Professor Aref Dalila (Arabic: عارف دليلة‎) (born 1943) is a Syrian economics professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Damascus University. He was arrested for his political activity during the Damascus Spring period.

Life[link]

Born in Latakia, Dalila holds a doctorate in economics from Moscow University. He worked as an economy expert for the Development Fund of Kuwait in the 1980s. He returned to Syria to serve as dean of the economics at Damascus University until he was banned from teaching in 1998, allegedly due to his criticism of the regime's economic policies.

He was arrested in Damascus on 9 September 2001, reportedly following a lecture in which he called for democracy and transparency, In this lectures delivered at the Syrian Economic Society in the Arab Cultural Center in Damascus, He demanded the release of information about the usage of oil and gas revenues. He was adopted by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.^[1] He served a 10-year prison sentence before being released by a special presidential order in August 2008.

The detention was believed to be due to his role in the so-called "Damascus Spring", the title used for the period of political activism that followed following the death of former president Hafez Assad in June 2000 and what seemed like an inheritance of the presidency by his son, incumbent president Bashar Assad. "Damascus Spring" was powered by several Syrian intellectuals and members of the opposition. After a few months, Syrian authorities started a campaign against the civil society activists arresting tens of them. Most of whom were released in the following years, although many more were taken in.

Dalila gave his infamous last lecture on Syria's economy at the Atasi Forum in Damascus on 2 September 2001. He was arrested a week later.

Health Concerns[link]

Dalila was reported to be in poor health, suffering from diabetes and heart disease. This condition was further exacerbated by the poor living standards within the prison as well as exposure to harsh treatment. He started a hunger strike on 12 July 2005 in protest against his solitary confinement and ill-treatment. He underwent a heart surgery.

Release from Prison[link]

Dalila was released from prison on August 7, 2008. Soon after his release he told the BBC that his views had not changed and he would continue to voice them. Ammar Qorabi of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria said that "Aref Dalila was freed in line with a presidential pardon after having spent seven years in jail."^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• English Pen
• Amnesty International
• Last Lecture

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Look up Arif in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Arif (also spelled Aref in Persian, Arabic: عارف‎) is a common male given name in various Muslim countries, such as Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

Sufi philosophy[link]

As a term, it was used by Sufi authors like Abu Abd al–Rahman al–Sulami to mean "a gnostic, mystic; a seeker of marifa", similar in meaning to the terms salik, zahid or faqir.

In his work "Waystations of the Gnostics" (Maqamat al–‘arifin), Ibn Sina defines several stages along a mystical path, where the ‘arif occupies an intermediate stage. Mahmoud Shabestari remarks that the true ‘arif sees the inward light of the divine being everywhere. The Tayyibi author al–Khattab b. al–Hasan, delineating the difference between ordinary knowledge (‘ilm) and ma‘rifa, explains that every ‘arif is a knower, but not every knower is an ‘arif. Some Twelver Shi'a authors like Rajab Bursi define an ‘arif as a believer whose love and knowledge (ma‘rifa) of the imams draw him nearer to spiritual perfection.

Other uses[link]

The Arabic word ‘arif has also been borrowed into the vernacular of Amharic and other Ethiopian languages, but with a change of meaning: it is used as a slang term corresponding to English "cool" or "neat".

Given name[link]

• Aref al-Aref, Palestinian journalist and politician
• Aref Arefkia, Iranian pop singer
• Aref al-Dajani, Palestinian politician
• Arif Dirlik, Turkish historian
• Aref Durvesh, Indian musician
• Arif Erdem, Turkish footballer
• Arif Heralić, Bosnian metal worker
• Arif Karaoğlan, Turkish-German footballer
• Arif Mirabdolbaghi, Canadian musician
• Arif Pašalić, Bosnian military officer
• Aref Qazvini, Iranian poet
• Aarif Rahman, Hong Kong actor
• Arif Sağ, Turkish singer
• Arif Şentürk, Turkish singer
• Arif Susam, Turkish singer
• Aref Tayfour, Iraqi politician

Surname[link]

• Ahmed Arif (1927–1991), Turkish poet
• Hassan Aref, Egyptian physicist
• Naved Arif, Professional cricketer
• Yassin M. Aref, American terror suspect

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

Aşık Mahzuni Şerif (17 November 1940 — 17 May 2002), also known as Mahsuni Şerif, was a folk musician, ashik, composer, poet, and author from Turkey.^[1]

Mahzuni Şerif was born in Berçenek village of Afşin, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey in 1940.^[2][3] The word Aşık preceding his name is a title used to indicate his position as a respected musician, but also indicates his affiliation with the Alevi variety of Shi'a Islam.

He became one of Turkey's best-known musical interpreters, and brought strong intellectual and social elements into Turkish folk music and folk poetry. He died on 17 May 2002 in Porz, Köln, Germany, four days after his arrival for medical care about his heart problems.

Chronology[link]

• 1950: He finished primary school in Berçenek and continues Elbistan Alembey village in Kahramanmaraş, where he learns to read and write in old Turkish language.

• 1957: He visited Mersin Astsubay school (military school).

• 1960: He started Ankara technique military school but was discarded due to undisciplinary actions.

• 1961 From this time forward he starts producing music cassettes and LPs.

His writings become more widely known.

• 1972: His house in Gaziantep was set in fire and his entire archive was burned.

• 1989-1991: Aşık Mahzuni was chosen head of Halk Ozanları Derneği (Association of Turkish ashiks).

• 1997: He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and he was examined in Ulm, Germany.

• 1998: He becomes proprietor of 58 cassettes and 8 books. In several international countries his music was covered in other languages.

• 2001: He was accused by the DGM (Turkey's State Security Court) of one of his sayings.^[1] However no penalty was attributed thereafter.

• 2001: In the late 2001 he has suffered from heart problems and a heart attack.

• 2002: He died in Köln while under medical supervision for 4 days.

Poems[link]

Asking and Asking[link]

Asking and Asking____

Made my mind go foolish

By hitting it on the stones

I looked for my dear fellow

By asking and asking to all

Some light out, some go out

Some get up, some get down

The palaces turn into ruins

Enduring to all

Enter Mahzuni into the friend’s affection

Snow fell on the mountain of friends

My youth in my life’s period

Is wounded all

The Order of this Earth[link]

The order of this earth is not smooth

I shall not spend it with false words

I may not execute myself

Because of my conscience

The tears drop into myself

How hard is the parch stone

I may not see the bird in the Erciyes Mountain

Because it’s blind-eyed

I have no strength besides

I planted crops but could not harvest them

The rulers decided on the order when I’m faultless

I cannot leave the friend, Mahzuni^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mahzuni Şerif on Turkuler.com
• www.turkudostlari.net/search.asp?a=1130&x=1 List of his songs with links to the lyrics