To the Palestinian Arabs
after Iqbal (1877-1938)
Sir Mohammad or Allama Iqbal, a giant of South Asian poetry in the 20 th Century writing in Urdu, attended in 1931 the General Islamic Conference in Jerusalem. Iqbal’s message to the Arab world was: “. . .not have any trust in the West and the League of Nations,” the earlier incarnation of the UN, which was headquartered in Geneva.
Neither Geneva nor London will honor your claim
because Arabs haven’t yet learnt to manipulate
the West which is still impassive
to the passion igniting your soul.
History shows, people with unyielding spirit
themselves free from occupation.
Translated from the original Urdu by Rafiq Kathwari