{"id":1758,"date":"2015-05-21T23:23:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T23:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=1758"},"modified":"2015-05-21T23:25:09","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T23:25:09","slug":"dahlia-berber-warrior-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/dahlia-berber-warrior-queen\/","title":{"rendered":"Dahlia, Berber Warrior Queen"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_2146\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2146\" style=\"width: 683px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2146\" alt=\"Pre desert near the Atlas mountains in Sous-Massa in Morocco\" src=\"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Pre-desert-near-the-Atlas-mountains-in-Sous-Massa-in-Morocco.jpg\" width=\"683\" height=\"205\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2146\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pre desert near the Atlas mountains in Sous-Massa in Morocco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div style=\"width: 300px; float: right;\">\n<p><b>Background Story<br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<address>Known as &#8220;The Witch&#8221; (al-Kahinat) to the invading Arabs, she was a fierce and wise resistance fighter for the Berber people.<\/address>\n<address>Her fate was a soldiers fate, unlike Umm* who suffered death by being torn limb from limb by a pair of camels to which she was tied.<\/address>\n<address>As with the story of Dahlia burning her cities, the story of Umm is hotly disputed.<\/address>\n<\/div>\n<p>She was no Umm*, twain by camels two<br \/>\nBy soldiers of the Prophet, angry<br \/>\nNo, she was of a different breed<br \/>\nShe met them fighting, her enemy<br \/>\nShe,warrior, who they knew as the Witch<br \/>\nYet canny, when the time it had come<br \/>\nShe told her sons convert themselves<br \/>\nSo they be saved, fate cannot be fought<br \/>\nThough it be fought till a warrior falls<br \/>\nThe warriors fate, the warriors desire<br \/>\nIn such a falling there is no shame<br \/>\nSpartan style, Gods await the Spirit<br \/>\nReady to toast the Soul of the Brave<br \/>\nBrave was she, name known in history<br \/>\nTo today, tales of resistance<br \/>\nUndisputed, bravery speaks loud, clear<br \/>\nAcross the ages, from centuries<br \/>\nLong, stories change details, however<br \/>\nHer story it remains the same, truth<br \/>\nChanges little from mouths of the telling<br \/>\nThe words uttered, same as their echo<br \/>\nShe faced invaders, to save her people<br \/>\nNot to resist the Faith which they preached<br \/>\nTelling her own two sons to convert,<br \/>\nNo bandit she, waiting in desert<br \/>\nSoldier brave, blessed to die soldiers death<br \/>\nUnlike Umm, taken with her daughter<br \/>\nWhen his soldiers they by force seized her<br \/>\nShe torn in twain, between two camels.<\/p>\n<address>* Umm Qirfa &#8211; torn in two by Muhammads soldiers, some say for attacking a merchants convoy of Muhammads, others said to be a lesson that women should not lead. Story confirmed and disputed and hotly debated by Islamic scholars.<\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Background Story Known as &#8220;The Witch&#8221; (al-Kahinat) to the invading Arabs, she was a fierce and wise resistance fighter for the Berber people. Her fate was a soldiers fate, unlike Umm* who suffered death by being torn limb from limb by a pair of camels to which she was tied. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[284,1],"tags":[351,1911,2350,288,1913,1910,1912],"class_list":["post-1758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-on-the-berber-trail","category-uncategorized","tag-berber","tag-dahlia","tag-islam","tag-morocco","tag-muhammad","tag-queen","tag-umm-qirfa","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-sm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2497,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/lovers-of-the-lakes-of-tears\/","url_meta":{"origin":1758,"position":0},"title":"Lovers of the Lakes of Tears","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"23rd January 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Imilchil wedding festival is an annual gathering of the Berber peoples so betrothals can take place. Unlike other Islamic societies, Berbers still practice marriages by the heart, where lovers choose their partners as opposed to having them chosen for them by their families... Imilchil Betrothal Festival \" Morrocco The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;On the Berber Trail&quot;","block_context":{"text":"On the Berber Trail","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/travel-poems\/on-the-berber-trail\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writerscafe.org\/images\/quote_start.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/farewell-the-sun-we-meet-on-the-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":1758,"position":1},"title":"Farewell the Sun, We Meet on the Morning","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"28th May 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Farewell to the sun, we meet in the morning When warmth again it shall the earth Creatures all shall seek solace in or from it, Father of all on that here have known birth. Ayyur, she watches over us tonight, As the cold, it cloaks the darkened land, When light\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;North Longford&quot;","block_context":{"text":"North Longford","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/north-longford\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sunset in Agadir, Morocco","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sun1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sun1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sun1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Sun1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1122,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/morocco-through-a-window\/","url_meta":{"origin":1758,"position":2},"title":"Morocco Through a Window","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"15th November 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A thousand colours, little green These hills, where the Berber rode After him the Arab on steed Then French and Spanish on this road That I, traveller, I pay to tour As thousands did before me Thousands after will do the same Just another place for us to be. Another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;On the Berber Trail&quot;","block_context":{"text":"On the Berber Trail","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/travel-poems\/on-the-berber-trail\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Morocco seen through a bus window...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Morocco-Through-a-Window.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Morocco-Through-a-Window.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Morocco-Through-a-Window.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Morocco-Through-a-Window.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Morocco-Through-a-Window.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":405,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/last-keepers-of-the-kasbah\/","url_meta":{"origin":1758,"position":3},"title":"Last Keepers of the Kasbah","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"27th February 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The last keepers, there they stand, within the walls of the Kasbah Visitors to guide, around the site of the Kasbah Now a grave, to those who in fifteen seconds, lost it all And a cemetery it is now, the Kasbah That once protected friends and defied foes Who were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ghazal&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ghazal","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ghazal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kasbah at Agadir in Morocco","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Kasbah-at-Agadir-in-Morocco.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Kasbah-at-Agadir-in-Morocco.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Kasbah-at-Agadir-in-Morocco.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Kasbah-at-Agadir-in-Morocco.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":224,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/are-both-one-blood\/","url_meta":{"origin":1758,"position":4},"title":"Are Both One Blood?","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"11th August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Some Arabs say that Celts they were, These Berber folk who in the Maghreb live, I see few similarities to my eye\u2026 To the residents of the sands that don\u2019t forgive, Weakness of man or heart must be restrained, People must be resilient to survive - Where water is scarce,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Irish Legend&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Irish Legend","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/irish-legend\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Berber sands of the Pre Sahara","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Berber-Sands-in-the-Pre-Sahara.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Berber-Sands-in-the-Pre-Sahara.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Berber-Sands-in-the-Pre-Sahara.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Berber-Sands-in-the-Pre-Sahara.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":180,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/real-activists-real-risks-morocco-and-100tpc\/","url_meta":{"origin":1758,"position":5},"title":"Real Activists &#8211; Real Risks &#8211; Morocco and 100TPC","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"9th June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Listening today to 100TPC radio, an interview of El Habib Louai, with Terri Carron and Michael Rothenberg, where he speaks of the Islamist government in Morocco, and the difficulties of protest, and even organising poetry readings such as 100 Thousand Poets for Change, brings home to me the freedoms we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rossnowlagh parade, with Gada escort","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Orange-Order-Marches-at-Rossnowlagh.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Orange-Order-Marches-at-Rossnowlagh.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Orange-Order-Marches-at-Rossnowlagh.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Orange-Order-Marches-at-Rossnowlagh.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1758"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1760,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1758\/revisions\/1760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}