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Kuwaiti historian sheds light on 13th century Muslim graffiti artist

(WITH CUL-MOROCCO-HISTORY-KUWAIT) RABAT, May 23 (KUNA) -- A Kuwaiti history professor, Dr. Nawaf Al-Jahma, presented a lengthy research about the 13th century Muslim traveller Abi Al-Hassan Al-Harawi, "Al-Isharat Ila Maarifat Al-Zeyarat," at an international forum on Arab travels throughout 1,000 years.
Dr. Al-Jahma said the late traveller, an Afghan known as a prioneer Muslim graffiti artist on record for he used to inscribe his name and some of his sayings on public walls and sites in the regions he visited during his long trips and treks.
The Muslim sufi traveller had visited many sites in the eastern world, as well the holy cities, Dr. Al-Jahma said, noting that his inscriptions and writings constituted a main source of knowledge about the sacred places in the old times.
Al-Harawi was not a major sufi imam but the records and documents indicated that he tended to seek blessing from the good religious leaders, adding that the traveller visited many prayer and sufi corners.
He had visited sites in Jerusalem and Hebron, in addition to sacred locations for the Christians and Jews.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Harawi (Abu al-Hasan) (d. 611A.H./1215) was an early 13th century Persian traveller originally from Herat, now part of Afghanistan. Born in Mosul, Iraq, he travelled far and wide and died in Aleppo, Syria in a fort built for him.
The scholar al-Mundhri noted: "He used to write his name on walls (graffiti) and there was hardly a well known place of a city or otherwise save that it will have his hand writing on it." He was the first known graffiti artist (wrote many inscriptions) in the Muslim world.
He is known for the saying, "Lived as a stranger, died a loner ..." (end) sf.rk KUNA 231838 May 09NNNN