Hanif (, ''''; plural: حنفاء, '''') is a term that refers to those who maintain the pure monothestic beliefs of the patriarch Ibrahim. More specifically, in Islamic thought it refers to the people during the period known as the ''Age of Ignorance'', who were seen to have rejected ''idolatry'' and retained some or all of the tenets of the religion of Ibrahim which was "submission to God" (Arabic: ''Allah'') in its purest form.

Etymology and History of the term[link]

The term is from the Arabic root '''' meaning "to incline, to decline" (Lane 1893) from the Syriac root of the same meaning. The '''' is the law of Ibrahim; the verb '''' means "to turn away from (idolatry)", with a secondary and subsequent meaning of "to become circumcised". In the verse 3:27 of the Quran it has also been translated as "upright person" and outside the Quran as "to incline towards a right state or tendency". It appears to have been used earlier by Jews and Christians in reference to 'pagans' and applied to followers of an old Hellenized Syro-Arabian religion and used to taunt early Muslims.

Others maintained that they followed the "...religion of Ibrahim, the hanif, the Muslim..." It has been theorized by Watt that the verbal term Islam; arising from the participle form of Muslim (meaning: surrendered to God); may have only arisen as an identifying descriptor for the religion in the late Medinan period. However, the word "Islam" had been used in Quran by God himself in Sura 5, Ayat 3.

List of hanifs[link]

This is a minor list of those who submitted their whole selves to God in the way of Abraham:

All the prophets of God

Hashim ibn Abd al-Manaf

Abdul Mutallib

‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib

Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib

Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib

Ali ibn abu Talib

Alexander Herbst

Said ibn Zayd

The four friends in Mecca from Ibn Ishaq's account:

Zaid ibn Amr ibn Nufail: rejected both Judaism and Christianity Waraqah ibn Nawfal: converted to Christianity Uthman ibn Huwarith: travelled to the Byzantine Empire and converted to Christianity Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh: early Muslim convert who emigrated to Abyssinia and then converted to Christianity.

Hanif opponents of Islam from Ibn Ishaq's account:

Abu Amir Abd Amr ibn Sayfi: a leader of the tribe of Banu Aus at Medina and builder of the "Mosque of the Schism" mentioned in the Quranic verse and later allied with the Quraysh then moved to Taif and onto Syria after subsequent Muslim conquests. Abu Qays ibn al-Aslat

As a name [link]

'''', capitalized, can also be a common Arabic proper name used for its more literary and poetic definition, "true believer" or "righteous one". The name is used throughout the Muslim world including non-Arabic speaking cultures.

See also[link]

Banu Khuza'a

virtuous pagan

Urmonotheismus

Notes[link]

References [link]

Hawting G R 1999: ''The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History'', Cambridge University Press

Ambros Arne A & Procháczka Stephan 2004: ''A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic", Reichert

Kochler, Hans (EDT),''Concept of Monotheism in Islam & Christianity'', I.P.O., Jan 1, 1982, ISBN 3-7003-0339-4

William Montgomery Watt, ''"Muhammad: prophet and statesman"'', Oxford University Press US, Jun 1, 1974 ,ISBN 0-19-881078-4

F. E. (Francis E.) Peters, ''"Muhammad and the Origins of Islam"'', SUNY Press, Jul 1, 1994, ISBN 0-7914-1875-8

John Kaltner, ''"Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qu'ran for Bible Readers"'', Liturgical Press, Oct 31, 1999, ISBN 0-8146-5882-2

Category:Quranic words and phrases Category:Islamic terms Category:History of Islam

ar:حنيفية bg:Ханифи cs:Haníf de:Hanīf es:Hanif fr:Hanif it:Hanif he:חניף arz:حنيفية ms:Hanif nl:Ḥanīf ru:Ханифизм tr:Hanif ur:حنیف zh:哈尼夫

name	Hanif Kureishi
birth date	December 05, 1954
birth place	Bromley, London, England
occupation	Playwright, screenwriter, novelist, film director
period	1976 - present
movement	Postcolonial literature
signature	Hanif Kureishi Autograph.jpg ‎
website	http://www.hanifkureishi.com/ }}

Hanif Kureishi CBE (born December 5, 1954) is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality. In 2008, ''The Times'' included Kureishi in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

Biography[link]

Kureishi was born in Kent to a Pakistani father and an English mother (Audrey Buss). His father, Rafiushan, was from a wealthy Madras family, most of whose members moved to Pakistan after the Partition of British India in 1947. After his parents married, the family settled in Bromley where Kureishi was born.

He attended Bromley Technical High School and studied for A levels at Bromley College of Technology. While at this college he was elected as Student Union President (1972) and some of the characters from his semi-autobiographical work "The Buddha of Suburbia" are from this period. He went on to spend a year studying philosophy at Lancaster University before dropping out. Later he attended King's College London and took a degree in philosophy.

The poet Maki Kureishi is his aunt.

Career[link]

Kureishi started his career in the '70s as a pornography writer, under the pseudonyms Antonia French and Karim.

He wrote ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' in 1985, a screenplay about a gay Pakistani-British boy growing up in 1980s London for a film directed by Stephen Frears. It won the New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

His book ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' (1990) won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel, and was also made into a BBC television series with a soundtrack by David Bowie.

The next year, 1991, saw the release of the feature film entitled ''London Kills Me''; a film written and directed by Kureishi himself.

His novel ''Intimacy'' (1998) revolved around the story of a man leaving his wife and two young sons after feeling physically and emotionally rejected by his wife. This created some controversy as Kureishi himself had recently left his own partner (the editor and producer Tracey Scoffield) and two young sons; it was assumed to be at least semi-autobiographical. In 2000/2001 the novel was adapted to a movie ''Intimacy'' by Patrice Chéreau, which won two Bears at the Berlin Film Festival: a Golden Bear for Best Film, and a Silver Bear for Best Actress (Kerry Fox). It was controversial for its explicit sex scenes. The book was translated into Persian by Niki Karimi in 2005.

His family have accused him of exploiting them with thinly disguised references in his work; Kureishi has denied the claims. His sister Yasmin has accused him of selling her family "down the line". She wrote, in a letter to ''The Guardian'', that if her family's history had to become public, she would not stand by and let it be "fabricated for the entertainment of the public or for Hanif's profit". She says that his description of her family's working class roots are fictitious. Their grandfather was not "cloth cap working class", their mother never worked in a shoe factory, and their father, she says, was not a bitter old man.

Yasmin takes up issues with her brother not merely for his thinly disguised autobiographical references in his first novel, ''The Buddha of Suburbia'', but also for the image of his own past that he portrays in newspaper interviews. She wrote: "My father was angry when ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' came out as he felt that Hanif had robbed him of his dignity, and he didn't speak to Hanif for about a year."

Kureishi's drama ''The Mother'' was adapted to a movie by Roger Michell, which won a joint First Prize in the Director’s Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival. It showed a cross-generational relationship with changed roles: a seventy-year-old English lady and grandmother (played by Anne Reid) who seduces her daughter's boyfriend (played by Daniel Craig), a thirty-year-old craftsman. Explicit sex scenes were shown in realistic drawings only, thus avoiding censorship.

His 2006 screenplay ''Venus'' saw Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations for Peter O'Toole in the best actor category.

His latest novel, ''Something to Tell You'', was published in 2008. His 1989 novel ''The Black Album'', adapted for the theatre, was performed at the National Theatre in July and August 2009.

In 2009, he donated the short story ''Long Ago Yesterday'' to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. His story was published in the 'Earth' collection.

In May 2011 he was awarded the second Asia House Literature Award on the closing night of the Asia House Literary Festival where he discussed his ''Collected Essays'' (Faber).

Kureishi is married, with twin boys, a younger son, and a parrot called Amis. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Bibliography[link]

Novels[link]

1990 ''The Buddha of Suburbia''. London: Faber and Faber.

1995 ''The Black Album''. London: Faber and Faber.

1998 ''Intimacy''. London: Faber and Faber.

2001 ''Gabriel's Gift''. London: Faber and Faber.

2003 ''The Body''. London: Faber and Faber.

2008 ''Something to Tell You''. London: Faber and Faber.

Story collections[link]

1997 ''Love in a Blue Time'' London: Faber and Faber.

1999 ''Midnight All Day''. London: Faber and Faber.

Plays and screenplays[link]

1988 ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid''. London: Faber and Faber.

1991 ''London Kills Me''. London: Faber and Faber.

1996 ''My Beautiful Laundrette and other writings''. London: Faber and Faber.

1997 ''My Son The Fanatic''. London: Faber and Faber.

1999 ''Hanif Kureishi Plays One''. London: Faber and Faber.

1999 ''Sleep With Me''. London: Faber and Faber.

2002 ''Collected Screenplays'' Volume I. London: Faber and Faber.

2003 ''The Mother''. London: Faber and Faber.

2007 ''Venus''. London: Faber and Faber.

2009 ''The Black Album'' (adapted from the novel). London: Faber and Faber.

Nonfiction[link]

2002 ''Dreaming and Scheming: Reflections on Writing and Politics''

2004 ''My Ear at His Heart''. London: Faber and Faber.

2005 ''Word And The Bomb ''. London: Faber and Faber.

As editor[link]

1995 ''The Faber Book of Pop''. London: Faber and Faber.

Critical works about Kureishi[link]

Moore-Gilbert, Bart. ''Hanif Kureishi'' (Contemporary World Writers). Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001.

Ranasinha, Ruvani. ''Hanif Kureishi'' (Writers and Their Work). Devon: Northcote House Publishers Ltd, 2002.

Thomas, Susie (ed). ''Hanif Kureishi'' (Readers' Guides to Essential Criticism). Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Buchanan, Bradley. ''Hanif Kureishi'' (New British Fiction). Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Filmography[link]

Screenplays[link]

1985 ''My Beautiful Laundrette''

1987 ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid''

1991 ''London Kills Me'' (and director)

1993 ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' (television miniseries, based on the novel)

1997 ''My Son the Fanatic'' (based on his own short story of the same title)

1999 ''Mauvaise passe'' (aka ''The Escort'', aka ''The Wrong Blonde'') (with Michel Blanc)

2003 ''The God of Small Tales'' (short) (with Akram Khan)

2003 ''The Mother'' (adapted from the play)

2006 ''Venus''

2007 ''Weddings and Beheadings'' (2007)

Story basis only[link]

2001 ''Intimacy''

Producer[link]

2006 ''Souvenir''

Notes[link]

See also[link]

List of authors

List of English novelists

List of novelists

List of playwrights

List of short story writers

External links[link]

Kureishi's website

Faber and Faber - UK publisher of Hanif Kureishi

Waraich, Omar. ''When Bombs Speak Louder Than Words, Interview with Hanif Kureishi''. ''The Daily Star, Beirut -International Herald Tribune'' Jan 28 2006

"In Conversation: Hanif Kureishi with Hirsh Sawhney". ''The Brooklyn Rail'', July/Aug 2006

Audio interview with Hanif Kureishi from ''open2.net''

Audio: Hanif Kureishi in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion show ''The Forum''

About "My Son The Fanatic" Interpretations of and more background information on the short story.

Illustrated web article on Kureishi's ''Buddha of Suburbia''

Reference to family controversy

Category:English dramatists and playwrights Category:English screenwriters Category:English novelists Category:English short story writers Category:Postcolonial literature Category:English people of Pakistani descent Category:Alumni of King's College London Category:Alumni of Lancaster University Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Muhajir people Category:People from Bromley Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

ca:Hanif Kureishi cs:Hanif Kureishi de:Hanif Kureishi et:Hanif Kureishi es:Hanif Kureishi eu:Hanif Kureishi fa:حنیف قریشی fr:Hanif Kureishi it:Hanif Kureishi he:חניף קוריישי nl:Hanif Kureishi ja:ハニフ・クレイシ no:Hanif Kureishi pl:Hanif Kureishi ru:Курейши, Ханиф sh:Hanif Kureishi fi:Hanif Kureishi sv:Hanif Kureishi

Name	Hanif Sanket হানিফ সংকেত
Full name	A K M Hanif
Birth place	Barisal, Bangladesh
Yearsactive	1990-Present
Known for	Ittyadi
Occupation	Presenter, Director, Producer and comedian
spouse	Sanjida Hanif
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Religion	Sunni Islam
awards	Ekushey Padak (2010) }}

Hanif Sanket (; full name: A K M Hanif) is a Bangladeshi comedian, entertainer and presenter.

Career[link]

Sanket was born in 1957 in Barisal District. He first gained prominence in the early 1980s when he performed comic skits on Fazle Lohani's variety show ''Jodi Kichhu Mone Na Koren'' (''If You Don't Mind''). Since then, he has become a household name in Bangladesh. Sanket's variety show ''Ittyadi'' (Et cetera) is a popular program on Bangladeshi television.

Sanket has a wide following among the Bangladeshi diaspora, and he frequently travels abroad with cultural troupes to perform for expatriate Bangladeshis. He has also released a number of comedy albums, and has acted in television dramas on several occasions.

He was awarded the Ekushey Padak in 2010 for social service.

References[link]

Category:Bangladeshi television personalities Category:Living people Category:1957 births

bn:হানিফ সংকেত