestant Historically Black Protestant Catholic Mormon Orthodox Christian Jehovah’s Witness Other Christian Denominations NON-CHRISTIAN FAITHS Jewish Muslim Buddhist Hindu Other World Religions* Other Faiths 5

70.6% 25.4% 14.7% 6.5% 20.8% 1.6% 0.5% 0.8% 0.4% 5.9% 1.9% 0.9% 0.7% 0.7% 0.3% 1.5%

UNAFFILIATED Atheist Agnostic Nothing in Particular Don’t Know

22.8% 3.1% 4.0% 15.8% 0.6%

*There are 12 generally agreed-upon classical world religions: Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.

Among the religious affiliations studied by the Pew Research Center, the characters of Disgraced specifically discuss Christianity, Mormonism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Below is a brief description of the major tenets and traditions of the discussed religions.

CHRISTIANITY There are numerous Christian denominations, though there are many shared central beliefs and traditions among them.

Christianity was originally founded in Palestine by the followers of Jesus, and presently predominates in Europe and the Americas, though it is present throughout most of the world.

The central philosophy of Christianity holds that Jesus is the Son of God and the second aspect of the Holy Trinity formed by God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s life on earth and his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven are viewed as proof of God’s love and forgiveness of humankind, and Christian teachings profess that eternal life and salvation are attained by faith in Jesus Christ. This philosophy is particularly derived from the New Testament of the Bible, though the Old Testament is also considered to be sacred and authoritative Scripture.

Christian ethics are largely derived from the Jewish tradition as described in the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments, but with some different interpretations influenced by the practice and teachings of Jesus. There are many different forms of Christian worship, as well as many variations of church organization and the designated roles of organized clergy, but worship and rites often include the use of sacraments conducted by trained clergy within organized churches.

In its 2,000 years, Christianity has experienced significant divisions based on differences in doctrine and organization, leading to three broad contemporary divisions: Roman Catholic, Orthodox Eastern, and Protestant, thought there are numerous denominations within those generalized categories.

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Roman Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church is led by the pope, the bishop of Rome, and may be very simply defined as Christians in communion with the pope.

Generally, the church is divided into dioceses, each of which is led by a bishop (usually named by the pope), groups of whom are led by archbishops. Dioceses are divided into parishes, each of which has a church and a priest. Priests are trained in seminary, and do not marry.

To belong to the church one must accept the gospel of Jesus and the doctrine of apostolic succession as true, which posits that the pope and bishops represent varying degrees of the spiritual authority that Jesus designated to his apostles. Primary teachings include the objective existence of God, the practice of prayer, divinity of Jesus, immortality of the human soul, accountability upon death for actions in life, divine commission of the church, and the sacraments of penance and the

Pope Francis, the current pope and bishop of Rome.

Eucharist, and the cornerstone of ethical behavior is the love of God. Orthodox Eastern Church The Orthodox Eastern Church is a community of Christian churches primarily based in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which doctrinally accept the authority of the church, but reject the leadership of the Pope. The standard rite of the church is known as the Byzantine rite and is always sung, but is not typically celebrated every day as in the Western tradition. The Orthodox Eastern Church observes the Eucharist and confession, but parish priests may marry prior to ordination. Churches are governed by a board of bishops and laymen known as a synod, often appointed by the government, and the head of a church is called a patriarch, but often serves as only the moderator of the synod.

Protestantism A form of Christianity and practice that emerged from the principles of the 16th-century religious evolution known as the Reformation, which took place in Western Europe, arising from opposition to the doctrines and practices of the medieval (Roman Catholic) church. The rise of cities and the growth of the merchant and middle classes, in addition to the development of printing, sparked discontent and greater dissemination of information in the 16th century as new modes of religious and economic thought (i.e., capitalism) sought to restructure the status quo. In 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 7

theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Luther protested his excommunication, demanded by the pope in 1520, and Luther’s proposed doctrine of salvation achieved by faith alone and not by sacraments and mediation by the church spread throughout Europe, chiefly embraced by absolutist rulers, merchants, capitalists, and peasants suffering under feudal policies. Economic, social, monarchal, and moral principles melded into a greater movement through the 16th century, sparking divisions which included Calvinism and Lutheranism, and was further fueled by King Henry VIII of England’s break from Rome in 1534, which formally established the Protestant Church of England.

Today, Protestantism includes numerous branches including the Adventist, Anabaptist, Calvinist, Congregationalist, Episcopal, Evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Puritan, and Unitarian churches, among many others, though many share certain central characteristics. Of these, the acceptance of the Bible as the only source of infallible truth and salvation by faith alone are central tenets, in addition to a greater emphasis placed on personal morality.

MORMONISM Mormonism is the religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity, which seeks a return to the known traditions of the apostolic early church, and a more ancient, pure form of the religion.

Mormonism was founded in upstate New York in the 1820s by Joseph Smith during the period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. Smith dictated the contents of the Book of Mormon, the primary religious text of Mormonism in addition to the Old and New Testaments, from buried golden plates he was directed to find by the Angel Moroni. The Book of Mormon describes the early chronicles of the indigenous people of the Americas, described as Israelites with advance divine knowledge of the coming of Jesus Christ, several centuries before his birth.

Joseph Smith, 1842.

Smith and his followers moved from New York in the early 1830s, seeking to establish a New Jerusalem or City of Zion in Jackson County, Missouri; the Mormons were expelled from Jackson County in 1833, and forced to flee again from Kirtland, Ohio in 1838. The Mormon community then relocated to Illinois; tensions between Mormons and non-Mormons began to rise, culminating in the murder of Joseph Smith by a mob in 1844. The largest group of Mormons, known as The Church of Jesus 8

Christ of Latter-day Saints, accepted Brigham Young as their new prophet and leader, and emigrated to Utah Territory and to what is now known as Salt Lake City, where the church embraced polygamy or plural marriage, until the practice was ended by church president Wilford Woodruff in 1890. Many smaller sects of Mormonism have since broken with the LDS church to form several related denominations; the present-day LDS church is a proponent of monogamy, patriotism, and has an active missionary program.

Smith described his “First Vision” of God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings, a non-trinitarian theology that serves as the primary doctrinal difference between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity, though the Mormon church also embraces the concept of a Heavenly Mother and exaltation. Smith further reported that he was instructed by God to join none of the existing churches, which failed to practice the true Christian church as commanded by God. The establishment of Mormonism is viewed as the re-establishment of the Christian church as described in the New Testament, and includes the bestowing of Priesthood authorities on Joseph Smith through angels that appeared to him in visions. Smith and his successors are considered to be modern prophets, who guide the church according to revelations from God; the Mormon church also maintains that other religions depict a portion of the truth, and are guided by the light of Christ.

Mormon tradition places high importance on human agency, believing that the main component of God’s plan is atonement through Jesus Christ, and the choice of good over evil. Mormons accept the atonement of Chris through faith, repentance, and formal ordinances or rituals such as baptism and the intention to lead Christ-like lives, and believe that certain ordinances must be received in order to be saved.

JUDAISM Judaism is the oldest of the monotheistic faiths, which affirms the existence of one God, Yahweh, with whom the descendants of Abraham entered into a covenant as God’s chosen people. The holy writings of the Jewish faith include the Torah (specifically the five books of Moses), generally referred to as the Hebrew Scriptures or the Old Testament by Christians, and the Talmud, a compilation of oral tradition which includes the oral law, or Mishnah.

The Great Synagogue, a Jewish house of worship in Plzen, Czech Republic.

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According to Scripture, Abraham departed northern Mesopotamia for Canaan at the behest of God, who blessed the faithful among his descendants. Jacob (also known as Israel) was the son of Isaac, son of Abraham; twelve families descended from Jacob were enslaved in Egypt and led out of bondage by Moses. The Hebrews returned to Canaan after 40 years in the desert, claiming the Promised Land granted them by God from the local inhabitants.

The twelve tribes of Israel lived in a covenant association, with leaders known for wisdom and heroism, through the 11th century BC; the first monarchy was established by Saul in the early 11th century BC, during which Jerusalem was developed as the religious and political center of Israel, and a great temple was built. Following the death of Saul’s son, Solomon, the kingdom was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah; during the rule of the kings, the writings of prophets in Israel and Judah emphasize Yahweh as God of Israel and the universe, the danger of worshiping other gods, and demands for social justice. Israel was then conquered by Assyria in 721 BC, and Judah was conquered by Babylon in 586, resulting in the mass exile of Judeans to Babylon.

The Judeans returned to Judea in 539 BC, which was then ruled as a Persian province. During this period, the scribes emerged as a new group of religious leaders, who would eventually become known as the Pharisees. Alexander the Great conquered Palestine in 332 BC, ending Persian rule; after his death, Judea was alternately ruled by Egypt and Syria. Syrian ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to eliminate Judaism and sparked a revolt led by the Maccabees resulting in Jewish independence in 128 BC, until the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC. Different interpretations of Judaism appeared during this period, primarily divided according to the teachings of the Sadducees (temple priests) and the Pharisees (teachers of the law). Several smaller sects also emerged, including the Apocalyptists, who awaited divine deliverance led by the Messiah; the Zealots, who sought national independence; and Hellenist Jews who combined Jewish religious tradition with Greek culture.

The Zealots revolted in 70 AD, inducing Rome to destroy Jerusalem and its temple. The Jews were subsequently scattered out of Israel and became targets of persecution throughout the world. Rabbinic Judaism developed as the primary expression of faith, emerging out of Pharisaic practice, and focused on Torah and synagogue; the Talmud began to take shape, the Scriptures were codified, and the 13 Articles of Faith were formulated by the Maimonides in the 12th century.

Two distinct branches of Judaism developed during the Middle Ages: Sephardic Judaism, based in Spain and aligned with Babylonian Jews, and Ashkenazic Judaism, emerging from the Franco-German region and affiliated with Rome and Palestine. Medieval Hasidism and attention to the Kabbalah also emerged as two forms of Jewish mysticism.

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Anti-Semitism experienced a strong resurgence in the 19th century, culminating in the Holocaust of World War II, which claimed the lives of more than 6 million Jews. The Zionist movement was forged in response, resulting in the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Modern Judaism includes synagogue worship, which includes readings from the Law (the five books of Moses known as the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and the Prophets, and prayer. The commandments of the Torah are central to religious life, and include the practices of circumcision and observation of the Sabbath.

There are three primary expressions of Judaism today: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Generally, Jews do not attempt to covert others to their religion, but do accept newcomers to the faith; additionally, Jewish identity is not necessarily tied to acceptance of the Torah but rather to a cultural and historical identity, creating a strong secular, atheist, and agnostic presence within Jewish life.

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Jews follow traditional faith and practice, including a strict kosher diet and observance of the Sabbath.

Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism emerged during the mid-18th century, and follows most traditional practices including the authority of the Talmud, though change is more broadly incorporated into traditional practices than in other Judaic expressions.

Reform Judaism Reform movements emerged out of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) during the 18th century in western Europe; Reform Jews emphasize the ethical and moral teachings of Judaism, and do not consider the Talmud (oral law) a divine revelation.

ISLAM Judaism is the oldest of the monotheistic faiths, which affirms the existence of one God, Yahweh, with whom the descendants of Abraham entered into a covenant as God’s chosen people. The holy writings of the Jewish faith include the Torah (specifically the five books of Moses), generally referred to as the Hebrew Scriptures or the Old Testament by Christians, and the Talmud, a compilation of oral tradition which includes the oral law, or Mishnah.

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The Shah Jahan Mosque, a Muslim house of worship in Woking, Surrey, reportedly the first mosque in the U.K., built in 1889.

Islam is one of the three major monotheistic faiths, along with Christianity and Judaism, and was founded in Arabia between 610 and 632 by the Prophet Muhammad. At age 25, Muhammad left the caravan trade to embark on a life of contemplation, as a reaction against the immoral and polytheistic practices of the inhabitants of Mecca. After the Angel Gabriel announced to him in a vision that he was to be a prophet, Muhammad devoted his life to religious and societal reform, and the abandonment of Polytheism. Eventually rejected by leaders of the Meccan Quraysh tribe, Muhammad fled for Medina in 622, which is noted as the formal establishment of the Muslim Era. Muhammad returned to conquer Mecca in 630, where he died in 632; his grave there remains a site of pilgrimage for Muslims worldwide.

Muslims, referring to the followers of Muhammad, revere him as the prophet of the one and only Allah (God), and the last of the prophets descended from Abraham and Jesus. The foundations of the Islamic faith are the Quran (or Koran), which is regarded as the true, eternal Word of God, and hadith (tradition) detailing the words and actions of Muhammad. Islam can be translated to “surrender to the will of Allah,” who determines the fate of all humanity; good deeds will be rewarded in paradise at the Last Judgment, and evil deeds will be punished in hell.

The primary duties of the Islamic faith are represented by the Five Pillars: profession of faith, daily prayer (five times each day), almsgiving, daylight fasting during the month of Ramadan, and hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca at least once in a lifetime (if possible) which includes homage to the ancient shrine of the Ka’aba, the most sacred site in Islam.

Muslims gather for communal worship on Fridays, during which prayers and a sermon take place at the mosque, which serves as both a house of worship and a center for the teaching of the Quran; the imam, or community leader, serves as the teacher and leader of prayer.

Sunnis and Shi’ites Disagreements regarding the succession of the prophet induced a division between two Islamic groups: the Sunnis and Shi’ites. Shi’ite tradition rejects the first three successors to Muhammad as usurpers and acknowledge the fourth, Ali, as the rightful leader of the faith, while the Sunni tradition recognizes all four successors as legitimate. From these, numerous other Islamic sects have been derived, including Sufism, which emerged as a form of mysticism in the 8th and 9th centuries.

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BUDDHISM Buddhism was founded in northern India during the fourth or fifth century BC by Siddhartha Guatama, the son of a warrior prince.

Though his exact life span is uncertain, tradition holds that he left home at the age of 29 to seek religious insight and a solution to the struggles and suffering of human life, encountering many trials and exercising extreme self-denial. While meditating under the bodhi tree, the “tree of perfect knowledge”, he achieved enlightenment and shared his new spiritual understanding with his followers.

Statue of the Buddha in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India.

Guatama’s teachings were more egalitarian and accessible than the Hindu faith prevalent in India at the time, emphasizing Four Noble Truths: that all living beings suffer, that desire is the origin of all suffering, that desire can be overcome, and that there is a path to attain release from the power of desire. This philosophy embraces a Noble Eightfold Path which embraces right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration, and right ecstasy.

Guatama also believed in anatman, that a person has no actual self and that all existence is impermanent, and promoted a disciplined life called the Middle Way in addition to the concept of reincarnation, a cycle of life and death which could only be broken by achieving nirvana, or a state of total transcendence. Guatama travelled the world to preach the dharma, or sacred truth, and was deemed the Buddha, meaning “enlightened one.”

After his death, followers of Guatama further developed his doctrine and practice, which came to be represented by the Three Jewels: the dharma (sacred teachings of Buddhism), the sangha (the community of followers), and the Buddha.

Buddhism spread throughout India and Asia during the third century BC under the patronage of Mauryan emperor Ashoka, and flourished in other parts of Asia in the following century. Numerous Buddhist sects have emerged throughout the centuries, the primary three being the Theravada (Way of the Elders), the Mahayana (Greater Vehicle), and the Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle).

Theravada (Way of the Elders) The Theravada, also sometimes known as the Hinayana or Lesser Vehicle (sometimes considered a pejorative term), considers Buddha to be a great sage rather than a deity, emphasizing meditation and the practice of rituals that foster the journey toward becoming an arhat, or an enlightened being. Theravada embraces the authority of the Tripitaka (Three Baskets), a compilation of sermons, rules, and doctrines that comprise the earliest Buddhist scriptures, and is prevalent in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

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Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Mahayana emerged between the second century BC and the second century AD, and shifted Buddhist focus to a greater emphasis on concern for humanity, rather than on the individual attainment of enlightenment. Hinayana idealizes the bodhisattva (enlightened being) who shuns nirvana until it is attainable by all sentient beings, remaining in the painful cycle of reincarnation in order to serve humanity with compassion. Hinayana Buddhists view the Buddha as an eternal being, and honor additional Buddhas to add a polytheistic dimension.

Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) Vajrayana, also referred to as Mantrayana (Vehicle of the Mantra) or Tantric Buddhism, is most prominent in Tibet and Mongolia, and urges a more demanding way to achieve nirvana, over the course of one lifetime.

Zen Buddhism Encourages satori, or spiritual enlightenment by seeking the Buddha nature within oneself, and the practice of a disciplined form of sitting meditation.

A (VERY) BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST The long, rich history of the Middle East, known as the Cradle of Civilization, stretches back to the earliest days of human history. A region of significance to a multitude of cultures and religions, the Middle East has long been a coveted region of holy sites, intellectual and cultural development, economic opportunity, and ideological and theological conflict, which carry on into the contemporary age. While the complex politics and events of the region are far more intricate than can possibly be presented in the context of a single Play Guide, the characters of Disgraced reference some historical tendrils and their ongoing ripples that affect the way in which the Middle East is Map depicting the countries of the Middle East.

perceived, particularly in post-9/11 America. Below are some highly simplified explanations of events and occurrences in the region’s history.

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The Middle East refers to the geographical territory that comprises modern-day Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Cyprus and Northern Cyprus, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Palestine, the Gaza Strip, and Yemen.

Ancient History Egyptian civilization was politically unified under the first pharaoh sometime around 3150 BC, and most of Mesopotamia (roughly corresponding to present-day Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, and regions of the Turkish-Syrian and Iranian-Iraqi borders) was ruled by several powerful empires, notably the Old and Middle Assyrian Empires (1365-1076 BC) and the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-605 BC). Iranian states then dominated the region from the 7th century BC onward, including the First Persian Empire (550 to 330 BC), responsible for freeing Jewish slaves held captive in Babylonia when Babylon fell to Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. The Roman Republic then conquered the Eastern Mediterranean in the 1st century BC; the Eastern Roman Empire, often referred to as the Byzantine Empire, stretched from the Balkans to the Euphrates and became increasingly upset by Christian doctrinal differences between practitioners throughout the Middle East and the Christian establishment in Constantinople. From the 3rd to the 7th century AD, the entirety of the Middle East was dominated by the Roman-Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian (Neo-Persian) Empire, which would serve as the final Iranian empire prior to the rise of Islam, which came to prominence in the 7th century.

The Seljuq Turkish dynasty ended Arab dominance in the region with their arrival in the mid-11th century, blending their Sunni Muslim heritage with Persian culture. The military might of the Mongol Empire, which had emerged from the unification of nomadic tribes in 1206 under Genghis Khan, swept through the Middle East in the early 13th century, introducing the Turkic peoples into the region. The Ottoman emirs, religiously Islamic and linguistically Turkic, captured the Christian Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453 and established the Ottoman Empire, inciting centuries of war between the Ottomans and the Safavid Persian Empire, beginning in the early 16th century.

Colonialism Western colonial influence burgeoned in the 1700s, as Britain established control of the Persian Gulf and France extended its influence into Lebanon and Syria. Italy seized Libya and the Dodecanese Islands in 1912, and Middle Eastern rulers turned their attention to competing with European powers and economies. Oil in the Middle East attracted attention from the Americans after its initial discovery in Persia (modern Iran) in 1908, and then later in 15

Map depicting the various colonial influences in the Middle East, 1914.

Saudi Arabia, other Persian Gulf States, Libya, and Algeria. The Ottoman Empire entered World War I as one of the Central Powers, supporting Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and perpetrating the mass genocide of indigenous Christian peoples in the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides before ultimately losing the war, and losing control of the Middle East to Britain and France.

Colonial influence in the region continued after World War I, with Egypt and Syria both asserting independence from Britain and France, respectively, in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 and with the end of the French Mandate of Syria in 1943. World War II and its aftermath removed much of the Soviet, British and French presence in the Middle East, and led to the U.N. plan to partition Palestine and establish the State of Israel in 1947. The resolution suggested the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states in Palestine with a Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem, and progressive British withdrawal with the termination of the British Mandate. The Jewish Agency for Palestine accepted the proposal, but Arab leaders and governments rejected the territorial division, escalating the Arab-Israel Conflict and sparking the 1947-48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, which evolved into the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Cold War and Beyond The post-World War II departure of many European powers from the Middle East, the establishment of Israel, and the increasing importance of oil culminated in increasing U.S. involvement in the Middle East through the second half of the 20th century. The establishment of many anti-Western regimes (in Egypt in 1954, Syria in 1963, Iraq in 1968, and Libya in 1969) invited the Soviet Union to extend Cold War tensions into the area as they allied with Arab socialist leaders including Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, who promised destruction of Israel, defeat of the U.S. and other western interests, and prosperity for Arab peoples. This anti-Western sentiment combined with the rise of pan-Arabism in Western Asia and North Africa, engendering an atmosphere of Arab nationalism that reached a zenith in the 1950s and 1960s.

Eager to protect its interests in the Middle East, the U.S. supported the conservative monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Persian Gulf emirates, and Iran, until the Iranian Revolution of 1979 established a fiercely anti-Western theocratic regime there. In 1967, the Six-Day War between Israel and its neighbors resulted in a decisive Arab loss, sparking an undercurrent of fundamental and militant Islamic sentiment that can be traced into the present day. Also beginning in the 1970s, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) under Yasser Arafat began a prolonged and violent campaign against Israel, as well as U.S. and Jewish targets. This was succeeded by the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) as well as the fall of the Soviet Union and collapse of communism in the early 1990s, which weakened the Arab socialist state model and reduced dependence of the West on oil produced in Arab states. Arab rulers, such as Saddam Hussein, embraced Arab nationalism as a socialism 16

substitute, leading to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and to the Persian Gulf War in 1990. The conclusion of the Persian Gulf War installed a permanent U.S. military presence in the region, and was later cited by Osama bin Laden as a rationale behind the September 11th attacks on the United States, orchestrated by al-Qaeda.

Through the 1990s, the installment and growth of market economies in the Middle East were challenged by political restrictions, corruption, overspending, and overdependence on oil revenues, all of which combined to intensify conflict within the region and the rising prominence of Islamism or Political Islam, which supports the political structure and ideology of an allied Islamic State. Many Islamists gained

Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003.

military experience fighting against the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, including Osama bin Laden, who would go on to found the terrorist group alQaeda, which is credited with the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, and the September 11th attacks. In retaliation against the attacks of September 11th, U.S. President George W. Bush declared a global War on Terror and launched the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban regime, thought to be harboring Osama bin Laden. The 2003 overthrow of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces introduced a new Western occupation in the region, leading to post-war insurgency and persistent ethnic violence. Beginning in late 2010, a revolutionary wave known as the Arab Spring incited major protests, uprisings, and revolutions throughout the Arab League,

Osama bin Laden, founder of the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

the repercussions from which continue throughout the region.

INDO-PAKISTANI HISTORY Classical India Classical India refers to the period during which many parts of present-day India was ruled by various Middle kingdoms, and stretches for some 1500 years from the 3rd century BC to the 13th century AD. During the classical period, India controlled between one-quarter and one-third of the world’s wealth, making it the largest economy in the world, and was greatly influenced by the many diverse and constantly-shifting empires within the region.

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The Golden Age of India is a sub-period within the classical period, referring to the reunification of much of the Indian Subcontinent under the Gupta Empire (320 AD-550 AD), known for massive achievements in science, technology, art, literature, engineering, logic, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and religion that established many of the elements of Hindu culture. Buddhism was also a dominant philosophy in India at the time, from which it spread to much of Asia during this age of prosperity and world trade.

Introduction of Islam In the 7th century, Islam emerged as a religion and a fringe political power, primarily centered in the northwestern portion of the subcontinent, in what is modern-day Pakistan. The foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in 1206 AD by the Turks of central Asia introduced Muslim rule to the region, as conquerors retained their Islamic identity and instituted new legal, administrative, and cultural systems that superseded existing codes of conduct and society. With the establishment of the Sikh Empire in 1799, the region of Muslim rule became bordered by the Punjabi kingdom, ruled by members of the Sikh religion, and which governed the region of modern-day Punjab and surrounding areas. This area was later conquered by the British in the first and second Anglo-Sikh wars.

British India The British East India Company overtook many parts of India in the late-18th and 19th centuries, leading to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which the British Crown took on direct administration of the British provinces of India and indirect rule of princely states, which acted as nominally sovereign entities subject to the British Crown. This period, known as the British Raj, is characterized by rapid development of infrastructure, economic stagnation, and intense famine. Â The first half of the 20th century witnessed a struggle for Indian independence from Britain, eventually achieved with the Indian Independence Act of 1947, when the British provinces were partitioned into the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, and all remaining princely states acceded to one or the other. Â This two nation theory was in opposition to the recommendation of Mahatma Gandhi, who urged peace and unity among all Indian peoples.

Partition of India Pakistan was intended to be a homeland for the Muslim population of India, and comprised the northern provinces which already had a Muslim majority, while the new India was to be secular but with a Hindu majority. The provinces of Punjab and Bengal in the northwest and northeast, respectively, did not have overwhelming Muslim or Hindu majorities, so both were divided into east and west provinces: Â Punjab province was divided into West Pakistan (to the west of the Indian 18

subcontinent) and the Indian state of East Punjab, while Bengal province was divided into East Pakistan (to the east of the Indian subcontinent) and the Indian state of West Bengal. The partition of the Punjab region in particular resulted in the largest mass migration in human history, as long years of religious tensions amidst the Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh populations erupted in violent riots as the new borders were found to interrupt basic infrastructure and population distribution.

The partition was and remains a highly controversial arrangement, characterized by haste, cruelty, and a

Partition of India, 1947.

breakdown of law, order, and compassion. Conservatives also point to the partition of India as a turning point in international relations, as the moment when British interests ceased to be the single greatest dominating force in world politics and power.

In 1971, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) seceded from Pakistan after years of economic and political instability, exacerbated by frictions between East and West Pakistan, which were separated by more than 1,000 miles of Indian territory. Political turmoil in Bangladesh continued through a period of military rule from 1975 to 1990, with a new democratic era initiated in 1991.

Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian Independence movement.

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REFERENCES: ART, WORLD, AND RELIGION Aristotle: Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist whose writings constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy and have influenced physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, and government. Aristotle’s Poetics defined the composition of tragedy, and thus serves as the historical basis of dramatic literature.

Aristotle by Lysippus, c.

330 BC.

Bonnard: Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) was a French painter and printmaker, and a founding member of Les Nabis, a Post-Impressionist group of avant-garde painters. He preferred to create from memory, and his paintings are often described as having unusual vantage points, a dreamlike quality and featuring intimate domestic scenes.

Constable: John Constable (1776-1837) was an English Romantic painter, known particularly for his landscape paintings of “Constable County,” officially known as Dedham Vale. His work was Self-Portrait by Pierre

Bonnard, c. 1889.

especially prominent in France, where his work inspired the Barbizon school of painters.

Frieze Art Fair: An annual international contemporary art fair, established in 2003, and held in London’s Regent Park every October.

Jerry Saltz: American art critic, Jerry Saltz (1951- ) was formerly the senior art critic for The Village Voice and has served since 2006 as senior art critic and columnist for New York John Constable as painted

by Daniel Gardner, c. 1796.

Magazine. To date, he has received three nominations for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism.

Matisse: Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a French artist, particularly known for his paintings and his use of color and fluid draughtsmanship, though he was also a notable printmaker and sculptor. His expressive style spanned fauvism, modernism and impressionism, and he is commonly regarded as one of the three artists to lend definition to the plastic arts at the beginning of the 20th century (along with Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp). Matisse is recognized as one of the greatest figures to influence modern art.

Frieze Art Fair under construction in Regent’s Park, 2009.

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The Met: New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the most-visited museums in the world and the largest art museum in the United States.

Portrait of Juan de Pareja: Painting by Diego Velázquez (c. 1650) that depicts his assistant, painter Juan de Pareja. Juan de Pareja was born into slavery in Antequera, near Málaga, Spain, son to a slave and a Spanish father. He worked in Velázquez’s household and workshop until The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Velázquez’s death in 1660, ten years after he freed Pareja from slavery. Pareja then became assistant to painter Juan del Mazo until his own death in 1670.

Renaissance: European period from the 14th to the 17th century that began in Italy in the Late Medieval period, largely considered to have functioned as a bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. The Renaissance introduced an intellectual focus on humanism and applied new thinking to art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Artistically, linear perspective was developed during this period, in addition to techniques that achieved a more natural Portrait of Juan de Pareja by Velázquez, c.

1650.

representation of reality than in previous eras. The Renaissance also contributed to scientific reliance on observation, the development of diplomacy, and a resurgence of learning philosophies derived from classical sources.

The Tate: A network of four museums that are home to the U.K.’s national British art collection, as well as international modern and contemporary art. Tate Britain, London, displays British art from 1500 onward; Tate Modern, London, houses British, international, and contemporary art from 1900 onward; Tate Liverpool is similar to the Tate Modern, but on a smaller scale; and Tate St. Ives

The original Tate Gallery in London, renamed Tate Britain in 2000.

displays modern and contemporary artists with connections to Cornwall and the surrounding area.

Velázquez: Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660)was a Spanish painter and lead artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain, and one of the most influential artists of the Spanish Golden Age. Velázquez was known as an individualist of the Baroque period. In addition to his paintings depicting scenes of historical and cultural value, he was also a notable portrait artist, known for his many portraits of the Spanish royal family and notable European figures. Velázquez is often referred to as one of the greatest influencers of modern painting; his seminal masterpiece, Self-portrait by Velazquez, c. 1640.

Las Meninas, is largely considered one of the most important works in Western art history.

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Victoria and Albert: The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), located in London, is the world’s largest museum of decorative art and design, with a permanent collection featuring more than 4.5 million objects.

The Whitney: New York City’s Whitney Museum of American Art, which specializes in 20th and 21st century American art, with special emphasis on exhibitions of work created by living artists.

The Whitney Museum of American Art, at its new location as of May 2015.

Photo by Ed Lederman.

WORLD Ahmadinejad: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (1956 - ) is an Iranian politician who served from 2005 to 2013 as the sixth President of Iran. During his presidency, he was viewed as a controversial figure both within Iran and internationally.

Al-Qaeda: Translated to mean “The Base” or “The Foundation,” al-Qaeda is a global militant Islamist organization. Founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin laden and Abdullah Azzam, among others, al-Qaeda can trace its root to Arab volunteers who fought against the Soviet invasion of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 6th President of Iran.

Afghanistan in the late 1980s. Designated as a terrorist group by the U.N. Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, and various countries, al-Qaeda comprises a multinational, stateless army, and an extremist, Islamist wahhabi jihadist group, and have been responsible for various civilian and military attacks including the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, the September 11th attacks, and the 2002 Bali bombings. Al-Qaeda ideology proposes the removal of all foreign influence from Muslim countries and the creation of a worldwide Islamic caliphate, and the replacement of “man-made” laws with strict sharia law.

Andalusia: An autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain in southwestern Europe, divided into eight provinces, and of which Seville is the capital. Traditionally an agricultural region,

The regions of Spain.

Andalusia is known for a strong cultural identity, and is the origin of many distinctively Spanish phenomena including flamenco, bullfighting, and particular Moorish architectural influences.

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Anderson Cooper’s 360°: A CNN news show, hosted by American journalist Anderson Cooper, which covers news stories of the current day form live or taped reports from network correspondents, as well as expert analysis. Commonly shortened to AC-360 or 360, over 1,000 episodes have aired since it premiered in September, 2003.

Annie Hall: A 1977 American romantic comedy film, directed by Woody Allen, which stars Alvy Anderson Cooper, CNN news show host, 2010.

“Max” Singer (Woody Allen) as he attempts to discover the reasons behind his failed relationship with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton).

Barcelona: The capital city of Catalonia, an autonomous community in Spain, and Spain’s second most populated city. Barcelona is the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centers, and largely considered to be one of the world’s major global cities due to its significant influence on commerce, education, Annie Hall film poster, 1977.

entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts.

Bartman: Steve Bartman was a Chicago Cubs fan who disrupted baseball history by reaching for a foul ball during the 8th inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS), with Chicago ahead 3-0 and holding a lead of 3-2 in the best of seven series. Bartman deflected the ball, disrupting a potential catch and out by Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou. The Cubs ended up losing the game and the series, and the “Steve Bartman” incident is regarded as the turning point

Fan Steve Bartman and Cubs outfielder Moises Alou both going for the foul ball hit by Luis Castillo in GFame 6 of the 2003 NLCS at Wrigley Field, Chicago.

of the series.

Charvet: Charvet Place Vendome is a French high-end shirt maker and tailor, founded in 1838 and located in Paris, which designs produces and sells shirts, neckties, blouses, pajamas and suits through luxury retailers. Recognized for its high quality and impressive clientele (including kings, princes, and heads of state), the phrase is also used to generically describe a certain type of silk fabric used for ties.

Chorizo: A highly seasoned pork sausage, especially with garlic and/or chili powder; originally from Spain.

Sketch of the collar designed by Charvet for Edward VII, 1898.

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Constitution: Document which delineates the framework of the United States’ government and serves as the supreme law of the United States. Originally comprised of seven articles, the Constitution has been amended 27 times since it came into law in 1789; the first ten amendments offer specific protections of liberty, justice, and governmental regulation, and are collectively known as the Bill of Rights.

The first page of the original U.S. Constitution.

Consumerism: A social and economic ideology and practice that encourages the acquisition of goods and services, placing an emphasis on consumption.

Córdoba: The capital city of the province of Córdoba, in the region of Andalusia in southern Spain.

Conquered by Islamic armies during an invasion in the 8th century, Córdoba later became the capital of the Islamic Emirate and then the Caliphate of Córdoba, which encapsulated most of the Iberian Peninsula, and is known for its rich cultural history.

The seal of Cornell University.

Cornell: Cornell University is a university in the American private Ivy League system, located in Ithaca, New York, consisting of seven undergraduate colleges and seven graduate divisions. It is a state-supported federal land-grant research university, and has been co-educational and nonsectarian since its founding in 1865.

Credit Suisse: The Credit Suisse Group is a multinational financial services holding company Credit Suisse headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.

based in Zürich, Switzerland, which operates the Credit Suisse Bank among other financial service investments. The company was founded in 1865 and is a stock corporation consisting of four divisions: Investment Banking, Private Banking, Asset Management, and a Shared Services Group that supports and provides marketing to the other three divisions.

Cubs: The Chicago Cubs are an American Major League Baseball franchise on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. They are a member of the National League Central division, first established in 1871, and have not won a World Series in 106 years, the longest recorded losing stretch of any major North American professional sports team.

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

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Cynicism: Originally a school of thought in ancient Greek philosophy that posited a purpose of life found in virtue and agreement with nature and the rejection of conventional desires such as wealth, power, sex and fame. Cynicism experienced a surge in popularity with the rise of Imperial Rome in the 1st century, and faded out as the 5th century progressed. By the 19th century, the term had come to refer to the emphasis of the negative aspects of life and a general disbelief in the goodness or sincerity of human actions and motives.

Denial of Death: A 1973 work of philosophy and psychology by Ernest Becker, and the winner of the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction, which builds upon the philosophies of Kierkegaard, Freud, and Rank. The basic premise posits that human civilization is ultimately an elaborate and Actress Diane Keaton with Woody Allen in Play It Again, Sam (1969-70).

symbolic defense against the knowledge of our own morality, which in turn serves as an emotional and intellectual response to our basic survival mechanisms, and that human life embodies a functional duality between the physical world and the symbolic world of human meaning.

Diane Keaton: American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Her first major role was her appearance as Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather (1972), followed by many collaborations with actor-director Woody Allen in the 1970s. Of these, her performance in Annie Hall (1977) won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1977.

Equinox: An equinox is an astronomical event in which the plane of the Earth’s equator passes the center of the sun, or the moments at which the Sun’s apparent longitude reaches 0° or 180°, and are the only times during the year when the Sun is at zenith over (directly above) the equator.

Equinoxes occur twice each year, in March and September.

Fennel in flower.

Fennel: An aromatic European plant related to parsley, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves.

Indigenous to the Mediterranean, it is a hardy, perennial herb that is often used in cooking and medicine.

Fulbright: The Fulbright Program, founded in 1946, consists of highly competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, teachers, professionals, scientists, and artists. It is generally recognized as one of the most prestigious awards worldwide, and operates in over 155 countries. Fulbright alumni include 53 winners of the Nobel Prize, and 78 winners of the Pulitzer Prize.

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Giselle: The title character of a romantic ballet, first performed in Paris in 1841 with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle. Giselle is a peasant girl who dies of a broken heart after discovering her love’s betrothal to another woman. A group of supernatural women, the Wilis, who dance men to death, summon Giselle from her grave to target her former lover, but Giselle’s overwhelming love helps him to escape.

Carlotta Grisi as Giselle, 1841.

Goldman Sachs: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., is an American multinational investment banking firm that specializes in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily geared toward institutional clients. Founded in 1869, Godman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

Gourmet Garage: A privately owned mini-chain of specialty and natural food markets in New York City, with six locations across Manhattan.

Goldman Sachs Tower in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Hamas: A Palestinian Islamic organization with an associate military wing known as the Izz adDin al-Qassam Brigades. Founded in 1988 as a descendant of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood soon after the First Intifada, Hamas was created to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation and establish an Islamic state in the region that consists of modern day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. The military wing of Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the European Union, Canada, Israel, Egypt, Japan, and the U.S., known for the use of tactics including suicide bombings and rocket attacks. Their attacks on civilians have been designated as war Gourmet Garage.

crimes and crimes against humanity by the Human Rights Watch.

Hanif Saeed: Fictional Muslim artist and sculptor.

Hitchens: Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a British author, literary critic, and journalist who contributed numerous books and essays to a range of subjects, including politics, literature, Christopher Hitchens speaking in Las Vegas, 2007.

and religion. His confrontational style as a frequent figure on talk shows and lecture circuits make him both a lauded and controversial contributor.

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Ibn Arabi: Andalusion Sufi mystic, poet and philosopher who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries.

He is regarded by some Sufi practitioners as a saint, though Muslim scholars have been traditionally and vehemently polarized on the topic.

Islamo-fascism: A controversial neologism based on clerical fascism, which draws parallels between the ideologies of specific Islamist movements and many European fascist movements of Ibn Arabi, Sufi mystic, poet, philosopher, and Islamic scholar.

the early 20th century, as well as neofascist movements and totalitarianism. It is often used to describe Islamist extremists, including al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hesbollah. The term has been heavily criticized by scholars and historians, many of whom consider it to be historically inaccurate and simplistic.

Jordanian: Of or relating to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an Arab kingdom in western Asia, located on the east bank of the Jordan River and bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel and Palestine.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 2009.

Kissinger: Henry Kissinger (1923) is an American diplomat and political scientist, who served as National Security Advisor and later as concurrent Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford Administrations. He played a key role in U.S. foreign policy from 1969 to 1977, during which he pioneered the détente policy with the Soviet Union, facilitated the opening of relations with the People’s Republic of China, and negotiated the Paris Peace Accords to end American involvement in the Vietnam War. His Realpolitik diplomacy, which is concerned with balances of power rather than ideological or moral premises, fueled many controversial policies, including CIA involvement in Chile in 1970 and support of Pakistan, despite their involvement in genocidal activities during

Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks since 1968.

the Bangladesh War in 1971.

Knicks: The New York Knickerbockers are a professional basketball team based in Manhattan, New York City. They were established in 1946, and are in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

La Tur: La Tur is an Italian cheese from the wine region of Piemonte, consisting of a creamy blend of pasteurized cow, goat, and sheep milk. It is noted for an earthy, full flavor and lingering lactic tang, and for its runny, moist, cakey texture.

La Tur cheese.

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Lipitor: Also known as Atorvastatin, Lipitor is a statin drug, used primarily to lower blood cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease. It works by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, a liver enzyme that helps produce cholesterol in the body.

Macallan: The Macallan distillery is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in Craigellachie, The Macallan distillery in Moray, Scotland.

Moray, Scotland. Very fancy.

Magnolia Bakery: A chain of bakeries founded in 1996 in New York City, known particularly for its desserts, especially cupcakes.

Martin Amis: English novelist best known for the novels Money (1984) and London Fields (1989).

He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir Experience and has been listed for The Magnolia Bakery at 401 Bleecker Street, New York City.

the Booker Prize twice. His work focuses on the apparent excesses of late-capitalist Western society, is noted as a master of what the New York Times has dubbed “the new unpleasantness”, and has been named by The Times as one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

Mogul: The Mogul Empire was established and ruled by a Persianate dynasty of Chagatai TurcoMongol origin that extended over large parts of India and Afghanistan. The beginning of the empire is generally traced to 1526 when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, in the First Battle of Panipat. The Mogul Empire balanced and pacified local societies Novelist Martin Amis, 2014.

through new administrative practices and diverse and inclusive ruling elites, fostering a systematic, centralized, and uniform rule. By the mid-18th century the Mogul Empire had been largely dissolved by Marathas military victories and subsequent dissatisfaction with its administrative and economic systems, leading to declarations of independence from many of its former provinces. The final Mogul ruler, Bahadur Shah II, had authority only over the city of Shahjahanabad; he supported the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and upon its defeat, was tried for treason by the British East India Company, imprisoned, and exiled to Rangoon, while the remnants of the Mogul Empire were taken over by the British.

The Mogul Empire at its greatest extent, 1707.

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Moisés Alou: Dominican American former Major League Baseball outfielder, who played 17 seasons in the National League. He was involved in the 2003 Steve Bartman incident in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins, in which Cubs fan Steve Bartman deflected a foul ball, preventing Alou from making a possible catch and out. The Cubs went on to lose the series in seven games, and the Steve Bartman incident is often identified as the turning point toward defeat.

Cubs outfielder Moises Alou hits a home run against the Cincinnati Reds, 2004.

Mujahideen: The plural form of the term mujahid, meaning one who participates in jihad, referring to the guerrilla-type military warfare led by the Muslim Afghan warriors in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.

Mulla Sadra: Iranian Shia Islamic philosopher and theologian and ulama, or recognized scholar of the Islamic religious sciences who lived from 1571/2 – 1640. He is considered a master of the Illuminationist school of philosophy, who created a major transition in Islamic philosophy form essentialism to existentialism. His main work is The Transcendent Theosophy in the Four Journeys of the Intellect, and he is generally regarded as one of the most influential Muslim philosophers of the last four hundred years.

Entrance to Mulla Sadra’s home in Kahak. A Farsi sentence above the door reads: “The house of the wise, Mulla Sadra”.

Moor: A member of an Islamic people of Berber or Arab descent who ruled Spain and parts of northwestern Africa from the 8th to the 15th centuries; the term is sometimes inaccurately applied to refer to anyone of Muslim, Middle Eastern or African descent.

Netanyahu: Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu (1949-) is the current Prime Minister of Israel, a position to which he has been elected four times, and the only Israeli Prime Minister in history to be elected three times in a row. Currently, he is the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history, and will hold the record upon completion of his current term.

Orientalism: A term often used by literary and cultural scholars and art historians meaning the Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel.

imitation or depictions of cultural aspects traditional to the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and/or East Asia. The publication of Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) sparked a general usage of the term as a description of patronizing Western attitudes toward Middle Eastern, North African, and Asian societies.

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Paella: A traditional Spanish dish that originated in Valencian communities, and which can trace its roots to the mid-19th century. There are numerous types of and recipes for paella, but the original Valencian paella consists of white rice, green beans, meat (such as chicken or rabbit), white beans, snails, and seasonings such as saffron and rosemary. Most paellas use calasparra or bomba rice, and all paellas use olive oil.

Pamplona: The historical capital city of Navarre, Spain, perhaps most famous for the annual running of the bulls during the San Fermin festival in July, and brought to literary fame in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises (1926).

Traditional Valencian paella.

Patriot Act: The USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act is an Act of Congress signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001, to strengthen security controls after the September 11th attacks by legalizing aggressive methods of information acquisition regarding suspected terrorist activities including indefinite detentions of immigrants, great freedom to search homes and businesses, and the expanded use of National Security Letters which allow the FBI to search telephone, e-mail, and financial records without a court order. Many provisions in the Patriot Act have since expired or been amended, but in May, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011 which authorizes a four-year extension of three key provisions: roving wiretaps, searches of business records, and surveillance of individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities, but not linked to any particular terrorist group.

The Punjab region of India.

Punjabi: The Punjabis are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan peoples originating from the Punjab region, located in present day Pakistan and northern India. “Punjab” means “land of five waters,” and traditional Punjab identity is linked to a linguistic, geographical, and cultural identity, rather than to any race, creed, religion, or language. Traditional Punjabi identity included many clans as well as those who did not belong to any historical tribe, making community building and cohesiveness the generalized pillars of Punjabi society.

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Rumi: Jalᾱl ad-Dῑn Muhammad Rῡmῑ (1207-1273) was a 13th century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic, whose spiritual legacy largely transcends national borders and ethnic divisions. One of Rumi’s major themes includes the concept of tawhid—union with his primal root, from which/whom he has been separated and become aloof—and the longing and desire to restore it. He also passionately believed in music, poetry and dance as a path by which to reach God. September 11th: The September 11th attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks against U.S. symbolic landmarks perpetrated by Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the morning Artistic depiction of Rumi from a book of poetry, 1980.

of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Four passenger airplanes, all departing from the east coast of the United States and bound for California, were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists intending to fly the planes into buildings. Two planes respectively crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City; one plane crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington, Virginia; and a fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers. The combined attacks claimed a total of 2,996 lives, and the collective event marks the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in U.S. history. The U.S. responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan in order to depose the Taliban, known for harboring al-Qaeda leadership.

Seville: The capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain, and the fourth largest city in the country. Seville has a rich cultural history, and was incorporated under Muslim rule in the years 712-1248, when it was taken over by Ferdinand III and the Kingdom of Castile. After the discovery of the Americas, Seville grew into one of the Spanish Empire’s economic centers, largely monopolizing trans-oceanic trade and heralding a Golden Age of arts and literature that eventually declined during the 17th century. Ferdinand Magellan also notably departed from Seville to undertake the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1519.

Sothi Sikander: Fictional artist.

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South Park: American adult animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 1997 that depicts the bizarre adventures of four boys (Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick) in South Park, Colorado, and has come to be down for crude language, dark situations, and surreal humor that satirizes a massive range of cultural and political topics.

South Park is currently the third longest-running animated series in the U.S., outpaced only by The Simpsons and Arthur.

Title card from season 17 of South Park, featuring Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman.

The Times: A British daily newspaper founded in 1785 and based in London. It was the first paper to include “Times” in its name, originated the Times New Roman typeface, and is widely respected as an important and responsible reporter of public affairs, politics, and world events.

WASP: An acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, the informal and sometimes derogatory term for a generalized high-status and influential group of Americans widely believed to control a disproportionate amount of wealth, social and political power, and educational opportunities Front page of The Times from December 4, 1788.

within the United States.

Woody Allen: Heywood “Woody” Allen (1935- ) is an American actor, writer, director, comedian and playwright often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers who emerged in 1960s and 1970s. He often directs and stars in his own films, typically as the insecure, intellectual character that he developed as a comedian. He has been nominated for 24 Academy Awards, winning three for Best Original Screenplay and one for Best Director, and holds more screenwriting Academy Award nominations than any other writer in history.

Woody Allen, 1970s.

RELIGION Angel Gabriel: Among the Abrahamic religions, which include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá’i Faith (among many others), the Angel Gabriel is an angel who typically serves as a messenger sent from God to particular people. In Islam, Gabriel in considered to be one of the four archangels whom God sent to various prophets, including Muhammad, with divine messages.

In the Christian Bible, Gabriel appears in the Old Testament as a messenger to the prophet Daniel to explain his visions, and appears twice in the New Testament Gospel of Luke to foretell the

Depiction of the Angel Gabriel from the 12th century, on display at the Georgian National Museum.

respective births of John the Baptist and Jesus.

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Apostate: One who has formally renounced or abandoned a religion. The term is also often broadly applied to the act of embracing an opinion contrary to one’s prior beliefs.

Bible: A collection of sacred texts to the Jewish and Christian faiths. The Bible of Judaism, often generally referred to as the Hebrew Bible, is a collection of 24 books divided into the Torah (teaching or instruction), Nevi’im (prophets), and the Ketuvim (writings), and originally written in Hebrew with some Aramaic. The Christian Bible ranges from 66 books in the Protestant canon to 81 books in the canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Generally, the first portion of the Christian Bible is known as the Old Testament which contains the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, divided and rearranged into 39 books. The second portion of the Christian Bible is the New Testament, consisting of 27 books (four Canonical gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, 21 Epistles or didactic letters, and the Book of Revelation), originally written in Koine Greek, and detailing the life and teachings of Jesus.

Fundamentalism: A term indicating an unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs, often applied to a broad tendency among certain groups, particularly religious groups, to adhere to a strict literalism regarding specific ideologies, and a strong related sense of ingroup and outgroup distinctions. Fundamentalism often includes an emphasis on a return to a previous ideal from which humankind has strayed, and when used as a pejorative term, can also incorporate a rejection of diverse opinions and/or strict, limited interpretations of meaning.

Imam: An Islamic leadership position, most commonly used to describe a worship leader of a mosque and a Sunni Muslim community. A branch of the Shi’a Muslim tradition utilizes a more central meaning of the word derived from the concept of Imamah, in which the Twelve Imams represent the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and are regarded as exemplary individuals charged with guiding the community as well as keeping and interpreting sharia (the Islamic legal system derived from the religious precepts of Islam) and the esoteric meaning of the Quran.

Islam: The Muslim religion, a monotheistic faith believed to be revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah (God).

Can also refer to the Muslim world as a geo-cultural entity.

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Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Church of Christ, later renamed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At age 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon, an English translation of a book of golden plates inscribed with the words of a buried Judeo-Christian history of an ancient American civilization that he was directed to find by the angel Moroni. In 1831, Smith and his followers moved west to build a communalistic society. After a long series of moves and violent Painting of Joseph Smith by Bathsheba W. Smith, c.

1843.

altercations, he was killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, while imprisoned after destroying a newspaper that criticized his power and the Mormon practice of polygamy. Five men were tried for

Kufi: A kufi or kufi cap is a rounded, short, brimless cap worn by men in many areas of Africa and Asia, throughout the African diaspora, and Canada. It is part of the national costume for most countries in West Africa and, although traditionally Islamic, is worn by many ethnic and geographical groups. Many older men wear a kufi to symbolize their status as wise elders, religious people, or family patriarchs.

The late President Umaru Ya r ’ A d u a o f N i g e r i a wearing a crown style kufi.

Mormonism: The religious tradition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity. Founded by Joseph Smith in Upstate New York during the 1820s, after his death, most Mormons followed Brigham Young on a westward journey to Utah Territory, where a large population remains in and around present-day Salt Lake City. Their name is derived from the Book of Mormon, the primary religious text of the Mormon faith. There are independent denominations of Mormonism that are not part of the LDS church, including Mormon fundamentalism, which maintains practices and doctrines that were formally abandoned (such as polygamy), and cultural Mormonism, which embraces a lifestyle identified and promoted

by Mormon institutions, but may not necessarily embrace the theology of Mormonism as a faith.

Statue of the Angel Moroni on top of the temple in Birmingham, Alabama.

Photo by Matthew B. Brown.

Moroni: According to the Book of Mormon, Moroni was the last Nephite prophet, historian, and military commander who lived in the Americas during the late 4th and early 5th centuries. He became the Angel Moroni, who presented the golden plates to Joseph Smith, from which Smith translated the Book of Mormon.

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Muhammad: Muhammad (570 CE – 632 AD) is generally considered to be the founder of Islam, and almost universally considered by Muslims to have been the last prophet sent to mankind by God to restore Islam. By his death in 632 AD, Muhammad had reorganized Arabia (the Arabian Peninsula) into a single unity, and his teachings and practice along with the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed to him by God, form the basis of Islamic religious belief and law.

Muslim: A practitioner of the religion of Islam, a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, regarded as the teachings of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Muslim belief holds that God or Allah (in Arabic) is eternal, transcendent, incomparable, and selfCalligraphic representation of Muhammad’s name, followed by his title “Apostle of God”, inscribed on the gates of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (The Mosque of the Prophet) in Medina.

sustaining; that Islam is the complete and universal faith that was revealed through numerous prophets including Abraham, Moses, Ishmael, and Jesus; that the messages of the Prophets have been partially changed and/or corrupted over time; and that the Quran is the final unaltered revelation from God (The Final Testament). The Five Pillars of Islam, which describe Muslim religious practices, are declaration of faith (shahadah), daily prayers (salat), fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan (sawm), almsgiving (zakat), and a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime. Sunni Muslims account for 75-90% of the world’s Muslim population, Shia Muslims comprise 10-20%, and Ahmadiyya Muslims account for approximately 1%. Today, there are approximately 1.6 billion followers of Islam around the world (nearly one-quarter of the world’s population), and it counts as the second-largest and one of the fastest-growing world religions.

The Prophet: A reference to Muhammad, founder of Islam and considered by Muslims to be the last prophet sent to mankind by God, in order to restore Islam.

Rabbi: In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah or the Pentateuch, the central reference of the religious Judaic tradition that consists of the foundational narrative of the Jewish faith, imparts

Sculpture of Siva with a moustache, on display at the Archaeological Museum in Goa, India.

instruction and offers a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws for those who follow it.

Siva: Siva or Shiva, also known as Mahadeva, is one of the main deities of Hinduism. Siva is regarded as limitless, transcendent, benevolent and fearsome, and often depicted with a third eye on his forehead, the snake Vasuki around his neck, adorned by the crescent moon, and with the holy river Ganga flowing from his hair, the trishula as his weapon and the damaru as his musical instrument.

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Talmud: Also traditionally referred to as Shas, the Talmud (meaning “instruction” in Hebrew) is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, generally regarded as the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century AD. The Talmud consists of the Mishnah, a written compendium of the Oral Torah of Rabbinic Judaism, and the Gemara, explanations of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that describe other subjects and broadly discusses the Hebrew Bible. The entire Talmud contains 63 tractates, is written in Tannaitic Hebrew and Aramaic, and contains the teachings of thousands of pre-Christian Era rabbis regarding law, ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and lore, among many other things. The Talmud is also the basis of Jewish law.

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