Jalal Toufic is a Lebanese writer and video-artist, born to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother. His book, ‘Ashura’ This Blood Spilled in My Veins was published in 2005 by Forthcoming Books, in continuity to the film of the same name released in 2002. The book consists mainly of photographs depicting “tatbir”, the act of inflicting injuries to the self during the day of Ashura which commemorates the death of Imam Hussain. The photographs are accompanied by an introductory and a closing essay.

The essays

The first essay is about memory. According to Toufic, mankind is prone to forgetting but pain and blood can be a way to preserve memory, as is the case for self-flagellation during Ashura. The ceremony, he argues, is not a punishment for abandoning Imam Hussain to his death as is commonly thought. It is a way for Twelver Shias to remember both the past – Hussain’s death – and the future – the promise to wait for the return of the twelfth Imam. Unlike short-term promises that can be easily remembered, promises that must be kept for millennia require such strategies to be preserved, and survive this 21st century era, especially in the Western world, in which things become faster but memory shorter. This introductory text does not provide the reader with information to understand the context surrounding self-flagellation during Ashura. It only offers remembering as a reason for the bloody rite. Instead of teaching the reader about the ceremony, it provides a philosophical reflection. The closing essay is also of a philosophical nature, citing Nietzche and Deleuze and reflecting on the meaning of martyrdom and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The photographs

The photographs taken by Toufic are extremely graphic, filled with a very bright red blood, almost fluorescent pink. Blood is what connects all those men together, what makes them similar. The first photograph is of a man covered in blood, his hand approaching the camera as if to address the viewer. The title of the book, “This Blood Spilled in My Veins” is written on his mouth, as if spoken by him. On the following pages, two men, once again covered in blood, look at the camera, creating the impression of eye contact with the reader. Men photographed in this book are smiling, interacting, assisting one another. The rite, which could appear morbid, almost deadly to non-Shia viewers, is here presented in a lively way. We feel present in the room with the Shias, surrounded by them, part of them.

Another interesting aspect in these photographs, is the importance given to elements that would otherwise be ignored as being mundane in such a spiritual context. For example, white cloths used to absorb the blood are photographed, even when abandoned on the floor or thrown away on a pile of similarly stained cloths. Trash left on the floor is not hidden either, such as what appears to be bloody headbands and a cigarette pack.

Interestingly, the infliction of injury is never shown, it always seems as if the photographs were taken after the actions. Some men are sitting, others are wiping themselves, the ceremony is approaching its end and blood has been already spilled, as testified by the gradually increasing focus on the floor, almost painted red. Is it to avoid voyeurism that no inflicting of injury was photographed?

The book credits the “Islamic World Arts Initiative, generously supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council”. It is made by a Shia muslim, for fellow muslims but also accessible to Westerners. It is therefore an alternative to the usually violent depiction of Ashura by the media in America and Europe. Interestingly, Ashura is also presented here in its bloody form, it is not toned down for the Western viewers, perhaps in an attempt not to twist reality – even Shia muslims can not deny that tatbir is bloody – but to show it as it is, both in its violence but also in its community and life-reaffirming aspect.

References

Toufic, J. (2005). Āshūrā: This Blood Spilled in My Veins. Forthcoming Books. https://jalaltoufic.com/downloads/Jalal_Toufic,_Ashura_This_Blood_Spilled_in_My_Veins.pdf