Wanted to put this here since Im getting a lot of (understandable) concern about the word Jihad: First, I agree that Jihad does not literally mean “holy war”. As I say in the video it translates to "struggle". I also understand and respect how sensitive a subject the meaning of the word Jihad has become. It has been twisted and used by certain media, politicians, and individuals who wish to accuse Islam of inherently supporting violence and terrorism. That association with Jihad is offensive, racist, and simply incorrect. However, among the many contexts in which it is used in the Quran and Ahadith, Jihad is sometimes associated with both defensive and offensive wars to protect Islam (again, it has no connection to terrorism). This association is also very dependent on interpretation, which means many Muslims would not equate Jihad with any kind of military activity. But the fact is both historically and today many Muslims do see instances where Jihad can be describing a form of holy war. While this requires in depth analysis of the Quran and Ahadith, breaking down things like the difference between lesser and greater Jihad, Jihad can sometimes be taken to mean religious war when talking about the whole of Islamic history and theology. And the bottom line is that this is how Frank Herbert has used Jihad in Dune.
@@BookOfJames1 you got most of it right great job, for the (Holy war) stuff in Islam its when another nation attacks you it’s your duty to fight and it’s become a religious duty for every able man that’s the difference between Islam and christianity they have (if someone hit your face you give him the other cheek to hit). but its never mentioned in the Quran or the Hadith once about Holy war as you go and fight for no reason only to defend yourself . The Holy war that we have it’s buy the end of all life before the judgement day when Jesus be be upon him come back and lead the army against the one eye Dagal that’s the only thing about holy war and christians have the similar idea it’s will happen in Palestine this what terrified the Zionist and the Evangelical church in USA who is the biggest supporter to all the destruction in the middle Middle East now. I respect your understanding greatly. I live in North America and the level of the historical knowledge and how easy they manipulated I never saw nation like them before so i get frustrated a bit that’s all because most of them will take it in a bad way with do any deep research.
Just pointing out one thing about Hajar and Ismail and how they are viewed in Islam. You mentioned she was Ibrahim's concubine and she was banished, that's the Jewish believe (obviously) not ours. In the Quran, the story that she was his wife (all the prophets had multiple wives) and by the command of God, Ibrahim took them to a specific valley in the desert and left them there. Hajar asked Ibrahim when he was leaving them "Did God ask you to do that?", he replied confirming. That valley was the valley of Makka (also called Backa). She had no water to drink and couldn't feed her infant. She saw the illusion of a lake in the distance due to the heat and ran to it only to find nothing but sand, then she saw the illusion again on the other side and ran again and found nothing but sand. She ran back and forth between two mountains for 7 times and found no water, eventually she fell to the ground and prayed God for help and at that moment a well of vast water erupted by her feet. That well is called Zamzam and it is still pumping thousands of Gallons per day to this day and it exists in Mecca next to the Kaaba which is the valley mentioned earlier, the Kaaba being the first ever building made for humans on this planet and predates Ibrahim. It is part of the Islamic pilgrimage to run between the two said mountains in Mecca as she did.
As an Arab Muslim, I applaud you for taking the time to understand parts of our culture and explaining them in an understandable way to the public. thanks for making this amazing video!
@@user-ot7uo9nk9b in early islamic age monarchy is forbidden, believe it or not islam is highly encourage democracy, so none of important islamic figures become kings in early islamic age, and i personally believe alcohol is not haram because alcohol is never mentioned in islamic sources, what's haram is khamr, by definition khamr is anything that make people drunk or lose their minds, so it could be anything including alcohol but as long as alcohol don't make you drunk it's not khamr therefore it's not haram
@@user-ot7uo9nk9b Yes and yes. Alcohol took some time to be declared as Haram. Islam took about 23 years to complete. Like every people, not all Muslims adhered to rules equally. Some drank among other things
@@BookOfJames1Also, Hajar and Ishmail were not banished due to Sarah had son. Prophet ibrahim left them in the desert because that was Allah the Mighty's order as trial to them. The Journey of Hajar and Ishmail now became Hajj pilgrimage. Edit: i see someone already gave conprehensive explanation in another comment.
This was SO MUCH BETTER than I expected, sorry lol, just wasn’t thinking it would be so in-depth when I clicked on it. Muslim fantasy/sci fi fan in my 40s here, and I first read Dune like 25 years ago, then reread in prep for the first movie. Since I can’t get my kids to read the books 😩 in order to experience all of this for themselves, I’m thrilled to find this video that delves into everything that resonated with me in the books as a Muslim, with such care, thoughtfulness, and comprehensiveness. Nicely done! I haven’t seen Part 2 yet - can’t wait!!
I'll point out as a Muslim that jihad doesn't always mean war in the literal sense. We believe that every mundane thing that we do can be seen as jihad. For example, studying and sharing your knowledge with others can be seen as jihad because you need to be serious about it. A mother birthing her child is also a jihad because she's sacrificing herself for her baby. Jihad doesn't always mean war, fixing yourself for the better and staying away from syaitan (basically, bad stuff in Islam) can also be seen as jihad. Unfortunately, it's a term that has been misunderstood because of the terrorist. I understand what you are going there but I just want to point out.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and very fair/accurate explanation of Jihad. There have (understandably) been a few, quite angry comments about this subject on here. The way the word Jihad has been twisted by many who wish to portray Islam in a negative light is wrong and simply racist. It is not synonymous with terrorism or in any way a call or license to attack non-Muslims. And as you point out it simply means "struggle" and can have dozens of meanings depending on context. Even when the word Jihad appears in obviously religious situations, it requires an understanding of the context and the complexity of things like "greater" and "lesser" Jihad. But, where I really want to thank you is for pointing out that it can, in some situations be a reference to military action in defense of Islam. No, its not terrorism or indiscriminate killing, but the lesser Jihad does sometimes refer to a war of religion... a "holy war". Which is how it is used in Dune. Anyway, I regret not putting a much deeper analysis of this word in my video, but I think I was a little naive about how sensitive a topic this could be even when talking about a science fiction movie. Again, thank you!
This is not true and not the understanding of either the companions of our prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam or our classical scholars. This is modernist propaganda. Holy war is overwhelmingly the primary meaning of jihad, and the other non-fighting meanings of jihad also tie in to holy war. There is absolutely no jihad unrelated to physical struggle against the enemies of Allah. Edit: read below for an example
@@user-wd2mt6ok2i yes, and in the religious context, it means what i said. It is the physical struggle against the enemies of Allah involving the sacrifice of life and limb and wealth.
This is probably the only review I have seen that went deeper in the linguistic and cultural parallels. I just wish DV did not remove the 2 most important words in the book! And also toned down the mysticism (playing it safe with the audience I suppose...)
I was going to move on from dune, but I'm going through my notes right now thinking about making another video that's much longer and goes into a lot more detail. It won't be produced like this one, but there's just so much Arabic and Islam in the world of dune.
What a wonderful video. I find your meticulous research on Arabic and Islam impressive. I am from Algeria and it's great to see it mentioned. Keep it up!
Algeria and specifically the Berber people were probably in much bigger influence than I give them credit for in this video. I think not talking about it more is a big regret I have. But Algerian history definitely played a huge part in dune.
@@BookOfJames1did you honestly say Algerian history? You obviously don't keep up with current affairs. That part of the world have been debating if such "algerian" history ever existed since 1962 and you come along with a bold statement like that without a flinch!!! I'm baffled by that and dare not say anything...
Your discussion of all of the words, themes, and inspirations from Dune is like watching a slow drip of Dune related interest over the past 30+ years suddenly have a torrential resurgence in the mainstream Your final point as well with the omission of two key phrases really shows the distance between the writing of Dune, the adaptation of it today, and the ways times have changed, yet stayed exactly the same. A part of me understands the changes completely, while a part of me mourns it. Still, I'm glad this 2 parter adaptation has been such a success to rekindle the interest of people in this story we collectively know and love
My 2 centers as an Arabic Speaker, if anyone cares: I'm not really sure about the Jazira part being a territory for a mission. Never heard of that to be honest, however Al-Jazira is often used to refer to the Arabian Peninsula. Hence the news station. Al-G(h)aib is more like unknown than unseen. Unseen would be a completely different word. Lesan means tongue yes, but in this context it probably means something more like voice, but also speech or language or even like a source of knowledge. Maybe something like Metatron in Judeo Christianism, or even The Mouth of Sauron in LOTR, in sense where it is someone who speaks on behalf of (using the voice) of someone or something else. I think this also plays on the Islamic mythos, and several from the region, where this life and the afterlife are two different things or parallel planes of existence. I think Paul is also mixed with St. Paul in Christianity. In terms of his role in spreading Christianity but not being the profit/Jesus himself. There is definitely a trope where Herbert mixed things from the MENA with things or events happening in other regions. We can see that also in Spice being oil, but also as you say hallucinogenic plants/sacred herbs in the New World. The connection here I'd say would be the interest of Europeans in that local resource and how this interferes with politics and development of the region. Colonization..etc. This is further seen in the entire self-fulfilling prophecy which was planted by the Beni Gesserit to control people. Not so different from the US and UK supporting right wing religious groups to control the MENA region, and just like Dune, it ends up biting them in the ass. As an Arabic speaker, funny thing actually some of the Fremen sounded more "Arabic" than the rest. I can't check their backgrounds, but I would assume those are maybe Arabic speakers so the phonatics were easier or more natural. That being said, I don't think Herbert meant anything super elaborate. I think he was just having fun with words and concepts and so. Which is great. Awesome video, Cheers
I think everything you say is spot on! Jazira as a term for religious "jurisdictions" actually comes from the secret/underground missionary work carried out during the early Ismaili movement and the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate. North Africa and the Fatimids were a big inspiration for Herbert... although its more likely Gesserit is either Jesuit or just the actual latin phrase Bene Gesserit meaning "well behaved". As far as I know the only named character played by a MENA actor was Shishlaki (Chani's friend who the Harkonnens capture at Sietch Tabr). She's Swiss but her father is Tunisian. Other than that you see a ton of actor names like Omar, Hamza, Abdelaziz, Noureddine etc. credited as "young Fremen" and that sort of thing, so I bet thats what you were hearing! Great point by the way. My ear isnt tuned enough to really pic up on the accents/pronunciations of the actors... aside from maybe a good (or bad) عhere and there.
@@BookOfJames1 oh sorry. Didn't see the rest of your reply in the notification. But yeah was still referring to the Jazira bit. Yeah I think it Chang's friend. When they went south. When she spoke it just sounded Arabic. Didn't mean anything of course.
@@zpdBBX I have an old college book that goes in to it a bit more, but its also mentioned for a moment here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t6d9x_a0Q1w.html not much more than I already said, but this is also a great video in general!
Arabic is my first language. The moment I saw the movie, I was shocked by using a lot of Arabic words. It is obvious how much the author is influenced by Arab culture and history. I appreciate this video a lot.
The first to arrive on Arrakis where Egyptians and Suni wanderers. Contrary to what some have claimed, there's no cultural appropriation here, it's basically Lawrence of Arabia in space with descendants of Muslims, with a twist. Lisan al-Gaib. Nice breakdown. I'll add some info for context regarding the assassins. The Assassins (originally called Hashashim, Hashishin, or Hashashiyyin) were a religious sect of Ismaili Shi'a Muslims (from the Nizari lineage) originating in Persia.
Adding some points about Assassins. There is no actual proof that they used to smoke Cannabis. It's only a theory. Hashish litteraly just means grass or hay. "Hashashiyyin" just means "those of the grass/hay". The use of the word Hashish relating to Cannabis is very recent and it would be "M'hashashiyyin" or "Hashashoun". The only "sources" we have that support are some very few Polemic Fatemid entries and they were mostly very restricted to a certain area in what is modern day Syria. Also, this doesn't mean that some people didn't consume cannabis/hemp or use it manifacture things such as rope for example..
@Broskisnowski mix of Buddhism and Sunni Islam Equals zero Islam.🤣🤣.Islam cannot be merged with other religious belief.Then it stops being Islam.Islam is as prophet Muhammad sa: described.If someone adds or subtract from Islam then he is outside of islam.
@@jonyhyder6506This was intentional on Frank Herbert's part of showing the morphology and change of religion. Particularly, imagining what happens to apocalyptic faiths when their apocalypse never happens as Humanity begins to explore space. To my knowledge Frank Herbert never explained how Zensunni came to be. The story of Dune is not about the change of religion, but rather how individuals can weaponize religion.
@@fhd.hassaan but it did its job to give ammunition to the evangelist and pro christians to paint islam religion of antichrist and somehow make it a palestine vs israel issue, Worst they made this movie like propaganda for pro palestine ppl,a movie adaptation from a script made in the 90s,from a book written in 60s.A time where the western masses did not even know where Hawai was.
THANK YOU FOR THIS! This was honestly so cathartic to watch. The associations are so abundantly clear and in your face, it’s been tough explaining this to all the new dune fans because of the movie. So, I appreciate the time you took to make it and I loved all the details. Personally, I’m extremely upset with the Fremen casting, not only because of the very obvious lineage they have, but also 1) People from the MENA region are in desperate need of representation in Hollywood 2) this was such a missed opportunity to have a conversation on how this story is playing out in real life TODAY.
I wouldn't compare the North-South divide to Sunni-Shi'a, but more to secular Arab nationalism (Levant) vs. Wahhabism (Saudi Arabia) in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the movie, Chani is more similar to a secular Arab nationalist rather than a Muslim ghāzi. Whilst there are radicals in their midst, the south more reflects the strict religiosity of the Peninsula.
I actually thought about getting into exactly that. I still think the clear theological differences over the Mahdi in both the fremen and sunni-shia divide makes for a good analogy... but I completely agree with you that the politics of the ME (Iraq, Syria, etc vs. The fundamentalist monarchirs of the peninsula) fits perfectly both geographic and in terms of religion.
Yoou , my sir , earned a like and subscribe , and a fan for your videos , this video is ,by far, the most informative and welll researched vid on this topic ive seen
17:42 Jihad= It's Means struggling, suffering and sacrificing It's a combination of three word. In The West people have very very wrong understanding of the world because of media and Islamophoba industry. In the Quran it mentioned that the greatest Jihad is to fight within self to control different type of desires feelings thoughts etc.
Thank you so much for your comment! First, I agree that Jihad does not literally mean “holy war”. As I say in the video it translates to "struggle". I also understand and respect how sensitive a subject the meaning of the word Jihad has become. It has been twisted and used by certain media, politicians, and individuals who wish to accuse Islam of inherently supporting violence and terrorism. That association with Jihad is offensive, racist, and simply incorrect. However, among the many contexts in which it is used in the Quran and Ahadith, Jihad is sometimes associated with both defensive and offensive wars to protect Islam (again, it has no connection to terrorism). This association is also very dependent on interpretation, which means many Muslims would not equate Jihad with any kind of military activity. But the fact is both historically and today many Muslims do see instances where Jihad can be describing a form of holy war. While this requires in depth analysis of the Quran and Ahadith, breaking down things like the difference between lesser and greater Jihad, Jihad can be taken to mean religious war. And the bottom line is that this is how Frank Herbert has used Jihad in Dune.
Okay, I agree I could have put more care in to how I phrased it, but I think at this point we're just debating the meaning of the word "means". We agree that Jihad can sometimes be a reference to a form of religious or holy war.
Speaking of Petra and Sietch Tabr, I think the Fremen were consciously modeled after the Nabataeans, the builders of Petra. They also were in the possession of elaborate technology for water preservation, including underground cisterns carved in the rocks.
Thats a very cool idea. Ive actually been to Petra a couple times and obviously the monumental architecture is the main draw, but I was also so intrigued by their system of water cisterns and pipes. If youve been Im sure you saw the channel thats carved in to the rock all along the Siq. Its simple but I though that was so cool.
The capital of Herbert's Arrakis is called Arrakeen, which closely resembles the Arabic name for Petra during the early Medieval period (Ar-raqim). Like you, I also think that Nabataean culture looms large in Herbert's influences.
Sietch or Січ - it is taken from Ukrainian history. Like to Zaporozhian Sich (correct spelling of Січ in English) - Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower)was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cossacks that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries. Cіч - word from Ukrainian language that is used till now in Ukraine
Please leave a like 👍👍👍, it helps so much to spread the video and get more people talking about Arabic, Islam, and Dune! 🙏🙏🙏If you want to support my channel (advertisers hate anything with a whiff of controversy) you can hit the 🖲THANKS 🖲 button above, which will also highlight and prioritize your comment. Or here www.buymeacoffee.com/bookofjames Thanks so much for watching! (and I know... its Vil-noove)
I'm afraid I deleted your comment on my first one which it was removed and then added again by the YT algorithms, and got notified afterwards. It's very weirdly annoying recently.. I hope you've read my comment on the removed video..
@user-oc5ey2ku3g yeah, I think I saw all your comments. But like I said feel free to rewrite anything over here, anything new, it does help with the algorithm lol, but more than anything I just want discussion!
@gabrielkobari2267 yep, I've seen a lot of those, as well as Quinn's ideas and nerd cookies. Out of curiosity, what in particular stood out that wasn't accurate?
I don’t know where you live, but if it’s in a major city - especially on the east coast or Midwest - then you should be able to find a person, Arab or American born who is a literate speaker of Arabic. Ask this person to help you with translation and proper pronunciation and spelling of Arabic words. For example it’s لسان الغيب for the correct spelling in Arabic. The grammatical construct is المضاف و المضاف إليه . If you find someone to help you with accuracy in Arabic it will be a benefit to everyone that views your content. It also will set you apart from the rest. In spite of some mistakes in spelling and pronunciation I still think you did a good job on this video. Good luck. ☮️
@gabrielkobari2267but the name is more Arabic. He did correctly associate Kwisatz Haderach to Hebrew. That doesn’t mean the Bene Gesserit were meant to be Arabic as well. He correctly calls them Missionaries and cites primary sources of the actual authors as proof. Heck, the sisterhood is called the Missionaria Protectiva. You can see the names of people having Arabic etymology but their characters not being Arabic. He did this correctly with both Rabban and Thufir Hawat.
Dune has been and continues to be a great story that gives a lot of insight to how the world has been shaped by and has shaped the middle east. However, one thing that frustrated me with the recent films as well as during Frank Herbert's time is the lack of explicit mention of how the events of the story continue to be played out in real life. For example, using Arab and Islamic culture to make millions upon millions of dollars in profit for studios and individuals that would prefer the subjugation of Palestinian Arabs flies in the face of any goodwill those who helped make these films might have had. It can't be all about what benefits the studios or individuals making these films, they should not be able to profit off of a story that isn't fiction, but is actually quite real and occurring in real time. Then to add insult to injury, side and fund their occupier and subjugator. It is a cruel hijacking and thievery of the suffering of an indigenous population that is used to make money for a group of people who then use the profits they make to further subjugate the indigenous population they took advantage of to make their money. The fact that this recent film explores genocide and ethnic cleansing of an Arab population and yet during press junkets no one who had a hand in making the film took a risk or demonstrated selflessness to constantly beat home the idea that we are seeing this happen to the Palestinians was upsetting. Especially with the world's eye being on the Dune franchise's recent film release. I don't know, it just frustrates me that the media makes us empathise with the victims of genocide in the films, but then expects us to empathise with their oppressors in the real world.
As a Muslim Palestinian Arab, I applaud you for doing your research well, and I can say it was a breath of fresh air in contrast to how we are usually talked about.
What an incredible video! There's so much knowledge packed in it. I've watched the movies before but have been too lazy to read the books. However, now you've inspired me to want to read them all
I appreciate you bud! Even before I had to reupload I was having all sorts of tech issues. Its been a frustrating couple days but it seems like this topic finds its viewership no matter what.
I only really got to know the Amazigh when the video was basically complete... but yes! Amazigh means "Free men", they also are noted for a high occurance of blue eyes, and as you say the facial tattos!
Another great video. I'm glad you incorporated the Ismailis this time. On a personal note, one of my ancestors was an "Amir", a General/Leader, in the Mahdi's army during the siege of Khartoum. The alliance my clan had with AlMahdi was only political and not based on religious belief. Also, I would note the usage of "Bila Kaif". It Means "Amen" in the Fremen's language, but it is an important statement in Sunni Islamic theology which means "Without a how", indicating that god's essence is beyond our limited understanding as humans (beyond the what and how). If the Mahdi of Sudan was among the multiple inspirations for Frank Herbert then I might be the only descendent of the true Fremen to watch both Dune movies in a particular small American suburb's cinema and catch these references. I kept asking myself how are the rest of the viewers experiencing the film. Yahya Alshuhada
Thanks so much for commenting... you are the 600x great granpa of Stilgar lol. Also, I was familiar with bila kaif in general but didn't realize the Fremen used it.
As an Arab Muslim, I believe there's an overlooked aspect worth exploring. Muslims believe, there's an expectation of the Mehdi's eventual emergence to lead Muslims in the liberation of Palestine from Israeli control. This belief holds symbolic significance, reflecting power disparities. For instance, in Frank Herbert's 'Dune,' House Harkonnen (akin to Israel) and House Corrino (resembling the US) possess advanced weaponry, akin to their real-world military capabilities, enabling them to dominate and control vital resources (such as spice, symbolizing oil). Consequently, Israel, with the backing of the US, wields considerable influence in the Middle East.@@BookOfJames1
The emergence of Mahdi (A.S) most likely will halt the Great Powers of the world at that time, liberation of Palestine along with all other liberations throughout the world against oppression regardless of any belief or religion will be through Eesa (Jesus) (A.S). So, Mahdi and his army can be symbolized as a "Hammer", the emergence and intensification of Force of like minded, while Jesus as a "Nail" to eradicate and demolished the oppressors from the face of the earth.😊
@@BookOfJames1In the scene where Jessica drinks the water of life. As everyone waits outside the cave, Paul approaches Chani and the group she's sitting with. He asks if they believe in the prophecies. Chani responds that they believe in Fremen. And the group says bilal kaifa (amen)
Lissan alghaib is not invented by Herbert. In Iran the greatest Persian poet, Hafez, is known as Lissan alghaib. His poems are used to foretell future by interpretation by all Iranians.
The term Lissan Alghaib لسان الغيب is much older than that. It originated from ancient Arabic mythologies in which a spirt creature( known in Arabic asجن or Jinn in English) whom ancient Beduins from Arabia, would seek to meet to ask how and when they’ll die. It’s crazy to think that such a name has moved from century to century and from culture to culture and continent to continent to end up as a character in a modern day movie 😄.
I suppose I meant "Invented" in relation to Mahdi. Lisan alghaib is not a title of a religious figure. I should have been more clear, but I assumed Herbert wasnt the first person to ever use that term. Thank you for pointing that out and giving me an example of when it was actually used in history.
Hafez , too, goes centuries back. He lived in the 1300s, but he is venerated as a tongue of the hidden world because of the depth and beauty of his poems to this day.
Thank you for bringing to light the Arab and Islamic themes and inspirations for the DUNE book & film! I've been a huge fan of the DUNE series ever since I was introduced years ago by a friend. Sadly the modern day film adaptations lack a single Arab creative visionary who worked with the director or even a single Arab Muslim actor for the representation of Fremen : (
Yoo this is so cool. Wanted to add in the Arabic root for Jabbar also means something that fixes, sets things right, makes like new if you’d find that interesting!
Absolutely right. And I said in the video it means struggle. However, I did not get into the more complex concept of Greater and lesser jihad. When I say jihad means holy war I'm referring firstly, to the Western perception that it means holy war. And secondly, that some Muslims do believe it means something along the lines of holy war. Doesn't mean they're right, doesn't mean they should be able to Define the word, but there are quite a few strands within Islam that interpret Jihad has literally Waging War against the enemies of islam. And for some of those people the enemies of Islam be quite a broad collection of people and places.
جهاد means struggle.. Not holy war... War in Arabic is "حرب harb" ??? And holy is like muqaddas مُقَدَّس ?? Where is holy and war in the term jihad??? Nothing is holy in war. And islam is the religion of Salam(Peace). Jihad means to struggle and in islamic context it means struggling in the path of Allah. Struggling could be in many ways but the greatest struggle in islam is to struggle against your own ego and your own vain desire and submit yourself to the will of Almighty Allah.
@@BookOfJames1 I tend to agree with your balanced nuanced description. It also sits right with the consensus & understanding of the majority over the long breadth of time, as opposed to minor sects & modern day hyper-apologetics. ⚖
This was epic. Gives so much more depth to the Dune story. I totally did not know that Dune was dreamt up of a possible future timeline of Earth and how AI, language, politics, economy, religion, etc evolved. 🤯🤯🤯
Just finished. Watching dune 2. And was looking for something exactly what you published. Thank you so much for a very thoughtful video to put your thoughts together for us who are trying to wrap our heads around this incredible universe which was written almost 50 years ago !
As Muslim my faith is strong and unwavering. But for entertainment purposes this is a awesome and I’m glad someone decided to explain for people that might lay in ignorance
Arabic is my first language! I never watched the movie but my family did and they kept mentioning urs has reference to Arabs and Muslims.now I’m very much interested and even bit watching the movies, you did awesome job 👍🏼
It's new! Well it's sort of new, I actually had a decent amount of views but had to take it down for some technical issues and reupload it. So I really appreciate all the likes I can get! Also, thank you so much for the compliment!
Correction Hegar or Hajar (OHPB), was not Ibrahim’s عليه السلام، concubine. She was his wife. Muslims just like the Jews can have more than one wife. The word was used in the bible (i can provide the verse if you like) and most definitely in the Quran.
My brother and I walked out of the cinema hall thinking the exact same thing : we just watched the 2024 version of Lawrence Of Arabia. An indigenous population revolting against an oppressing force, an "agent" of the intelegencia comes along , learning their ways and customs. The locals accept him, but soon enough his ambition and ego takes over as he galvanizes the rebellion to an all out war, changing himself and everything around him forever.
Its obviously not a shot for shot remake, lol. But if I didnt know, and someone told me Herbert or Villeneuve literally just wrote Dune after watching LoA I'd be like "yuh, makes sense".
This was amazing. I really enjoyed it. Really well researched and presented. As a Muslim who is also obsessed with history and Science Fiction, Dune is fascinating to me and I love all the different historical parallels that you have described, like T.E. Lawrence and The Sabres of Paradise. I agree that the novels saw Paul not as a true hero to the Fremen, as in the 1984 film and other Dune inspired films & stories. I loved how Dune Part 2 showed this explicitly. Thanks for your thorough research and engaging presentation. One question I do have is what did Frank Herbert think of Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern people in real life? Any answers would be much appreciated.
Thats a great question! Ive done a bit of research and could only come up with some assumptions based on other aspects of Herberts personal life. It doesnt seem that he spent much time in the Middle East, and he was from a relatively small town in Washington state... not likely to encounter many Muslims. He was raised Catholic but considered himself an agnostic. Politically he was fairly conservative, although he was vehemently against the Vietnam war and was probably more of a libertarian. But nothing defined his politics more than his hatred of corruption and the dangers of too much power. I think this showed in his fascination with the Arab independence movements, especially in Algeria, a people and event he clearly admired. His inspiration for Dune originally came from a report he was writing on a ecological project on sand dunes in Oregon but that quickly led him to the Mideast. The Quran was one of the first books he read in the early stages of his research for the novel as were the works of Ibn Khaldun and other Arab historians and writers. He clearly had a deep interest in Islam that went far beyond research for his books. I've also seen interviews where he refers to his "Arab fiends" but nothing that expounds too much on his personal views. Overall I think he had some "orientalist" views on the Arabs that wouldnt be judged too kindly today... but for an American guy, born in 1920 in a small town I believe he was extremely progressive in terms the respect and esteem he had for the Muslim and Arab people. .
Very Finnish of me but I have to chime in. Because of the latitude, most Finnish immigrants in the early 20th century settled somewhere near the northern US border. There were a lot of tradesmen like lumberjacks who adapted well to similar conditions and environment in places like Minnesota, Michigan and Washington. So when Herbert was searching his phonebook for name inspo, he stumbled upon Härkönen (sans ümlauts, of course) and loved it. To paraphrase him, it had the rough, soviet-sounding gravely feel to it. So yeah, The Baron and Austin Butler are Finnish-Russian descendants
Great video, as a muslim, i can tell that your information are mostly correct and well researched. Although im not arab, i can recognised a few words/ phrases from the Quran and Hadith
I tried to make it as accurate as possible. It's difficult to condense a lot of these extremely complex ideas into a sentence or two to not make the video 3 hours long lol. Because of that I've had a handful of people upset about some of my analysis of the book, and my analysis of the theology. But it's only been a hahaha. I really appreciate your comment!
So there's definitely some spoilers in here lol, I kind of assumed everybody watching my video would have already seen the movies but hopefully it didn't ruin it too much!
I read all the original six Dune books in late 1980s. From the very first book it was clear to me that so many notions and names were very meaningful within a middle-east framework. By the time I got to the last book (chapter house), something that really fascinated me was the idea that the Dune saga is to a great extent a story of evolution of religion and its relationship with power. I'm glad that this point is mentioned here, as I think it's one of the brilliant aspects of Dune.
The "hunting language" Chakobsa in the original "Dune" novel is very near to Romani/Gypsy and Serbian as well. Charles Leland's 1883 book "Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune-telling" contains the "Ima trava okolo i korenje okolo" incantation that we find in "Dune". It's in a Slavic language very much like Serbian and ascribed by Leland to a group of Romani people in Hungary. It means: "There's grass around and there are roots around". And yes, Arabic, Islamic and generally Middle-eastern words and culture are much used by Herbert.
As a muslim fan of Dune I appreciate this analysis. I’ve made my own interpretations on the parallels between Dune and the muslim world and this just makes it all clear.
You're not the first person to say that LOL. But I think that makes a lot of sense. The words are kind of snuck in with English and a made-up language, and theology is only Loosely based on islam. Thanks for watching!
@@BookOfJames1 No but a lots of my friends are what's funny is that we have mixed races here up north for example i'm an arab and my best friend is a white dude with green eyes yet we are both algerians also most of the Amazigh people look white it depends on the city you are in if you go down to the desert part of Algeria you gonna a find The Tuareg people they are black people and some of them has blue eyes . I mean when you get occupied by Rome Spain France ... ofc you gonna have mixed races lol
@@jameseddine8627Amazigh are another word for berber which are the natives of north africa and some of them are black, brown or white. I doubt you are an Arab since only a small population of Arabs migrated and stayed to north Africa after its conquest by the Muslims. Arab DNA is always low for any Algerian who does a DNA test. Berber DNA is always dominant.
The actors are not Arab and the words are kinda sho-horned in between English and the made-up "chakobsa" language so its not that surprising that many words dont immediately stand out.
@BookOfJames1 2 days ago (edited) No, there aren't really religious orders at all in Islam like we would think of them in the West (although there are groups that function more orvless like an order), mostly because there is no official clergy in islam. But beyond that, it's only been a very recent development in certain countries that women have begun occasionally functioning as imams, or prayer leaders.
Theres a cool book about the Medieval Europe View of the Arabic World, sort of a Middle Eastern Arabian Nights Exorcist story from 400 years ago, its called Vathek by William Thomas Beckford
Lawrence of Arabia isn't racist, it may include racist characters, but that doesn't mean the film itself is racist, for the Arabian characters are intelligent and well-developed. The film is also a critique of imperialism.
I agree that it may have been too simplistic to just label the film as "racist". But even with the often negative attitude the movie has towards the British, it still takes a lot of liberties with history that leave the viewer thinking the Arabs were more or less helpless without Lawrence. The idea that the Arabs were just aimlessly sitting in the desert, or that Auda was only in it for the money, with hundreds of fighters deserting as soon as they got some loot is completely wrong. There are lots of moments like these as well, so while people may respect certain Arab characters I dont think anyone walks away from that movie without the impression that the Arabs were "a little people, a silly people".
the concept of "holy war" doesn't exists in Islam that's some western perspective about Islam, jihad is to strive in the path of Allah and sometimes under a war context is to strive against the enemies attacking you in other words all countries do jihad on their own terms it is not considered "holy" but rather a pragmatic approach to problems in life or politics
Very insightful! Thank you for sharing your analysis. It makes a lot of sense to me as I have been thinking a lot about Dunes link to Islam and the Arab world.
As an Arab Muslim, and Sunni, first I’m glad we made this thus far lol. They are right about Shay2 alkholod, it’s not a phrase we use. Maybe we say shay2 min( from) al Kholod ( something for eternity ) if we want to describe something good in a poetic way. I wish they left Al-shuhadaa thing in the movie as it supposed to be something good. If it got used by bad people, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. the west could see the both sides of it and then it will be easier to the ear. But the blue star colony won’t allow that 😅 anyways I like what you said and I felt appreciated by it. Thank you 🙏🏽
Also Fedayyen is the plural of Fadi and Fadi is Christ’s name in Arabic as he sacrificed himself for a good cause. That’s why we call the Palestinian fighters sometimes Fedayeen. Okay bye ✌🏻
Thank you for this video. I'm currently reading the books and, as someone from the Middle East, I find the link fascinating. It is rare to find science-fiction with Middle-Eastern/Islamic lore at the core of the story. In this world of Islamaphobia, it is also rare to see people from the ME depicted as anything other than a terrorist, a victim or a dumb "savage", so films like Dune and analytical videos like yours are so important and insightful. You explained everything so well and I can see you really researched the subject matter. Thanks again!
Tabr is also similar to "tabor", which is Hungarian for camp. Though that usually means a distinctly unfortified temporary one, but nevertheless it made it into that language, with an only slightly changed meaning.
Obviously Hungarian isnt a Slavic language but it is more or less surrounded by Slavic countries, so it doesnt surprise me "tabor" has made its way in to Hungarian. Tabor is also camp (with specific military connotations) in Polish and Czech.
Bene is latin for good. The Bene Gesserit is likely Herbert's take on the power of the Catholic Church. Islam and Catholicism (Christianity in general) have quite a tangled past. To me, they seemed to embody the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire, of which there was a struggle (often a more quiet political one, though at times not) for power between secular and religious authorities. I don't see the Bene Gesserit as being Islamic, though the books might offer more insight than the film.
8:00 completely wrong account of islamic belief of Prophet Ibrahim's family. The way you described it is Biblical story. not the Islamic story. Hagar and Sarah both were wife of Ibrahim in Islam. And she wasn't banished. Ibrahim was ordered by god to leave them there as a form of test. And through that test we got our ZamZam well.
Thanks for the dense informative video! About the casting, all I can say is that there are still any diversity complaints after part 3 airs, then I’ll take them seriously.
I just couldn't help seeing the genocide in gaza in every other scene of Dune 2. I know that's because it's all we see on the news but I think most of the world outside of the US/UK will see that too. The future of most sci-fi books and films is happening right now. People will take decades and decade to process the awful trauma. The cultural impact of the genocide can not be overstated. It's huge.
Lisan Al-Ghaib was the nick name for Persian poet "Hafez". Hafez was a Crypto-Mithraic poet that his most famous book "Divan" is still being used as a method of divination (an occult technique to get answers from Either)- Kinda similar to wester Tarot. Therefore, Lisan Al-Ghalb means: Voice from Either! I believe this is the most accurate answer!
Thank you! I cut or significantly shortened a few segments explaining certain aspects of Islamic theology more deeply that, in hindsight, I probably should have left in. But overall I'm very happy that my occasional oversimplifications didn't to make too many people upset. Although it's totally understandable given the sensitivity of the topic. Anyway, thanks for watching
@@BookOfJames1 You have no Idea ho wmuch that means to me and us. Really just an educated honest explaining nothing biased in one or the other way. So grateful I pray for sucess I am sure you will once be a very popular youtuber keep it up.
Great video! Loved hearing about all the information and references to Arabic and Islamic culture! I’m not Arabic or Muslim so this was particularly interesting for me. :)
Great video! A damn shame the last two concepts were censored, I get you can't risk anything in a production that cost hundreds of millions, but its still disappointing for us book enjoyers.
I am Egyptian and Muslim.... and yes, I've noticed the same when I watched the old and new versions of Dune; but because the Arabic and Muslim influenced names and story is a bit distorted as it came from a non-arabic speaking person, many people didn't notice.... But I completely agree with every single word you said in this video..... And it seems that you did a huge amazing research 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Is it true that the Roman Catholic influenced the rise of Islam? Or even was part of the start of Islam. Facts and documents or being pointed in the right direction would be ideal, thank upj so much.
Excellent and enlightening video, I knew there were heavy references to Arabic and Muslim culture, but I didn’t realise how much! I’m not overly surprised at the removal of the 2 words, I imagine they made the $ men at the studio very nervous.
Herbert had a lot of fun with his etymologies. The best example being the Ixians, whose planet was called IX originally for being the ninth from the star, but it eventually became simply a name as roman numerals were forgotten.
Ah this is super interesting, thanks for making his video, I'm definitely interested look into all of this further. I'm a big fan of the books and movies. 🙂
Very nice and well researched video. I couldn't help but notice the obvious references while watching the film. Most shocking was the name mahdi being used! Great film and excellent work with your explanation here!
5:36 worth noting “tea” for a time was one of the commodity that literally lead to a number of wars, if not indirectly leading into a series of “independence” movements… so “eternal tea” anyone? 😂
I think the word jihad is a bit triggering for some, it brings different meaning to different people, and it's a good idea that they left that out. Personally idc, the more connection to the real world the more fascinating it becomes. Great video!
there is a huge difference to Arab and Islam though: spice Melange is psychedelic which is a sinful material and in Dune world, men and women are completely equal which is opposite of Arabic culture and Islam. So, the whole story is actually a mixture of everything from our world, your point of view isn’t correct
Its pretty clear Dune was inspired by elements from many cultures, religions and languages. I focused on the Arabic and islamic influences because they were the both the largest and most obvious... this video would have been several hours long if I tried to include every possible influence.
Good video explaining the Arabic and Islamic background of the DUNE movie, when I saw the the first movie, I knew it had some Islamic reference when they mentioned Al-Mahdi in the movie. I would like to elaborate on the Shia view of Al-Mahdi, he is considered one of the 12 Imams, the Imams whom we as muslims should follow as they are infallible. They are assigned by the prophet Mohammad, and they are direct descendent of one to another ( father and son relation) . starting with 1- Imam Ali bin Abi-Talib (Prince of believers), 2- Imam Hassan (Al-Mojtaba) son of Ali, 3- Imam Hussain ( Al-Shaheed) son of Ali, 4- Imam Ali (Zain Al-Abdeen) son of Hussain, 5- Imam Mohammad (Al-Baqer) son of Ali, 6- Imam Jaffar (Al-Sadeq) son of Mohammad, 7- Imam Mousa (Al-Kathem) son of Jaffar, 8- Imam Ali (Al-Redha) son of Mousa, 9- Imam Mohammad (Al-Jawad) son of Ali, 10- Imam Ali (Al-Naqqi) son of Mohammad, 11- Imam Hassan (Al-Askari) son of Ali, 12- Imam Mohammad (Al-Mahdi) son of Hassan. Each one had his story and biography that is full of struggling for justice and spreading knowledge. All of them (except of Imam Al-Mahdi) have been killed or poisoned by their enemies. Imam Al-Mahdi is special, he os the last Imam, as there are only 12 Imams, he is kept for the last days, as you can see all of the previous Imams have been eliminated, this last Imam is kept away from harm, he has his final role, he will be the one who fill the world with justice after it has been filled with injustice. He is the one who will be followed by Jesus himself as a gesture to Christians that Islam is the final and righteous religion, and a Gesture for Jews that what you are waiting for has happened, I'm Jesus and I follow this Imam, so now you have no excuse to stay with your Judaism. According to Islam, Christianity and Judaism are deviations of the original religion, which is Islam, not in the practices aspect of the religion, but to the belief system of it.
I think a big part of Franks inspiration is the actual origin story of Islam - the rise of the Prophet Muhammad (speaking the words of God - on his "lisan") and leading the Arabs in a holy war, which later caused them expand out of Arabia to conquer two superpowers the Persians and the Byzantines - furthermore later in Dune Messiah the character of Alia and her conflict with Paul's Son Leto is reminiscent of Aisha's (the Prophet's wife) war against Ali (practically like an adopted son of the Prophet) during what is known as the First Fitna.
This is such an exceptional video on the topic! A lot of people happen to misunderstand the portrayal of islamic words and characters in the Dune movies without really understanding the subtext or even the symbolism behind it. (Add to that the current situation in the world, and you have keyboard warriors making absurd claims and starting arguments in every comment section.) All that to say I hope more people see this video and understand what an intricate masterpiece Dune is.
