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A Wise Man’s Advice on Love Through Theater in Medieval Cairo

August 28, 2014

Are you in love with a special someone but you don’t know what to do to attract his attention? Do you feel butterflies in your stomach when this one girl who lives down your street passes by? Are you heartbroken and sad, sad feelings really leave you puzzled? Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi might have the answers you need. These days the advice of the 10th century cleric can be found on the intersection of Saliba Street and Suyufiyya Street in ad-Darb al-Ahmar, at a 14th century building that goes by the name of the Amir Taz Palace. Here, Hani Afifi presents his theater play “About Lovers” (“عن العشاق”). Director Hani Afifi and dramaturge Karim Arafa based their play “About Lovers” on Ibn Hazm’s famous book “The Ring of the Dove”, on the art of love. Also known as al-Andalousi az-Zahiri, Ibn Hazm was born in the Andalusian city of Cordoba in 994. As a proponent of the Zahiri school of Islamic thought, he wrote hundreds of works about Islamic jurisprudence, comparative religion, and history. “The Ring of the Dove” (“طوق الحمامة”) could be called his most famous work today. “We chose…


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