Category: Poem

In the Name of Religion

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In the Name of Religion

By Ammara Mustafa Allahu Akbar they chant in a frenzy, In vain our men are slain in the name of religion Take off your rose tinted spectacles Dare to ponder and look around yourself. You – my dear, average Pakistani are not free,   Chaos is the disruptive violin playing in the air, Scare tactics are on the rise once again, Men in disguised robes have hijacked our country, Will the military intervene, will this noise end? Will the foundations of Islam be shaken so easily, Will humanity and justice…

Resolution, Revolution

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Resolution, Revolution

By Jimmy Bangash As I sit here in London On the cusp of the New Year; My heart  walks the streets of Iran.     For women have woken As a girl waves her hijab; Casting out the sound of Adhan. You cannot control them, No clergy can own them; This marks the death of Imams. Their bodies were plundered Wrapped up and covered; All in the name of Quran. Replace chador and virginity, With lipstick and liberty; Even though you think it’s Haram. Their voice is your death knell…

Doctrine: a poem

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Doctrine: a poem

By Jimmy Bangash   I couldn’t wash my brothers corpse; “You are no longer Muslim!” Religious prohibitions. Enforced by other Muslims     Islam had kept us strangers the last decade of his life, In death it intercedes my attempts to quell our strife As his corpse was lowered to the ground and ground upon it lain, My mother watches from afar; Islam supersedes her pain For women may not linger near; This domain belongs to men, And mothers, sisters, wives & more must segregate again So Far from Son…

Dupatta

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Dupatta

By Jimmy Bangash   I stand within the kitchen gazing up to watch my mother As she places back the huge black dustbin lid; having taken out a bowl of flour. White snow upon winter lands captured in her hands. She smiles down at me as I wait in anticipation. Then she begins; as she kneads the dough; a low hum in an octave so angelic telling tales of distant lands in languages I cannot speak And I smile. And I try to catch her tune with my voice though…

They Called me Shameless

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They Called me Shameless

By Scheherazade They called me shameless A disgrace For falling in love For wanting control over my own life The heart wants what it wants What could I have done? When I came home that night Trying to creep into my bed There they were Waiting for me instead. Rage on their faces. Slut Whore Beghairat, they said. All I wanted was to be free Soar with these wings Fly, wherever the wind would take me But I carried their honour Like a noose around my neck Which became tight Until…

My People Want Me Dead

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My People Want Me Dead

  By Jimmy Bangash   My people want me dead Because I love another man And as I reach out for his hand I must remember it’s Shaytan And that this lifestyle is Haraam My people prize their honour Above sister, mother, brother Above any illicit lover Fake sham marriages instead. My people want me dead Or they want me celibate As they discuss my cock in mosque And muse upon my use of tool Which orifice, with whom? So I internalise this shame Because my people prize their honour…

Dear Mr Taliban

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Dear Mr Taliban

By Jalebi Please excuse me but I just saw the news My ignorance was bliss until I saw the blood. The children with the green blazers you know the ones. I have a few questions If you could please clarify these? So let me start with question number one? Do you visit the doctor when you’re ill? Pop pills to control the pain? Where did the doctor learn these skills? A school did you say? DROP YOUR WEAPON! There’s hypocrisy in your hands! The AK47 was made by a WHITE…