RUMI ON THE STREET

Few things are uglier (but unfortunately, in the volatile and violent city of Kabul, more necessary) than blast walls – thick chunks of grey cement that shield buildings and their occupants from suicide bombs and drive-by shootings.

And few things are more beautiful than the immortal words and images of the beloved 13th century poet and philosopher Jalaluddin al Rumi, who was born in what then was called Balkh, and today is part of Afghanistan.

So we at ARCH have partnered with a group of Afghan street artists to make Rumi’s timeless voice heard in a place that really needs him: war torn Kabul. The blast walls are our canvas, his poems about hope and renewal are our message.

Plant your seeds and wait
Winter rules the land
The flowers are imprisoned underground
But soon, green justice will send up its spears

Rumi knew all about darkness, violence and winter – his family was forced to flee the Mongol invasion when he was just a child, and he spent much of his life as what we today would call a refugee. But he created, for himself and his followers, a transcendent reality of love, peace and mutual acceptance. For his day, his views were nothing short of revolutionary – he believed that religious differences didn’t matter, that all people should strive for peace, that love was the predominant purpose of life and that in the cycle of earthly affairs, there was always cause for hope.

Today he is especially revered in Turkey, Iran, parts of Central Asia and of course Afghanistan. It is very common for people to be able to quote him at length from memory, to refer to his writings in times of personal crisis, to make decisions based on one of his poems, and even to name their children after him. And amazingly, Rumi is the highest-selling poet in the United States today, measured by the number of books purchased. Many facebook pages celebrate his verses and Hollywood stars have set his words to music.

ARCH and ArtLords believe that Afghanistan needs its native son, Rumi, urgently back today, at a time when the streets of Kabul are rife with violence, religious tolerance is embattled, and hope is in short supply.

We’ve just finished the first mural. For the second one, we’re welcoming reinforcements: passersby who loved what we were doing so much that they asked if they could help paint the next one. And our work is already inspiring other street artists to also paint flowers and hopeful messages on additional blast walls.

We’re hoping to blanket Kabul and other Afghan cities with more and more Rumi messages. Blooming and bright, the colorful renditions are intended as a sort of pop-up gardens in the middle of the concrete, asphalt, traffic and bombs.

*Location of the two murals: In front of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs,
and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Dates: The first mural was painted in March 2017, the second is currently in progress.
Artists: Kabir Mokamel, Ahmad Omar, and Ahmad Zubair.

All Photos taken by ArtLords